The Pz.V Panther tank is the most popular German heavy tank of the Second World War. Medium German tank Tiger Panzerkampfwagen IV. History and detailed description Equipment on the Pz.Kpfw. IV ausf. H
Medium tank T-IV Panzerkampfwagen IV (PzKpfw IV, also Pz. IV), Sd.Kfz.161
Production of this tank, created by Krupp, began in 1937 and continued throughout the Second World War. Tells
Like the T-III- (Pz.III) tank, power point is located at the rear, and the power transmission and drive wheels are located at the front. The control compartment housed the driver and gunner-radio operator, firing from a machine gun mounted in a ball joint. The fighting compartment was located in the middle of the hull. A multifaceted welded turret was mounted here, which housed three crew members and installed weapons.
T-IV tanks were produced with the following weapons:
- modifications A-F, assault tank with 75 mm howitzer;
- modification G, tank with a 75-mm cannon with a 43-caliber barrel;
- modification NK, tank with a 75-mm cannon with a barrel length of 48 calibers.
Due to the constant increase in the thickness of the armor, the weight of the vehicle during production increased from 17.1 tons (modification A) to 24.6 tons (modifications NK). Since 1943, to enhance armor protection on tanks, armor screens were installed on the sides of the hull and turret. The long-barreled gun introduced on modifications G, NK allowed the T-IV to withstand enemy tanks of equal weight (a 75-mm sub-caliber projectile at a range of 1000 meters penetrated armor 110 mm thick), but its cross-country ability, especially the overweight latest modifications, was unsatisfactory. In total, about 9,500 T-IV tanks of all modifications were produced during the war.
Tank PzKpfw IV. History of creation.
In the 20s and early 30s, the theory of the use of mechanized troops, in particular tanks, developed through trial and error; the views of theorists changed very often. A number of supporters of tanks believed that the appearance of armored vehicles would make tactical point view of the impossible positional war in the style of battles of 1914-1917. In turn, the French relied on the construction of well-fortified long-term defensive positions, such as the Maginot Line. A number of experts believed that the main armament of a tank should be a machine gun, and the main task of armored vehicles is to fight enemy infantry and artillery; the most radically thinking representatives of this school considered a battle between tanks pointless, since, supposedly, neither side would be able to cause damage to the other. There was an opinion that the victory in the battle would be won by the side that could destroy the largest number of enemy tanks. Special guns with special projectiles—anti-tank guns with armor-piercing projectiles—were considered the main means of fighting tanks. In fact, no one knew what the nature of hostilities would be in a future war. The experience of the Spanish Civil War also did not clarify the situation.
The Treaty of Versailles prohibited Germany from having tracked combat vehicles, but could not prevent German specialists from working on studying various theories of using armored vehicles, and the creation of tanks was carried out by the Germans in secrecy. When Hitler abandoned the restrictions of Versailles in March 1935, the young Panzerwaffe already had all the theoretical developments in the field of use and organizational structure of tank regiments.
In mass production under the guise of “agricultural tractors” there were two types of light armed tanks, PzKpfw I and PzKpfw II.
The PzKpfw I tank was considered a training vehicle, while the PzKpfw II was intended for reconnaissance, but it turned out that the “two” remained the most popular tank of the panzer divisions until it was replaced by the PzKpfw III medium tanks, armed with a 37 mm cannon and three machine guns.
The beginning of the development of the PzKpfw IV tank dates back to January 1934, when the army issued a specification to the industry for a new fire support tank weighing no more than 24 tons, future car received the official designation Gesch.Kpfw. (75 mm)(Vskfz.618). Over the next 18 months, specialists from Rheinmetall-Borzing, Krupp and MAN worked on three competing designs for a battalion commander's vehicle (Battalionführerswagnen, abbreviated as BW). The VK 2001/K project, presented by the Krupp company, was recognized as the best, with a turret and hull shape similar to the PzKpfw III tank.
However, the VK 2001/K did not go into production, since the military was not satisfied with the six-wheel chassis with medium-diameter wheels on a spring suspension; it needed to be replaced with a torsion bar. The torsion bar suspension, compared to the spring one, ensured smoother movement of the tank and had a greater vertical travel of the road wheels. Krupp engineers, together with representatives of the Arms Procurement Directorate, agreed on the possibility of using an improved design of spring suspension on the tank with eight small-diameter road wheels on board. However, the Krupp company largely had to revise the proposed original design. In the final version, the PzKpfw IV was a combination of the hull and turret of the VK 2001/K with a chassis newly developed by Krupp.
The PzKpfw IV tank is designed according to the classic layout with a rear engine. The commander's position was located along the axis of the tower directly under the commander's cupola, the gunner was located to the left of the breech of the gun, and the loader was to the right. In the control compartment, located in the front part of the tank hull, there were workstations for the driver (to the left of the vehicle axis) and the radio operator (to the right). Between the driver's and shooter's seats there was a transmission. An interesting feature of the tank’s design was the displacement of the turret by about 8 cm to the left of the longitudinal axis of the vehicle, and the engine by 15 cm to the right to allow passage of the shaft connecting the engine and transmission. This design decision made it possible to increase the internal reserved volume on the right side of the hull to accommodate the first shots, which could be most easily reached by the loader. The turret rotation drive is electric.
The suspension and chassis consisted of eight small-diameter road wheels grouped into two-wheeled bogies suspended on leaf springs, drive wheels, sloths installed in the rear of the tank, and four rollers supporting the track. Throughout the entire history of operation of the PzKpfw IV tanks, their chassis remained unchanged, only minor modifications were introduced. The prototype of the tank was manufactured at the Krupp plant in Essen and was tested in 1935-36.
Description of the PzKpfw IV tank
Armor protection.
In 1942, consulting engineers Mertz and McLillan conducted a detailed examination of the captured PzKpfw IV Ausf.E tank, in particular, they carefully studied its armor.
— Several armor plates were tested for hardness, all of them were machined. The hardness of the machined armor plates on the outside and inside was 300-460 Brinell.
— The 20 mm thick applied armor plates, which reinforce the armor of the hull sides, are made of homogeneous steel and have a hardness of about 370 Brinell. The reinforced side armor is unable to "hold" 2 pound shells fired from 1000 yards.
On the other hand, shelling of a tank carried out in the Middle East in June 1941 showed that a distance of 500 yards (457 m) can be considered as the limit for effectively hitting a PzKpfw IV in the frontal area with fire from a 2-pounder gun. A report prepared in Woolwich on a study of the armor protection of a German tank notes that “the armor is 10% better than similar machined English armor, and in some respects even better than homogeneous armor.”
At the same time, the method of connecting armor plates was criticized; a specialist from Leyland Motors commented on his research: “The welding quality is poor, the welds of two of the three armor plates in the area where the projectile hit came apart.”
Power point.
The Maybach engine is designed to operate in moderate climatic conditions, where its characteristics are satisfactory. At the same time, in tropical or highly dusty conditions, it breaks down and is prone to overheating. British intelligence, after studying the PzKpfw IV tank captured in 1942, concluded that engine failures were caused by sand getting into the oil system, distributor, dynamo and starter; air filters are inadequate. There have been frequent cases of sand getting into the carburetor.
The Maybach engine operating manual requires the use of gasoline only with an octane number of 74 with a complete lubricant change after 200, 500, 1000 and 2000 km. The recommended engine speed under normal operating conditions is 2600 rpm, but in hot climates (southern regions of the USSR and North Africa) this speed does not provide normal cooling. Using the engine as a brake is permissible at 2200-2400 rpm; at a speed of 2600-3000 this mode should be avoided.
The main components of the cooling system were two radiators installed at an angle of 25 degrees to the horizontal. The radiators were cooled by an air flow forced by two fans; The fans are driven by a belt from the main engine shaft. Water circulation in the cooling system was ensured by a centrifuge pump. Air entered the engine compartment through an opening on the right side of the hull, covered by an armored damper, and was exhausted out through a similar opening on the left side.
The synchro-mechanical transmission proved efficient, although pulling force in high gears was low, so 6th gear was used only for highway driving. The output shafts are combined with the braking and turning mechanism into a single device. To cool this device, a fan was installed to the left of the clutch box. The simultaneous release of the steering control levers could be used as an effective parking brake.
On tanks of later versions, the spring suspension of the road wheels was heavily overloaded, but replacing the damaged two-wheeled bogie seemed to be a fairly simple operation. The track tension was regulated by the position of the sloth mounted on the eccentric. On the Eastern Front, special track extenders known as "Ostketten" were used, which improved the maneuverability of tanks in winter months year.
German medium tank PzKpfw IV Ausf. B on the training ground during an exercise.
An extremely simple but effective device for putting on a slipped track was tested on an experimental PzKpfw IV tank. It was a factory-made tape that had the same width as the tracks, and was perforated to engage with the drive wheel ring gear. One end of the tape was attached to the slipped track, and the other, after it was passed over the rollers, to the drive wheel. The motor turned on, the drive wheel began to rotate, pulling the tape and the tracks attached to it until the rims of the drive wheel entered the slots on the tracks. The whole operation took a few minutes.
The engine was started by a 24-volt electric starter. Since the auxiliary electric generator saved battery power, it was possible to try to start the engine more times on the “four” than on the PzKpfw III tank. In case of starter failure, or when the lubricant thickened in severe frost, an inertial starter was used, the handle of which was connected to the engine shaft through a hole in the rear armor plate. The handle was turned by two people at the same time; the minimum number of turns of the handle required to start the engine was 60 rpm. Starting the engine from an inertia starter has become commonplace in the Russian winter. Minimum temperature engine, at which it began to work normally was t = 50 deg. C with a shaft rotation of 2000 rpm.
To facilitate engine starting in the cold climate of the Eastern Front, a special system was developed known as the “Kuhlwasserubertragung” - a cold water heat exchanger. After the engine of one tank was started and warmed up to normal temperature, warm water from it was pumped into the cooling system of the next tank, and cold water was supplied to the already running motor - an exchange of coolants between the running and non-running motors took place. After the warm water warmed up the engine somewhat, you could try starting the engine with an electric starter. The Kuhlwasserubertragung system required minor modifications to the tank's cooling system.
Guns and optics.
The 75 mm L/24 howitzer installed on early models of the PzKpfw IV tank had a barrel with 28 rifling 0.85 mm deep and a semi-automatic vertical sliding bolt. The gun was equipped with a clinometric sight, which, if necessary, allowed the tank to conduct targeted fire from closed positions. The barrel recoil cylinder protruded beyond the gun mantlet and covered most of gun barrel. The gun cradle was heavier than required, resulting in a slight imbalance in the turret.
The tank gun's ammunition included high-explosive, anti-tank, smoke and grapeshot shells. The gunner aimed the cannon and the coaxial machine gun at the elevation angle, rotating a special steering wheel with his left hand. The turret could be deployed either electrically by switching a toggle switch, or manually, for which a steering wheel installed to the right of the weapon vertical guidance mechanism was used. Both the gunner and the loader could deploy the turret manually; the maximum speed of manual rotation of the turret by the efforts of the gunner was 1.9 g/s, and by the gunner - 2.6 g/s.
The electric drive for turning the turret is mounted on the left side of the turret, the turning speed is controlled manually, the maximum turning speed using an electric drive reaches 14 g/s (about two times lower than on British tanks), the minimum is -0.14 g/s. Since the motor responds to control signals with a delay, it is difficult to track a moving target while rotating the turret using an electric drive. The gun is fired using an electric trigger, the button of which is mounted on the steering wheel of the manual drive for turning the turret. The barrel recoil mechanism after a shot has a hydropneumatic shock absorber. The tower is equipped with various instruments and devices that provide safe working conditions for crew members.
German tank PzKpfw IV Ausf. G on the march in Normandy.
The installation of long-barreled L/43 and L/48 guns instead of the short-barreled L/24 led to an imbalance in the turret gun mount (the barrel outweighed the breech); to compensate for the increased weight of the barrel, a special spring had to be installed; the spring was installed in a metal cylinder in the right front segment of the tower. More powerful guns also had stronger recoil when fired, which required redesigning the recoil mechanism, which became wider and longer, but despite the modifications, the recoil of the barrel after a shot still increased by 50 mm compared to the recoil of the barrel of a 24-caliber gun. When making marches under their own power or when transporting by rail, in order to slightly increase the free internal volume, 43- and 48-caliber guns were raised at an angle of 16 degrees and fixed in this position with a special external folding support
The telescopic sight of the long-barreled 75-mm cannon had two rotating scales and had a fairly high level of integration for its time. The first scale, the distance scale, rotated around its axis; aiming marks for firing from a cannon and machine gun were applied to the scale in different quadrants; shooting scale high explosive shells(Gr34) and for firing from a machine gun was graduated within the range of 0-3200 m, while the scales for firing armor-piercing projectiles (PzGr39 and PzGr40) were graduated, respectively, at a distance of 0-2400 m and 0-1400 m. The second scale, scale sighting shifted in the vertical plane. Both scales could move simultaneously, the sight scale raised or lowered, and the distance scale rotated. To hit the selected target, the distance scale was rotated until the required mark was positioned opposite the mark on the top of the sight, and the sight scale mark was superimposed on the target by turning the turret and pointing the gun in the vertical plane.
German medium tanks PzKpfw IV Ausf H during an exercise to practice crew interaction. Germany, June 1944
In many respects, the PzKpfw IV tank was a perfect fighting vehicle for its time. Inside the commander's turret of the tank, a scale was applied, graduated in the range from 1 to 12, in each sector it was divided by divisions into another 24 intervals. When the turret was turned, due to a special gear transmission, the commander's cupola rotated in the opposite direction at the same speed so that the number 12 constantly remained on center line machine body. This design made it easier for the commander to find the next target and point the direction towards it to the gunner. An indicator was installed to the left of the gunner's position, repeating the breakdown of the scale of the commander's cupola and rotating in the same way. After receiving a command from the commander, the gunner turned the turret in the indicated direction (for example, 10 o’clock), checking the repeater scale, and after visually detecting the target, he aimed the gun at it.
The driver had a turret rotation indicator in the form of two blue lights, indicating in which direction the gun was deployed. It was important for the driver to know in which direction the gun barrel was pointed, so as not to catch it on any obstacle while moving. On PzKpfw IV tanks of the latest modifications, warning lights were not installed for the driver.
The tank's ammunition load, armed with a cannon with a 24-caliber barrel, consisted of 80 cannon shells and 2,700 machine gun rounds. On tanks with long-barreled guns, the ammunition load was 87 shells and 3,150 rounds of ammunition. It was not easy for the loader to get to most of the ammunition. The ammunition for the machine guns was in drum-type magazines with a capacity of 150 rounds. In general, the German tank was inferior to the British in terms of ease of placement of ammunition. The installation of the directional machine gun on the “four” was unbalanced; the barrel was outweighed; to correct this shortcoming, it was necessary to install a balancing spring. For emergency escape from the control compartment, there was a round hatch with a diameter of 43 cm in the floor under the radio operator’s seat.
On early versions of the PzKpfw IV, guides for smoke grenades were mounted on the rear armor plate; each guide carried up to five grenades held by springs. The tank commander could launch grenades, either individually or in series. The launch was carried out by means of a wire rod; each jerk of the rod caused the rod to rotate 1/5 of a full turn and released another spring. After the appearance of smoke grenade launchers new design, which were mounted on the sides of the tower, the old system was abandoned. The commander's cupola was equipped with armored shutters that covered observation glass blocks; the armored shutters could be installed in three positions: completely closed, fully open and intermediate. The driver's inspection glass block was also closed with an armored shutter. German optics of that time had a slight greenish tint.
Tank PzKpfw IV Ausf.A (Sonderkraftfahrzeug - Sd.Kfz.161)
The first model to go into mass production at the Krupp plant in Magdeburg-Bukkau in 1936 was the “Ausfurung A”. Structurally and technologically, the vehicle was similar to the PzKpfw III tank: chassis, hull, hull superstructure, turret. The Ausf.A tanks were equipped with 12-cylinder Maybach HL108TR internal combustion engines with a power of 250 hp. The ZF Allklauen SFG 75 transmission had five forward gears and one reverse gear.
The tank's armament consisted of a 75 mm gun and a coaxial 7.92 mm machine gun; another 7.92 mm machine gun was installed in the tank's hull; ammunition - 122 rounds for the cannon and 3000 rounds for two machine guns. Observation devices covered by armored shutters were located in the frontal plate of the turret, to the left and right of the gun mantlet and in the side turret hatches; in addition, there was one embrasure on the sides of the turret (also closed by an armored shutter) for firing from personal weapons.
A commander's cupola of a simple cylindrical shape, which had eight viewing slots, was mounted at the rear of the tower roof. The turret had a single-leaf hinged hatch. The turn of the turret was controlled by the gunner; the electric turn drive was powered by a two-stroke auxiliary electric generator “DKW” installed in the left side of the engine compartment. The electric generator made it possible not to waste battery power on turning the tower and saved the life of the main engine. The engine compartment was separated from the combat compartment by a fire partition, which had a hatch for access to the engine from inside the tank. Three fuel tanks with a total capacity of 453 liters were located under the floor of the fighting compartment.
The positions of the gunner-radio operator and driver were located in the front part of the tank; in the roof of the hull above the seats of both crew members there were double hatches with openings in the covers for starting flares; the holes were closed with armored flaps. The thickness of the Ausf.A tank's hull armor was 14.5 mm, the turret was 20 mm, the tank's weight was 17.3 tons, and its maximum speed was 30 km/h. A total of 35 vehicles of the Ausf.A modification were manufactured; Chassis no. 80101 - 80135.
Tank PzKpfw IV Ausf.B
The production of cars of the Ausfurung B model began in 1937, a large number of changes were made to the design of the new modification, the main innovation was the installation of a 320-horsepower Maybach HL120TR engine and a transmission with six forward speeds and one reverse. The thickness of the armor in the frontal part was also increased to 30 mm; on some tanks they began to install commander's turrets of a more advanced form with observation devices covered by armored shutters.
The installation of a course machine gun at the radio operator's gunner was eliminated; instead of a machine gun, a viewing slot and an embrasure for firing a pistol appeared; embrasures for firing from personal weapons were also made in the side turret hatches under the observation devices; The driver's and radio operator's hatches became single-leaf. The weight of the Ausf.B tank increased to 17.7 tons, but due to the use of a more powerful engine, the maximum speed also increased to 40 km/h. A total of 45 PzKpfw IV Ausf.B tanks were built; Chassis no. 80201-80300.
Tank PzKpfw IV Ausf.S
In 1938, the “Ausfurung C” modification appeared; 134 copies of this model were already built (chassis no. 80301-80500). Externally, the Ausf.A, B and C tanks were practically no different from each other, perhaps the only external difference between the Ausf.C tank and the Ausf. B became an armored mantlet for a coaxial machine gun, which was absent on previous models of tanks.
On tanks PzKpfw IV Ausf. From later releases, a special frame was mounted under the gun barrel, which served to deflect the antenna when the turret was turned to the right; similar deflectors were mounted on Ausf.A and Ausf.B vehicles. The armor protection of the frontal part of the turret of the Ausf.C tank was increased to 30 mm, and the weight of the vehicle increased to 18.5 tons, although the maximum speed on the highway remained the same - 35 km/h.
The tank was equipped with a modernized Maybach HL120TRM engine of the same power; this engine became standard for all subsequent variants of the PzKpfw IV.
Tank PzKpfw IV Ausf.D
The turret armament of the Ausf.A, B and C tanks was mounted in an internal mantlet, which could easily be jammed by shell fragments; Since 1939, the production of Ausfurung D tanks began, which had an external mantlet; tanks of this modification again had a front-facing machine gun; the embrasure for firing a pistol through the frontal armor plate of the hull was shifted closer to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle.
The thickness of the armor on the sides and rear of the hull was increased to 20 mm; tanks of later production were fitted with overhead armor, which was bolted to the hull and superstructure or welded on.
As a result of various modifications, the weight of the tank increased to 20 tons. Before the start of World War II, only 45 Ausfurung D tanks were produced; a total of 229 vehicles of this modification were built (chassis no. 80501-80748) - more than Ausf.A, B and C tanks combined. Some PzKpfw IV Ausf.D tanks were subsequently equipped with 75-mm cannons with a 48-caliber barrel length; these vehicles were used mainly in training units.
Tank PzKpfw IV Ausf.E
The next step in the development of tanks of the PzKpfw IV family was the Ausfurung E model, with increased armor in the frontal part of the hull due to the addition of 30 mm screens (total thickness - 50 mm), the sides of the hull were increased with 20 mm thick screens. The weight of the Ausf.E tank was already 21 tons. During factory repairs, applied armor began to be installed on the “fours” of earlier modifications.
On the PzKpfw IV Ausf.E tanks, the commander's cupola was moved slightly forward, and its armor was increased from 50 mm to 95 mm; New design support rollers and simplified drive wheels were installed. Other innovations include a driver's observation device with a larger glass area, an installation for launching smoke grenades mounted in the rear of the hull (similar installations began to be installed on cars of previous models), hatches for inspecting the brakes are made flush with the upper armor plate of the hull (on Ausf.A-D hatches protruded above the armor plate and there were cases when they were torn off by anti-tank rifle bullets). Serial production of Ausf.E model tanks began in December 1939. 224 vehicles of this modification were manufactured (chassis numbers 80801-81500), before production in April 1941 switched to the release of the next version - “Ausfurung F”.
Tank PzKpfw IV Ausf.F1
The PzKpfw IV Ausf.F tanks had a thickness of integral frontal armor of the hull and turret of 50 mm, and sides of 30 mm; overhead armored screens were missing. The turret's armor was 50 mm thick at the front, 30 mm thick on the sides and rear, and the gun mantlet was also 50 mm thick. The increased armor protection did not leave its mark on the mass of the tank, which again increased to 22.3 tons. As a result, the specific load on the ground went beyond the permissible limits; instead of tracks with a track width of 380 mm, it was necessary to use a track with tracks 400 mm wide and carry out the appropriate modifications to drive wheels and idlers.
On early production vehicles, new tracks were installed after inserting expansion inserts into the drive wheels and idlers. Instead of a single-leaf hatch, the commander's turrets of the Ausf.F tanks received double-leaf hatches, and a large box for equipment began to be mounted on the rear walls of the turrets at the factory; The course machine gun was mounted in a Kugelblende-50 ball mount of a new design. A total of 462 PzKpfw IV Ausf.F tanks were manufactured.
In addition to the Krupp company, Ausf.F models were produced by the Vomag (64 tanks assembled, chassis no. 82501-82395) and Nibelungwerke (13 tanks 82601-82613) factories. Tank chassis numbers produced by the Krupp plant in Magdeburg are 82001-82395. Later, the Austrian company Steyr-Daimler-Puch joined the production of PzKpfw IV tanks, and the Vomag company (Vogtiandischie Maschinenfabrik AG) in 1940-41. built a new plant in Plauen specifically for the production of fours.
Tank PzKpfw IV Ausf.F2 (Sd.Kfz.161/1)
In the months leading up to the start of Operation Barbarossa, the possibility of arming the PzKpfw IV tanks with a 50-mm gun with a 42-caliber barrel length, similar to that installed on the PzKpfw III tanks, was considered. Hitler was extremely interested in this project, since it was possible to transfer the “four” from the category of fire support vehicles to the category of main battle tanks. However, the experience of the war in Russia made obvious not only the fact that the German 50-mm gun was inferior to the 76-mm Soviet one, but also the complete inability of a 50-mm cannon with a 42-caliber barrel to penetrate the armor of Soviet tanks. Arming PzKpfw IV tanks with 50-mm guns with a barrel length of 60 calibers was seen as more promising; one such experimental vehicle was built.
The history of tank armament has fully demonstrated Germany’s unpreparedness for waging a long war, and the absence of finished projects second generation tanks. The morale of the Panzerwaffe soldiers and officers was greatly affected by the unpleasant discovery of the overwhelming superiority in the characteristics of the tanks in service with the Red Army.
The problem of restoring parity has acquired exceptional importance. PzKpfw III tanks began to be armed with guns with a barrel length of 60 calibers, since the turret ring of the “four” had a larger diameter than the shoulder strap of the “troika”, then if a 50-mm gun with a barrel length of 60 calibers was installed on the PzKpfw IV, the result was a chassis that was too large and too small gun. The Quartet's turret could withstand a recoil impulse greater than that of a short-barreled 75-mm cannon, and it was possible to install a 75-mm gun with high pressure in the bore.
The choice was made in favor of the 75-mm KwK40 cannon with a 43-caliber barrel length and a muzzle brake, the projectile of which could penetrate armor up to 89 mm thick at an impact angle of 30 degrees. After such guns began to be installed on the PzKpfw IV, the designation of the vehicle changed to “Ausfuhrung F2”, while vehicles of the same modification, but armed with short-barreled guns, received the designation “Ausfuhrung F1”.
The gun's ammunition consisted of 87 shells, 32 of which were placed in the hull superstructure, 33 in the tank hull. Among the smaller external differences of the Ausfuhrung F2 tanks is the absence of observation devices in the side turret hatches and an enlarged armored casing of the recoil mechanism.
The Ausfuhrung F2 tanks entered service at the beginning of 1942 and proved in practice their ability to fight the Soviet T-34 and KB, although the armor of the “fours” was still insufficient by the standards of the Eastern Front. The tank's weight, which increased to 23.6 tons, somewhat worsened its characteristics.
25 PzKpfw IV Ausf tanks were converted into the “Ausfuhrung F2” variant. F, about 180 more vehicles were built from scratch, production ceased in the summer of 1942. Chassis no. of tanks built by Krupp - 82396-82500, chassis no. of tanks built by Vomag - 82565-82600, chassis no. of tanks built Nibelungwerke - 82614-82700.
Tank PzKpfw IV Ausf.G (Sd.Kfz.161/1 and 161/2)
Attempts to improve the tank's protection led to the appearance of the "Ausfuhrung G" modification at the end of 1942. The designers knew that the weight limit that the chassis could withstand had already been chosen, so they had to make a compromise solution - dismantling the 20-mm side screens that were installed on all “fours”, starting with the “E” model, while simultaneously increasing the base armor of the hull to 30 mm, and due to the saved weight, install 30 mm thick overhead screens in the frontal part.
Another measure to increase the tank’s security was the installation of removable anti-cumulative screens (“schurzen”) 5 mm thick on the sides of the hull and turret; adding screens increased the weight of the vehicle by about 500 kg. In addition, the gun's single-chamber muzzle brake was replaced with a more effective two-chamber one. Appearance The vehicle also underwent a number of other changes: instead of the aft smoke launcher, built-in blocks of smoke grenade launchers began to be mounted in the corners of the turret, and the holes for launching signal flares in the driver and gunner hatches were eliminated.
By the end of the serial production of the PzKpfw IV "Ausfuhrung G" tanks, their standard main weapon became a 75-mm gun with a barrel length of 48 calibers, and the commander's cupola hatch became single-leaf. The PzKpfw IV Ausf.G tanks of later production are almost identical in appearance to the early vehicles of the Ausf.N modification. From May 1942 to June 1943, 1687 tanks of the Ausf.G model were manufactured, an impressive figure considering that in five years, from the end of 1937 to the summer of 1942, 1300 PzKpfw IV of all modifications were built (Ausf.A -F2), chassis No. - 82701-84400.
In 1944 it was manufactured tank PzKpfw IV Ausf.G with hydrostatic drive of the drive wheels. The drive design was developed by specialists from the Tsanradfabrik company in Augsburg. The main Maybach engine drove two oil pumps, which in turn activated two hydraulic motors connected by output shafts to the drive wheels. The entire power plant was located in the rear of the hull; accordingly, the drive wheels had a rear location, rather than the front one that is usual for the PzKpfw IV. The speed of the tank was controlled by the driver, controlling the oil pressure created by the pumps.
After the war, the experimental machine came to the USA and was tested by specialists from the Vickers company from Detroit, this company at that time was engaged in work in the field of hydrostatic drives. The tests had to be interrupted due to material failures and a lack of spare parts. Currently, the PzKpfw IV Ausf.G tank with hydrostatic drive wheels is on display in the US Army Tank Museum, Aberdeen, USA. Maryland.
Tank PzKpfw IV Ausf.H (Sd.Kfz. 161/2)
The installation of a long-barreled 75 mm gun turned out to be a rather controversial measure. The gun led to excessive overload of the front part of the tank, the front springs were under constant pressure, and the tank acquired a tendency to sway even when moving on a flat surface. It was possible to get rid of the unpleasant effect with the “Ausfuhrung H” modification, which was put into production in March 1943.
On tanks of this model, the integral armor of the frontal part of the hull, superstructure and turret was strengthened to 80 mm. The PzKpfw IV Ausf.H tank weighed 26 tons and even despite the use of the new SSG-77 transmission, its characteristics turned out to be lower than those of the “fours” of previous models, so the speed over rough terrain decreased by no less than 15 km, the specific pressure on the ground, the acceleration characteristics of the vehicle dropped. A hydrostatic transmission was tested on the experimental PzKpfw IV Ausf.H tank, but tanks with such a transmission did not go into mass production.
During the production process, many minor modifications were introduced to the Ausf.H model tanks, in particular, they began to install all-steel rollers without trim, the shape of the drive wheels and idlers changed, a turret for the MG-34 anti-aircraft machine gun (“Fligerbeschussgerat 42” - installation of an anti-aircraft gun) appeared on the commander’s cupola. machine gun), the tower embrasures for firing pistols and the hole in the roof of the tower for launching signal flares were eliminated.
Ausf.H tanks were the first “fours” to use Zimmerit antimagnetic coating; Only the vertical surfaces of the tank were supposed to be covered with zimmerit, but in practice the coating was applied to all surfaces that could be reached by an infantryman standing on the ground; on the other hand, there were also tanks on which only the forehead of the hull and superstructure were covered with zimmerit. Zimmerit was applied both in factories and in the field.
Tanks of the Ausf.H modification became the most popular among all PzKpfw IV models, 3,774 of them were built, production ceased in the summer of 1944. Factory chassis numbers - 84401-89600, some of these chassis served as the basis for the construction of assault guns.
Tank PzKpfw IV Ausf.J (Sd.Kfz.161/2)
The last model launched into the series was the modification “Ausfuhrung J”. Vehicles of this variant began to enter service in June 1944. From a design point of view, the PzKpfw IV Ausf.J represented a step back.
Instead of an electric drive for turning the turret, a manual one was installed, but it became possible to install an additional fuel tank with a capacity of 200 liters. Increasing the cruising range on the highway from 220 km to 300 km (off-road - from 130 km to 180 km) by placing additional fuel seemed to be an extremely important decision, since panzer divisions increasingly played the role of “fire brigades”, which were transferred from one sector of the Eastern Front to another.
An attempt to somewhat reduce the weight of the tank was the installation of welded wire anti-cumulative screens; such screens were called “Tom screens”, after the surname of General Tom). Such screens were installed only on the sides of the hull, and the previous screens made of sheet steel remained on the towers. On tanks of late production, instead of four rollers, three were installed, and vehicles were also produced with steel road wheels without rubber
Almost all modifications were aimed at reducing the labor intensity of tank production, including: the elimination of all embrasures on the tank for firing pistols and extra viewing slots (only the driver's, in the commander's cupola and in the frontal armor plate of the tower remained), installation of simplified towing loops , replacing the muffler with an exhaust system with two simple pipes. Another attempt to improve the vehicle's security was to increase the armor of the turret roof by 18 mm and the rear armor by 26 mm.
Production of PzKpfw IV Ausf.J tanks ceased in March 1945; a total of 1,758 vehicles were built.
By 1944, it became clear that the design of the tank had exhausted all reserves for modernization; a revolutionary attempt to increase the combat effectiveness of the PzKpfw IV by installing a turret from the Panther tank, armed with a 75-mm gun with a barrel length of 70 calibers, was not crowned with success - the chassis turned out to be too overloaded. Before installing the Panther turret, the designers tried to squeeze the Panther cannon into the turret of the PzKpfw IV tank. Installation wooden model The gun showed the complete impossibility of crew members working in the turret due to the tightness created by the breech of the gun. As a consequence of this failure, the idea was born to mount the entire turret from the Panther on the Pz.IV hull.
Due to the constant modernization of tanks during factory repairs, it is not possible to accurately determine how many tanks of one modification or another were built. Very often there were various hybrid options, for example, turrets from Ausf.G were installed on the hulls of the Ausf.D model.
Tactical and technical characteristics of Pz IV tanks
| PzKpfw IV | |
| Crew | |
| Length (mm) | |
| Width | |
| Height | |
| Track | |
| Clearance | |
| Combat weight (kg) | |
| Ground pressure | |
| Cruising range: highway (km) | |
| along the country road | |
| Speed (km/h) | |
| Fuel consumption (l/100 km) | |
| Armor (mm): | |
| Body: forehead | |
| board | |
| stern | |
| Tower: forehead | |
| board | |
| stern |
| PzKpfw IV | |
| Crew | |
| Length (mm) | |
| Width | |
| Height | |
| Track | |
| Clearance | |
| Combat weight (kg) | |
| Ground pressure | |
| Cruising range: highway (km) | |
| along the country road | |
| Speed (km/h) | |
| Fuel consumption (l/100 km) | |
| Armor (mm): | |
| Body: forehead | |
| board | |
| stern | |
| Tower: forehead | |
| board | |
| stern |
| PzKpfw IV | |
| Crew | |
| Length (mm) | |
| Width | |
| Height | |
| Track | |
| Clearance | |
| Combat weight (kg) | |
| Ground pressure | |
| Cruising range: highway (km) | |
| along the country road | |
| Speed (km/h) | |
| Fuel consumption (l/100 km) | |
| Armor (mm): | |
| Body: forehead | |
| board | |
| stern | |
| Tower: forehead | |
| board | |
| stern |
| PzKpfw IV | |
| Crew | |
| Length (mm) | |
| Width | |
| Height | |
| Track | |
| Clearance | |
| Combat weight (kg) | |
| Ground pressure | |
| Cruising range: highway (km) | |
| along the country road | |
| Speed (km/h) | |
| Fuel consumption (l/100 km) | |
| Armor (mm): | |
| Body: forehead | |
| board | |
| stern | |
| Tower: forehead | |
| board | |
| stern |
| PzKpfw IV | |
| Crew | |
| Length (mm) | |
| Width | |
| Height | |
| Track | |
| Clearance | |
| Combat weight (kg) | |
| Ground pressure | |
| Cruising range: highway (km) | |
| along the country road | |
| Speed (km/h) | |
| Fuel consumption (l/100 km) | |
| Armor (mm): | |
| Body: forehead | |
| board | |
| stern | |
| Tower: forehead | |
| board | |
| stern |
| PzKpfw IV | |
| Crew | |
| Length (mm) | |
| Width | |
| Height | |
| Track | |
| Clearance | |
| Combat weight (kg) | |
| Ground pressure | |
| Cruising range: highway (km) | |
| along the country road | |
| Speed (km/h) | |
| Fuel consumption (l/100 km) | |
| Armor (mm): | |
| Body: forehead | |
| board | |
| stern | |
| Tower: forehead | |
| board | |
| stern |
| PzKpfw IV | |
| Crew | |
| Length (mm) | |
| Width | |
| Height | |
| Track | |
| Clearance | |
| Combat weight (kg) | |
| Ground pressure | |
| Cruising range: highway (km) | |
| along the country road | |
| Speed (km/h) | |
| Fuel consumption (l/100 km) | |
| Armor (mm): | |
| Body: forehead | |
| board | |
| stern | |
| Tower: forehead | |
| board | |
| stern |
| PzKpfw IV | |
| Crew | |
| Length (mm) | |
| Width | |
| Height | |
| Track | |
| Clearance | |
| Combat weight (kg) | |
| Ground pressure | |
| Cruising range: highway (km) | |
| along the country road | |
| Speed (km/h) | |
| Fuel consumption (l/100 km) | |
| Armor (mm): | |
| Body: forehead | |
| board | |
| stern | |
| Tower: forehead | |
| board | |
| stern |
| PzKpfw IV | |
| Crew | |
| Length (mm) | |
| Width | |
| Height | |
| Track | |
| Clearance | |
| Combat weight (kg) | |
| Ground pressure | |
| Cruising range: highway (km) | |
| along the country road | |
| Speed (km/h) | |
| Fuel consumption (l/100 km) | |
| Armor (mm): | |
| Body: forehead | |
| board | |
| stern | |
| Tower: forehead | |
| board | |
| stern |
| PzKpfw IV | |
| Crew | |
| Length (mm) | |
| Width | |
| Height | |
| Track | |
| Clearance | |
| Combat weight (kg) | |
| Ground pressure | |
| Cruising range: highway (km) | |
| along the country road | |
| Speed (km/h) | |
| Fuel consumption (l/100 km) | |
| Armor (mm): | |
| Body: forehead | |
| board | |
| stern | |
| Tower: forehead | |
| board | |
| stern |
“Panzerkampfwagen IV” (“PzKpfw IV”, also “Pz. IV”; in the USSR it was also known as “T‑IV”) - a medium tank of the Wehrmacht armored forces during the Second World War. There is a version that Pz IV was originally classified German side, like a heavy tank, but it is not documented.
The most popular tank of the Wehrmacht: 8,686 vehicles were produced; It was mass-produced from 1937 to 1945 in several modifications. The constantly increasing armament and armor of the tank in most cases allowed the PzKpfw IV to effectively resist tanks of a similar class. French tanker Pierre Danois wrote about the PzKpfw IV (in modification, at that time, with a short-barreled 75-mm cannon): “This medium tank was superior to our B1 and B1 bis in all respects, including armament and, to some extent, armor "
History of creation
Under the terms of the Versailles Peace Treaty, Germany, defeated in World War I, was prohibited from having armored forces, with the exception of a small number of armored vehicles for police use. But despite this, already since 1925, the Reichswehr Armament Directorate had been secretly working on the creation of tanks. Until the early 1930s, these developments did not go beyond the construction of prototypes, both because of the insufficient characteristics of the latter and because of the weakness of German industry of that period. However, by mid-1933, German designers managed to create their first serial tank, the Pz.Kpfw.I, and began mass production during 1933-1934. The Pz.Kpfw.I, with its machine gun armament and two-man crew, was considered only as a transitional model on the way to the construction of more advanced tanks. The development of two of them began back in 1933 - a more powerful “transitional” tank, the future Pz.Kpfw.II, and a full-fledged battle tank, the future Pz.Kpfw.III, armed with a 37-mm cannon, intended mainly to combat other armored vehicles.
Due to the initial limitations of the PzIII's armament, it was decided to complement it with a fire support tank, with a longer-range cannon with a powerful fragmentation shell capable of hitting anti-tank defenses beyond the range of other tanks. In January 1934, the Armament Directorate organized a competition of projects to create a vehicle of this class, whose mass would not exceed 24 tons. Since work on armored vehicles in Germany at that time was still carried out in secret, the new project, like the others, was given the code name “support vehicle” (German: Begleitwagen, usually shortened to B.W.; a number of sources give incorrect names in German: Bataillonwagen and German Bataillonfuehrerwagen). From the very beginning, the companies Rheinmetall and Krupp began developing projects for the competition, later joined by Daimler-Benz and M.A.N. Over the next 18 months, all companies presented their developments, and the Rheinmetall project under the designation VK 2001 (Rh) was even manufactured in metal as a prototype in 1934-1935.
Tank Pz.Kpfw. IV Ausf. J (Armored Vehicle Museum - Latrun, Israel)
All the presented projects had a chassis with a staggered arrangement of large-diameter road wheels and the absence of support rollers, with the exception of the same VK 2001 (Rh), which generally inherited the chassis with small-diameter road wheels interlocked in pairs and side screens from the experimental Nb heavy tank. Fz. The best of them was eventually recognized as the Krupp project - VK 2001 (K), but the Armament Directorate was not satisfied with its leaf spring suspension, which they demanded to replace with a more advanced torsion bar one. However, Krupp insisted on using a chassis with medium-diameter rollers interlocked in pairs on a spring suspension, borrowed from the rejected Pz.Kpfw.III prototype of its own design. In order to avoid the inevitable delays in reworking the project for torsion bar suspension in the start of production of the tank, which was urgently needed by the army, the Armament Directorate was forced to agree to Krupp’s proposal. After further refinement of the project, Krupp received an order for the production of a pre-production batch of a new tank, which by that time had received the designation “armored vehicle with a 75-mm gun” (German: 7.5 cm Geschütz-Panzerwagen) or, according to the end-to-end designation system adopted at that time, "experimental sample 618" (German: Versuchskraftfahrzeug 618 or Vs.Kfz.618). Since April 1936, the tank acquired its final designation - Panzerkampfwagen IV or Pz.Kpfw.IV. In addition, it was assigned the index Vs.Kfz.222, which previously belonged to the Pz.Kpfw.II.
Tank PzKpfw IV Ausf G. Armored Museum in Kubinka.
Serial production
Panzerkampfwagen IV Ausf.A - Ausf.F1
The first few Pz.Kpfw.IV "zero" series were manufactured in 1936-1937 at the Krupp plant in Essen. Serial production of the first series, 1.Serie/B.W., began in October 1937 at the Krupp-Gruson plant in Magdeburg. A total of 35 tanks of this modification, designated Panzerkampfwagen IV Ausführung A (Ausf.A - “model A”), were produced until March 1938. According to the unified designation system for German armored vehicles, the tank received the index Sd.Kfz.161. Ausf.A tanks were in many ways still pre-production vehicles and carried bulletproof armor that did not exceed 15-20 mm and poorly protected surveillance devices, especially in the commander's cupola. At the same time, the main design features of the Pz.Kpfw.IV had already been determined at Ausf.A, and although the tank was subsequently subjected to modernization many times, the changes mainly came down to the installation of more powerful armor and weapons, or to unprincipled alterations of individual components.
Immediately after the end of production of the first series, Krupp began production of an improved one - 2.Serie/B.W. or Ausf.B. The most noticeable external difference between the tanks of this modification was the straight upper frontal plate, without a prominent “cabinet” for the driver and with the elimination of the course machine gun, which was replaced by a viewing device and a hatch for firing from personal weapons. The design of the viewing devices was also improved, primarily the commander's cupola, which received armored flaps, and the driver's viewing device. According to other sources, the new commander's cupola was introduced already during the production process, so that some Ausf.B tanks carried the old type commander's cupola. Minor changes affected the landing hatches and various hatches. The frontal armor on the new modification was increased to 30 mm. The tank also received a more powerful engine and a new 6-speed gearbox, which significantly increased its maximum speed, and its range also increased. At the same time, the Ausf.B's ammunition load was reduced to 80 gun rounds and 2,700 machine-gun rounds, instead of 120 and 3,000, respectively, on the Ausf.A. Krupp was given an order to produce 45 Ausf.B tanks, but due to a shortage of components, only 42 vehicles of this modification were actually produced from April to September 1938.
Tank Pz.Kpfw.IV Ausf.A on parade, 1938.
The first relatively widespread modification was 3.Serie/B.W. or Ausf.C. Compared to the Ausf.B, the changes in it were minor - externally, both modifications are distinguishable only by the presence of an armored casing for the barrel of the coaxial machine gun. The remaining changes consisted of replacing the HL 120TR engine with an HL 120TRM of the same power, as well as installing a bumper under the gun barrel on some of the tanks to bend the antenna located on the hull when the turret is rotated. A total of 300 tanks of this modification were ordered, but already in March 1938 the order was reduced to 140 units, as a result of which from September 1938 to August 1939, according to various sources, 140 or 134 tanks were produced, while 6 chassis were transferred for conversion into bridge laying machines.
Museum Pz.Kpfw.IV Ausf.D with additional armor
The next modification, Ausf.D, was produced in two series - 4.Serie/B.W. and 5.Serie/B.W. Most notable external change there was a return to the broken upper frontal plate of the hull and the forward machine gun, which received enhanced protection. The internal mantlet of the gun, which proved vulnerable to lead splashes from bullet hits, was replaced with an external one. The thickness of the side and rear armor of the hull and turret was increased to 20 mm. In January 1938, Krupp received an order for the production of 200 4.Serie/B.W. and 48 5.Serie/B.W., but during production, from October 1939 to May 1941, only 229 of them were completed as tanks, while the remaining 19 were allocated for the construction of specialized variants. Some of the later Ausf.D tanks were produced in a “tropical” version (German tropen or Tp.), with additional ventilation holes in the engine compartment. A number of sources speak of reinforcement of armor carried out in units or during repairs in 1940-1941, which was carried out by bolting additional 20-mm sheets onto the upper side and front plates of the tank. According to other sources, later production vehicles were standardly equipped with additional 20 mm side and 30 mm frontal armor plates of the Ausf.E type. Several Ausf.Ds were re-equipped with long-barreled KwK 40 L/48 guns in 1943, but these converted tanks were used only as training tanks.
Tank Pz.Kpfw.IV Ausf.B or Ausf.C during exercises. November 1943.
The appearance of a new modification, 6.Serie/B.W. or Ausf.E, was caused primarily by the insufficient armor protection of early series vehicles, demonstrated during the Polish campaign. On the Ausf.E, the thickness of the lower frontal plate was increased to 50 mm; in addition, the installation of additional 30 mm plates above the upper front and 20 mm above the side plates became standard, although on a small part of early production tanks additional 30 mm plates were not were installed. The armor protection of the turret, however, remained the same - 30 mm for the front plate, 20 mm for the side and rear plates and 35 mm for the gun mantlet. A new commander's cupola was introduced, with vertical armor thickness from 50 to 95 mm. The slope of the rear wall of the turret was also reduced, which was now made of a single sheet, without a “swell” for the turret, and on late-production vehicles an unarmored box for equipment began to be attached to the rear of the turret. In addition, the Ausf.E tanks were distinguished by a number of less noticeable changes - a new driver's viewing device, simplified drive and guide wheels, an improved design of various hatches and inspection hatches, and the introduction of a turret fan. The order for the sixth series of Pz.Kpfw.IV amounted to 225 units and was completed in full between September 1940 and April 1941, in parallel with the production of Ausf.D tanks.
Pz.Kpfw.IV Ausf.F. Finland, 1941.
Shielding with additional armor (on average 10-12 mm), used on previous modifications, was irrational and was considered only as a temporary solution, which was the reason for the appearance of the next modification, 7.Serie/B.W. or Ausf.F. Instead of using mounted armor, the thickness of the frontal upper plate of the hull, the frontal plate of the turret and the gun mantlet was increased to 50 mm, and the thickness of the sides of the hull and the sides and rear of the turret was increased to 30 mm. The broken upper front plate of the hull was again replaced with a straight one, but this time with the preservation of the forward-facing machine gun, and the side hatches of the turret received double doors. Due to the fact that the mass of the tank after the changes increased by 22.5% compared to the Ausf.A, wider tracks were introduced to reduce the specific ground pressure. Other, less noticeable changes included the introduction of ventilation air intakes in the middle frontal plate to cool the brakes, a different location of mufflers and slightly modified viewing devices due to the thickening of the armor and the installation of a directional machine gun. With the Ausf.F modification, companies other than Krupp joined the production of the Pz.Kpfw.IV for the first time. The latter received the first order for 500 vehicles of the seventh series; later orders for 100 and 25 units were received by Womag and Nibelungenwerke. Of this quantity, from April 1941 to March 1942, before production switched to the Ausf.F2 modification, 462 Ausf.F tanks were produced, 25 of which were converted to Ausf.F2 at the factory.
Tank Pz.Kpfw.IV Ausf.E. Yugoslavia, 1941.
Panzerkampfwagen IV Ausf.F2 - Ausf.J
Although the main purpose of the 75-mm Pz.Kpfw.IV cannon was to destroy unarmored or lightly armored targets, the presence of an armor-piercing projectile in its ammunition allowed the tank to successfully fight armored vehicles protected by bulletproof or light anti-ballistic armor. But against tanks with powerful anti-ballistic armor, such as the British Matilda or the Soviet KV and T-34, it turned out to be completely ineffective. Back in 1940 - early 1941, the successful combat use of the Matilda intensified work to re-equip the PzIV with a weapon with better anti-tank capabilities. On February 19, 1941, by personal order of A. Hitler, work began on arming the tank with a 50-mm Kw.K.38 L/42 cannon, which was also installed on the Pz.Kpfw.III, and subsequently work began on strengthening the Pz.Kpfw's armament. IV also advanced under his control. In April, one Pz.Kpfw.IV Ausf.D was re-equipped with the newer, more powerful 50mm Kw.K.39 L/60 cannon for demonstration to Hitler for his birthday, April 20th. It was even planned to produce a series of 80 tanks with such weapons from August 1941, but by that time the interest of the Armament Directorate (Heereswaffenamt) had shifted to the 75 mm long-barreled gun and these plans were abandoned.
Since the Kw.K.39 had already been approved as armament for the Pz.Kpfw.III, it was decided to choose an even more powerful gun for the Pz.Kpfw.IV, which could not be installed on the Pz.Kpfw.III with its smaller turret ring diameter . Since March 1941, Krupp, as an alternative to the 50-mm cannon, has been considering a new 75-mm cannon with a barrel length of 40 calibers, intended for re-equipping the StuG.III assault guns. At a distance of 400 meters, it penetrated 70 mm armor at an angle of 60°, but since the Armament Directorate required that the gun barrel not protrude beyond the dimensions of the tank hull, its length was reduced to 33 calibers, which resulted in a decrease in armor penetration to 59 mm under the same conditions. It was also planned to develop a sub-caliber armor-piercing projectile with a separating pan, which would penetrate 86 mm armor under the same conditions. Work to re-equip the Pz.Kpfw.IV with a new gun progressed successfully, and in December 1941 the first prototype with a 7.5 cm Kw.K gun was built. L/34.5.
Tank Pz.Kpfw.IV Ausf.F2. France, July 1942.
Meanwhile, the invasion of the USSR began, during which German troops encountered T-34 and KV tanks, which were low-vulnerable to main tank and anti-tank guns Wehrmacht and at the same time carrying a 76-mm cannon, which penetrated the frontal armor of German tanks, which were then in service with the Panzerwaffe at almost any real combat distance. The Special Tank Commission, sent to the front in November 1941 to study this issue, recommended the rearmament of German tanks with a weapon that would allow them to hit Soviet vehicles from long distances, while remaining outside the radius of the latter's effective fire. On November 18, 1941, the development of a tank gun was initiated, similar in its capabilities to the new 75-mm anti-tank gun Pak 40. Such a gun, initially designated Kw.K.44, was developed jointly by Krupp and Rheinmetall. The barrel passed to it from the anti-tank gun without changes, but since the latter's shots were too long for use in a tank, a shorter and thicker sleeve was developed for the tank gun, which entailed reworking the breech of the gun and reducing the overall length of the barrel to 43 calibers. The Kw.K.44 also received a single-chamber spherical muzzle brake, which differed from the anti-tank gun. In this form, the gun was adopted as the 7.5 cm Kw.K.40 L/43.
Pz.Kpfw.IVs with the new gun were initially designated as "converted" (German: 7.Serie/B.W.-Umbau or Ausf.F-Umbau), but soon received the designation Ausf.F2, while the Ausf.F vehicles with the old ones The guns began to be called Ausf.F1 to avoid confusion. The designation of the tank according to the unified system changed to Sd.Kfz.161/1. With the exception of a different gun and associated minor changes, such as the installation of a new sight, new firing positions and slightly modified armor for the gun's recoil devices, the early Ausf.F2s were identical to the Ausf.F1 tanks. After a month's break associated with the transition to a new modification, production of the Ausf.F2 began in March 1942 and continued until July of the same year. A total of 175 tanks of this variant were produced and another 25 were converted from Ausf.F1.
Tank Pz.Kpfw. IV Ausf. G (tail number 727) of the 1st Panzergrenadier Division "Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler". The vehicle was hit by artillerymen of the 4th battery of the 595th anti-tank artillery regiment in the area of the street. Sumskaya in Kharkov, on the night of March 11-12, 1943. On the frontal armor plate, almost in the center, two entrance holes from 76-mm shells are visible.
The appearance of the next modification of the Pz.Kpfw.IV was not initially caused by any changes in the design of the tank. In June - July 1942, by orders of the Armament Directorate, the designation of Pz.Kpfw.IV with long-barreled guns was changed to 8.Serie/B.W. or Ausf.G, and in October the designation Ausf.F2 was finally abolished for previously produced tanks of this modification. The first tanks, released as Ausf.G, were thus identical to their predecessors, but as production continued, more and more changes were made to the tank's design. Ausf.G of early releases still carried the index Sd.Kfz.161/1 according to the end-to-end designation system, which was replaced by Sd.Kfz.161/2 on vehicles of later releases. The first changes made already in the summer of 1942 included a new two-chamber pear-shaped muzzle brake, the elimination of viewing devices in the front side plates of the turret and the loader's inspection hatch in its frontal plate, the transfer of smoke grenade launchers from the rear of the hull to the sides of the turret, and a system for facilitating launch in winter conditions. .
Since the 50 mm frontal armor of the Pz.Kpfw.IV was still insufficient, not providing adequate protection against 57 mm and 76 mm guns, it was again reinforced by welding or, on later production vehicles, bolting additional 30-mm mm of plates above the upper and lower frontal plates of the hull. The thickness of the front plate of the turret and gun mantlet, however, was still 50 mm and did not increase during further modernization of the tank. The introduction of additional armor began with the Ausf.F2, when 8 tanks with increased armor thickness were produced in May 1942, but progress was slow. By November, only about half of the vehicles were produced with reinforced armor, and only from January 1943 did it become standard for all new tanks. Another significant change introduced to the Ausf.G from the spring of 1943 was the replacement of the Kw.K.40 L/43 gun with the Kw.K.40 L/48 with a 48-caliber barrel, which had slightly higher armor penetration. Production of the Ausf.G continued until June 1943; a total of 1,687 tanks of this modification were produced. Of this number, about 700 tanks received reinforced armor and 412 received the Kw.K.40 L/48 gun.
Pz.Kpfw.IV Ausf.H with side screens and zimmerit coating. USSR, July 1944.
The next modification, Ausf.H, became the most widespread. The first tanks under this designation, which rolled off the assembly line in April 1943, differed from the last Ausf.G only in the thickening of the front turret roof sheet to 16 mm and the rear one to 25 mm, as well as reinforced final drives with cast drive wheels, but the first 30 tanks Ausf.H, due to delays in the supply of new components, received only a thicker roof. Since the summer of the same year, instead of additional 30 mm hull armor, solid-rolled 80 mm plates were introduced to simplify production. In addition, hinged anti-cumulative screens made of 5 mm sheets were introduced, installed on most Ausf.H. In this regard, viewing devices on the sides of the hull and turret were eliminated as unnecessary. Since September, tanks have been coated with vertical armor with Zimmerit to protect them from magnetic mines.
Ausf.H tanks of later production received a turret mount for the MG-42 machine gun at the commander's cupola hatch, as well as a vertical rear plate instead of the inclined one that was present on all previous modifications of the tanks. During production, various changes were also introduced to make production cheaper and easier, such as the introduction of non-rubber support rollers and the elimination of the driver's periscopic viewing device. From December 1943, the frontal hull plates began to be connected to the side joints in a “tenon” manner to enhance resistance to shell hits. Production of the Ausf.H continued until July 1944. Data on the number of tanks of this modification produced, given in various sources, vary somewhat, from 3935 chassis, of which 3774 were completed as tanks, to 3960 chassis and 3839 tanks.
The German medium tank Pz.Kpfw destroyed on the Eastern Front. IV lying upside down on the side of the road. Part of the caterpillar in contact with the ground is missing, in the same place there are no rollers with a fragment of the lower part of the hull, a bottom sheet is torn off, and the second caterpillar is torn off. Upper part the machine, as far as can be judged, does not have such fatal destruction. A typical picture of a landmine explosion.
The appearance of the Ausf.J modification on assembly lines in June 1944 was associated with the desire to reduce the cost and simplify the production of the tank as much as possible in the conditions of Germany's deteriorating strategic position. The only, but significant, change that distinguished the first Ausf.J from the last Ausf.H was the elimination of the electric drive for turning the turret and the associated auxiliary carburetor engine with a generator. Soon after the start of production of the new modification, the pistol ports in the stern and sides of the turret, which were useless due to the screens, were eliminated, and the design of other hatches was simplified. Since July, an additional fuel tank with a capacity of 200 liters began to be installed in place of the liquidated auxiliary engine, but the fight against its leakage dragged on until September 1944. In addition, the 12-mm hull roof began to be reinforced by welding additional 16-mm sheets. All subsequent changes were aimed at further simplifying the design, the most notable among them being the abandonment of the Zimmerit coating in September and the reduction in the number of support rollers to three per side in December 1944. Production of tanks of the Ausf.J modification continued almost until the very end of the war, until March 1945, but a decrease in production rates associated with the weakening of German industry and difficulties with the supply of raw materials led to the fact that only 1,758 tanks of this modification were produced.
Production volumes of the T-4 tank
Design
The Pz.Kpfw.IV had a layout with a combined transmission and control compartment located in the front, an engine compartment in the rear, and a fighting compartment in the middle part of the vehicle. The tank's crew consisted of five people: a driver and gunner-radio operator, located in the control compartment, and a gunner, loader and tank commander, located in a three-man turret.
Armored hull and turret
The turret of the PzKpfw IV tank made it possible to modernize the tank's gun. Inside the turret there was a commander, gunner and loader. The commander's position was located directly under the commander's cupola, the gunner was located to the left of the breech of the gun, and the loader was located to the right. Additional protection was provided by anti-cumulative screens, which were also installed on the sides. The commander's cupola at the rear of the turret gave the tank good visibility. The tower had an electric drive for rotation.
Soviet soldiers examine a broken German Pz.Kpfw tank. IV Ausf. N (single-leaf hatch and absence of three-barrel grenade launchers on the turret). The tank is painted in three-color camouflage. Oryol-Kursk direction.
Surveillance and communications equipment
In non-combat conditions, the tank commander, as a rule, conducted observation while standing in the hatch of the commander's cupola. In battle, to view the area, he had five wide viewing slits around the perimeter of the commander's cupola, giving him an all-round view. The commander's viewing slits, like those of all other crew members, were equipped with a protective triplex glass block on the inside. On the Pz.Kpfw.IV Ausf.A the viewing slots did not have any additional cover, but on the Ausf.B the slots were equipped with sliding armor flaps; in this form, the commander’s viewing devices remained unchanged on all subsequent modifications. In addition, on tanks of early modifications, the commander's cupola had a mechanical device for determining the target's heading angle, with the help of which the commander could carry out precise target designation to the gunner, who had a similar device. However, due to excessive complexity, this system was eliminated, starting with the Ausf.F2 modification. The gunner's and loader's viewing devices on Ausf.A - Ausf.F consisted of, for each of them: a viewing hatch with an armored cover without viewing slots, in the front plate of the turret on the sides of the gun mantlet; an inspection hatch with a slot in the front side sheets and an inspection slot in the turret side hatch cover. Starting with the Ausf.G, as well as on some of the Ausf.F2 of late production, the inspection devices in the front side plates and the loader's inspection hatch in the front plate were eliminated. On some tanks of the Ausf.H and Ausf.J modifications, due to the installation of anti-cumulative screens, the viewing devices on the sides of the turret were completely eliminated.
The main means of observation for the driver of the Pz.Kpfw.IV was a wide viewing slot in the front hull plate. On the inside, the gap was protected by a triplex glass block; on the outside, on the Ausf.A it could be closed with a simple folding armor flap; on the Ausf.B and subsequent modifications, it could be closed with a Sehklappe 30 or 50 sliding flap, which was also used on the Pz.Kpfw.III. A periscope binocular viewing device K.F.F.1 was located above the viewing slit on Ausf.A, but it was eliminated on Ausf.B - Ausf.D. On Ausf.E - Ausf.G the viewing device appeared in the form of an improved K.F.F.2, but starting with Ausf.H it was abandoned again. The device was brought out into two holes in the front plate of the body and, if there was no need for it, was moved to the right. The radio operator-gunner on most modifications did not have any means of viewing the frontal sector, in addition to the sight of the forward machine gun, but on Ausf.B, Ausf.C and parts of Ausf.D, in place of the machine gun there was a hatch with a viewing slot in it. Similar hatches were located in the side plates on most Pz.Kpfw.IVs, being eliminated only on Ausf.Js due to the installation of anti-cumulative shields. In addition, the driver had a turret position indicator, one of two lights warned about the turret turning to one side or another in order to avoid damage to the gun when driving in cramped conditions.
For external communications, Pz.Kpfw.IV platoon commanders and above were equipped with a VHF radio station model Fu 5 and a Fu 2 receiver. Linear tanks were equipped only with a Fu 2 receiver. FuG5 had a transmitter power of 10 W and provided a communication range of 9.4 km in telegraph mode and 6.4 km in telephone mode. For internal communications, all Pz.Kpfw.IVs were equipped with a tank intercom for four crew members, with the exception of the loader.
4-02-2017, 21:43
Hello to all lovers of innovation, the site is here! Friends, update 0.9.17 will be released pretty soon, which will bring with it a lot of new things, and now a test client is available to everyone, on which a new German version has appeared heavy tank tenth level and now in front of you Pz.Kpfw. VII guide.
The fact is that with the arrival of the patch, an alternative branch of development of German heavyweights will appear in the game. Cars already familiar to you have moved into it and, well, the logical conclusion will be a new one Pz.Kpfw. VII tank WoT. Let's take a closer look at this innovation so you can understand whether it's worth downloading.
But I hasten to remind you that the testing stage is now open, so by the time of release the parameters of this machine may still change. In addition, in terms of its appearance, the Pz.Kpfw. VII has a twin brother - it is also a top German heavy, but it was given out as a reward for battles on the global map, its name, or as players like to say, is “tapkolev”. However, in terms of performance characteristics, these cars are also similar, but there are quite a lot of differences.
TTX Pz.Kpfw. VII
As always, we will start with the fact that this German has at its disposal not a record-breaking, but very worthy by the standards of the TT-10 safety margin, as well as a good basic viewing range of 400 meters.
In the case of heavy tanks, their security always deserves special attention, and in our case this issue is no less important. U Pz.Kpfw. VII characteristics reservations, on the one hand, are very good, but on the other, there are serious nuances.
To begin with, the hull in the frontal projection is very seriously armored; everywhere the thickness of the armor plates is 240 millimeters, and at a good angle, which is 40 millimeters heavier than that of the VK 72.01(K). In general, you can tank really effectively, but you should be afraid of gold and shots from top tank destroyers.
Our hero's turret is identical to the one installed on the "tapkolv" and from the forehead Pz.Kpfw. VII World of Tanks slightly less protected than the body. However, almost the entire front part is covered by a huge gun mantlet, which has a very advantageous ricochet shape, and the cheeks are perfectly beveled, thanks to which you can catch a lot of ricochets and non-penetrations.
But with the sides heavy tank Pz.Kpfw. VII has serious problems and now you will understand what he means we're talking about. Nominally 160 millimeters of armor is quite bad; with a rear-mounted turret, it could be perfectly tanked with a reverse diamond. But due to the fact that the front part of the hull is narrow, when we turn it in, the base of the tower is exposed to the enemy, and if they shoot there, they will penetrate us very easily.
In terms of driving characteristics, we can immediately say that among the German top heavy tanks we are practically the best, but this does not mean that the tank is very mobile. Pz.Kpfw. VII WoT has a good maximum speed (which is inferior to the maximum speed of the VK 72.01(K)), but has weak dynamics and maneuverability. That is, we are not moving frankly slowly, but rather stiffly, so in general our mobility is weak.
gun
The gun is a fundamental feature of every tank, and looking ahead, I will say that in our case the weapon turned out to be truly formidable. In addition, this barrel has nothing in common with the one installed on the VK 72.01(K), but whether it is better or worse, judge for yourself.
So, have Pz.Kpfw. VII gun has a really powerful alpha strike, and also, importantly, good rate of fire, thanks to which it is possible to inflict about 2100 units of pure level per minute.
In addition to good firepower, German heavy tank Pz.Kpfw. VII has outstanding penetration parameters. You will be able to penetrate most of the enemies you encounter with a regular armor-piercing projectile, but for confrontation with heavies, it is worth carrying about 10-15 sub-calibers with you.
In terms of accuracy, everything is good again, since Pz.Kpfw. VII World of Tanks I got a very pleasant spread for my caliber, good speed information and enviable stabilization, which makes us an extremely dangerous opponent.
The only not entirely comfortable parameter can be considered the vertical declination angle of the gun, but with the rear position of the turret, the ability to lower the gun by 7 degrees is also a very decent indicator.
Advantages and Disadvantages
According to most of the characteristics known on at the moment, we can conclude that this German heavyweight is really good. But in order to realize the potential inherent in Pz.Kpfw. VII WoT, you need to clearly understand its advantages and disadvantages, so it’s worth focusing on these details.
Pros:
Good frontal armor;
Powerful alpha strike and decent DPM;
High penetration ability even for BB;
Excellent accuracy parameters;
Good vertical aiming angles.
Cons:
Poor mobility;
Vulnerable aircraft reservations;
Quite large dimensions.
Equipment for Pz.Kpfw. VII
To properly equip a machine with additional modules, you need to know its strengths and weaknesses. In our case, it will be necessary to focus on increasing existing advantages, so tank Pz.Kpfw. VII equipment It’s better to set it according to this principle:
1. is the optimal and most popular module for most tanks, because it increases the rate of fire and DPM.
2. – with excellent accuracy already available, this choice will allow you to deal damage very effectively and comfortably.
3. – our German’s viewing parameters are also fine, and with optics you can easily achieve maximum “vision”.
But as often happens, the third point has a worthy replacement, and in our case it will be. A 5% boost to all the necessary characteristics is almost never superfluous, and if your crew has upgraded visibility perks, then you won’t lose much in this parameter either.
Crew training
There is no point in reminding you of the importance of upgrading your crew; everyone already understands very well that a lot depends on the skills you choose. You just have to understand that you have a real heavy tank in your hands, which should hold back the enemy, but at the same time can cause tons of damage. Thus, for Pz.Kpfw. VII perks learn the following:
Commander - , , , .
Gunner – , , , .
Driver - , , , .
Radio operator - , , , .
Loader – , , , .
Equipment for Pz.Kpfw. VII
Purchased equipment also does not win back much last role in battle, not only the saved margin of safety may depend on your choice. However, in cases where silver reserves are small, you can get by with a set of , , . Otherwise, it is much safer to carry Pz.Kpfw. VII equipment in the form , , , and if desired, you can replace the last option with .
Tactics of playing Pz.Kpfw. VII
Judging by what this heavy vehicle is at the moment, then we have in our hands a really strong machine, although not without its shortcomings. Taking mobility into account Pz.Kpfw. VII World of Tanks, we can say that this is a one-way tank, so if you are unsure of your team, it is better not to go far from the base.
At the same time, the best place for us is on the front line, because for Pz.Kpfw. VII tactics is built on holding back the enemy, pushing through directions and inflicting a ton of damage thanks to its excellent weapons. Speaking of tanking, you need to take a position where artillery cannot shoot at you and take damage only with your forehead, dancing slightly. It is dangerous to turn the hull further, as we expose the vulnerable base of the tower into which they will penetrate us.
At the same time, you shouldn’t constantly be under fire, Pz.Kpfw. VII tank WoT has a truly formidable gun and even despite its rate of fire, it is better to play as an alpha. We roll out of cover exposing only the forehead of the hull or turret, take a shot and hide, everything is quite simple.
Otherwise, as already mentioned, look around and at the mini-map, beware of artillery shots, hide the sides and don’t let yourself get caroused. Heavy tank Pz.Kpfw. VII has poor mobility, which means that any mobile ST can kill us without difficulty if it has room to maneuver.
To summarize, I would like to say that this vehicle has quite a lot in common with the special VK 72.01(K) tank, especially in terms of appearance (the tanks are practically twins) and armor parameters. However, at the moment it is clear that the Pz.Kpfw. The VII tank is protected somewhat better and, in my opinion, its weapons are more versatile and formidable. What will happen in practice and what will be the final performance characteristics of our guest today, time will tell.
The decision to develop a medium tank (also called an artillery support tank) with a short-barreled gun was made in January 1934. The following year, Krupp-Gruson, MAN and Rheinmetall-Borsig presented their prototypes for testing. The army team liked Krupp's project. Cars of modification A were produced in 1937, modifications B (the so-called installation batches) - in 1938. Over the next year, 134 modification C tanks were built.
The combat weight of the tanks is 18.4 - 19 tons, the thickness of the armor is up to 30 millimeters, the maximum speed on the highway is 40 km/h, the cruising range is 200 kilometers. The turret was equipped with a 75 mm L/24 caliber cannon (24 caliber) and a coaxial machine gun. Another one was located on the right in the frontal plate of the hull in a ball installation. The design and layout of the tank was basically the same as the average Pz Kpfw III.
Pz.Kpfw.IV Ausf.B or Ausf.C during exercises. November 1943
German medium tanks PzKpfw IV Ausf H during an exercise to practice crew interaction. Germany, June 1944
As of September 1, 1939, the Wehrmacht had 211 Pz Kpfw IV tanks. The tank performed well during the Polish campaign, and along with the Pz Kpfw III medium tank it was approved as the main one. Its mass production began in October of the same year. Already in 1940, 278 units were produced. modifications D and E.
At the time of the French invasion in the Western Theater, the German tank divisions had about 280 Pz Kpfw IV tanks. Operation in combat conditions showed that the armor protection was insufficient. As a result, the thickness of the frontal sheets was increased to 60 mm, the sides to 40 mm, and the turret to 50 mm. As a result, the combat weight of modifications E and F, which were produced in 40-41, increased to 22 tons. To maintain the specific pressure within acceptable limits, the width of the tracks was slightly increased - to 400 millimeters from 380.
The German “fours” lost fire fights with Soviet-made KB and T-34 tanks due to inadequate weapon characteristics. Starting in the spring of 1942, 75-mm long-barreled guns (L/43) began to be installed on the Pz Kpfw IV. Initial speed sub-caliber projectile was 920 meters per second. This is how the Sd Kfz 161/1 (modification F2) appeared, which was even superior in armament to the T-34-76. Modification G was produced in 1942-1943, N - from 1943 and J - from June 44 (all modifications were coded as Sd Kfz 161/2). The last two modifications turned out to be the most advanced. The thickness of the frontal armor plates was increased to 80 millimeters. The power of the gun increased: the barrel length was 48 calibers. The weight increased to 25 thousand kg. Ausf J at one gas station could travel along the highway for a distance of up to 320 kilometers. Since 1943, 5-mm screens have become mandatory on all tanks, which protected the sides and turret at the rear and sides from anti-tank rifle bullets and cumulative shells.
Pz.Kpfw.IV Ausf.E. Yugoslavia, 1941
Pz.Kpfw.IV Ausf.F. Finland, 1941
The welded hull of the tank was simple in design, although it did not differ in the rational slope of the armor plates. Large quantity hatches made it easier to access various mechanisms and assemblies, but at the same time reduced the strength of the hull. Partitions divided the interior space into three compartments. The control department occupied the front compartment, which housed the gearboxes: onboard and general. The driver and radio operator were located in the same compartment; both had their own surveillance devices. The multifaceted turret and the middle compartment were allocated for the fighting compartment. The main armament, ammunition rack and the remaining crew members: loader, gunner and commander were located in it. Ventilation was improved by hatches on the sides of the turret, but they reduced the tank's shell resistance.
The commander's cupola had five viewing devices with armored shutters. There were also viewing slots in the side hatches of the turret and on both sides of the gun mantlet. The gunner had a telescopic sight. The turret was rotated manually or using an electric motor; vertical aiming of the gun was carried out only manually. The ammunition included smoke and high-explosive fragmentation grenades, cumulative, sub-caliber and armor-piercing shells.
The engine compartment (rear part of the hull) housed a 12-cylinder water-cooled carburetor engine. The chassis included eight small-diameter rubber-coated road wheels, which were interlocked in twos. Leaf springs were elastic suspension elements.
Pz.Kpfw.IV Ausf.F2. France, July 1942
Pz.Kpfw.IV Ausf.H with side screens and zimmerit coating. USSR, July 1944
The Pz Kpfw IV medium tank has proven itself to be an easy to control and reliable vehicle. However, its cross-country ability, especially in the overweight tanks of the latest releases, was quite poor. In terms of armor protection and armament, it was superior to all similar ones produced in Western countries, with the exception of some modifications of the English Comets and American M4s.
Technical characteristics of the medium tank Pz Kpfw IV (Ausf D/Ausf F2/Ausf J):
Year of manufacture – 1939/1942/1944;
Combat weight – 20000 kg/23000 kg/25000 kg;
Crew – 5 people;
Body length – 5920 mm/5930 mm/5930 mm;
Length with gun forward – 5920 mm/6630 mm/7020 mm;
Width – 2840 mm/2840 mm/2880 mm;
Height – 2680 mm;
RESERVATION:
Thickness of armor plates (angle of inclination to vertical):
Frontal part of the body – 30 mm (12 degrees)/50 mm (12 degrees)/80 mm (15 degrees);
Body sides – 20 mm/30 mm/30 mm;
Frontal part of the tower - 30 mm (10 degrees)/50 mm (11 degrees)/50 mm (10 degrees);
Bottom and roof of the case – 10 and 12 mm/10 and 12 mm/10 and 16 mm;
WEAPONS:
Gun brand – KwK37/KwK40/KwK40;
Caliber – 75 mm
Barrel length – 24 klb./43 klb./48 klb.;
Ammunition - 80 rounds/87 rounds/87 rounds;
Number of machine guns – 2;
Machine gun caliber - 7.92 mm;
Ammunition - 2700 rounds/3000 rounds/3150 rounds
MOBILITY:
Engine type and brand - Maybach HL120TRM;
Engine power – 300 l. s./300 l. pp./272 l. With.;
Maximum highway speed – 40 km/h/40 km/h/38 km/h;
Fuel capacity – 470 l/470 l/680 l;
Cruising range on the highway – 200 km/200 km/320 km;
Average ground pressure – 0.75 kg/cm2/0.84 kg/cm2; 0.89 kg/cm2.
Ambushed
German infantrymen near a PzKpfw IV tank. Vyazma area. October 1941
Pz.Kpfw.V "Panther" is, of course, one of the most famous heavy tanks that took part in the battles of World War II. This vehicle should not have been in the German army at all; the impetus for its creation was the appearance on the battlefield of the Soviet T-34. Initially, the Panther was conceived by the Germans as a mass-produced medium tank, but instead it turned out to be a heavy one. fighting machine, produced in much larger quantities than the famous Pz.Kpfw.VI Tiger.
The "Panthers" were planned to replace the Pz.Kpfw medium tank. IV, but this never happened: both the “four” and the Pz.V Panther were produced by the German industry in parallel until the very end of the war. Some experts consider this a serious strategic mistake by the German leadership.
The Panther was a very formidable adversary: from the moment of its appearance until the very end of the war, this vehicle caused a lot of headaches for Soviet, British and American tank crews.
We can also add that none of the German tanks of this historical period causes such fierce debate and such contradictory assessments as the Pz.Kpfw.V Panther. Moreover, this is typical both for contemporaries of this machine and for later specialists. In reviews, the range of assessments ranges from enthusiastic to reservedly negative. The debut of the “Panther” was the fiery inferno of the Kursk Bulge, its last Stand This tank showed up on the streets of besieged Berlin.
History of creation
The decision to create a new German medium tank was made in 1941 after several months of fighting on the Eastern Front. The undoubted catalyst for this process was the real shock that German tank crews experienced after becoming acquainted with the Soviet T-34 and KV tanks.
It should be said that work on the creation of a new medium tank, which could replace the PzKpfw III and PzKpfw IV, has been carried out in Germany since 1938. They were carried out by several companies at once, and by the start of hostilities on the Eastern Front, its design was generally ready. The issue did not move forward for one very simple reason: the military did not feel an urgent need for a new vehicle; they were quite satisfied with reliable and battle-tested tanks.
However, after meeting with the new Soviet tanks, the German military’s opinion on this matter changed dramatically.
In November 1941, Daimler-Benz and MAN received technical specifications for the creation of a new combat vehicle with the following characteristics: weight - 35 tons, armor protection - 40 mm and an engine with a power of 600-700 hp. The new promising tank was named “Panther”.
Even earlier, the development of a new 75 mm tank gun, capable of penetrating 140 mm of armor at a distance of one kilometer, had begun.
Before continuing the story, it is necessary to say a few words about different types classifications of tanks that were adopted by the Red Army and the German army. IN Soviet army The classification was based on the weight of the vehicle, tanks weighing up to 20 tons were considered light, vehicles weighing up to 40 tons were considered medium, and the weight of heavy tanks exceeded 40 tons.
The German classification was based on the caliber of the vehicle's main weapon. Heavy tanks were considered vehicles armed with guns with a caliber greater than 75 mm. Therefore, according to the German classification Pz. V was considered medium, and according to the Soviet classification - heavy (its mass was 44 tons).
German designers carefully studied Soviet captured models and noted their following strengths: diesel tank engine, inclined armor plates, wide rollers and tracks.
Already in the spring of next year, both companies presented their prototypes of the new car.
The prototype of the new medium tank, which was created by Daimler-Benz designers, very much resembled the “thirty-four” both in appearance and in its design. The German Ministry of Armaments believed that such external similarity could be the reason for the tank being fired upon by its own artillery. The design of the vehicle was also largely the same as the T-34: the transmission and engine compartment were located at the rear, it was proposed to equip the tank diesel engine and wide tracks. However, despite such blatant plagiarism, Hitler really liked the new car, he even ordered the first order for 200 tanks.
The prototype presented by MAN had a layout traditional for German cars, with a front transmission and rear engine, torsion bar suspension and front drive wheels.
By the way, both companies abandoned the suspension designed by the American engineer Christie, which was used on the T-34, recognizing it as unusable and archaic.
Due to disagreements that arose when choosing the winner of the competition, a special “Panther Commission” was organized, which was supposed to decide the fate of the tank. In May, the commission prepared its conclusions, according to which the tank developed by MAN designers was clearly recognized as the best.
By the end of 1942, two experimental vehicles were built; their operation showed numerous shortcomings that had to be corrected in as soon as possible. The first production Pz.Kpfw.V Panther vehicle left the factory assembly line on January 11, 1943.
By the way, the name “Panther” without indicating an index was introduced by a special decree of Hitler only at the beginning of 1944; until that moment the tanks were called Pz.Kpfw.V.
Machine modifications
The first production samples (20 vehicles) were named Pz.Kpfw.V Panther Ausf. D1 was quite different from subsequent modifications. They never took part in battles and were used in the rear to train tank crews. The D1 series Panther was equipped with an HL 210 P45 engine, a ZF7 gearbox and had a frontal armor thickness of 60 mm.
The first modification of the tank that went into large-scale production was the vehicle with the index Ausf. D2. Although, it is impossible to say that this modification of the tank was very different from the “zero” vehicles. Changes concerned the design of the commander's cupola and muzzle brake - it became two-chamber and acquired a well-recognized “Panther” look. Also, the new vehicles had increased frontal armor (up to 80 mm), the vehicles received a new HL 230 P30 engine and an AK 7-200 gearbox. Tanks of this series were equipped with a TZF-12 telescopic sight with excellent visibility. The course machine gun was located in a rope mount.
In the fall of 1943, the next modification of the Panther appeared - Pz.Kpfw.V Panther Ausf. A. Vehicles of this series received a new turret, which did not have small hatches, as well as embrasures for firing personal weapons. The overly complex TZF-12 sight was replaced with the TZF12a monocular. The not very effective yoke mount of the course machine gun was replaced with the usual ball mount. The armor of most of these vehicles was covered with Zimmerit, and many of them were equipped with bulwarks.
In March 1944, production began of the most massive (3,740 vehicles) tank series - the Pz.Kpfw.V Panther Ausf. G. The armor of the new tanks was strengthened: the thickness of the side armor was increased to 50 mm, and the frontal armor to 110 mm, and the angle of inclination of the side armor was changed. Some of the Panthers of this series received a gun mantlet with a special “skirt” that protected the turret from jamming when hit by enemy shells. Many other minor changes have also been made.
In general, cars of this modification had a simpler and more technologically advanced body.
Also in the fall of 1944, work began on the latest modification of this medium tank: - Pz.Kpfw.V Panther Ausf. F. On this machine it was planned to further increase armor protection(frontal armor - up to 120 mm, sides - up to 60 mm), change the slope of the armor plates, reduce the size of the turret. Before the end of the war, they managed to make several turrets and hulls for a new modification of the tank, but they did not manage to produce a single finished prototype.
In the fall of 1943, development began on the Panther II tank, which was planned to be armed with an 88-mm cannon (the same one was on the Royal Tiger) and equipped with a new Schmalturm turret. In fact, such a car was supposed to become a lightweight version of the “Royal Tiger”. However, they could neither select nor construct a suitable engine for the Panther II.
An anti-tank self-propelled gun, the Jagdpanther (Sd.Kfz. 173), was created on the basis of the Pz.V Panther. This vehicle is considered one of the best “self-propelled guns” of its historical period. The Jagdpanther was armed with a powerful long-barreled 88 mm StuK43 L/71 gun and reliable armor protection. In addition, the vehicle turned out to be fast and quite maneuverable, which made it a very dangerous opponent for any Allied tanks.
The steel for the frontal armor of the self-propelled gun was taken from reserves navy, this metal was made before the war and was of very high quality.
On the basis of the Panther, they planned to create a whole family of self-propelled artillery guns, but these plans were not destined to come true. They also wanted to create an anti-aircraft gun based on the Pz.Kpfw.V. self-propelled gun, there was not enough time for this either.
Description of the Pz.V tank
The Pz.Kpfw.V Panther medium tank had a classic layout for German vehicles: its transmission was located in the front of the vehicle, and the power compartment was in the rear.
The hull and turret of the tank consisted of rolled armor plates, assembled into a “spike” and connected with a double weld.
In the front part of the hull there was a control compartment, which housed the driver and radio operator-machine gunner. The gearbox, control devices, directional machine gun and radio station were also located here.
The driver's seat was located to the left of the transmission; he observed using two periscopes that were installed on the roof of the compartment. One of them was directed to the right, and the other to the left. It should be noted that this system did not provide reliable visibility.
To the right of the driver was the place of the radio operator-machine gunner. Two hatches were installed in the roof of the control compartment for the driver and radio operator, the covers of which did not rise, but were moved to the sides.
The fighting compartment was located in the central part of the tank. There was a turret in which a gun with a coaxial machine gun, observation and control devices, horizontal and vertical aiming mechanisms, and places for the tank commander, gunner and loader were installed. Also in the fighting compartment was the bulk of the ammunition. On the tower there was a commander's cupola with periscopes, which provided the vehicle commander with excellent visibility. On later modifications of the Panther, an anti-aircraft machine gun was installed on the commander's cupola.
The tank's turret was driven by a hydraulic turning mechanism. With the engine turned off, this had to be done manually.
The power compartment was located at the rear of the tank's hull, containing the engine, radiators, fans and fuel tanks. The engine compartment was divided into three compartments, the central one (where the engine was located) was waterproof. The power compartment was separated from the combat compartment by an armored partition.
The first cars had a carburetor 12-cylinder Maybach HL 210 P30 engine (21 liters), which was later replaced by the Maybach HL 230 P45 with a larger piston diameter.
The transmission consisted of a gearbox, main clutch, driveshaft, disc brakes and a turning mechanism. The gearbox had seven steps, with inertia-free cone synchronizers.
The “checkerboard” type chassis consisted of eight dual rubber-coated rollers on one side. The suspension is torsion bar, the drive wheels are located at the front. The chassis provided the tank with excellent ride comfort even over rough terrain, but was very difficult to manufacture and maintain. To get to the inner disk, it was necessary to remove up to a third of the outer ones.
The main armament of the Pz.V Panther was a 75 mm KwK 42 rifled cannon. It was paired with a 7.62 mm machine gun.
The engine compartment was equipped with an automatic fire extinguishing system. Frequent engine fires are one of the “ business cards"Panthers." If the engine temperature reached 120 degrees, the automatic fire extinguishing system began to fill it with a special mixture.
TZF-12 binocular sights were installed on tanks of modification D, and the TZF-12A monocular sight was installed on later series. The sights were comfortable and provided excellent visibility.
For the first time, night vision devices were installed on command vehicles of later series. Together with an infrared spotlight, such a device made it possible to inspect the area up to 200 meters.
Combat use, advantages and disadvantages of the Pz.V Panther
The Germans first used the Pz.V during the battles on the Kursk Bulge. These vehicles equipped two tank battalions. The experience of the first battles showed both the strengths of the Panthers and their shortcomings. The strengths of the tank undoubtedly included its powerful cannon, which made it possible to hit all Soviet self-propelled guns and tanks head-on at main combat distances, as well as good protection for the front projection of the vehicle, which was invulnerable to all types of Soviet tank and anti-tank guns. Surveillance devices also received positive reviews and sights, providing tank crews with excellent visibility. The car was very convenient for the crew.
However, there were also disadvantages: the tank was quite easily hit from the side, was not very reliable, and its engine often burned out.
Technical characteristics of the tank
| Crew, people | 5 |
| Combat weight, t | 44,8 |
| Dimensions | Case length, mm — 6870 |
| Length with gun forward, mm - 8660 | |
| Case width, mm — 3270 | |
| Height, mm - 2995 | |
| Ground clearance, mm - 560 | |
| Engine | "Maybach" HI 230Р30, carburetor, |
| 12 cylinders, power - 700 hp. | |
| Highway speed, km/h | 46 |
| Cruising range on the highway, km/h | 250 |
| Armor | Body forehead, mm – 80 |
| Hull side, mm – 50 | |
| Bottom, mm – 17-30 | |
| Tower forehead, mm – 110 | |
| Gun mantlet, mm - 110 (cast) | |
| Turret side, mm - 45 | |
| Armament | 75 mm KwK 42 L/70 gun, |
| two 7.92 mm MG 34 machine guns | |
| Ammunition | 81 shells; 4800 rounds |
Video about the tank
If you have any questions, leave them in the comments below the article. We or our visitors will be happy to answer them