The design for the Wespe was produced by Alkett, based on the Panzer II Ausf. F chassis. Alkett had earlier worked with Alfred Becker to convert captured French armoured vehicles into self-propelled artillery carriers. Among other modifications the Panzer II's engine was moved forward and the chassis slightly lengthened to accommodate the rear-mounted 10.5 cm leFH 18 howitzer.A self-propelled gun (SPG) is a form of self-propelled artillery, and in modern times is most commonly used to refer to artillery pieces such as howitzers. The Ausf C model had a large production run, but was quite complex to build, involving many angled plates that gave reasonable protection from small arms fire and remained in production upto early 1943.
