More than 120 unique and expertly drawn colour profiles

PANZER
GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS BY CLAES SUNDI

TANK SPECIFICATIONS AND

MILITARY HISTORIES

ISBN: 978-1-911276-96-8 £7.99

O L O U RS
C
AND S
NG
MARKI 1939
FROM1945
TO
INCLUDES THE TOP PANZER ACES’ TANKS
 INTRODUCTION
he stunning success of Adolf Hitler’s ground tank destroyer – the Sturmgeschütz or ‘StuG III’, of

T offensives during the first year of the Second

World War relied on the use of fast but
heavily armed and well-armoured tanks
working together with motorised infantry and close
which more than 10,000 were manufactured. There
were around 8500 Panzer IVs and just shy of 5800
Panzer IIIs. This compares to 50,000 American
Sherman tanks and 84,000 Soviet T-34s.
air support. It was a formula initially replicated during As the war ground on, Germany’s panzer armies
the invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941 with still were forced on to the defensive, being driven
more staggering victories achieved in mere months. backwards in the USSR during 1942, then in Italy
When advancing German forces encountered beginning in September 1943 and from August 1944
the Soviet T-34 it suddenly became apparent that in France too. Bombing raids on oil refineries and
the technological arms race was much closer than production facilities created crippling petrol shortages
anyone had realised and urgent action was needed. and the shattered remains of the once mighty German
Development of heavier tanks with better weapons tank forces were eventually fighting within Germany
was speeded up to produce some of the war’s itself and finally in small pockets of resistance. Even
deadliest and most iconic armoured fighting vehicles – then, heavy tank destroyers such as the Jagdtiger
the Tiger, the Panther and the Tiger II. and Jagdpanther, not to mention the ‘big cats’
Although around 6000 Panthers were built, there themselves, proved formidable adversaries to the last.
were just 1347 Tigers and 492 Tiger IIs. The most
produced German ‘tank’ was actually a turretless Dan Sharp

Ilustrator and author Claes was born in Fighter Aircraft, Profile Book No 3 (2014), Luftwaffe

I 1957 and lives in the southern part of

Sweden. Since finishing four years of
Attack Aircraft, Profile Book No 4 (2015), Profiles of
German Tanks (2015), Luftwaffe Night Fighters, Profile
CLAES SUNDIN

studies at the University of Uppsala, he Book No 5 (2016), Luftwaffe Fighter Aircraft, Profile
has been active as a teacher, marketer, photographer Book No 6 (2016) and Luftwaffe Bombers, Profile
and art director, among other occupations. Book No 7 (2017). In addition, he has provided aircraft
Since childhood, Claes has had a strong interest and tank profiles, photo refinement, and artwork for
in everything concerning the combat vehicles of the many other books and papers.
ABOUT

Second World War and later. This interest stems Claes says: “As a long-time profile artist, I am
from the time when he, as a boy of only seven, well aware that a few of the profiles included in this
started building and collecting plastic scale models. publication will be the subject of some criticism.
Simultaneously, he has been an ardent draughtsman The reader, however, must acknowledge that all the
for as long as he can remember, as well as an profiles included are based on solid photographic
accomplished CGI artist in more recent years. At documentation. I will always use at least one
present Claes is producing books, writing articles reference photo, more if available, of the subject.
and lecturing. Up to now he has produced more I seek the best photos available for the related close-
than 2000 CGI profiles, mostly of aircraft, but also of up details as well.
Second World War armour. “However, misinterpretations could naturally occur,
His previously published books include: especially regarding the colours I’ve chosen for the
Luftwaffe Fighter Aircraft in Profile (1997), Deutsche different profiles. One has to appreciate the difficulty
Jagdflugzeuge (1998), More Luftwaffe Fighter Aircraft of interpreting the colours from dated black and white
in Profile (2002), Luftwaffe Fighter Aircraft, Limited photographs. But know that I have, together with my
Edition (2011), Luftwaffe Fighter Aircraft, Profile Book colleagues, made the utmost effort to determine the
No 1 (2013), Allied Fighter Aircraft, Profile Book No actual appearance and colouring of the individual
2 (2013), Tiger and Panther Tanks (2014), Luftwaffe vehicle profiles presented here.”

PANZER: GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS 003

PANZER TANKS

CONTENTS
006 PANZER III
t

t
014 PANZER IV

024 STUG III

t

t
032 TIGER I

All illustrations: Marketing manager:

CLAES SUNDIN CHARLOTTE PARK
Editor: Commercial director:
DAN SHARP NIGEL HOLE
Design: Published by:
SEAN PHILLIPS,
MORTONS MEDIA Printed by: WILLIAM GIBBONS AND SONS, WOLVERHAMPTON
ATG-MEDIA.COM
GROUP LTD,
Production editor: MEDIA CENTRE, ISBN: 978-1-911276-96-8
PAULINE HAWKINS MORTON WAY,
Publishing director: HORNCASTLE, © 2019 MORTONS MEDIA GROUP LTD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. NO PART OF
DAN SAVAGE LINCOLNSHIRE THIS PUBLICATION MAY BE REPRODUCED OR TRANSMITTED IN ANY FORM OR
BY ANY MEANS, ELECTRONIC OR MECHANICAL, INCLUDING PHOTOCOPYING,
Publisher: LN9 6JR. RECORDING, OR ANY INFORMATION STORAGE RETRIEVAL SYSTEM WITHOUT
STEVE O’HARA Tel. 01507 529529 PRIOR PERMISSION IN WRITING FROM THE PUBLISHER.

004 PANZER: GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS

058 PANTHER
t

t
104 STUG IV
t
106 JAGDPANZER IV

t
108 JAGDPANTHER

t
112 TIGER II
126 JAGDTIGER
t

130 COLOUR
CHART
PANZER: GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS 005
PANZER TANKS
S

PANZERKAM
During the Blitzkrieg
across France in 1940 W
ith the Panzer I having been
conceived as a training tank
and the Panzer II being a
a 35km/h top speed. The width of the
tank was restricted by the standard
gauge of the German railways that would
stopgap light tank, the Panzer need to be used to transport it.
and the invasion of III and Panzer IV were developed side Four companies competed to
Russia the following year, by side as the German army’s primary design the vehicle – Daimler-Benz,
armoured fighting vehicles during the Maschinenfabrik Augsburg-Nuremberg
the Panzer III was at the mid-1930s. (MAN), Rheinmetall-Borsig and Krupp.
forefront of the action The Panzer III was intended to fulfil the Prototypes were constructed and
role of main battle tank – using armour- Daimler-Benz was successful. The
as Germany’s main piercing shells to defeat enemy tanks – German army had wanted the Panzer III
while the Panzer IV was to be a support to be equipped with a 50mm anti-tank
battle tank. Within a few vehicle, using its short-barrelled cannon gun but this was not yet in production so
years, however, it had to fire high-explosive shells at enemy the tank was instead equipped with the
strongpoints and machine gun positions. same 37mm gun then being supplied to
been left behind by rapid A specification for the Panzer III was the infantry – the 37mm KwK 36 L/45.
technological advances issued by then-Oberst Heinz Guderian
on January 11, 1934, which included a
and was withdrawn maximum weight of 16 metric tons and
from service before the
war’s end.
1936-1944

006 PANZER: GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS

PFWAGEN III
When the first examples of the
Daimler-Benz Panzer III Ausführung A
appeared in 1936, the tank’s turret ring
The vehicle carried 120 rounds for
the main gun and 4425 rounds for the
machine guns.
breach while the loader was on the right.
At the front of the fighting compartment,
the driver sat on the left and the radio
had been designed in such a way that The commander’s cupola was a operator/hull gunner on the right – with
the 50mm gun could be fitted when it simple slotted ring and the turret had the tank’s manually actuated five-speed
became available if so desired. Beside basic single-piece side hatches. Inside (plus one-speed reverse) transmission
the main weapon, a pair of 7.92mm the hull, which had a maximum armour positioned between them.
machine guns were mounted coaxially in thickness of just 1.45cm in order to save Driving the transmission and thereby
a recessed mantlet and another 7.92mm weight, the commander was seated in the tracks via the front sprockets was a
machine gun was installed in a ball the centre below the cupola. The gunner V12 Maybach 108TR engine, developing
mounting on the hull’s front plate. was in the turret to the left of the gun 250hp, positioned at the rear of the tank.
t
t

PANZER III AUSF. L

Red 632 probably belonged to the 23rd Panzer Division, 1st Panzer Army. This is how it looked
during Unternehmen Blau or ‘Operation Blue’ in the Caucasus, USSR, on June 30, 1942. Colour
photos of this unit’s Panzer IIIs suggest that the light-coloured patches were RAL 8020 Braun
applied by the unit itself. The objective of Operation Blue was to seize the Caucasus oil felds.
With their capture the Germans would deny the Soviets 82% of their crude oil production and
at the same time address the problem of their own chronic fuel shortages. The 23rd
Panzer Division advanced 11km during the first day and broke through the
Soviet 21st Army’s defences. However, the Russians had dug
in and littered the area with minefields such that the division
experienced heavy losses, with 10 tanks destroyed and 50
damaged. While the territorial gains were large, the Germans
inflicted only minimal losses to the Soviets as the Red Army fell
back into the vast expanses of the steppe and their next line
of defence. Six months and 630,000 casualties later – of which
120,000 were German and Romanian – Operation Blue ended in
failure and was abandoned.

PANZER: GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS 007

PANZER TANKS PANZERKAMPFWAGEN III

The running gear itself, in addition to the but with the smaller
s spring units slightly
sprockets, consisted of five medium- modified to sit at an inward angle. The
sized road wheels, a rear idler and a pair extra armour took the vehicle’s weight up
of return rollers on either side. The tracks to 19 tons. Twwenty-five examples of the
were 36cm wide and suspension was by Panzer III Aussf. D were built during 1938.
conventional coil spring. Weight was 15 The following year saw the introduction
tons and top speed was only 32km/h – of the Ausf. E,
E with 30mm armour on
3km/h short of the speed required to meet the front and sides. The turret now
the specification – and just 10 examples featured side hatches with two-piece
of the Ausf. A were built. covers – thesse being easier to push
Fifteen examples each of the Ausf. B open – and an n
and C were built concurrently. The Ausf. B external gun
swapped the Ausf. A’s coil springs for leaf mantlet was
springs to provide a small increase fitted. One of the
in speed. It featured eight small road two coaxial machine
m
wheels on either side attached to a pair guns was also o deleted
of spring units arranged horizontally. An from the desig gn. The
extra return roller was added too. This hull was modified to
increased the vehicle’s weight to very incorporate escape
e
nearly the specification limit at 15.9 tons hatches for th he radio
but speed did increase to 34.7km/h. operator and driver too.
The Ausf. C was almost identical to The earlierr suspension
the B except for utilising a different leaf systems had been replaced
spring arrangement – with one long with a sturdieer torsion bar
horizontal spring unit and two shorter arrangement and the number
ones on either side. of road wheels was reduced
Maximum armour thickness was to six. This wo ould become
increased for the Ausf. D – up to 30mm the standard blueprint for all the
– and a new, lower, cupola with visors to Panzer IIIs tha at followed. The E also
protect the vision slits was fitted. A new benefited from m an improved powerplant,
gearbox with an extra forward gear was the 250hp 108TR being replaced by the
installed and eight-wheel suspension 300hp HL 120 0TR, and the new Maybach t
similar to that of the Ausf. C was used Variorex pre-sselector gearbox. This gave

008 PANZER: GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS

THE MOST NUMEROUS PANZER III WAS THE AUSF. J,
CONSTRUCTION OF WHICH BEGAN IN 1941. RATHER
THAN REQUIRING BOLT-ON ARMOUR, THIS WAS
FACTORY-BUILT WITH SOLID 50MM PLATE ARMOUR.

t
PANZER III AUSF. L
Red R was a vehicle of the Stab/Panzer-
Regiment 8, 15th Panzer Division, at El
Alamein, Egypt, during late October 1942.
On October 23, the British launched a new
offensive along the Egyptian frontier and soon
Panzer-Regiment 8 was engaged in heavy
fighting. Despite being outnumbered six to
one, the first Abteilung was able to hold the
line around El Alamein. Losses were high
however, and after the first day the regiment’s
strength was reduced to just seven serviceable
tanks. The British 8th Army kept up the
pressure and Rommel was forced to give the
order for a general retreat on November 4.
This would mark the beginning of the major
turning point in the Western Desert Campaign
– and the war as a whole.

t
PANZER III AUSF. J TP
White 201 was a rare tropicalised version
of the Ausf. J fitted with spaced armour. Its
camouflage is RAL 8020 Braun with mottles
of RAL 7027 Grau. The vehicle belonged to
Panzer-Regiment 5, 21st Panzer Division,
Panzer-Armee Afrika, and this is how it
looked when abandoned at El Alamein,
Egypt, in October 1942. The 21st Panzer
Division led Generalfeldmarschall Erwin
Rommel’s last offensive of the Western
Desert Campaign in August 1942, which was
stopped by Lieutenant-General Bernard Law
Montgomery’s Eighth Army at Alam el Halfa.
When the British launched a counterattack
on October 24, Panzer-Regiment 5 had 18
Panzer IIs, 86 Panzer IIIs and 21 Panzer IVs.
By November 2 it could muster only nine
Panzer IIs, 20 Panzer IIIs and 11 Panzer IVs.
Nevertheless, it fought several rearguard
actions, allowing the shattered remains of the
Afrika Korps to retreat. This Panzer III was left
behind, probably after it ran out of fuel.

PANZER: GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS 009

PANZER TANKS PANZERKAMPFWAGEN III
P

t
PANZER III AUSF. L
Black 351 ‘Lore’ of the 1st SS Panzer
Regiment ‘Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler’,
4th Panzer Army, was involved in the
fighting at Kursk during July 1943. The
Leibstandarte were part of a southern
pincer movement which passed Belgorod
and reached Tetervino before being forced
to retreat. During the action, it claimed to
have destroyed 500 Soviet tanks.

10 forward gears in addition to the single It had also been realised by now
reverse. Weight increased to 20 tons and that the Maybach Variorex gearbox
around 100 Ausf. Es were made in 1939. was too complicated to facilitate easy
Construction of the Ausf. F, regarded maintenance so this was replaced with an
as the first full production model of the Aphon synchromesh box with six forward
Panzer III, also began in 1939. Initially it gears and reverse. The Ausf. H weighed
was similar in most respects to the 21.6 tons but the vehicle’s top speed
Ausf. E, except for new brake ventilation was unaffected.
ducts, but late production models were A total of 286 Ausf.
fitted with a new main gun – the 50mm Hs were built.
KwK 38 L/42. All existing Ausf. Es were The most
also retrospectively upgraded with the numerous Panzer III was the Ausf. J,
new gun. With the larger ammunition construction of which began in 1941.
size required, fewer rounds could be Rather than requiring bolt-on armour, this
carried: 99 for the main gun and 3750 was factory-built with solid 50mm plate
for the machine guns. armour. Brake levers replaced the brake
A total of 450 Ausf. Fs were produced pedals of earlier models. While early
from 1939 to 1941, with production lines examples of the J were still fitted with the
starting to turn out its successor, the KwK 38 L/42, this was quickly supplanted
Ausf. G in October 1940. The G featured by the longer-barrelled KwK 39 L/60 gun.
a revised cupola, improved gun mantlet Ammunition load was correspondingly
armour, bigger radiators and an reduced to 78 rounds. Between the end
additional felt air filter. of 1941 and the middle of 1942 a total of
By now the Panzer III had seen active 1521 Ausf. Js were constructed.
service during the invasions of France Combat experience soon
and Poland and it had become clear demonstrated that even the 50mm plate
that its armour was too thin. Therefore, was wholly inadequate against the latest
production of the Ausf. H began with Allied and Soviet anti-tank guns but
extra 30mm armour plates bolted on to adding yet more bolt-on plates would
the front and rear hull. In order to carry have put too much strain on the vehicle’s
this additional weight and reduce ground drive train and suspension so a different
pressure, the H had wider 40cm tracks approach was needed. Some creative
with new drive sprockets and idlers, plus thinking resulted in the Ausf. L. This had t
strengthened torsion bar suspension. a system of spaced armour – with 20mm

010 PANZER: GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS

t

PANZER III AUSF. L

On July 8, 1943, the 4th Panzer Army advanced
7km at Kursk in the USSR and claimed to
have destroyed 120 Soviet tanks, 64 of which
belonged to the 3rd Soviet Mechanised Corps
– which overall had lost 216 tanks in just
three days of fighting. With just 15 surviving
tanks, however, the Corps managed to halt
the German armoured thrust. Incredibly,
the German 4th Panzer Army reported only
three tanks destroyed with another three
damaged. Red 421 of 4./Panzer-Regiment 15,
11th Panzer Division, 4th Panzer Army, was
involved in the fighting.

PANZER: GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS 011

PANZER TANKS
S PANZERK
P KAMPFWAGEN III
t
PANZER III AUSF. L
Black 234, an early Ausf. L retrofitted with hull and turret spaced armour, belonged to
2./Panzer-Regiment 33, ‘Prinz Eugen’, 9th Panzer Division. Note the lack of additional armour
on the hull front and turret mantle. It was probably lost during heavy combat at the Battle
of the Dnieper, USSR, January 1944. The photo upon which this profile is based shows the
seemingly intact but immobilised tank being examined by Red Army soldiers. During these
battles the regiment suffered mounting losses and by January 1944 was reduced to just
13 tanks. The battle of the Dnieper Bend lasted from January 1 to March 29. In April the
exhausted regiment was pulled out of the fighting, its vehicles loaded on to railway
carriages and sent to France for rest and refit.

metal plates being fitted slightly ahead of By the summer of 1943 it had
the front plate and mantlet. Nevertheless, long been clear that thet Panzer III’s
the vehicle’s weight continued to rise, chassis could no long ger accept
reaching 22.3 tons. Some 1470 examples further upgrades as a turreted
were built. tank – though it contiinued to be
Similar in appearance to the L, the manufactured as the basis of the
Ausf. M differed in having a self-sealing StuG III assault gun. Production
exhaust which allowed it to wade through of the Panzer III ceassed in August
rivers and other bodies of water up 1943 though example es lingered on
to a depth of 1.5m. Six smoke-bomb in front-line service up to the end
launchers, three on either side of the of 1944. By this time,, these vehicles had
turret, were also fitted. been coated with Zim mmerit anti-magnetic
The last production version, the Ausf. mine paste and had both b spaced turret
N, saw the Panzer III and Panzer IV shrouds and side skirrts fitted to defend
swap roles. While the former support against hollow charge es fired by enemy
vehicle was upgraded to become a main infantry at close range.
ge
battle tank, the Panzer III became an A variety of different post-production which was pumped through the tube
infantry support vehicle fitted with the Panzer III conversions were made, using a small two-stroke motor. Just
same 75mm KwK 37 L/24 gun that had including 100 examples of the PzKpfw III three men crewed these vehicles – the
originally seen service on the Panzer IV. (Flam) based on the Ausf. M – which had commander doubling as the gunner,
The N carried 64 rounds of ammunition a flame projector tube fitted in place of with a driver and a radio operator.
for attacking fixed positions and providing the tank’s main gun. The tank carried 100 The most common conversion,
fire support against enemy infantry. litres of highly flammable liquid internally based on Ausf. D, E, H or L chassis,
t

PANZER III AUSF. J

The Red Army had planned to begin a counter-offensive against the invading German armies on July 9, 1943, but found itself instead facing
another early morning German offensive. Black 511 of 5./Panzer-Regiment 15, 11th Panzer Division, 4th Panzer Army, was involved in the attack
near Kursk. The Russians had 1800 tanks and the Germans just 670 but nevertheless the 11th Panzer Division made significant progress and
managed to achieve its objectives with support from the Luftwaffe. The Soviets lost 5000 men and 60 tanks, compared to German losses of
800 men and two tanks. Overall, however, 1943 saw a decline in the number of German divisions on the Eastern Front from 214 to 190, many of
them under-strength, while the Soviets increased their fighting force from 442 divisions to 512.

012 PANZER: GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS

was to create Panzerbefehlswagens or Conversions of Panzer IIIs into
‘command tanks’. These featured a fixed Panzerbeobachtungswagen or
turret with a dummy gun and a loop aerial ‘observation tanks’ began in 1943. These
positioned over the engine deck. Each had their main gun replaced with a single
vehicle had four radio sets – two at the centrally mounted machine gun and
front of the fighting compartment and two contained equipment linking the tank
to the rear. directly to artillery positions to the rear. •
t

PANZER III AUSF. L

Black 001 ‘Brigitte’ was a Panzerbefehlswagen of Stab/Panzer-Artillerie-Regiment 103.
It is depicted here as it appeared while stationed at Preekule in Latvia during October 1944,
under the command of Major Ingfried Hintze. At this time, what remained of the unit was part
of the 4th Panzer Division, itself part of Army Group North alongside the 11th SS Volunteer
Panzergrenadier Division ‘Nordland’ and the 30th Infantry Division, and was trapped inside the
area known as the Courland Pocket. Hintze’s unit had 35 field guns remaining out of 45 by early
November but only 56 rounds of ammunition for each one. After months of bitter fighting, the
unit was evacuated to Germany by sea to continue the fight. Hintze survived the war and
ended up joining the West German Bundeswehr, retiring as a colonel.

PANZER: GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS 013

PANZER TANKS
S

PANZER IV
Designed to provide support for the Panzer III by knocking out fixed
emplacements and strongpoints, the Panzer IV proved to be a remarkably
durable and capable vehicle – ensuring a front-line career which lasted
throughout the war.

he specification that would and the Panzer IV destroying static torsion bar suspension instead. However,

T lead to the Panzerkampfwagen

IV was issued by Oberst
Guderian on January 11, 1934
positions with its 75mm KwK 37 L/24
howitzer.
Three firms tendered for the
due to time pressure, Krupp opted for
a leaf spring double-bogie suspension
instead. The resulting vehicle had eight
– the same day as the spec drafted for specification and built prototype small rubber-rimmed roadwheels on
what would become the Panzer III. As machines: Krupp, MAN and Rheinmetall- each side which were
previously mentioned the two machines Borsig. Krupp’s design, which featured suspended in pairs from
were intended to work in tandem, with interleaved six-wheel suspension, was the leaf spring units. Four
the Panzer III destroying enemy tanks chosen for further development and it return rollers were required
with its armour-piercing 37mm rounds was proposed that it should be fitted with in addition to the usual
1936-1945

014 PANZER: GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS

drive sprocket and rear idler wheel. Track electrical power to the turret. On the of the hull. At the rear of the turret was
width was 380mm. left of the engine compartment was a the simple commander’s cupola with a
The internal layout of the Panzer IV two-stroke auxiliary generator which kept two-piece hatch and on the turret sides
was very similar to that of the Panzer III. the vehicle’s batteries charged without were one-piece hatches. Maximum
The 250hp Maybach 108TR engine was putting additional strain on the engine. armour thickness on the chassis was
mounted to the rear of the vehicle and The first version of the Panzer IV, the just 14.5mm, with the turret offering
the five-speed manual with one reverse Ausf. A, had a single 7.92mm machine slightly thicker 20mm armour. A total of
speed transmission was up front, with gun mounted coaxially in its turret 35 were built.
the final drive running across the front of alongside the 75mm howitzer and Production of the Ausf. B commenced t
the vehicle to the drive sprocket on either another 7.92mm mounted in the front in 1937. The biggest change was the
side. Top speed was 30km/h. As with
the Panzer III, the driver sat on the left of

t
the transmission and the radio operator/ PANZER IV AUSF. F2 (G)
hull gunner on the right. The commander During August 1942, the Panzer IV Ausf. F2 (G) was capable of knocking out any British or
sat in the centre beneath his cupola, the American tank at ranges up to 2000m with its 75mm L/43 gun. Feld Marschall Erwin Rommel had
gunner was on the left of the gun breech 27 of them available during the Battle of Alam el Halfa pass, south of El Alamein, from August 30
and the loader was on the right. to September 5. This particular example is Red 843 of the 21st Panzer Division as it appeared on
The engine was offset 152.4mm to August 31, 1942. For the first stage of the battle, the Panzer IV Ausf. F2 (G)s were placed at the
front of the assault, engaging British tanks at long range. Then the 21st Panzer Division turned
the right of the vehicles’ centreline and north to face 22nd Armoured Brigade’s mixed force of Grants and Crusaders. Having created a
the turret was offset 66.5mm to the left, gap in the British lines by knocking out a dozen of these, despite some casualties, the Germans
allowing the shaft which connected the rushed forward. However, they met concentrated enemy fire particularly from the surrounding
engine with the transmission to avoid the hills and were forced to withdraw to their original positions. This was Rommel’s last major
rotary base junction unit which supplied offensive in the Western Desert.

PANZER: GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS 015

PANZER TANKS
S PANZER IV

t
PANZER IV AUSF. F2 (G)
White 613 of Panzer-Regiment 29, 12th Panzer
Division, 18th Army, seen here at Volkhov,
USSR in September 1942, was a very early
production vehicle finished in overall RAL
7021 Dunkelgrau. The 12th had been sent
to Estonia for a rest and refit after suffering
heavy casualties in the Soviet offensive during
the winter of 1941-42 but returned to action
during the spring of 1942. Here it acted as a
tactical reserve for the Army Group North,
going wherever armoured support was needed
and fighting battles at Volkhov, Lake Ladoga
and Nevel. It was then involved in the Siege of
Leningrad, where its tanks were instrumental
in the destruction of the Soviet 8th and 2nd
Shock Armies. The division was transferred to
Army Group Centre in November 1942.

engine, with the Panzer IV now receiving

the 300hp Maybach HL 120TR engine –
which the Panzer III had to wait until 1939
for – and a new six-speed gearbox. The
glacis plate of the tank was straightened
and up-armoured to 30mm with a new
driver’s vision slit included but with the
hull machine gun deleted. Some Ausf. Bs
received a better turret cupola
cupola, adopted
from the Panzer III Ausf. C with latches
for the vision slits. The vehicle weighed and the slightly improved Maybach HL
16.1 tons and speed was increased to 120TRM engine was introduced to the
42km/h. A total of 42 were built. production line after the first 30 vehicles
The Panzer IV Ausf. C was introduced out of a total of 140 built up to August
in 1938. This had 30mm turret armour 1939. Weight was 18.14 tons.

016 PANZER: GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS

 The hull-mounted machine gun was Construction of the Ausf. F then
reintroduced for the Ausf. D and the turret commenced. This had 50mm armour
gun received a new turret mantlet with on the hull front and turret, with the
35mm armour. Side armour was also side armour increasing in thickness
increased in thickness to 20mm. Ausf. D once again to 30mm – overall weight
production ran for 248 vehicles before the rising correspondingly to 22.3 tons. This
next major improvement. resulted in an unwelcome increase in
The Ausf. E’s bow plate armour was ground pressure so track width had to be
increased to 30mm while an additional increased to 400mm with the sprockets
steel plate was added to the glacis, and idlers being modified to suit. An
giving it a total of 60mm thickness. The auxiliary generator muffler was mounted
driver’s position got a new visor and the to the left of the main engine exhaust
commander’s cupola from the Panzer III and the latter was shortened. With the
Ausf. G was adopted. Between October invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941,
1940 and April 1941 a total of 206 Panzer the number of German tanks required t
IV Ausf. Es were built. increased dramatically, so 471 Ausf. Fs

t PANZER IV AUSF. G
After being defeated at the Battle of Faïd Pass and Sidi Bouzid on February 17,
1943, American forces fell back to the Kasserine Pass in western Tunisia. On
the 19th, Rommel attacked the Allied lines and forced the US troops to retreat.
The next day Rommel personally led a battle-group of the German 10th Panzer
Division in an attack towards the pass. The inexperienced American troops broke
within minutes. Black 8 is pictured here as it appeared on February 20, 1943. On
the offensive’s third day the division attacked toward Thala and the Americans
continued to fall back, leaving the Axis forces to capture large amounts of heavy
equipment. On February 21, the division was positioned outside Thala where the
Germans met stronger resistance as experienced British infantry had replaced the
Americans on the front line. Finally on the 23rd, Rommel gave the order to withdraw
eastward to avoid a British attack from Libya, allowing the Americans to retake the pass.
Black 8 was found blown-up when the Axis forces capitulated in May. It is believed that it
was painted in overall RAL 7027 Grau, a shade better suited to the scrubbier Tunisian terrain.

PANZER: GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS 017

PANZER TANKS
S PANZER IV
P
were produced between April 1941 and KwK L/34.5, which was tested in one tank
March 1942. in April 1942.
Reports of encounters with the British However, in November 1941
Matilda II tank in the Western Desert Krupp was ordered to cooperate
during December 1940 and January with Rheinmetall-Borsig in the
1941 convinced Adolf Hitler that both the development of another new
Panzer III and Panzer IV needed improved gun – the 75mm KwK 40 L/43. Although
armament. On February 19, 1941, with this new gun allowed the Panzer IV to
Panzer IV Ausf. F production ongoing, he penetrate 77mm of armour at 1830m, its
ordered that long 50mm cannon should long barrel increased the strain on the
be fitted to both tanks. Krupp therefore already hard-pushed forward suspension,
began to design a 50mm KwK L/60 gun meaning it was constantly compressed
and had an example ready to demonstrate rather than springing back and forth as
to Hitler on his 52nd birthday – April 20, the tank moved over uneven terrain.
1941. However, it soon became clear Initially the gun was fitted to Ausf. Fs
that this gun would still not be powerful rolling off the production line but after
enough and plans to manufacture it from three months this ‘F2’ was redesignated
August 1941 were cancelled. the Ausf. G. These tanks had a total of
Krupp was forced to think again. The 87 main gun rounds and 3150 rounds
company had already produced a potent of belted ammunition for their 7.92mm
75mm L/40 for the StuG but this was machine guns.
too long. Shortening the barrel would Built from March 1942 to June 1943,
give reduced armour-piercing capability the Ausf. G underwent numerous on-
however, so Krupp also had to develop the-run production changes as a total
a new armour-piercing round in tandem of 994 Fs and Gs were built in 1942.
with the gun. The result was the 75mm Slits were created in the rear engine
t

018 PANZER: GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS

 t

PANZER IV AUSF. G
Red 303 of the 16th Panzer Division was based at Salerno, Italy, during September 1943 when
the US Fifth Army launched Operation Avalanche. The 16th fought a defensive action which
succeeded in bogging down the US forces and denying them the rapid advance into Italy they
had hoped for. The landings at Salerno might have ended in disaster for the Americans had it not
been for a combination of air and naval support which drove the Germans back.

t
PANZER IV AUSF. G
Two German Panzer Korps and three
Soviet armies fought the epic tank battle of
Prokhorovka from July 12 to July 16, 1943. It
began with an attack by the elite 5th Guards
Tank Army with its 800 tanks against the
German II SS-Panzer Korps. The 1st SS
Panzer Division ‘Leibstandarte SS Adolf
Hitler’ with their 80 Panzers bore the brunt
of this initial attack and among them was
Black 055, a Panzerbefehlswagen. It was
the vehicle of the regiment commander,
SS-Obersturmbannführer George
Schönberger. Schönberger himself would
be killed in action five months later and
was posthumously awarded the Knights
Cross as well as be promoted to SS-
Standartenführer. This is how it looked on
July 12, 1943. When the battle was over, the
Germans had lost 5500 men with 25 tanks
and assault guns destroyed, while the Red
Army losses amounted to 21,000 men and
at least 334 tanks and assault guns.

PANZER: GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS 019

 PANZER TANKS PANZER IV
P

deck to improve ventilation and a starter

fluid injector was fitted to improve cold
weather performance as well as a coolant
warmer. A 30mm steel plate was welded
and later bolted to the front of the 50mm
glacis, giving a total thickness of 80mm.
Hitler decreed that all Panzer IVs should
have 80mm of frontal armour on
January 5, 1943.
Another change was to remove
the vision ports on either side of
the turret and the loader’s forward
vision port to simplify production.
The signal port on the turret was also
removed. Very late Ausf. Gs also had
a new cupola with 95mm armour
and a single round hatch.
The hull had a new searchlight with
removable blackout cover installed in
place of the original blackout headlight
and brackets for seven spare track links
were added to the glacis plate. A rack
for spare road wheels was fitted on the
track guard on the left side of the hull.
Three smoke dischargers were
mounted on either side of the turret as plate and Zimmerit paste was added to
standard from February to May 1943 prevent magnetic mines from gaining
but these were removed when it was a purchase on the hull. The turret roof
discovered that the smoke candles could received an armour upgrade with the
be ignited by enemy smallarms fire and forward plate being increased from 10mm
that the subsequent release of smoke was to 16mm. The rear plate, which supported
enough to incapacitate the tank’s crew.
The first Panzer IV with armoured skirts
for both the hull sides and turret was
produced on March 19, 1943. The former
were 5mm thick and the latter 8mm. And
the following month the KwK 40 L/43 the cupola, was increased to 25mm thick.
was replaced by the 75mm KwK 40 In addition, the side vision ports, now
L/48. This featured a more efficient blocked by the side skirts, were deleted.
multi-baffle muzzle brake. The final drive was reinforced and higher
The most advanced version of gear ratios were added but, with a weight
the Panzer IV, the Ausf. H, which first of 25 tons, speed was reduced to 16km/h
appeared in June 1943, was therefore during cross-country travel.
a strikingly different-looking tank to the The full year production total for Panzer
Ausf. A of 1936 – with its longer gun, IV Ausf. Gs and Hs in 1943 was 2983.
thicker armour, spaced turret plates and The last production version of the
side skirts. Now the glacis armour was Panzer IV was the Ausf. J, which was
being manufactured as a single 80mm less an evolution of the Ausf. H than
t

t
PANZER IV AUSF. G
This is Yellow 615 of II./Panzer-Regiment 35, 4th Panzer Division as it appeared in the Warsaw
area of Poland during early August 1944. At the end of July, the 4th had moved into the
Warsaw area where they clashed with the Soviet 2nd Tank Army. At the beginning, the 4th
had 98 tanks of which 29 were Panzer IVs. During eight days of intense fighting the division
claimed to have destroyed 108 tanks, two self-propelled guns, 20 artillery pieces and 43 anti-
tank-guns. German losses during this period were relatively light but nonetheless the strength
of the division dropped to just 2300 men. On August 11 the 4th was transported to the
Courland Peninsula where they destroyed or captured about 100 Red Army tanks and SPGs
over a period of several days’ fighting.

020 PANZER: GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS

 A 30MM STEEL PLATE WAS WELDED AND LATER
BOLTED TO THE FRONT OF THE 50MM GLACIS,
GIVING A TOTAL THICKNESS OF 80MM. HITLER
DECREED THAT ALL PANZER IVS SHOULD HAVE
80MM OF FRONTAL ARMOUR ON JANUARY 5, 1943.

t
PANZER IV AUSF. H
Having fought in some of the largest and
most brutal battles of the Eastern Front, ‘Das
Reich’ was redesignated as a Panzer division,
rather than a Panzergrenadier division, and
sent to counter the invasion on the Normandy
coast in France in June 1944. White 613 was
one of their vehicles. On their way there, on
June 10, an element of the division killed 642
men, women and children at Oradour-sur-
Glane in reprisal for an attack by the French
resistance. When ‘Das Reich’ arrived at the
front it took part in efforts to halt the Allies’
advance near Caen and then Saint-Lô
before being forced to retreat when it
became clear the Allies intended to
encircle all German forces in the
Falaise Pocket. The Panzer IV
was better suited to the narrow
sunken roads and hedgerows
of Bocage country in Normandy than
Panther or Tiger tanks since it was
smaller and more agile yet still packed a
powerful punch.

PANZER: GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS 021

PANZER TANKS
S PANZER IV
P
t
PANZER IV AUSF. J
Another tank of the ‘Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler’, Black 711 was supplied to the division
at Siegburg, Germany, in September 1944. The ‘Leibstandarte’ had lost all the tanks it
previously possessed, along with 5000 men, during the fierce fighting and breakout from the
Falaise Pocket in France. After a rest and refit, the division’s strength rose to 20,965 men
and it was relocated to the west of Bonn in November. Finally on December 13, the division
was moved once more to Blankenheim for the upcoming Ardennes Offensive.
t

PANZER IV AUSF. J
The 111th Panzer-Brigade was formed on September 4, 1944, and one of its tanks at that time, hot off the production line, was
this Panzerbefehlswagen, Black 508 of Panzer-Abteilung 2111. Just six days later it arrived in Lorraine in an effort to try and
halt the US offensive into Provence. Here the Germans managed to amass a force of three Panzer divisions and three Panzer
brigades together with the remnants of three other Panzer divisions that had just arrived from the Normandy front. The first battle was fought on
September 19, with the unit recapturing Lunéville. However, during the evening, it was lost to the 6th US Armored Division (the ‘Super Six’).
Fighting numerous battles and experiencing heavy losses due to fighter-bombers and artillery, Panzer-Abteilung 2111 ended up east of Château-
Salins on September 22. With just seven Panzers and 80 men left, the unit was dissolved and incorporated into the 25th Panzer Division.

it was a devolution. It was intended from leaks and were removed from with lightweight wire mesh by late 1944,
primarily to streamline, simplify and speed the production line until they could be Zimmerit was no longer being applied
up mass production of the type rather adequately sealed, being reinstated from and the gunner’s forward vision port on
than to improve the vehicle’s combat September 1944. the turret was deleted. The number of
performance. As a result, the generator In October 1944, the Ausf. J was fitted return rollers was reduced to three.
that powered the tank’s turret traverse with a new flat cupola hatch lid which Total Panzer IV production during
was removed – which meant that the could be raised and swung to the right. 1944, made up of Hs and Js, was 3125.
turret had to be turned using a hand Vision and pistol ports on the turret sides Only the Ausf. J survived into 1945, with
crank instead. The space was used for were deleted and the engine radiator around 435 being manufactured up to
the installation of an additional 200-litre housing design was simplified and made the end of the war.
fuel tank in July 1944, increasing range to more boxlike to ease production. The Like the Panzer III, the most common
320km. However, the early tanks suffered armoured side skirts had been replaced conversion of the Panzer IV was to create

022 PANZER: GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS

 t
Panzerbefehlswagens or ‘command PANZER IV AUSF. H
tanks’. These had extra radio sets, White 505 was a Panzerbefehlswagen of II./Panzer-Regiment 29, 12th
mounting racks and other electrical Panzer Division. This is how it looked at Slagüne in Latvia during
equipment which resulted in the space late September 1944. The 12th took part in Operation Cäsar on the
available for main gun armament Eastern Front in late September 1944. This was an attempt to re-form
being reduced from 87 rounds to 72. a cohesive front line between Army Groups North and Centre by
Also like the Panzer III, the Panzer conducting a second assault. The attack began on September 16
IV was sometimes used as the basis and the Red Army responded with fierce resistance. On the 21st the
for a Panzerbeobachtungswagen offensive came to a halt after XXXIX Panzer-Korps only managed to
penetrate a few kilometres. The Germans realised that their resources
or ‘observation tank’ for artillery
were not sufficient for a renewed offensive and so were forced to shift
spotting. The commander’s cupola was to the defensive. The Soviets launched a new offensive on October
replaced with a shorter unit with seven 5, reaching the Baltic Sea five days later, thereby managing to cut off
periscopes rather than the standard Army Group North in what was later known as the Courland Pocket.
cupola’s five vision slits and additional Subsequently, Hitler renamed Army Group North as Army Group
radio sets were installed along with an Courland since he probably realised that it was impossible to restore
artillery plotting board. • the land corridor.

PANZER: GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS 023

PANZER TANKS

STUG III
The Sturmgeschütz III,
originally intended as mobile
light artillery, became an
effective tank-killer and
Germany’s most-produced
armoured fighting vehicle of
the war.

hile the Panzer IV was meant piece

W to engage fixed positions and

knock them out in support
of the Panzer III, the German
that would
have a
30-degree
Army felt that there remained a need traverse to either side
for a mobile artillery piece that could within a fixed casemate.
also provide both direct and indirect fire It was to have protection
support for infantry units while protecting against 7.92mm armour-piercing
its crew withth armour.
armour bullets to the sides and rear with the
As a ressult Daimler-Benz, having just ability to deflect 20mm rounds at the
brought the e successful Panzer III Ausf. front. It was also to be open-topped
A to the po oint of series production, was for good all-round visibility and lower in
handed a contract
c on June 15, 1936, to height than the average man, making
create an in nfantry support vehicle armed it harder for enemy tanks and anti-tank
with a shorrt-barrelled 75mm artillery guns to spot and hit.
1940-1945

t
STUG III AUSF. G
The original photograph showing this
StuG III with its distinctive tall side skirts
gives no indication as to the vehicle’s unit,
nor to the time and place of the image.
Nevertheless, it is of interest due to those
side plates and for the unusual striped
camouflage pattern employed.

024 PANZER: GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS

 t
STUG III AUSF. G
Black K3 served with 3./Sturmgeschütz-Abteilung 904, 4th Panzer
Division and this is how it appeared at Orel in the USSR during
the spring of 1943. StuG.Abt. 904 was formed in Jüterborg in
December 1942 and consisted of three companies with a total of
31 vehicles. In February it was transferred to the Eastern Front,
where it was involved in heavy fighting during a new Soviet
offensive which began at that time.

Daimler-Benz designed the new build the first five prototypes in 1937.
vehicle using the most advanced Panzer Krupp was contracted to design the
III running gear and underpinnings – new w vehicle’s 75mm gun, five examples
those of the Ausf. B – before handing the of wwhich were made and delivered
project over to a subcontractor, Alkett, to in 11938. In August that year, Krupp
was also contracted to design a new
long-barrelled 75mm gun for Waffen
Prü üfamt 4, the section of the Waffenamt
ressponsible for artillery design.
With the five prototype vehicles
W
com mpleted and undergoing trials, a
dec cision was made in 1939 to change
thee design and make it fully enclosed
–p protecting the low-down crew from
being fired on by enemy infantry when
travvelling over uneven terrain and
parrticularly when going down slopes. In
Dec cember 1939, Krupp sent a wooden
mo odel of the new long-barrelled gun to
Daiimler-Benz so that work could begin
on determining how best to fit it to
thee new vehicle in place of the short-
barrrelled piece.
Named ‘Sturmgeschutz’ (in practice
ofteen shortened to ‘StuG’ or ‘StuG III’)
on March 28, 1940, the full production
veh hicle would again be based on the
lateest version of the Panzer III, now the
Aussf. E. All-new components included
thee armoured hull, a well-sprung height-
adjustable driver’s seat, track brakes, t
ttrack ventilation and hydraulic steering.

PANZER: GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS 025

PANZER TANKS STUG III

t
STUG III AUSF. G
This vehicle, Red 100, was used by 1./Panzer-Abteilung ‘Rhodos’, based at
Rhodes, Greece, in November 1943. Sturmdivision ‘Rhodos’, commanded
by Generalleutnant Ulrich Kleemann, consisted of a cadre of officers and
NCOs commanding second-rate garrison personnel and political prisoners,
some of whom were recruited from concentration camps. Their first baptism
of fire came on September 8, 1943, when the Italian garrison on the island
tried to negotiate their surrender to the British. Kleemann ordered an attack
on 40,000 Italians, defeating them after a series of battles for the loss of
66 Germans killed. The division later took part in the battles for the islands
of Corfu, Simi, Rodi, and a few other small Aegean islands. Transport was
made possible by the division’s own navy of small ships and sailing boats
crewed by Greek and Italian volunteers. The last action for the division
during the war was a raid against the Turks on March 1, 1945.

The remainder of the vehicle’s parts were The driver’s escape hatch was the
simply lifted directly from the Panzer steering brake inspection hatch but
III Ausf. E, the engine being the usual each of the others had a hatch directly
Maybach 120 TRM V12. Top speed was above his head.
40km/h but cruising speed when travelling The StuG’s 75mm L/24 cannon,
by road was more like 20km/h. On-road adapted from the KwK L/24 carried
range was 155km and 95km off-road. by the Panzer IV, was mounted on a
Armour thickness at the front was sturdy frame and had to be elevated
50mm with 30mm to the sides and rear. and traversed by hand. It could
There was a crew of four – commander, be moved up 20 degrees from centre,
driver, gunner and loader. The driver could down 10 degrees and left and right
see out of a slot in the front plate, another just 12 degrees either way. Thirty-two
slot to his left or through twin periscopes, rounds for the main gun were stowed
the gunner could only see out through away in metal bins with hinged lids in
the periscopic gun sight, the commander front of the loader, while another dozen
got a scissors periscope and the loader were kept in another bin at the back
was completely without external visibility. of the crew compartment.

026 PANZER: GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS

 NAMED ‘STURMGESCHUTZ’ (IN PRACTICE OFTEN
SHORTENED TO ‘STUG’ OR ‘STUG III’) ON MARCH 28,
1940, THE FULL PRODUCTION VEHICLE WOULD
AGAIN BE BASED ON THE LATEST VERSION OF
THE PANZER III, NOW THE AUSF. E.

The vehicle had no other weapon his orders to the gun crew and a simple exhaust mufflers and rear fender flaps.
so the crew themselves were equipped speaking tube linking the commander Two hundred and fifty were made.
with a pair of machine pistols, 12 stick and the driver. The StuG Ausf. A weighed The Ausf. C saw only minor changes,
grenades and five smoke grenades. 20.7 tons and just 30 of them were made. with a new periscopic gunsight being
The machine pistols had 192 rounds of The StuG Ausf. B incorporated the added and the seals around the steering
ammunition each. Just one radio set was mechanical improvements featured in brake access hatches being altered.
fitted to the StuG and the commander the Panzer III Ausf. H including wider Just 50 examples were produced. The
operated it. There was no crew intercom tracks, improved steering and ventilation Ausf. D had hardened frontal armour but
– just a loudspeaker by which for the brakes. On the outside, the otherwise the only difference was the
the commander could relay Ausf. B received new track guards, installation of an electric bell so that the
commander could attract the driver’s
attention – the speaking tube being
insufficient on its own. A total of 150
were built.
On the Ausf. E’s external
superstructure, the armoured pannier on
the left-hand side was made longer and a
new pannier was added on the right. This
allowed for the installation of additional
radio equipment, with a FuG 16 being
used by the loader. The pannier on the
t

t
STUG III AUSF. G
The 16th Panzer Division staged a fighting
withdrawal towards Rome and the Siegfried
Line during October 1943. The division enjoyed
a brief period of respite during early November
and that is the point at which Red 1024 is
depicted, the original photograph showing it
close to the Piazza del Popolo in Rome. The
number comes from it being the 4th vehicle
of the 2nd platoon of the 10th company. The
vehicle belonged to the 16th’s III./Abteilung,
10./Panzer-Regiment 2. During the latter part
of the month, the 16th was sent to the Eastern
Front, arriving at Babruysk in central Belarus
on December 13, 1943.

PANZER: GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS 027

PANZER TANKS STUG III

t
STUG III AUSF. G
Black 232 of 2./Panzerjäger-Abteilung
243, 243. Infanterie-Division, was based at
Cherbourg, Normandy, France, during late
June 1944. Note the squared pattern on
the Zimmerit paste applied to this vehicle,
looking much like the familiar waffle pattern.
The 243rd’s heavy equipment tended to be
obsolete or captured Czech, French and
Russian weapons, even though the crews
were actually battle-hardened veterans of
the Eastern Front. It was deployed to the
north of the Cotentin Peninsula and was
under constant attack immediately after the
D-Day landings. Later withdrawn to ‘Fortress
Cherbourg’, the division suffered crippling
losses and was almost entirely destroyed
in the fighting at Saint-Lô. It was formally
disbanded on September 12, 1944.

left also allowed an extra six rounds to be production run so that 56 rounds could below. From December 1942, the Ausf.
carried for the main gun. While an order now be carried for the main gun. F/8 was fitted with a small shield on the
for 500 was placed, just 284 examples In addition to the gun itself, the Ausf. roof positioned in front of the loader’s
were actually built. F’s crew received a single MG 34 with hatch to provide him with cover when he
By now, the long-barrelled
arrelled gun 600 rounds of ammunition to supplement was using the vehicle’s MG 34.
originally developed fo or the StuG by their two machine pistols and 12 stick Around 700 Ausf. Fs and F/8s were
Krupp had been supe erseded by an grenades. After 121 Ausf. Fs had been built from March to December 1942,
improved model desig gned by Rheinmetall- produced, the Stu.K.40 L/43 was replaced when production switched to the final
Borsig – the 75mm Sttu.K.40 L/43. This with the even longer L/48. In addition,
fired the new Pzgr.39 shell which had extra 30 m armour plates were welded
been aerodynamicallyy designed to on to the front of the hull beginning in
achieve higher speedss and therefore June 1942. The overall weight of the
had a greater chance of penetrating vehi d steadily crept up and now
enemy armour. reached 21.6 tons.
The first StuG fitted
d
with the new gun,
the Ausf. F, entered
production in March
1942. The front of the Next came the interim type Ausf. F/8.
superstructure was sig gnificantly modified This adopted the hull design
to allow sufficient spa ace for the new of the Panzer III Ausf. J, with
weapon with its more substantial recoil extended sides, different
and recuperator cylind ders. Also, a roof- brake access hatches and a
mounted exhaust fan was fitted. Stowage new rear deck which provided
was increased part wa ay through the F’s better cooling for the engine

t
STUG III AUSF. G
Belonging to the 9. SS Panzer Division ‘Hohenstaufen’, this StuG III was at
Longchamps, Belgium, on January 3-4, 1945, during some of the fiercest fighting
of the Ardennes campaign. The US 101st Airborne Division launched an attack
against the Germans north of Bastogne on January 3 but were met by intensive
artillery fire, forcing them back to their original positions. The ‘Hohenstaufen’
then attacked the 101st from the north and managed to capture the villages of
Longchamps and Monaville. The attack continued on the 4th and resulted in a
panicked withdrawal of US forces and high casualties among the American forces.
General George Patton wrote in his diary: “The German freezes more than us and
they are hungrier than we are, but they fight better.”

028 PANZER: GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS

distinct variant of the StuG III – the sides and a repositioned fan to
Ausf. G. This featured a redesigned improve the extraction of fumes from
superstructure with a seven-periscope the gun breech. The gunner’s hatch was
cupola for the commander, extended also deleted.
t

PANZER: GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS 029

PANZER TANKS STUG III

Early on in the G’s production run, that a two-ton jib boom could be fitted Another major variant of the StuG
the driver’s side vision slot was replaced to the vehicle for lifting out components was the Sturmhaubitze. This was fitted
with a pistol port and the armour plates – particularly the engine – when this was with a 105mm light field howitzer for
on the side panniers were fitted at a necessary. And two months later the destroying hardened and well dug-in
sharper angle to increase protection. In application of Zimmerit ceased. enemy positions such as bunkers. The
January 1943, the breech fume extractor A small number of StuG IIIs were gun could be traversed 10 degrees
fan was moved again, this time to the equipped to perform the command to either side and 20 degrees up.
rear wall of the fighting compartment. vehicle role with long-range radio sets Thirty-six rounds could be carried.
The driver’s twin periscope was and large aerials mounted on the rear of The first nine prototype examples
deleted in February 1943 and the holes the superstructure. were completed in October 1942 with
left were plugged up. Spaced armourmour
side skirts were fitted from April 1943
and from May 1943 the vehicle’ss frontal
armour was cast as a single 80m mm thick
plate rather than being cast as a 50mm
plate and having the additional 30mm
3
of armour bolted on. Just like evvery
other German armoured fighting g vehicle,
from September 1943 Zimmerit paste
was applied to StuG IIIs to preve ent the
enemy from attaching magnetic mines.
A cast gun mantle was introduce ed to
some but not all StuG productio on lines
from November 1943, replacing the old
armour-plate mantle.
Four months later, in March 1944,
a new remote-controlled machin ne gun
mount was fitted in place of the
loader’s gun shield on the vehiclle’s
roof. The MG 34 could be installled in
the mount then fired by the load der from
inside the vehicle using a periscope
which offered magnification to th he power
of three and an eight-degree field of
vision. Unfortunately, the MG 34 4 was
magazine rather than belt-fed so o once
the gun ran out of ammunition, thet
loader would have to open his hatch
h to
change the magazine.
Sockets were welded to the roof
r of
the superstructure from July 194 44 so

030 PANZER: GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS

 t
STUG III AUSF. G
‘Chery’, probably of the 3rd or 5th SS Panzer Division, IV. SS Panzer Korps, as it appeared
at Székesfehérvár, Hungary, on January 17, 1945. On this day, the Germans made their third
attempt to relieve the besieged city of Budapest with Operation Konrad III. Within the city,
95,000 German and Hungarian troops were trapped together with 800,000 civilians. Attacking
from the south, this offensive aimed to encircle 10 Red Army divisions. The effort failed, despite
tearing a 24-kilometre hole in the Soviet lines. Finally, on February 13, 1945, the remaining
defenders in the city surrendered, costing the Germans and the Hungarians 40,000 dead and
62,000 wounded while the Red Army losses amounted to 82,000 dead and 240,000 wounded.
Hitler’s decision to undertake offensive actions in both the Ardennes and Hungary resulted in
Poland, and thereby the road to Berlin, being left virtually undefended when Stalin launched his
winter offensive on January 15.

Soviets, but by the end of November that paar with that of turreted tanks. Complaints
year, this had increased to 448. abbout the StuG included the lack of an
With its powerful long-barrelled 75mm anti-infantry machine gun that could be
gun, the StuG was just as effective fire
ed from inside the vehicle, the need
against tanks such as the T-34, T-60 and to repeatedly shift the whole vehicle’s
T 70 as it was against ene
T-70 enemy infantry position in order to aim the gun – putting
po
positions. By the start of Operation pressure on the steering and brakes – and
three more following in November. The Citadel against the Russian defences the weak 30mm side armour.
production series began in March 1943 around Kursk at the end of June 1943, Between January and August 1944,
and some 1300 had been built by the there were 26 StuG units operating a total StuG units claimed a total of 4667 Soviet
end of the war. of 727 vehicles. tanks destroyed for a loss of 713 StuG IIIs
Although early versions of the StuG The Germans increasingly found that – an incredible kill ratio, even allowing for
III were not built in huge numbers, the StuG had some clear advantages over over-reporting. It has been estimated that
the vehicle came into its own on the tanks such as the Panzer IV – in particular, by the end of the war, StuGs had knocked
Eastern Front as the war progressed. its low height meant it was harder to hit out some 35,000 Allied tanks overall.
At the beginning of the summer in 1942 and easier to conceal. Its frontal armour A total of 10,086 StuG IIIs were built,
there were 210 StuG IIIs fighting the was adequate and its mobility was on a not including the 1300 Sturmhaubitzes. •

t STUG III AUSF. G

Arriving at the port of Libau, Latvia, on
January 15 by sea after the Courland
Peninsula was cut off by the Red Army in
mid-October 1944, Heeres-Sturmartillerie
Brigade 600 was equipped with 19 brand
new StuG IIIs and 12 Sturmhaubitzes. Among
these was White 131. The unit also had a pair
of T-34 chassis that had been fitted out as
recovery vehicles. The brigade was eventually
dissolved on April 12 and its remaining 11
StuGs were incorporated into other units.

PANZER: GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS 031

PANZER TANKS TIGER I

TIGER I
1942-1945

ermany would win its greatest

Just the sight of a Tiger was usually
enough to strike fear into the hearts of
enemy tank crews. With thick armour
G tactical successes during
the first year of the war using
relatively fast and agile small
and medium tanks but as early as
and a powerful 88mm gun, it was January 1937 the Heeres Waffenamt,
the German Army armaments
capable of defeating anything that department, had awarded Henschel
a contract to begin development of a
crossed its path. Though by no means much larger tank.
invincible, it was a formidable fighting This was to be a Durchbruchwagen
or ‘breakthrough vehicle’ weighing
machine. between 30 and 33 tons. A single
turretless prototype known as the DW 1

032 PANZER: GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS

 t

TIGER I AUSF. H
The 502nd Heavy Panzer Battalion suffered heavy losses of Tiger Is and Panzer IIIs during the Soviet encirclement
of Schlüsselburg, east of Leningrad, on January 16, 1943, and the subsequent German break-out attempt. A total
of five Tiger Is were lost in the break-out on the 18th. By early February, the unit had only five operational Tigers,
including Black 4. It continued to fight in the first battle of Ladoga, however, with a small number of Tigers and
Panzer IIIs repelling the Soviet offensive. Its claims during this month amounted to 107 Soviet tanks. In all, it
destroyed more than 1400 tanks and 2000 anti-tank guns during its existence for the loss of 88 Tigers in combat.

was built but this went no further and the last two being the number of four prototypes designed VK 30.01 (H),
because while it was under construction the prototype in that weight category. with the ‘H’ standing for Henschel, using
the specification was changed to require This was designed to have 100mm of a number of components previously
thicker armour. Again, Henschel was frontal armour with 80mm on the sides. developed for the DW 2.
contracted to produce a vehicle to the Its gun was to be a short-barrelled The company was also contracted to
revised specification, resulting in one 75mm cannon. build six prototypes of a 36-ton design,
prototype DW 2, but again the Army’s In 1939, the Waffenamt put forward the VK 36.01 (H). Both were to be fitted
requirements changed. another set of specifications and this with a torsion bar suspension system
While this work was ongoing, time Henschel faced competition featuring overlapping and interleaved
Henschel had also constructed a far from three other companies for the road wheels that was already commonly
heavier tank designated VK 65.01. The contract – MAN, Daimler-Benz and used for German half-track vehicles.
VK stood for VollKette or ‘fully tracked’, Porsche. Designs were drawn up and During the Battle of France in 1940,
with the first two digits of the number on September 9, 1939, Henschel duly the German Army’s fast but lightweight t
denoting the vehicle’s weight in tons received another contract, this time for Panzer IIs and medium Panzer IIIs

PANZER: GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS 033

PANZER TANKS TIGER I

t
TIGER I AUSF. H
Red 731 aka ‘Norbert’ of the 501st Heavy
Panzer Battalion’s 7th Company as it appeared
at the end of February 1943 at Beja in Tunisia.
Up until February 26, Norbert had been part of
the 1st Heavy Panzer Regiment, where it had
worn turret number 131.

came up against heavily armoured

French Char B1 and British Matilda
II tanks and it became clear to Adolf
Hitler that a heavier tank with more
firepower was urgently required. He felt
that the Waffenamt was progressing
too slowly with Henschel and therefore
independently awarded a contract for
the design of a 45-ton tank to Henschel’s
competitor Porsche during the autumn
of 1940.
Porsche’s owner Dr Ferdinand
Porsche was a personal friend of Hitler
Hitler,
having produced the Volkswagen
‘people’s car’, later known as the Beetle, electro-mechanical system where two of the tracks via the rear drive sprocket.
for him two years earlier in 1938. He was air-cooled 320hp 10-cylinder Porsche The unorthodox design which resulted
also convinced that heavier tanks were 101 engines drove a pair of Siemens- – with the turret positioned right at the
needed but believed that a conventional Schuckert 500 kVA generators which front of the tank to allow room for all
mechanical drivetrain would be too weak. in turn drove a pair of Siemens 230 kW the drivetrain components – wast
He therefore came up with a complex electric motors, each of which drove one designated the VK 45.01 (P).

t
TIGER I AUSF. H
Half a dozen Tigers of the 504th Heavy Panzer Battalion’s 1st
Company knocked out 40 tanks of the British 9th Armoured
Division during the defence of Tunis on April 21, 1943, and
forced the remainder to retreat. From their combat debut in
December 1942 until their surrender to the British on May 12,
1943, the unit lost only six Tigers in action. Another three were
captured, one broke down and burned and another nine were
blown up by their crews. The remaining 15 Tigers were torched
by their crews on May 12.

034 PANZER: GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS

PANZER: GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS 035
PANZER TANKS TIGER I

On November 12, 1940, Wafffen

Prüfamt 6, the section of the Waffenamt
W
responsible for combat vehicle design,
contracted Nibelungenwerk in St S
Valentin, Austria, to built the pro
ototypes
of the VK 45.01 (P). After discusssions
lasting nearly three months, on April 25,
1941, Krupp’s 88mm KwK L/56 6 gun
was chosen for Porsche’s new heavy
tank. Krupp designed the turrett too,
with a wooden mock-up being
completed on May 20, 1941.
Six days later, on May 26, 19 941, a
meeting was held with Hitler at which
it was decided that both Hensc chel’s
VK 36.01 (H) and Porsche’s VK 45.01
(P) would go into full production n in
parallel under what was known as the
‘Tigerprogram’ and that both would
w
be armed with Rheinmetall-Borrsig’s
88mm Flak 41 gun. Both would d have
100mm thick frontal armour and d 60mm
thick side armour and six exam mples of
each would be ready for action by the
summer of 1942. Crucially, both h would
also be fitted with deep wading g gear. This
meant that the bridge loading liimit which
had previously held down the weight
w
of German tanks no longer app plied
– although the need to retain a width
narrow enough for loading on to o railway
cars remained.
t

036 PANZER: GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS

 ON NOVEMBER 12, 1940, WAFFEN PRÜFAMT 6,
THE SECTION OF THE WAFFENAMT RESPONSIBLE
FOR COMBAT VEHICLE DESIGN, CONTRACTED
NIBELUNGENWERK IN ST VALENTIN, AUSTRIA, TO
BUILT THE PROTOTYPES OF THE VK 45.01 (P).

t
TIGER I AUSF. H
One of the best-known Tigers of the war
today is White 833 ‘Tiki’ of the 2nd Company
of the 2nd SS Panzer Regiment ‘Das Reich’.
During March 1943, ‘Das Reich’ took part
in the operation to recapture the cities of
Kharkov and Belogorod. By the beginning
of April, the point at which ‘Tiki’ is depicted,
four Soviet corps between the Donets and the
city of Zaporozhye had been wiped out and
more than 16,000 square kilometres had been
retaken by the Germans.

t
TIGER I AUSF. H
Very few Tigers survive today and the most
famous of these is Red 131, of the 504th Heavy
Panzer Battalion’s 1st Company. On April 24,
1943, it was involved in assaulting positions
held by the Sherwood Foresters’ 2nd Battalion
at Gueriat El Atach, a position known as Point
174. During the battle, the Foresters fired a
captured 75mm anti-tank gun at the Tiger at
close range, while Churchills of 48 Royal Tank
Regiment fired at it with six-pounders. A shell
jammed 131’s turret and the crew bailed out.
Whether the crew then surrendered or were
shot as they fled is unclear as contemporary
sources disagree.

PANZER: GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS 037

PANZER TANKS TIGER I

TIGER I AUSF. E t
This Tiger I, Green 1, was probably the vehicle of Major Gerhard Willing,
the commander of the 506th Heavy Panzer Battalion’s staff company.
The tank is shown as it appeared at St Pölten, Austria, in August 1943
before it was loaded on to a train the following month and transported to
the Zaporozhye-Dnieper Bend region of the USSR. From September 16
to September 27, the 506th was resupplied with 45 new Tiger Is.

After the meeting Waffen Prüfamt 6, sloped roof with a

commonly known by the abbreviated raised section in the
title Wa Prüf 6, came to understand that middle to provide the
work on the Porsche design was already gun with a greater
much further advanced than previously degree of depression
thought and contacted the company if necessary. The
to see whether the already-designed other 92 were slightly
Krupp turret could be modified to taller and horseshoe-
accept the Flak 41. Porsche responded sh ped with a flat
on September 10, 1941, to state that m le at the front where
the turret had been designed around th was fitted.
the KwK L/56 and that there was no armour protection of the
way in which it could be made to accept V 5.01 (P) exceeded the original
the Flak 41. specification, with 80mm on the sides
As a result, it was agreed that the first rather than 60mm, but even so it was
100 production examples of the VK 45 45.01
01 expected that the electro
electro-mechanical
mechanical
(P) would have the original Krupp turret drive would propel the vehicle along
and that subsequent examples would at a relatively brisk 35km/h.
35km/h The
be fitted with a newly designed turret suspension was by longitudinal torsion
capable of mounting the Flak 41. Krupp bar, allowing the overall height of the
duly set to work on the turrets. The first vehicle to be kept down. Weight, in the
eight had low sides and a flat, slightly end, exceeded 59 tons.
t

038 PANZER: GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS

t TIGER I AUSF. E
Yellow 324 of the 501st Heavy
Panzer Battalion’s 3rd Company,
shown as it appeared in the area
east of Minsk, USSR, during June
1944, has some interesting visual
features: note the missing front
outer road wheel; this was often
removed to avoid clogging the
drive train with mud and debris.
Furthermore, the road wheels are
all mottled with green and brown
patches. This was contrary to
regulations, as when rotating they
increased visibility to the enemy
and compromised the vehicle’s
concealment when on the move.
The barrel is a replacement that is
finished in a special dark grey
heat-resistant lacquer paint.

PANZER: GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS 039

PANZER TANKS TIGER I

It was intended that the first example

of Porsche’s tank should be ready by
April 1942 in time for Hitler’s birthday on
the 20th. Production targets were set
on January 5, 1942, at 10 examples in
May 1942, followed by another 10 in
June, then 12 for July, 14 for August and
15 in September.
Meanwhile, Henschel had been
confronted with a number of problems.
Firstly, prior to the May 26 meeting, it
had not even considered fitting an 88mm
gun to the VK 36.01, let along the bulky
Flak 41. Secondly, the VK 36.01 would
need to become the VK 45.01 (H) due to
the additional armour and larger engine
it would require – but there was no time
to develop a completely new drivetrain
and running gear to compensate for the
additional weight.
Initially, Henschel had hoped to use as Waffe 0725, but on September 27, Th , with too little time
a modified version of the DW turret for 1941, Henschel had been informed by remaining to get a new turret designed,
the VK 36.01, carrying a 105mm gun, but Oberst Sebastian Fichtner, the head Henschel was forced to simply adopt
this proposal was rejected at the May 26 of Wa Prüf 6, that Hitler had decided the turret designed for the 5.01 (P)
meeting with Hitler. Another option was tapered bore weapons were not to be complete with its 88mm 56 gun.
to fit a tapered bore 75mm gun known used for series production tanks. The VK 36.01 itself was out with
t

t
TIGER I AUSF. E
Possibly commanded by
Oberleutnant Dr Barkhausen, White
300 of the 505th Heavy Panzer
Battalion’s 3rd Company was
knocked out by elements of the
Soviet 307th division near the village
of Ponyri, south of Orel in July of
1943. In two separate engagements
on July 5 and July 15, the 505th
destroyed 64 T-34s for the loss of
one Tiger. However, even though the
505th only lost six Tigers in action
overall during July, its operational
strength fell from 31 tanks down to
just three.

040 PANZER: GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS

 IT WAS INTENDED THAT THE FIRST EXAMPLE OF
PORSCHE’S TANK SHOULD BE READY BY APRIL 1942
IN TIME FOR HITLER’S BIRTHDAY ON THE 20TH.
PRODUCTION TARGETS WERE SET ON JANUARY 5,
1942, AT 10 EXAMPLES IN MAY 1942, FOLLOWED BY
ANOTHER 10 IN JUNE, THEN 12 FOR JULY, 14 FOR
AUGUST AND 15 IN SEPTEMBER.

t
TIGER I AUSF. H
The 505th Heavy Panzer
Battalion was officially formed
on June 28, 1943, in readiness
for Operation Citadel and the
resulting Battle of Kursk. The
unit comprised two companies
equipped with 31 Tiger Is
and 15 Panzer IIIs. This Tiger,
Black II, belonged to the staff
company and is shown as it
appeared in the region east of
Orel, USSR, during June 1943.

PANZER: GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS 041

PANZER TANKS TIGER I

TIGER I AUSF. E t
Black 213, shown here in the Tjernovo-
Leningrad area of the USSR during July
1943, was commanded by the tank ace
Oberleutnant Otto Carius of the 502nd Heavy
Panzer Battalion’s 2nd Company, who is
credited with destroying more than 150
enemy tanks. Otto’s small and slim stature
resulted in him being sent home twice as
“not fit for service, at present underweight”.
He was permanently drafted in May of 1940
however, and was eventually awarded the Oak
Leaves to the Knights Cross in recognition of
his accomplishments in combat as well as his
military leadership.

a new engine, the 650hp 12-cylinder

Maybach HL 210 P45, new fuel tanks, a
new cooling system and new equipment
that would enable it to ford rivers and
streams. However, in order to speed
up the development process, as many
existing
g components
p as possible
p were
used, in particular the DW’
W’s runningi gear,
torsion bar suspension, Henschel
H L 600 It was widened at the sides to create
C steering and Maybach Olvar 40 12 ‘panniers’ over the vehicle’s tracks which on the superstructure side plates. It
16 transmission. Krupp’ss Porsche turret could house its radiators and the engine was only 60mm on the completely flat
was switched from an ele ectric traverse to compartment was expanded with a vertical hull side plates, however. The VK
hydraulic and received a new travel lock. new hatch being fitted on top. Armour 45.01 (H) was fitted with a retractable
The VK 36.01’s boxy hull
h was at the front was 100mm thick, including ‘Vorpanzer’ shield at the front to provide t
extended rather than being re haped. 100mm on the turret front, and 80mm extra protection for the tracks and

t
TIGER I AUSF. H
This is the Tiger of SS-Hauptsturmführer Zimmermann,
commander of the 8th Company of the 2nd SS Panzer
Regiment ‘Das Reich’. White S01 is depicted in the
USSR on July 5, 1943. A week later Zimmermann was
wounded at Kursk and his temporary replacements, SS-
Hauptsturmführer Lorenz and SS-Obersturmführer Theiss
were both killed in action within four days. The latter
was standing within the commander’s cupola of his Tiger
when it was hit by an anti-tank gun and blown clean off,
taking his head with it. This was apparently a common
problem with the early type drum cupola. Note the devil
insignia painted in white on the turret: this badge was of
Russian origin and evidently used by the locals to fend off
evil spirits.

042 PANZER: GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS

PANZER: GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS 043
 PANZER TANKS TIGER I

t
TIGER I AUSF. E
With the addition of armoured personnel carriers and Tigers in May 1943, Infantry
Division ‘Grossdeutschland’ was re-designated Panzer Grenadier Division
‘Grossdeutschland’. One of those Tigers was Black B22, shown here in August 1943.
The newly re-equipped division was subordinated to the XLVIII Panzer Corps, and
played a major role alongside the II SS Panzer Corps in Operation Citadel. During the
first week, the division’s Tiger company advanced over 30km and destroyed nearly
60 Russian tanks for the loss of six Tigers.

drive sprockets – a feature that was not the turret, with a total of 4800
carried on into series production. rounds between them. On
Sixty-four rounds for the main gun the front of the tank was a
were stored inside the panniers, lying pair of headlights, one at
horizontally in covered bins, while each corner.
another 16 rounds were kept in bins On March 2, 1942, both
on the hull sides. Another six sat in a the Porsche and Henschel
bin beside the driver and yet another designs were given the
six lay in a bin under the floor beneath designation ‘Tiger’ but the
the turret in the centre of the tank. For first Henschel prototype did not
close protection, the vehicle had a hull- even receive its lightly modified t
mounted MG 34 and another mounted in turret from Krupp until April 11, 1942.

044 PANZER: GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS

t
TIGER I AUSF. E
White S14 was commanded by
SS-Oberscharführer Kamarad
and was one of several newly
manufactured Tigers that the 1st
SS Panzer Regiment ‘Leibstandarte
SS Adolf Hitler’ received while
being rested and refitted in Reggio,
Italy, during August 1943. Later
that month new personnel arrived
from the Senne training camp to
organise the new 101st SS Heavy
Panzer Battalion. On September 16,
awards were handed out to those
who had participated in Operation
Citadel. During this battle the
unit had destroyed 150 tanks,
71 anti-tank guns and six artillery
pieces, losing only one Tiger in
the process.

PANZER: GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS 045

PANZER TANKS TIGER I

t
TIGER I AUSF. E
Thirteen Tigers of the 506th Heavy Panzer
Battalion’s 2nd Company, including Red 6,
attacked Soviet forces north of Blisnezy on
September 21, 1943. The 506th lost eight tanks
in the Zaporozhye area during the month.

The Henschel and Porsche Tigers were Tiger chassis, when

duly inspected by Hitler on his birthday they were completed,
as planned and both were ordered into being used as the
production in parallel. basis of a new heavy
Both types were beset by mechanical assault gun – what
problems – the Porsche Tiger because would become the
of its complicated drivetrain and the Ferdinand, later known as
Henschel Tiger because it had been put the Elefant.
together so quickly from parts intended The first full production Tiger I
for smaller, lighter tanks. The latter was completed on May 17, 1942, and
also suffered from leaky gaskets and sent for testing at the German Army’s
seals. Just nine Henschel Tigers had Kummersdorf proving grounds. Rather
been delivered by August 1942 but the than the Vorpanzer shield, it had track
Porsche Tiger was still undeliverable. mudguards made from sheet metal
In September, Hitler ordered that only fitted at the front of the vehicle but no
the Henschel Tiger should continue into mudguards on the sides. Beginning
ongoing production with the Posche in August 1942, a set of three smoke
t

t
TIGER I AUSF. E
Black 300 was the vehicle of Knight’s Cross holder
Oberleutnant Walter Scherf, the commander of the
503rd Heavy Panzer Battalion’s 3rd Company, during
September 1943. At this time German forces were
retreating across the Eastern Front and immobilised
tanks were often left behind. Despite this fact,
many vehicles were eventually retrieved and on
September 13 Oberleutnant Scherf, together with
two other operational Tigers, managed to tow eight
of their damaged tanks to Paraskoweja. Unteroffizier
Rubble’s Tiger 114 was saved by loading it on to a
railway car that was pushed by 30 soldiers across a
railway bridge over the river Dnieper. On September
22, the combat diary of the 503rd concluded that
since July 5 the unit had destroyed 501 tanks, 388
antitank guns, 97 artillery pieces and eight aircraft,
losing just 16 of its Tigers.

046 PANZER: GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS

PANZER: GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS 047
PANZER TANKS TIGER I

t
TIGER I AUSF. E
The camouflage painted on to Black 332 of the 503rd
Heavy Panzer Battalion’s 3rd Company is unusual.
The overall colour is definitely darker than RAL 7028
Dunkelgelb but too light for RAL 7021 Panzergrau. It is
believed that this tank was originally destined for North
Africa, but instead ended up with the 503rd on the Eastern
Front. Therefore, this Tiger was probably camouflaged
in RAL 8000 Grünbraun. This is how it appeared at
Znamenka in the USSR during October 1943.

grenade launchers was mounted on – the tracks on the

either side of the turret. right were simply
The following month, all-round mounted in reverse
mudguards were added. Each was to the tracks on the
made up of four sections which were lef . This evidently
bolted to the sides of the tank’s hull. re ed in Tigers pulling
In addition, a metal box was added sli y to one side while
to the left rear hull so that track tr elling forwards. The
adjustment and replacement tools fol owing month, Henschel began
could be kept together in one easily fitting new air filters to Tigers that were
accessible location. intended for service in hot dustyy locations
While early
Whil l Ti
Tigers h
haddbbeen fitt
fitted
d such h as Af
Africa,
i Italy
It l andd th
the southern
th
with cross-country tracks on the left parts of Russia. In addition, new hinged
and right sides which mirrored one track mudguards were installed at the
another, in October this was changed front and rear of the vehicle.
to all Tiger cross-country tracks From December 1942, the Tiger’s
being identical and interchangeable turret was modified to include an
t

t
TIGER I AUSF. E
The 3rd Company of the 504th
Heavy Panzer Battalion was a
Funklenk unit equipped with the
NSU Springer remote control mine
demolition vehicle. Each Tiger,
including White 331, all had an
antenna mounted on the right side
of the turret front. On June 22, 1944,
four Tigers from the 504th engaged
a formation of 25 Sherman tanks in
the area around Massa Marittima,
north-western Italy. Eleven
Shermans were knocked-out and
set on fire. The remaining 14 crews
open their hatches and fled, leaving
the tanks to the Germans.
No Tigers were lost.

048 PANZER: GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS

PANZER: GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS 049
PANZER TA
ANKS TIGER I

t
TIGER I AUSF. E
White C was a command vehicle of the 507th Heavy Panzer Battalion’s staff company and is
depicted as it appeared at Lemberg in the Ternopil region of the Ukraine during the summer
of 1944. The 507th lost 11 Tigers in July 1944, two of them destroyed by their crews.

escape hatch on its re ear right wall, the first 250 examples. The HL 210 had
commander’s seat wa as made adjustable a displacement of 21.353 litres or
and a large bin was mounted
m on the 1303 cu in, a bore of 125mm and a
back of the turret to in
ncrease the tank’s stroke of 145mm. On the HL 230,
general stowage capa acity – this latter displacement was 23.095 litres or
being fitted to all 70 Tigers
T having been 1409.3 cu in, bore was increased
built by the end of 1942. by 5mm up to 130mm and stroke
A heat guard and deflector
d were remained the same. e new engine
added in January 194 43 to shroud the had two air filters an quired
tank’s exhaust mufflers and prevent changes to the cooli ystem. In
flames from giving the e vehicle’s position practice, the addition l 0hp made
away, and in March a metal shield was little difference to the iger’s
fitted to protect the ta
ank commander performance however.
from back-blast when n the main ggun was It had a maximum speed
p of 45.4km/h
fired. A periscope for the loader was also but its top road speed was 20km/h,
added to the roof of the turret. dropping to 15km/h cross-country. Its
Perhaps the greatest change made range was 195km when travelling by
to the Tiger during its entire production road and 110km cross-country.
run occurred in May 1943 when the new The following month the turret-
690hp Maybach HL 230 P45 replaced mounted smoke launchers were deleted
the HL 210 P45, which had powered the from the design due to the danger of
t

050 PANZER: GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS

 t
TIGER I AUSF. E
Tigers of the 507th Heavy
Panzer Battalion can be
identified by the extra track
links mounted on their turrets.
This is White 100 of the 1st
Company, pictured in the
Ternopil area of the Ukraine
during the summer of 1944.
It may have been the vehicle
of company commander
Hauptmann Siegfried Holzheid.

PANZER: GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS 051

PANZER TANKS TIGER I

their being accidentally ignited by small

arms fire from the enemy. The turret
underwent a redesign in July 1943, with
the hinged hatch of the commander’s
cupola being replaced with a new
swivelling one. Armoured shields were
fitted to protect the periscopes and
the roof-mounted exhaust fan was
repositioned to provide improved
ventilation for the crew compartment.
Inside the turret, the awkward
metal shield installed to protect the
commander from breech blow-back
was replaced with a far more convenient
strip of fireproof cloth and a new turret
lock was introduced. Externally, Tigers
built during and after July had their
two headlights replaced with a single
one fitted to the top left of the forward
superstructure. tank was still capable of crossing rivers An external travel lock for the main
All the seals, pipes and other up to a depth of 1.5m. gun was also installed on the rear of
equipment necessary for the tank to Zimmerit anti-magnetic mine paste the tank which, used in conjunction
drive through water above its roofline was applied from September and two with the internal travel lock, helped to
were removed from the design in August, months later a fan, ducting and vents prevent the delicate gun sight from being
significantly simplifying the production of were installed in the firewall at the shifted out of alignment when travelling
numerous assemblies. Even without this front of the vehicle to extract fumes over rough ground. This meant that the t
gear, thanks to some simple gaskets the coming from the gearbox and brakes. turret had to be positioned with the gun

t
TIGER I AUSF. E
This tank was the first Tiger the 102nd SS
Heavy Panzer Battalion lost in Normandy,
probably on July 10, 1944. White 221 was
later found knocked-out, and the entire crew,
including the commander Willy Endmann,
were missing and presumed KIA.

052 PANZER: GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS

INSIDE THE TURRET, THE AWKWARD METAL SHIELD
INSTALLED TO PROTECT THE COMMANDER FROM
BREECH BLOW-BACK WAS REPLACED WITH A FAR
MORE CONVENIENT STRIP OF FIREPROOF CLOTH
AND A NEW TURRET LOCK WAS INTRODUCED.

t
TIGER I AUSF. E
Tank ace SS-Hauptsturmführer Michael
Wittmann, of the 101st SS Heavy Panzer
Battalion, and his entire crew were killed
on August 8, 1944, in Green 007. He had
been leading a group of seven Tigers with
other tanks and infantry in a counterattack
on British forces near Gaumesnil, France,
when he was ambushed by tanks from
the 1st Northamptonshire Yeomanry, the
144th Regiment Royal Armoured Corps
and the Sherbrooke Fusiliers. During the
engagement, a shell from one of the British
tanks, possibly an M4A4 Sherman Firefly of
the Northamptons, went through the upper
hull of his tank and ignited its ammunition
stores. The resulting explosion blew Green
007’s turret off. Wittmann remains among
the five most successful tank aces in history
along with Kurt Knispel, Martin Schroif,
Otto Carius and Hans Bolter.

PANZER: GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS 053

PANZER TANKS TIGER I

fixed facing the rear while the tank was

moving forwards and also meant that a
crewman had to get out of the tank to
free the gun before it could engage in
combat. Meanwhile, the external track
replacement tool box was deleted.
In December 1943, half a dozen
raised sections in the shape of
chevrons were added to the face of
every track link to help improve traction
when travelling over snow and ice.
Additionally, the now single headlight
was repositioned to the centre of the
vehicle’s forward plate.
A lingering hangover from the
deep fording kit, a suction pump and
discharge pipe, were deleted from
January 1944 – as was the turret pistol
port. In place of the latter, a roof-
mounted close defence weapon was
due to be fitted,, although
g this did not
actuallyy appear
pp until March 1944. In
the meantime, in February, road wheels number of road wheels per axle could be the crew attempted to start the engine
with steel tyres from the Tiger II, which reduced from three down to two. during extremely cold weather. In March,
had internal rubber cushioning and An engine coolant heater, in addition to Tigers receiving a close
were designed to cope with extremely incorporating a blowtorch, was also defence weapon which could fire smoke
heavy vehicles, were added to the installed to the left of the engine bay so rounds, signal rounds or grenades, they t
Tiger I production line. As a result, the that coolant could be warmed before were also fitted with a thicker 40mm

t
TIGER I AUSF. E
This vehicle was commanded
by SS-Obersturmführer Helmut
‘Bubi’ Wendorff of the 101st SS
Heavy Panzer Battalion on August
14, 1944, when he and two of his
crew were killed when engaging
Sherman tanks at less than 30
metres. The battle took place
at Potigny, Normandy, France.
Wendorff’s gunner SS-Rottenführer
Walter Lau hit the first Sherman
but Yellow 211 was quickly hit
by the second Sherman. Only
Lau and newly promoted driver
SS-Unterscharführer Franz Elmer
escaped with their lives.

054 PANZER: GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS

t
TIGER I AUSF. E
On August 8, 1944, Blue 314 was one of four Tigers of the 101st
SS Heavy Panzer Battalion knocked-out at Gaumesnil when
participating in an attack led by SS-Hauptsturmführer Michael
Wittmann. 314 was commanded at the time by SS-Untersturmführer
Willi Ihrion.

PANZER: GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS 055

PANZER TANKS TIGER I

t
TIGER I AUSF. E
White 132 was commanded by
SS-Oberscharführer Walther Knecht of
the 102nd SS Heavy Panzer Battalion’s
1st Company. Knecht’s driver, only
known as ‘Heini’, managed to drive it
all the way from Normandy back to the
Cologne area, a distance of 650km,
in early September of 1944. He was
awarded the Iron Cross first class for
that accomplishment.

armoured turret roof. Previously, armour

protection at this point was only 25mm.
From April 1944, the vehicle’s upper
fuel tanks were fitted with a wooden
covering to prevent shell fragments
and bullets from landing on them after
passing through the air vents on the rear
engine deck. The tank was also fitted
with a new gun sight at this time which Production of the Tiger I ceased in of the hull, strapped in place above the
allowed the gunner to choose between August 1944 with a final six examples ammunition bins.
two magnification settings – rolling off the factory line. Still, a final Despite production having ended eight
2.5x and 5x. minor developmental change was months earlier, some Tigers continued to
From June, sockets were welded approved in October 1944 when crews fight until the end of the war. And even by
on to the turret roof so that a jib boom were given permission to carry 16 May 1945, the Tiger’s heavy frontal armour
could be fitted for lifting out the additional rounds of ammunition for and fearsome gun made it a force to be
vehicle’s engine. the main gun along the internal sides reckoned with on the battlefield. •

056 PANZER: GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS

 PRODUCTION OF THE TIGER I CEASED IN AUGUST 1944
WITH A FINAL SIX EXAMPLES ROLLING OFF THE FACTORY
LINE. STILL, A FINAL MINOR DEVELOPMENTAL CHANGE
WAS APPROVED IN OCTOBER 1944 WHEN CREWS WERE
GIVEN PERMISSION TO CARRY 16 ADDITIONAL ROUNDS
OF AMMUNITION FOR THE MAIN GUN

TIGER I AUSF. E
The Soviets started their winter offensive in the east on January 15, 1945, forcing
the Germans to start pulling back the main part of their forces. Black 411, of the
506th Heavy Panzer Battalion’s 4th Company, was knocked-out at Oberwampach,
Luxembourg, on the same day.

t
TIGER I AUSF. H/E
A composite Tiger made from both Ausf. H and E parts, Red F01 was originally
the Panzer of ‘Tiger-Gruppe Fehrmann’ commander Oberleutnant Fehrmann.
On April 9 ,1945, in the Essel Forest, Germany, it was hit in the mantle by a PIAT,
jamming the gun elevation mechanism and after repair it was taken over by
Unteroffizier Franzen. On the 12th he encountered three British Comets and
destroyed one of them, along with a staff car. The next day, the point at which
this tank is depicted, Franzen emerged on to the road again and destroyed an
armoured personnel carrier. After heavy return-fire from British tanks, he backed
his Tiger into the woods to escape. One Comet outflanked him and knocked F01
out with a round to the engine compartment. The crew bailed out and escaped
towards the town of Bad Fallingbostel. The commander of the Comet, Sergeant
Harding, won the Military Medal for this action.

PANZER: GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS 057

PANZER TANKS PANTHER

PANTHER
1943-1945

Combining a highly effective gun and he German armoured

sloped hull armour with excellent

mobility, the Panther is regarded by
T divisions participating in
the invasion of the Soviet
Union on June 22, 1941,
had around 3000 tanks between them,
many as the best tank of the Second including 700 Panzer IIIs, 440 Panzer
IVs and 200 StuGs. The opponents they
World War. It had its flaws but, in good encountered initially were equipped with
repair and with a skilled crew, it was a poorly armed and armoured BT-series
and T-26 tanks. These were destroyed
world-beater. in their hundreds as Germany’s forces
advanced rapidly through the Ukraine,
the Baltic states, Belorussia and
northwest Russia.

058 PANZER: GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS

 t

PANTHER AUSF. D
This is Black 732 of the 52nd Panzer Battalion’s 7th Company as it appeared at Kursk during
July 1943. On July 8, during the Battle of Kursk, the Germans intercepted a radio message in
which the Soviets reported their first sighting of the Panther. It read: “Enemy has introduced
new tank, shape roughly similar to ‘Tridsatchedverka’ (T-34). The tank is heavily armoured,
the weight is estimated at 40-50 tons. Armament is probably 88mm AA gun. We had losses at
combat ranges beyond 2000 metres.”

But German forces quickly ran into a and their crews’ poor training and lack copy it, but this idea was quickly rejected
new and unexpected enemy – the T-34 of radio equipment the German invasion because the technology used to create
medium tank. While its forward and side might have quickly ground to a halt. As the Soviet tank was incompatible with
armour was only adequately thick for the it was, the German army’s commanders German production lines. For example,
time at 45mm and 40mm respectively, were left shaken by their forces’ all German tanks had petrol engines,
the fact that this armour was sloped encounters with this remarkable machine. whereas the T-34 ran on diesel and
significantly increased its true horizontal Engineers from the German tank incorporating a petrol engine would have
thickness and dramatically increased manufacturers and Waffenamt staff entailed a significant redesign.
the likelihood that incoming shells would were sent to the Eastern Front to spend Instead it was decided that the next
simply ricochet off it. three days studying captured T-34s from generation of German tanks should
To their surprise and horror, German November 18 to November 21, 1941. incorporate the T-34’s best features,
tank crews found that penetrating the During their visit, Generaloberst Heinz particularly its sloped armour but also
T-34’s armour was very difficult. Had it Guderian suggested that the fastest way the idea of having a long gun barrel t
not been for the scarcity of early T-34s to counter the T-34 would be simply to overhanging the front of the tank – which

PANZER: GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS 059

PANZER TANKS PANTHER

the Germans had previously thought

impractical.
According to CIOS report XXIX-22
History of German Tank Development by
Robert Schilling, dated June 25, 1945:
“During 1940 and 1941 various tanks
of the 30 to 35-ton class were under
development and tentatively scheduled
for 1942 production. All these plans were
dropped in the first months after the
invasion of Russia when the T-34 tank
was encountered.
“This tank must have made a deep
impression on all men concerned
with the German tank industry
because almost every engineer
interrogated admitted that many of
its features were copied in Germany.
The two most important features seem
to have been the gun with large
overhang, which Germans had thought
impractical, and the ballistically favourable
shape of the hull.
“In order to be sure to overmatch the
T-34, and any developments of it that the
Russians might have, the German staff
decided to go immediately up to tanks of
45 to 50-ton size, and to guns of 88mm.
This meant that for the first time a new
model had to be planned without being
able to use components already on test.
“Besides that, the development time
had to be shortened to a little over one
t

060 PANZER: GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS

 THE TWO MOST IMPORTANT FEATURES SEEM TO
HAVE BEEN THE GUN WITH LARGE OVERHANG, WHICH
GERMANS HAD THOUGHT IMPRACTICAL, AND THE
BALLISTICALLY FAVOURABLE SHAPE OF THE HULL

t
PANTHER AUSF. D
The Panther tank’s combat debut came
during Operation Citadel. The two Panther
battalions involved experienced gearbox,
transmission and suspension problems, as
well as engine fires. Two hundred Panthers
went into action in July 1943, including
Red 435 of the 51st Panzer Battalion’s 4th
Company, but only 43 remained in service by
August 19.

t
PANTHER AUSF. D
Panzer Regiment 39 was supposed to
penetrate the southern shoulder of the Kursk
salient during Operation Citadel – but just
20% of its tanks were still operational after
the first day’s fighting. The Panthers suffered
a catalogue of mechanical failures, including
leaky fuel pumps and overheated engines,
with the resulting engine fires. However,
after being stopped at Verchopenoje by the
Red Army’s 3rd Mechanized Corps, the few
Panthers still on hand managed to destroy
40 enemy tanks. The high number on this
particular Panther, Black 914, is unusual
for this period, though this and its physical
features suggest that it was one of five
tanks associated with the staff company of
the 52nd Panzer Battalion’s reconnaissance
unit. This is how it appeared near Belgorod,
Russia, on July 4, 1943.

PANZER: GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS 061

PANZER TANKS PANTHER

t
PANTHER AUSF. D
A general retreat from the Kursk salient was
ordered on July 20, 1943, by which point the
Panther units committed had lost 56 vehicles.
A further 85 Panthers were non-functional but
could at least be repaired by Panzer Regiment
39’s own maintenance units. Sixteen were so
seriously damaged that they had to be sent
back to Germany. Among the survivors was
Black 833 of the 52nd Panzer Battalion’s 8th
Company. The victory claims submitted by
the Panther units during the period included
263 tanks, 144 anti-tank guns, four armoured
vehicles and 60 trucks.

t
PANTHER AUSF. D
Black 211 belonged to the
‘Grossdeutschland’ Panzer Division,
though exactly which unit is unknown.
This is how it looked at Kursk during
August 1943.

062 PANZER: GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS

year. The result was that the new models,
the Tiger and the Panther, showed
many me echanical difficulties and service
failures, w
which everybody blamed on
some oth her firm or organisation. Many
accusatio ons of incompetence were made
in secret and openly the feeling seems
to have bbeen general that the whole
programm me was badly handled.”
A more e detailed account is offered
in CIOS re eport XXXII-2, Investigation
of Tank DDevelopment (Panther) at
Maschine enfabrik Augsburg & Nürnberg
(MAN): “In n January 1942 the OKH, as
representted by [Heinrich] Kniepkamp,
visited MA AN requesting that a design
layout be made of a tank with the
following characteristics: weight 35
metric ton ns, speed 60km/h, armament
capable o of carrying a turret mounting
the 75mm m gun with coaxial MG. Armour
thicknesss: hull front 60mm, hull side
40mm, hu ull rear 35mm, turret front
10 m, tturret side 40mm. Ground
pressure 0.65kg/cm2, fording depth 4m,
engine Maybach HL 210.
“At about the same time Daimler-
Benz, Berlin, was given the same set
of charac cteristics and requested to
submit layyouts. In April 1942 the designs
submitted d by MAN and Daimler-Benz
were revie ewed by OKH [Oberkommando
des Heere es – the German Army’s high
command d]; the MAN design being t
chosen as the most satisfactory.”

PANZER: GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS 063

PANZER TANKS PANTHER

t
PANTHER AUSF. A
When the D-Day landings commenced, the Panzer Lehr Division was the strongest in the German Army, with 109
tanks, 40 assault guns and 612 armoured half-tracks at its disposal. This Panther, I1 of the I. Battalion of the Panzer
Regiment 6, Panzer Lehr Division, was named ‘Ursula’. It is shown as it appeared in Hungary during the spring of
1944 but was later featured in a Wochenschau newsreel during the Normandy battles in June-July 1944. It was finally
destroyed on July 11 north of Le Dézert, northwestern France, by the US 9th Infantry Division.

The latter was designated VK 30.02

(MAN) and had little in common with the
T-34 other than sloped armour plating
and a long-barrelled gun, whereas
Daimler-Benz produced a trio of vehicles,
each slightly different from the others,
which bore a much stronger resemblance
to the T-34. Despite their differences
these were collectively referred to as the
VK 30.02 (DB).
The report continues: “MAN worked
rapidly and had the first soft plate
prototype ready for tests in September
1942. Tests on the first prototype were
conducted by MAN at Nürnberg. The
second prototype, completed shortly
after the first, going to Kummersdorf.
These tests showed that the HL 210
engine was not capable of delivering the
desired performance as the weight of
the vehicle was greater than originally
specified. During these trials it was also
decided to increase the frontal hull armour
from 60mm to 80mm which would again
t

064 PANZER: GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS

t
PANTHER AUSF. D
After the Battle of Kursk, a portion of the
2nd SS Panzer Division ‘Das Reich’ was left
behind to defend against the Soviet offensives
that followed the German retreat to the west.
‘Kampf-gruppe Das Reich’ was in action in
southern Russia until April 1944 when it was
transferred to France to rejoin the division.
The position of Green A13’s code number
helps identify its unit as the SS Panzer
Regiment 2’s staff company.

PANZER: GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS 065

PANZER TANKS PANTHER

increase the weight and necessitate

the use of a larger engine to give the
desired performance. As a result, the
HL 230 engine was used in all production
vehicles, but the first 20 Panthers had
the 60mm frontal armour.” In fact, the
first 250 Panthers were built with the
HL 210 engine.
The report goes on: “The weight of
the Panther with the 80mm front hull
armour and the HL 230 engine in early
production had increased to 44 metric
tons. Ground pressure increased to
0.85kg/cm². The track, designed by
Ritsche of Hamburg, was initially 65cm
wide, but because of the limitations of
strategic mobility, was never increased.
“The design of the complete turret
assembly and gun mount was done by
Rheinmetall-Borsig (R-B) of Dusseldorf
under the direction of Ing. Zimmer,
chief turret designer of this firm. Close
liaison with MAN was maintained, Herr t
Krahn being the R-B engineer at MAN

066 PANZER: GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS

THE WEIGHT OF THE PANTHER WITH THE 80MM FRONT
HULL ARMOUR AND THE HL 230 ENGINE IN EARLY
PRODUCTION HAD INCREASED TO 44 METRIC TONS.
GROUND PRESSURE INCREASED TO 0.85KG/CM².

t
PANTHER AUSF. A
Yellow 534, commanded by
SS Obersturmführer Karl Nicolussi-Leck
of the 5th Company, SS Panzer Regiment 5,
5th SS Panzer Division ‘Wiking’ was the first
vehicle to break through besieging Soviet
forces to reach German troops trapped
inside Kovel, USSR, on March 30, 1944. The
company had been ordered to turn back
but pressed on anyway despite ferocious
resistance.

t
PANTHER AUSF. A
Having escaped from the Cherkassy pocket,
‘Wiking’ was sent to Poland in May where
it was re-equipped with at least eight
companies of Panther Ausf. As. White II 011
was commanded by SS Untersturmführer
Manfred Renz.

PANZER: GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS 067

PANZER TANKS PANTHER

t
PANTHER AUSF. A
SS Unterscharfuhrer Ernst Barkmann of the 4th Company, SS Panzer Regiment 2,
2nd SS Panzer Division and commander of Black 424 quickly adjusted to the conditions
of Normandy and saw heavy fighting against American M4 Shermans and M5 Stuarts.
He halted several major armoured thrusts and some sources claim he knocked out 15
tanks in two days during late June. Black 424 is shown as it appeared at Saint-Lô in
June 1944. Overall, Barkmann is credited with more than 82 tank kills during the war,
after which he worked as the fire chief but was also the mayor of his home town Kisdorf.

to take care of production changes. In “When questioned about the

production the turret body wass furnished responsibility for stowage of
in the unfinished state to MAN by ammunition and crew duffel, since
several concerns, the final macchining MAN had the responsibility for the
and assembly being done by them. chassis and R-B the responsibility for
“The suspension design wa as made the turret assembly, Herr Wiebeche
by MAN and it shows the influe ence of [MAN’s chief engineer on the design
Kniepkamp, who spent much time t there of the Panther] stated that the
during the construction of the prototype OKH had designed the stowage
vehicles. The torsion bar spring
gs, arrangements and had furnished this
furnished by Dittman and Neuh haus in the information to MAN for incorporation
Ruhr, were designed for 100,00 00lb per in the production drawings.
square inch maximum stress. Bars
B were “The requirement for provisions
not preset, as the OKH had rulled that to allow fording 4m of water, which
bars were to be interchangeab ble right had been laid down in the original
and left. Bogie wheels were furnished by characteristics, had been applied in
Kronprinz at Solingen. Shock absorbers
a early production in an incomplete form.
were furnished by Hemscheid-- Due to the complication in manufacture,
Wuppertal, Ruhr. however, MAN was directed to
t

068 PANZER: GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS

t
PANTHER AUSF. D
Black 219 was one of the numerous losses
of 12th SS Panzer Division ‘Hitlerjugend’ in
Normandy, knocked out in action against
the 227nd Infantry Brigade on June 27,
1944, during the British Operation Epsom.
It is shown here as it appeared during early
June in the Fontenay-le-Pesnil area. The
‘Hitlerjugend’ had its baptism of fire during
the Normandy campaign. The division’s
soldiers, indoctrinated in Nazi ideology since
childhood, fought with fanatical determination
and stamina. However, the Allies soon
realised that they lacked experience and
the ability to think tactically, often attacking
the strongest defensive points and failing
to exploit the weakest. This resulted in
unnecessarily heavy losses with the division
suffering a total of 8569 casualties – 42% of
its strength. It also lost 94% of its armour and
almost all of its artillery.

PANZER: GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS 069

PANZER TANKS PANTHER

t
PANTHER AUSF. A
White N1 was a Befehlspanther in the
staff company of Panzer Regiment 26
‘Grossdeutschland’, commanded by Major
Walther Pössl. This is how it appeared
south of Jassy, Romania, in July 1944.
‘Grossdeutschland’ was transferred to a rest
area 100km south of Jassy on June 15 and
remained there until July 24. On the 25th, the
division was transferred to East Prussia, near
Gumbinnen – known today as Gusev.

070 PANZER: GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS

 t

PANTHER AUSF. G
The 4th Panzer Division lay in the path of the Soviet onslaught when Operation Bagration was launched in
1944. The collapsing German front forced individual divisions to fend for themselves while they retreated under
constant pressure from the enemy. During the battle of Narew, Poland, all of the 4th’s armoured vehicles, including
Befehlspanther Yellow IB2 of Panzer Regiment 35, were committed to support the 129th Infantry Division. Losses
were high on both sides and after two weeks of heavy fighting the division was reported to have lost 12 Panthers,
eight StuG llls and three Jagdpanzer IVs along with several other vehicles.

discontinue application of these fording

provisions whenever production was
slowed down. Later on some further work
was done to complete these provisions,
but production vehicles were never 100%
equipped for fording 4m.
“In answer to questions regarding
minimum seating heights, hatch sizes,
and seat adjustments, Herr Wiebeche
explained that an average size man,
1.7m [5ft 7in’] in height, had been used
to determine these essential dimensions.
It is quite apparent that the OKH were
aware of the need for adequate crew
space but were not willing to provide for
larger men at the expense of increased
size and weight. Just what means were
used to determine the average height of
1.7m was not disclosed.”
Preparations to begin full scale mass
production of the Panther commenced
in November 1942 and by January 1943
four HL 210-powered examples had been
t

PANZER: GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS 071

PANZER TANKS PANTTHER

built. These were designated Panther

Ausf. D. This version of the tank featured
a commander’s cupola on the left side
of the turret and a modified 75mm KwK
42 L/70 main gun with double baffle
muzzle brake plus a coaxially mounted
MG 34. A second MG 34 was mounted in
the hull, firing through a slot in the large
sloped glacis plate which was 80mm
thick and sloped at a 55-degree angle.
The sides of the hull were 40mm thick
and sloped at 40 degrees. The lower front
plate was 60mm thick and also sloped at
55 degrees. Seventy-nine rounds were
carried for the main gun.
Torsion bar suspension supported
eight interleaved rubber
rubber-tyred
tyred road
wheels on either side and, with its
750-litre fuel tank, the vehicle had a range
of 250km by road or 100km off-road.
According to the CIOS report however,
Panthers rolling off the production line
suffered from a catalogue of mechanical
problems – although some of these are
attributed to the use of the more powerful
HL 230 engine with the HL 210’s running t
gear, which shouldn’t have been a

072 PANZER: GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS

THE SIDES OF THE HULL WERE 40MM THICK AND
SLOPED AT 40 DEGREES. THE LOWER FRONT
PLATE WAS 60MM THICK AND SLOPED AT
55 DEGREES. SEVENTY-NINE ROUNDS WERE
CARRIED FOR THE MAIN GUN.

t
PANTHER AUSF. A
White R02 was a Befehlspanther of the 1st
SS Panzer Division ‘Leibstandarte Adolf
Hitler’ and this is how it appeared at Saint-Lô,
Normandy, in July 1944.

t
PANTHER AUSF. A
During its deployment in Italy Panzer
Regiment 4’s I. Battalion suffered heavy
losses, including 56 Panthers between May
and June 1944. Although recognised as
vastly superior to the Sherman, early Ausf. A
Panthers such as Red 401 were hampered by
poor mechanical reliability and often became
bogged down due to their weight. In addition,
the sheer size of the Panther, better suited to
the wide open spaces of the Russian steppes,
made it less suitable for the Italian theatre
with its mountains, hills, narrow roads and
many rivers.

PANZER: GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS 073

PANZER TANKS PANTHER

problem for the first 250 tanks: “Certain “A. Bogie wheels – failures of the
operational troubles developed in the rim bolts holding the tyre to the wheel
running gear, tracks, and the power train disc gave trouble continuously.
as a result of replacing the HL 210 engine Stronger bolts were tried, but little
with the HL 230 without increasing the improvement was shown.
size and strength of the power train parts, Mileage at which failure
and the increase in weight of the vehicle occurred ranged from
to 44 metric tons over the originally 0 to 5000km. Very
specified 35 metric tons. few wheels were
“MAN personnel stated that they were ever known to go
aware of these troubles as a result of the maximum.
their tests on production vehicles, but “B. Final drive gears
because of the pressure of production – as these units were
on this important vehicle, they were not designed for the HL
allowed to make changes. At the time 210 engine and the ZF
that Speer cut down on development seven-speed gearbox.
work in all German industry MAN was The added power of the
not allowed to do any development HL 230 caused numerous
work to correct these troubles until late failures. The increase in
1944. The following is a listing of the weight was considered to
major troubles which were experienced contribute to these failures.
continuously and not eliminated until a “C. Transmission gears – the t
redesign was made. same sort of troubles were experienced

074 PANZER: GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS

t
PANTHER AUSF. A
This is White 321 of Panzer Regiment 26’s I. Battalion as it appeared in Lithuania during the
summer of 1944. It was commanded by Oberfeldwebel Guth.

t
PANTHER AUSF. G
During the summer months of 1944, Panzer
Regiment 26, part of the ‘Grossdeutschland’
Panzer Grenadier Division, was involved in a
moderately successful counterattack from
East Prussia into Lithuania trying to halt
the Red Army’s advance. The largest battle
was fought in and around Wilkowischken
(Vilkaviškis) where ‘Grossdeutschland’
attacked with armoured personnel carriers
from the front while tanks including Red IN3
made a flanking assault. The battle ended
on August 18 with the break-out of remnants
of the 2nd Guards Tank Corps. The Soviets
lost 62 T-34s and at least nine self-propelled
guns during the battle. The German success
was short-lived however, and the division
was forced to withdraw. In early 1945 it was
virtually annihilated during the battles around
the Memel bridgehead.

PANZER: GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS 075

PANZER TANKS PANTHER

with the transmission gears due to the ZF transmission which had proven designed unit, but it was considered
greater power of the HL 230 and the satisfactory. However, these new gears satisfactory in that either the transmission
weight increase over that originally were never applied to MAN production or final drives or both would fail before
contemplated. MIAG at Brunswick, Panthers. failures would occur at this point. It was
builders of the Jagdpanther, had “D. Differential and steering – minor not regarded as satisfactory from the
developed new, stronger gears for the troubles were experienced with this MAN central standpoint, however.
t

t
PANTHER AUSF. A
Units of the 1st Ukrainian Front penetrated the German
4th Panzer Army’s defensive line near the Polish city of
Sandomierz on August 10, 1944, and by crossing the Vistula
River established a large beachhead west of Baranov. The
16th Panzer Division was given the task of eliminating the
bridgehead by attacking towards Pinczow. The Panthers of
Panzer Regiment 2, including Black I01, were to be supported
by Tiger IIs of Major von Legas from the 501st Heavy Panzer
Battalion. The attack initially made good progress, despite
numerous minefields, but many of the Tiger IIs soon broke
down. According to Soviet reports, 14 of them were left on
the battlefield. Finally, after attacking another section of the
bridgehead in mid-October, the battalion was sent to the
Kielce area for rest and refit. One of the Tiger IIs captured
by the Red Army during this battle is now on display at the
Russian AFV Museum at Kubinka.

076 PANZER: GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS

t
PANTHER AUSF. G
White 432, commanded by Leutnant Weidemann, belonged to the 4th Company of the I. Battalion
of Panzer Regiment 24 and is shown as it appeared at Sourdeval in Normandy, France, during
August 1944 in the days before the so-called Mortain counter-offensive against US forces.
Characteristic features of I./24 Panthers are the attachment of spare road wheels and tracks
to the turret, striped camouflage and the positioning of the tank’s numbers. The last two digits
were repeated on the turret rear, and the unit’s ‘leaping horseman’ insignia was on the left front
of the glacis plate.

PANZER: GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS 077

PANZER TANKS PANTHER

078 PANZER: GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS

 t
PANTHER AUSF. A
Red 321 of the 33rd Panzer Regiment was knocked out in the Falaise pocket, France,
during August 1944. Between 80,000 and 100,000 German troops were caught in the
Allied encirclement that followed the American breakout from the Normandy beachhead.
Between 10,000 and 15,000 of them were killed and between 40,000 and 50,000 were
taken prisoner. Just 20,000 to 50,000 escaped. The Allies estimated that the Germans lost
around 500 tanks and assault guns as well.

also contributed its first 10 Panthers.

Despite the testimony of MAN staff
given to Allied interrogators, remedial
work was carried out after 160 Panthers
had been constructed. These vehicles
were sent to Deutschen Maschinen AG
(DEMAG) in Falkensee during April and
May 1943 to have modifications made to
their engine compartments, final drives,
transmissions, steering and suspension.
The 250 HL 210-engined Panthers
were ready by early May but none had yet
been delivered to front line units. From
the 251st example onwards, Panthers
were built with the HL 230 which,
although it had no effect on maximum
speed, did improve acceleration at the
cost of stressing the rest of the drive
elevating and train. In June, Panthers had extra rivets
depressing the added to their road wheels in order to
main gun and, worst strengthen them – although it evidently
of all, fuel pumps which did not solve the problem. By the end of
frequently failed and which May, all the 250 early Ausf. Ds had been
could then cause a devastating fire. delivered to the German army along with
Eleven more Panthers were delivered 118 vehicles powered by the HL 230.
With a possible maximum speed of by MAN during February 1943, with The German summer offensive on
45km/h, this type of steering control was another six being built by Daimler-Benz the Eastern Front, Operation Citadel,
not at all suitable.” and one more by Maschinenfabrik saw the Panther’s combat debut with
Other problems with the early model Niedersachsen Hannover (MNH). These 200 vehicles fielded beginning on July
Panthers included the turret sticking on three companies built another 58 Panther 5, 1943. However, the tank’s mechanical
hatches as it traversed, difficulty in Ausf. Ds during March while Henschel problems persisted throughout and after
t

t
PANTHER AUSF. G
The ‘Grossdeutschland’ division was
transferred to East Prussia in late July 1944.
This is Red 101 of Panzer Regiment 26’s I.
Battalion, which was attached to the division
during August.

PANZER: GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS 079

 PANZER TANKS NTHER
PAN
t
PANTHER AUSF. A
Black I03 of I. Battalion, Panzer Regiment 2, 16th Panzer Divis sion, displays the
typical features of an Ausf. A Befehlspanther. Note the additio onal antennas on
the turret roof and rear hull deck (the latter’s base enclosed in
n an armoured
tube). This vehicle’s camouflage is interpreted to be dark red-brown stripes over
the dunkelgelb base coat. It is depicted as it appeared at Kolo omea, Ukraine,
during the autumn of 1944.

PANTHER AUSF. G
The I. Battalion of Fallschirmjäger-P Panzer
Division ‘Hermann Göring’ was orga anised
into four companies, each with 14 Panthers
plus a staff company with four Panthers
for a total of 60 tanks. The I. Battalion was
sent to fight in East Prussia in the area of
Kassuben at the beginning of October 1944
and by the 22nd they had destroyed nearly
100 Soviet tanks. Red R01 was commanded
by Major Karl Rossmann and wears the
distinctive so-called ‘disc camouflage’
on its side skirts.

080 PANZER: GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS

 THE FIRST MAJOR CHANGE TO THE AUSF. A,
IN DECEMBER 1943, WAS THE REPLACEMENT OF
THE PREVIOUS NARROW SLOT FOR THE HULL
MACHINE GUN WITH A BALL MOUNT WHICH OFFERED
A MUCH IMPROVED FIELD OF FIRE.

three days only 40 Panthers remained

operational. Three days after that, just 10
were still active.
Production changes for July included
deleting the communications hatch on
the left side of the turret and reducing
the number of headlamps from two to
just one. Road wheels now received 24
rim bolts rather than just 16 for further
strengthening. Zimmerit paste was
introduced during September 1943, a rain
guard was fitted over the turret gunsight
and improved chevron pattern tracks
were fitted.

PANTHER AUSF. A
Also during September, production
switched from the Panther Ausf. D to
the Ausf. A. This consisted of an Ausf.
D chassis fitted with an improved
turret. This featured a hemispherical
commander’s cupola with seven
periscopes, each with its own armoured
cowling. It also had a ring fixture to which
a machine gun could be fitted. Apart
from this, the Ausf. A turret looked similar

to that of the Ausf. D externally. Inside,

however, it had been given a significant
redesign, including the fitment of a
variable speed hydraulic traverse and
a more efficient system for clearing
gases from the gun.
The first three Ausf. As had been
delivered by MNH in August but it was
not until September that Daimler-Benz
and MAN also switched to Ausf. A
production. Henschel ceased to build
Panthers at this point and DEMAG took
over instead, although it built no more
than about 50 Panthers in total before
ceasing production. Between them,
these four companies would build 2200
Panther Ausf. As over the course of a
year – up to July 1944.
The first major change to the Ausf. A,
in December 1943, was the replacement
of the previous narrow slot for the hull
machine gun with a ball mount which
offered a much improved field of fire. The t
mount itself incorporated a gunsight for

PANZER: GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS 081

PANZER TANKS PANTHER

the radio operator, which allowed the for a close defence weapon incorporated of a jib boom crane, which could be
original separate sight, a periscope on into the rear right turret roof. used to extract the vehicle’s engine for
the upper part of the hull, to be deleted The following month, new Panthers maintenance or replacement.
from the design. The main gunsight, were produced with two extra cooling
formerly a TFZ 12 binocular device, was pipes on their left main exhaust pipe, PANTHER II
also replaced – by a TFZ 12a monocular giving it a trident-like appearance. And Back in January 1943, plans had been
type. At the same time, Panthers began finally, from June to July 1944, the last drafted to produce an up-armoured
to roll off the production line with their Ausf. A Panthers had a trio of sockets version of the Panther as the ‘Panther
turret pistol ports deleted and a mount welded to the turret roof for the fitting II’. This would have been very

t
PANTHER AUSF. G
White 212 was lost in the Sterpigny-Baclain area of Belgium
during the late December battles in the Ardennes. It belonged
to the 2nd Company, I. Battalion, Panzer Regiment 9, 9th
SS Panzer Division ‘Hohenstaufen’. By the middle of January,
the division had suffered such severe losses, including
32 Panthers, that it was transferred to the reserves.

082 PANZER: GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS

 t
PANTHER AUSF. G
On October 24, 1944, German forces including the 5th Panzer Division
managed to re-take Gumbinnen, the first city of the Reich to be overrun by
the Red Army. Four days later however, the 31st Soviet Army retook it with
a surprise attack. The town was again taken by the 5th Panzer Division on
November 3. Red 322 belonged to the 3rd Company, I. Battalion, Panzer
Regiment 31, attached to the division.

similar to the original vehicle except to 80mm and its turret sides 60mm
for armour thickness. Its frontal plate compared to 45mm.
would have been 100mm thick, The following month, it was decided
compared to 80mm of the that the Panther II needed to be a much
original Panther Ausf. D. Its more comprehensively updated vehicle –
side armour would have numerous components would be shared
been 60mm compared with the Tiger II, particularly the steering
to 40mm, its turret front unit, transmission, engine and steel- t
100mm compared tyred, rubber-cushioned road wheels.

PANZER: GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS 083

PANZER TANKS PANTHER

t
PANTHER AUSF. G
The losses on both sides during the period from December
16-31, 1944, were enormous. The Americans lost more than
600 Shermans and 100 tank destroyers, while the Germans
lost 222 tanks and 100 assault guns. White 111 of the
116th Panzer Division ‘Windhund’ was crossing a bridge in
Houffalize when Allied bombs exploded nearby, blasting it into
the Ourthe River. It was salvaged in September 1948, and is
now on display in Houffalize with the turret number 401.

t
In addition, the Tiger II’s transport tracks PANTHER AUSF. G
would be used as the Panther II’s general
Black 154 of the 1st Company, I. Battalion, Panzer Regiment 12, was one of 30 Panthers
use combat tracks. The turret-mounted
lost by the ‘Hitlerjugend’ Division in the Ardennes up to January 15, 1945. A study made by
MG 34 would be replaced with an MG 42. the Allies after the battle reported that the Panther losses could be broken down into the
In early 1943 it was proposed that following causes: air attack 7%, armour-piercing rounds 33%, artillery 7%, abandoned
Panther II production would begin during by crew 42%, and unknown causes 11%.
September of that year. At the end of
March it was decided that the companies
then building the original Panther would
continue to do so until the end of 1944.
However, a new facility, Werk Falkensee,
would begin producing the Panther II in
January or February 1944 and another
new plant, Nibelungenwerk, during the
middle of 1944.
By June 1943, however, it had front of the vehicle towards the rear,
become clear that the production lines where a sloping ‘wedge’ was added.
then producing the original Panther On the Ausf. G, the entire hull side edge
could not be interrupted to provide for sloped gently from the front of the vehicle
the introduction of a new vehicle. The towards the rear, without the wedge.
new factories planned would similarly be In addition, in order to create more
geared up to build the original Panther, space inside the vehicle the hull sides
rather than the Panther II. were less sloped at just 29 degrees
rather than the original 40. This meant
PANTHER AUSF. G that the effective thickness of the armour
With the Panther II having been was reduced, so the actual thickness
effectively cancelled, it was decided was increased from 40mm to 50mm –
that some aspects of the design could increasing the vehicle’s weight by 0.3
be incorporated into the ongoing tonnes. In order to balance out this
production of the original Panther. The weight gain with an equivalent weight
most obvious change for the new Ausf. loss, the lower front hull plate was
G was a ‘straightening’ of the hull sides. reduced in thickness from 60mm to
On the Ausf. A, the hull side edge was 50mm and the forward belly armour t
completely horizontal looking from the was reduced from 30mm to 25mm.

084 PANZER: GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS

PANZER: GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS 085
PANZER A KS PANTHER

t
PANTHER AUSF. G
This ‘Hitlerjugend’ Panther was
disabled by C. Company of the
644th Tank Destroyer Battalion
on the Wittfeld-Krinkelt road
on December 17, 1944. It was
probably hit in the drive-train
which forced the driver to leave
the road. The next day US
troops set Black 126 on fire to
create a ‘scene’ for the 165th
Photo Company as one of the
crewmembers is seen to be
captured at gunpoint by
Sergeant Bernard Cook from
the same photo unit.

086 PANZER: GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS

 The extra internal space allowed 82 on the front hull were redesigned. The the G came in May when welded metal
rounds to be carried for the main gun, rear deck was also altered and the twin guards were added to the base of the
three more than the original maximum exhaust pipes were altered. exhaust pipes and the following month
of 79 rounds. At the front of the vehicle, The first Ausf. G Panthers were cylindrical covers were added to the
the original ‘letterbox’ shaped driver’s delivered by MAN in March 1944, while exhausts too, to conceal their red hot
vision slot was deleted and replaced MNH and Daimler-Benz continued to glow at night. Panther Ausf. Gs also had
with a periscope that could be rotated build Ausf. As. The latter switched to three sockets welded to their turrets at
to provide a better field of vision. The Ausf. G production in May 1944 and MNH this time to allow for the fitment of a jib
hatches for the driver and radio operator followed in July. The first modification to boom crane.
A rain guard was added
to the driver’s periscope
in August 1944 and
redesigned versions of
the driver’s and radio
operator’s hatches were introduced.
The latter was necessary because field
reports suggested that when the tank’s
turret was turned to certain positions
it prevented the hatches from opening
– and the crew from escaping. Also in
August, a new metal guard was welded
on to the roof of the turret to stop shell
fragments and other debris from getting
t

t
PANTHER AUSF. G
Shortly after walking into the Hôtel du Moulin in Ligneuville, Belgium, on December
17, 1944, SS-Obersturmbannführer Werner Sternbeck of SS Panzer Regiment 1
heard several explosions and rushed out to see Black 152 fully ablaze 100m down
the road. The Panther had been hit by an M4A3 Sherman of the 14th Tank Battalion
that was positioned further down the main street. The 76mm round apparently
ricocheted off the bottom of the main gun mantle into the thin top hull armour. The
tank’s commander SS-Untersturmführer Arndt Fischer bailed out with his clothes
on fire but the driver, SS-Sturmmann Wolfgang Simon, died inside his tank. A
Tiger II then arrived and knocked out the Sherman. After 22 US soldiers had been
captured, an SS-Unterscharführer, furious with the loss of the Panzer, took the first
eight behind the hotel and shot them. Black 152 was unusual in that it had Zimmerit
applied to the turret but not to the hull.

PANZER: GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS 087

PANZER TANKS PANTHER

wedged between the turret front and the modification was an exhaust muffler
top of the gun mantlet. intended to further reduce the risk of the
Like every other German armoured tank being spotted at night. A total of
fighting vehicle, the Panther ceased to 2943 Ausf. Gs are known to have been
have Zimmerit applied during September built between March 1944 and April 1945
and some examples received a squared- when production ceased as Allied forces
off mantlet ‘chin’ which prevented overran the factories building it.
incoming rounds being deflected off the Overall, it is thought that between
bottom of the mantlet and on to the roof 5943 and 6042 Panthers were built.
of the fighting compartment below. In
October it was decided that Panthers PANTHER AUSF. F
should be delivered from their factories in Shortly before the factories building
red oxide primer finished with patches of the Panther were overrun, a new
Dark Yellow, Olive Green and Red-Brown variant of the tank had been about
added for camouflage. A longer rain to take over from the Ausf. G
guard was added to the gun sight visor on production lines – the Ausf. F.
on the front of the mantlet too. This was to be fitted with a new turret
A small number of Ausf. G Panthers design known simply as the Schmalturm
were fitted with infra-red sighting or ‘Narrow turret’. According to Allied
equipment during this period. And a report CIOS XXXII-33 Tank Development
similarly small number of Panthers at the Daimler-Benz Factory:
were fitted with steel-tyred road wheels “The specifications for the design t
sourced from the Tiger II. The final Ausf. G of this turret were determined by the

088 PANZER: GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS

 A TOTAL OF 2943 AUSF. GS ARE KNOWN TO HAVE BEEN
BUILT BETWEEN MARCH 1944 AND APRIL 1945 WHEN
PRODUCTION CEASED AS ALLIED FORCES OVERRAN THE
FACTORIES BUILDING IT. OVERALL, IT IS THOUGHT THAT
BETWEEN 5943 AND 6042 PANTHERS WERE BUILT.

t
PANTHER AUSF. G
Black 111 was commanded by SS-
Untersturmführer Hans Hennecke of the 1st
Company, I. Battalion, 1st SS Panzer Division
‘Liebstandarte Adolf Hitler’. This is how it
appeared in the Ardennes on December
18, 1944. The motto for the SS troops
participating in the Ardennes offensive was
‘mercilessly forward’. Oberst Kokott, head of
the 26th Volksgrenadier Division, wrote of the
SS troops: “With their arrogance, incredibly
bloated pretentiousness, by their lack of
discipline and recklessness in combination of
sheer stupidity, they had a direct detrimental
effect on this battle.”

t
PANTHER AUSF. G
SS Panzer Brigade 150’s Panther tanks were
disguised as M10 Wolverine tank destroyers
by removing their cupolas and disguising their
hulls and turrets with thin sheet metal. The
brigade is infamous for including English-
speaking members wearing American Army
uniforms to cause disruption and spread
disinformation behind the American lines.
This ‘M10’ was knocked out in Malmedy on
December 21, 1944.

PANZER: GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS 089

PANZER TANKS PANTHER

t
PANTHER AUSF. G
Facing strong US forces, having run out of supplies and having lost contact with the
German units behind him, Joachim Peiper, leader of ‘SS-Kampfgruppe Peiper’ decided on
Christmas Eve 1944 to abandon his vehicles at La Gleize, Ardennes, Belgium, and escape
through the woods with his 800 men on foot. Thirty-six hours later, having covered 20km
through deep snow and in freezing temperatures, Peiper and his remaining 770 men
finally reached the German front line. Black 221, commanded by SS-Hauptscharführer
Heinz Knappich, was left behind in La Gleize.

Supreme Army Headquarters, Wa Pruf of turrets, managed to

6 Pz II. These specifications could be meet all the requirements.
listed according to the following general The report continues:
requirements: a) the penetration of “The important differences
bullets under the semi-circular mounting of the new turret can
should be prevented; b) armour be recognised from the
reinforcement should be obtained requirements given above
without an increase in weight; c) a and can be met through the
reduction in the area of impact should be following alterations: Through
obtained without a reduction in the size of the development of the new
the fighting compartment; d) a horizontal 75mm KwK 44/1 gun, in which design
stereoscopic rangefinder should be the recuperator and buffer cylinders
installed; e) provisions should be made are situated underneath the gun, it was
for the mounting of an MG 42 machine possible to replace the semi-circular
gun; f) the design should be such as to mounting with a simple potmantle.
reduce the cost; and finally the fighting “Through the new mantlet the
unit must be so constructed that through complicated welded cradle for the barrel The muzzle brake is eliminated, and the
the installation of additional fittings it is eliminated. The compressor equipment recoil force is increased from 12 to 18
is possible to convert it in the shortest for the barrel blow-out appliance is tons. Through the choice of the
possible time into a commander’s or eliminated. The necessary compressed new mantlet, the requirement of point
FG vehicle.” air is obtained through an additional a) in the first paragraph is met.
This was quite a tall order but Daimler- cylinder around the air recuperator “Turret: The front armour of
Benz, though not renowned as a maker utilising the recoil of about 420mm. the turret could be made much
t

t
PANTHER AUSF. G
When ‘Kampfgruppe Bayer’, part of the 116th Panzer
Division ‘Windhund’, was surrounded by superior American
forces at Verdenne, its commander Oberst Johannes Bayer
had no option but to order a break-out attempt to reach
German lines. This was accomplished during the night of
December 27, 1944. Of the 17 Panthers and seven Panzer
IVs the 116th had on hand when the Ardennes offensive
commenced, only nine Panthers survived the fighting.
This meant the end of ‘Windhund’s’ offensive capacity in
Ardennes, as the US Tactical Air Force made it impossible
for any reinforcements to arrive. This unnumbered Panther
was one of the eight lost during the offensive.

090 PANZER: GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS

PANZER: GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS 091
PANZER TANKS PANTHER

smaller, due to the new mantlet, and not able to produce the required amounts
thus the impact surface was reduced. of rolling mill products. Installed in the
Previously this plate was made of armour turret are: one close combat weapon
steel casting with expensive mechanical on the right rear of the turret roof, one
machining, but this could be replaced commander’s cupola on the left of the
by a homogeneous armour plate with turret roof, one automatic pistol
simple mechanical machining. Through opening in the rear turret
the reduction of the front plate and the plate, one range finder in
choice of the new mantle, the weight the front underneath the
was reduced so that the armour could roof plate. The episcope
be increased without exceeding the mounting for the loader
weight of the old turret.” is eliminated.
The Schmalturm’s small front plate “Turret ball bearing:
was made 120mm thick, an increase of This is a thrust bearing
40mm over the original design. The side type with the same inside
plates were 60mm, up 20mm. The rear diameter as the turret
was 60mm compared to 45mm before, interior dimension. The
and the roof plate was 30mm compared upper race, in addition to
to the original’s 12mm. acting as the bearing race,
However the report goes on to say: forms the turret traversing
“The drawings specify lighter armour rack for the power traverse.
plate, because as a result of military The former type of separate t
events, the German steel industry was traversing rack is eliminated.

092 PANZER: GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS

THE SCHMALTURM’S SMALL FRONT PLATE WAS MADE
120MM THICK, AN INCREASE OF 40MM OVER THE
ORIGINAL DESIGN. THE SIDE PLATES WERE 60MM, UP
20MM. THE REAR WAS 60MM COMPARED TO 45MM
BEFORE, AND THE ROOF PLATE WAS 30MM COMPARED
TO THE ORIGINAL’S 12MM.

t
PANTHER AUSF. G
When the I. Guards Mechanized Corps
moved into the Zamoly area near Budapest,
Hungary, in late December 1944, Oberleutnant
Martin Weymann’s ‘Kampfgruppe Weymann’
was ready to ambush them. The Germans
claimed 50 Soviet-operated Sherman tanks
(some sources indicate up to 80), and
reported that during the intense firefight the
Guards crews panicked as they were unable
to turn or withdraw due to ice and snow on
the slopes that surrounded the road. This
IR (infrared)-ready Panther, Red 321, was
part of the ‘Kampfgruppe’, having been
produced by Daimler-Benz during September.
It had the ‘light and shadow’ ambush
t camouflage pattern.

PANTHER AUSF. A
Even with the majority of Germany’s forces
already in action or being transferred to
the Eastern Front, the Soviet ‘steamroller’
continued its relentless advance. Red 322, a
tired early Ausf. A produced by MAN during
September-October 1943, was operated by
the 3rd Company of an unknown Panther
regiment on the Eastern Front during January
1945. Characteristics of this early series
include the binocular gunsight, ‘letterbox’
type hull MG mount and radio operator
hull periscope.

PANZER: GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS 093

PANZER TANKS PANTHER

“Power traverse: The turret is 50% heavier, the original weight of the
traversed through a hydraulic motor turret (approximately eight tons) was
fitted to the turret reinforcing ring. The not exceeded.
traversing as well as the exact aiming is “The surface of impact has been
done hydraulically. For accurate control considerably lessened without
of the traverse, the former foot control reducing the inside space.
is replaced by a hand control. If engine The inside diameter of the
troubles occur or the hydraulic system turret of 1650mm was not
is put out of operation, the turret can be altered. In the design of the
traversed by hand. If the tank is tilted to new turret, the deficiencies
any great degree the additional required encountered previously
force can be obtained through an were either eliminated or
auxiliary drive operated by the loader. The reduced in effect: a) The
former separated drive for this auxiliary penetration of bullets under
unit is eliminated.” the semi-circular mounting
In summary, the report notes that: whereby the deflected bullet
“through the adaptation of these had often broken through the
new ideas, the production time for cover plates of the vehicle. b)
the turret construction, excluding the Insufficient armour. c) Too large
manufacture of the sighting telescope, a surface of impact. d) Elimination of
range finders, gun, etc. was reduced fumes from the interior of the fighting
by 30-40%. In spite of armour up to compartment. e) Costly production.
t

094 PANZER: GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS

t
PANTHER AUSF. G
Red 310 was operated by the ‘Grossdeutschland’ during the Soviet land blockade of Memel,
Lithuania, during January 1945. The remaining German civilians and the military wounded were
evacuated by sea, followed by ‘Grossdeutschland’ and the 7th Panzer Division, which had both
suffered heavy losses. They were replaced by the 95th Infantry Division, which arrived by ship.

t
PANTHER AUSF. G
After the Luftwaffe’s Operation Bodenplatte
attack on January 1, 1945, the Allied tactical
air force temporarily disappeared over the
Ardennes front and German units received
some reinforcements. This enabled them
to resume their offensive and inflict heavy
US losses, forcing Patton’s 3rd Army to
retreat. On January 4, Patton wrote in his
diary: “We can still lose this war.” Black 301
was abandoned by its crew in January 1945,
probably due to lack of fuel.

PANZER: GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS 095

PANZER TA KS PANTHER

It was further planned that in the

development of this turret, provision be
made for the mounting of an 88mm gun
and a stabilised sight.”
Beyond the turret, there were other
differences between the Panther F and
G. The hull roof armour went from 12mm
to 25mm, the hatch design modifications
made to the Ausf. G for the driver and
radio operator were further improved and
the MG 34 mount on the front hull was to
be replaced with a mount for an MG 44.

PANTHER INTO 1945

According to CIOS report XXXII-2,
further upgrades to the Panther had
been planned even as the end of the war
approached. It states: “A programme
had been set up in late 1944 by the OKH
for improvements in the Panther which
were to be incorporated into production
as rapidly as possible. In some instances
the time at which these changes were
to be made was dependent upon the
successful completion of design of a
certain component. This was the case “A. New transmission gears – the
with
ith the
th programme on air-cooled
i l d design of gears as used by MIAG in
diesel engines. The following is a listing the Jagdpanther were to be used in
of the proposed changes, all of which the MAN and Daimler-Benz Panther.
were to be incorporated by the end “B. New bogie wheels – a new
of 1945 or early 1946. design of bogie wheel known

096 PANZER: GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS

 t
PANTHER AUSF. G
White 533 of the Panzer Lehr Division II.
Battalion’s 5th Company was damaged by a
mine in Leffe, east of Bastogne, Belgium, on
January 3, 1945. It was left behind during the
German retreat, one of six lost during the battle.

as the ‘silent bloc’ type where two (This same design wheel was built for electro-magnetic clutches and brakes
cushions
hi off rubber
bb separated
t d the
th use on the
th E-100).
E 100) t replace
to l th friction
the f i ti clutches
l t h andd
wheel disc from the steel rim, had been “C. New steering mechanism – MAN brakes. The second type utilised a
produce for test. Preliminary results of had been doing some development work hydraulic system, ich ly functioned
the testing indicated a much better life on two types of steering mechanisms when the tank was steered. Very few
tha the former bogie wheel. for the Panther. The first type employed details of this unit were known by the
t

t
PANTHER AUSF. G
Yet another Panther tank lost during the
battle of the Ardennes was Red 302 of the
‘Windhund’ at Houffalize during January 1945.
German losses during the battle amounted
to 370 tanks and 180 assault guns. Exact US
Army tank losses will never be known as the
records were destroyed after the war.

PANZER: GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS 097

PANZER TANKS HER
PANTH

t
PANTHER AUSF. G
Up until the middle of January 1945, the ‘Hermann Göring’ Panzer
Division fought in East Prussia in the area to the west of Gumbinnen at
Insterburg. Thereafter the unit was transported back to the eastern part
of Germany for refit. In February, while in Königsbrück, the 1st Company
received 10 new Panther tanks, including Red 111, along with much
needed replacement personnel.
t

PANTHER AUSF. G
Red 242 of the 19th Panzer Division was lost in the fighting in the Silesia region
between April 15 and April 17, probably being abandoned due to mechanical
problems or when it ran out of fuel. Later it was captured intact by the 1st Czech
Independent Tank Brigade north of the Opava River.

PANTHER AUSF. G
t
The Panzer Division ‘Feldherrnhalle 2’ was
created on March 23, 1945, by renaming
the 13th Panzer Division, which was almost
wiped out during the battle for Budapest.
The formation took place in Czechoslovakia
under extreme conditions with the unit being
under attack by the Soviet troops in the
area. Here the unit joined up with the 8th
Army, and fought its only battles, in Slovakia
and the upper Danube with a complement
of 19 Panthers, including White 209, and 21
Panzer IVs. Its last battle was fought in the
Frainspitz-Socherl area where the remains
of the division managed to prevent a Soviet
breakthrough. Finally, it surrendered to
American troops on May 8. It was one of the
few units fighting on the Eastern Front that
was not handed over into Russian captivity
by the US Army.

098 PANZER: GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS

personnel interrogated,, but Dr. Rathje as the drawings of this mechanism by progressed much further than the layout
stated that two units haad been built OTIT. MAN was quite satisfied that this and discussion stage.”
and installed, one testeed extensively in mechanism was designed satisfactorily This appears to be a reference to the
the vehicle, and the seccond removed from a performance standpoint, but had Schmalturm.
for laboratory tests at M
MAN, Augsburg. redesigned the unit for production and The report goes on: “E. Heaters for
When questioned abou ut the power serviceability. No production units had crew compartment – heaters were to
losses of such a system m, Dr Rathje been produced. be installed in the crew compartment
quickly stated that the efficiency of this “D. New turret – Daimler-Benz, Berlin, to enable the crew to function more
mechanism was much better than the were cooperating with the Rheinmetall- efficiently in cold weather.
standard steering unit. Borsig on the design of a new turret “F. Air-cooled diesel engines – three
“Herr Kriebel was qu uite enthusiastic patterned after the Tiger II turret, but designs of air-cooled diesel engines of
about the ease of contrrol of this without the large rear bulge. This turret approximately 800hp were being studied
mechanism stating thatt the tank could was to be capable of mounting the 88mm for use in the Panther. Of these three
be controlled very easilly and accurately gun, as well as the 75mm. Personnel designs, the first two had progressed to
by means of a steering wheel. A search of MAN know little of the details of the the state where plans were laid for the
is being made for the two units, as well turret, as apparently the design had not production of a small series of vehicles
t

PANZER: GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS 099

PANZER TANKS PANTHER

with each engine. The engines were “When questioned about the Maybach were not sufficiently developed to be
as follows: 1. MAN-Argus – MAN and diesel adaptation of the HL 234, Herr placed in production. Apparently the OKH
Argus, Berlin, had collaborated on Wiebeche stated that Maybach had was very anxious to get the HL 234 to
the design of an air-cooled diesel, a always been very optimistic about the give more power for the Tiger II,
model of which was reported to be at performance of their engine, and to the
a dispersal point. Dr Rothman, chief best of his knowledge, the diesel version
engine designer of MAN, Nurnberg, of the HL 234, as well as the HL 234,
was not available for questioning at the
time this investigation was made. 2.
Simmering – Vienna. 3. Sauer – Vienna.
The Klockner-Humboldt-Deutz V8
liquid-cooled diesel engine was being
considered also but had progressed
only as far as the layout stage.

100 PANZER: GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS

 t
PANTHER AUSF. A
There has been some controversy regarding the use
of Panzers with IR equipment on the Western Front,
although at least two instances are recorded. One
of these took place on April 21, 1945. At two o’clock
in the morning, 10 Panthers of Panzer Division
‘Clausewitz’ attacked a US anti-tank gun battery
positioned on the Weser/Elbe Canal. The Americans
were alerted, one Panther was hit and the advance
stalled. The two IR-equipped Panthers then moved
up into a good position. They located and destroyed
the entire US gun battery, resulting in the crews and
the infantry fleeing in panic. These Panthers followed
up the attack by destroying a number of trucks
and other support vehicles. The Panzer Division
considered this a great success, as it illustrated the
enormous possibilities of infrared vision technology.
According to the US 407th Infantry Regiment’s after
action report, Red 129 stalled and its crew were all
killed after they got out and tried to crank-start it.
Note that this IR-capable Panther actually has the IR
equipment storage box mounted to the right rear hull
and fittings on the side of the mantle.

but had not requested the diesel version. The report concludes with some a formidable defensive vehicle but for
This diesel version was apparently ‘general observations’ concerning the an all-around offensive and defensive
Dr Maybach’s own idea and was being Panther which are worthy of note: vehicle, the Panther, even with its
developed on Maybach funds. “The general consensus of opinion troubles, was the best the Germans had
“None of the personnel was aware of among allied observers is that the produced.
any consideration being given for the Panther was probably the best designed “This conclusion was held by the
trial installations of a gas turbine in German tank. The heavier armour and Germans, too, as was brought out in the t
the Panther.” greater firepower of the Tiger made it interrogation of Stieler von Heydekampf,

t
PANTHER AUSF. G
With the Soviets closing in on Berlin during late
April 1945, Adolf Hitler ordered Generalleutnant
Ernst Käther to be the commander of the
Berlin Defence Area. This Panther, Yellow 324,
was a part of ‘Kampfgruppe Käther’ named
after the commander.

PANZER: GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS 101

PAN
NZER TANKS PANTHER

t
PANTHER AUSF. G
After an unsuccessful attempt to contain
the Remagen bridgehead in March, the
11th Panzer Division retreated to the
south-east, eventually ending up in Bavaria.
This late model Panther G, one of the last
manufactured by the MAN company, was
found abandoned in a forest there during
May 1945. The ‘Ghost Division’, as it was
known, finally surrendered to American
forces on May 4.

102 PANZER: GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS

who gave production schedules for vehicle as represented by the Tiger. of the Panther. The fact that the Tiger
1945 during which time the Panther “Herr Wiebeche volunteered the II was modelled after the Panther, the
was to be the high-production tank. Von information that the Panther had been entire engine compartment layout being
Heydekampf, who was a production man, designed to cope with the Russian followed as closely as possible, is further
further stated that the general opinion of T-34. As this vehicle had caused the testimony to the high regard the OKH
the OKH was that it was as cheap in man Germans a lot of trouble, the design had for the Panther design. The E-100
hours and money to build two 35- to 40- of the T-34 hull and turret was copied designed by Adler also copied the
ton tanks as it was one 65- to 70-ton as closely as possible in the design Panther hull design.” •

t
PANTHER AUSF. G
Fighting during the last month of the war
became close to impossible for the Germans.
During April, Panzer Regiment 24 reported
that fuel supplies were extremely low, and
that its units were sometimes completely
without fuel stocks. This made any movement
or combat operations impossible and 12
Panthers had to be abandoned through lack of
fuel. Another problem was the lack of infantry
support which forced the regiment to use the
tanks as a part of a defensive line. Although
often successful, this resulted in losses and
excessive wear on the tanks. Finally, after a
fighting withdrawal from Vienna, they blew
up the last few Panthers on the northern
outskirts of the small town of Lietzen on May
9, 1945. Note that White 174, a late production
Befehlspanther, had one steel wheel set
as a part of its suspension and that it was
configured for IR equipment.

PANZER: GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS 103

PANZER TANK
KS

STUG IV
Essentially a StuG III
casemate on a Panzer IV
chassis, the StuG IV proved
to be a useful stopgap
vehicle that was both easy
to make and effective on
the battlefield.

echnological advances came

T rapidly during the Second

World War and some vehicles
were inevitably left behind
during the race for thicker armour and
larger guns. One such vehicle was
the StuG III Ausf. F – more Ausf. F
superstructures had been manufactured
than there were Panzer III chassis
available to put them on.
Therefore Krupp drew up a plan in
February 1943 to put these casemates
on to Panzer IV chassis instead.
However, the scheme was suspended there was a shortage of 75mm L/70 guns The StuG IV had a crew of four: the
in October 1943 when Hitler ordered which delayed full-scale production of commander in the left rear hull, the loader
that a new casemate be designed the newly designed Jagdpanzer IV. in the right rear hull, the gunner on the
specifically for the Panzer IV, resulting Putting a StuG III Ausf. G casemate, now left side of the hull in the centre and the
in the Jagdpanzer IV. the most readily available type, on to a driver seated to the front left of the hull.
The StuG IV idea was revived in late Panzer IV resulted in a vehicle that could It was armed with the 75mm StuK 40
November 1943, however, when StuG be made quickly and easily from existing L/48 gun with 63
III manufacturer Alkett suffered severe parts. It weighed only 23 tons, making it rounds – the same
damage during a bombing raid and even lighter than the StuG Ausf. III itself. main gun as
1943-1945

t
STUG IV
‘Elsbeth’ was among 307 tanks and self-
propelled guns captured intact by the Red
Army in Latvia following the collapse of
the Courland pocket in May 1945. It had
belonged to either the 12th or 14th Panzer
Division and was lined up alongside
numerous other vehicles for inspection
by Red Army officers during May/June at
Stende. All together, the Soviets captured
150,000 men, including 28 generals, 75
aircraft, 1427 field guns, 219 armoured
personnel carriers, 4281 motor vehicles and a
huge quantity of other equipment. Taking the
pocket had cost the Soviets 320,000 soldiers
– killed, wounded or missing in action – 2388
tanks, 659 aircraft and 900 field guns.

104 PANZER: GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS

 t
STUG IV
Red 4334 belonged to the 4th SS Polizei Panzergrenadier Division as part of Army Group South
Ukraine during September 1944 when German forces in Turnu-Severin, Romania, were attempting
to hold a defensive line against both Soviet and Romanian forces – the latter being their former
allies. After the Soviets’ assault on the Second Ukrainian Front with more than 900,000 men in
late August, the Romanian Army had started to collapse. The country’s King Michael led a coup
d’état against the government, quickly made peace with the Russians, and declared war on
Germany. Army Group South Ukraine was then attacked by both Soviet and Romanian
forces and was forced to retreat towards the Carpathian Mountains. This afforded
the Germans a good defensive line in the Transylvanian Alps but even this could
not hold against large-scale Soviet assaults and the Germans were forced to
fight a number of battles during their retreat towards Hungary.

the later Panzer IV and StuG III – plus a on the casemate was the same as that
single 7.92mm MG 34 with 600 rounds of the StuG III, while the chassis armour
for close defence. The engine was the was the same as that of the Panzer IV.
usual Panzer IV powerplant, the V12 A total of 1108 StuG IVs were built
Maybach HL 120 TRM, and operational by Krupp from December 1943 to May
range was 210km with an internal fuel 1945, with another 31 being created
tank capable of holding 430 litres. Top from salvaged battle-damaged
speed was 40km/h. Armour protection Panzer IV hulls. •

PANZER: GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS 105

PANZER TANKS
S

JAGDPANZER IV
Intended as a replacement for the StuG III, the
Jagdpanzer IV was a successful tank destroyer
which ended up serving alongside its
predecessor rather than supplanting it.

he success of the relatively The design would include a 60mm

T inexpensive StuG III on the

battlefield in the anti-tank
role during 1942 meant it
was desirable to create a new and
thick upper plate sloped at 45 degrees
and a 50mm lower plate angled at 55
degrees. The vehicle had a crew of four
– commander, gunner, loader and driver
improved tank destroyer based on the – and in addition to its main gun with 79
same concept. The ability to mount the shells it carried a single MG 42 with 1200
Panther tank’s 75mm KwK 42 L/70 was rounds. Traverse for the main gun was 12
a key requirement, since the StuG III’s degrees to either side. The engine was
casemate was too small to accept it. the usual V12 Maybach HL 120 TRM and
Vogtländische Maschinenfabrik AG with 470 litres of fuel brimming its tanks it full production began in January 1944.
(Vomag), based in Plauen, eastern could achieve a range of 210km by road Shortages of the Pak 42 L/70 meant early
Germany, received a contract to design a or 130km cross-country. Overall weight models had to be fitted with the shorter-
tank destroyer based on the Panzer IV’s was 24 tons and top speed was 40km/h, barrelled 75mm Pak 39 L/43 or 75mm
running gear that could carry the 75mm although average road speed was Pak 39 L/48 instead.
gun in September 1942. A wooden model 25km/h and cross-country this dropped Between January 1944 and November
was shown to Hitler on May 13, 1943, to just 15-18km/h. 1944, Vomag built between 769 and 784
which incorporated the vehicle’s key Prototypes and pre-production models examples of the Jagdpanzer IV. The most
features – a low height, sloped forward were built and trialled at the end of 1943 produced version, between 930 and 940
armour and a gun mantle designed to and, despite the previously mentioned built from August 1944 to April 1945,
deflect incoming shells. delays which had resulted in the StuG IV, was fitted with the Pak 42 L/70. This was

t
JAGDPANZER IV/46
1944-1945

This Jagdpanzer IV was found by US

forces abandoned in Chateaudun,
Normandy, during the Operation Cobra
breakout in August 1944. Red 212
had been left behind by the retreating
Panzer Lehr Regiment and was missing
its muzzle brake, which was probably
removed by the Germans. The Panzer
Lehr had been directly in the path of
the breakout, which was preceded
by a massive aerial bombardment
involving some 2000 Allied bombers.
The regiment’s commander General
Fritz Bayerlein reported that he had lost
950 men between July 24 and 25, with
50% killed or wounded by the carpet
bombing raid and the remainder killed
or wounded by a shattering artillery
barrage involving around 1000 guns
which followed and the attack of the
US 1st Infantry Division itself. Following
the breakout, the Panzer Lehr was
withdrawn to Fontainebleau for rest
and refit.

106 PANZER: GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS

 t
renamed the Panzer IV/70 (V), with the ‘V’ complete Panzer IV chassis had Vomag’s PANZER IV/70
standing for Vomag. The larger, heavier Jagdpanzer IV superstructure simply
gun meant there was only room for 60 dropped on to it. This resulted in an Red 101 was a Panzer IV/70 fitted out to
Befehlswagen standard and surrendered to
shells and overall weight increased to awkward-looking vehicle that was about the Canadian army in May 1945. It belonged
25.5 tons. 40cm taller than Vomag had intended. to schwere Panzerjäger-Abteilung 655, a
A third variant, known as the Panzer Weight was greater too at 27 tons, but the unit formed in March 1943 with the Nashorn
IV/70 (A) was created in July 1944 when extra space created by the height increase open-topped tank destroyer. It fought on
Nibelungenwerk was switching from meant up to 90 shells could be carried. the Eastern Front until the end of 1944 when
Panzer IV to Panzer IV/70 production. Maximum speed was reduced to 38km/h. it was withdrawn for a rest. Thereafter, it
In order to speed things up, rather than Just 278 of these were built between served on the Western Front and a unit
just using the Panzer IV’s running gear a August 1944 and March 1945. • roster dated April 23, 1945 shows that it had
10 Panzer IV/70s and five Jagdpanthers on
charge at that time. Red 101 is unusual as
it was one of the few vehicles in the units
sporting a tactical number.

PANZER: GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS 107

PANZER TANKS

JAGDPANTHER
The most successful attempt to create a tank
destroyer with an 88mm gun, the Jagdpanther was
a fearsome vehicle but its introduction was delayed
by administrative problems and when it did enter
production it was too complex and costly to build
in large numbers.

arly efforts to fit an 88mm 88mm gun based on its chassis in August

E anti-tank gun to a mobile

chassis had resulted in a series
of unsatisfactory vehicles –
1942. The timescale was tight – with the
German Waffenamt requiring completion
of the first vehicle by June 1943 and the
specifically the lightweight, open-topped commencement of full production the
and poorly armoured Nashorn based on following month.
components of both the Panzer III and The project was handed over to armour to a single 80mm slope and
Panzer IV, and the mechanically unreliable Daimler-Benz towards the end of 1942 setting the thickness of the lower plate
heavyweight Ferdinand/Elefant. since that company was already engaged and superstructure sides at 50mm. The
Therefore, even before series in production of the Panther. Daimler- running gear and underpinnings of the
production of MAN’s Panther design had Benz itself managed to produce the production Panther remained unchanged.
begun, Krupp was awarded a contract detailed design, reducing the casemate’s On May 23, 1943, the project was
to create a tank destroyer armed with an originally specified 100mm frontal shuffled on to yet another company –
1944-1945

108 PANZER: GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS

 t
JAGDPANTHER AUSF. G1
During the night of August 22-23, 1944, the
Jagdpanthers of the 654th Heavy Panzerjäger
Battalion’s 3rd Company tried to cross the River
Seine near Elbeuf at the last operational ferry station
to evade advancing Allied forces closing the Falaise
pocket. The commander of Red 302, Feldwebel
Heye, managed to get his crew and their vehicle
across safely – 15 other Jagdpanthers had to be
destroyed as there wasn’t enough time to get them
over. This particular Ausf. G1 has been retrofitted
with the later two-piece 88mm gun barrel. Zimmerit
paste remains on parts of the vehicle.

Braunschweig-based Mühlenbau und in November. Series production then The main gun, mounted in a central
Industrie AG (MIAG) – for prototype commenced in January 1944 using the mantlet with a traverse of 12 degrees
construction. A full-scale mockup Panther Ausf. G chassis. to either side, was the 88mm Pak
constructed by Daimler-Benz was shown However, bombing raids on MIAG’s 43/3 L/71 similar to the main gun of
to Hitler on October 20, 1943, before factories reduced output of the new the Tiger II. For close-up defence, a
the first MIAG-built prototypes followed, Jagdpanther to a crawl and two further single 7.92mm MG 34 machine gun
the first later that month and the second plants – Maschinenfabrik Niedersachsen- was installed in a ball mount on the
Hannover (MNH) and Maschinenbau und right-hand side of the frontal plate.
Bahnbedarf (MBA) in Potsdam-Drewitz – The Jagdpanther carried 60 rounds
were also tasked with building the vehicle for the former and 1200 rounds for t
from November 1944 onwards. the latter.

t JAGDPANTHER AUSF. G1
Red 321, another vehicle of the 654’s 3rd
Company retrofitted with the two-piece
88mm, also escaped from Falaise and is
pictured here as it appeared at Grafenwöhr
in Germany during October 1944. It was
commanded by Leutnant Prigge and was
eventually knocked out at Friesen by an
anti-tank gun on October 22.

PANZER: GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS 109

PANZER TANKS JAGDPANTHER

t
JAGDPANZER V JAGDPANTHER AUSF. G1
Allied forces found this Jagdpanther, belonging to the 9th SS Panzer Division
‘Hohenstaufen’ immobilised on the streets of Terschen – today known as Děěín
in the Czech Republic. Its gunner (some sources say loader) was future Nobel
Prize for Literature winner Günther Grass. Grass was drafted into the Waffen-
SS as a 17-year-old in late 1944. After the war he became a social democrat
and pacifist, winning the Nobel Prize in 1999 for having written novels such as
The Tin Drum, Cat and Mouse and Dog Years – the Danzig Trilogy – all of which
deal with the Second World War and the Nazi regime in one way or another.
The ‘Hohenstaufen’ fought in the last major German offensive of the war – the
attempted liberation of Budapest. It then withdrew to Austria before surrendering
to the US army at Steyer.

As with the Panther, the engine commander, gunner, loader, driver and
fitted was the V12 Maybach HL 230 radio operator – the driver initially having
P30 d developing
l i 690h
690hp. Thi
This offered
ff d a ttwo vision
i i slots
l t andd th
the gunner h having
i a
good power-to-weight ratio, since the periscope on the vehicle’s roof.
vehicle weighed 45.5 tons – just slightly A range of modifications was made longer applied; in October a thicker
heavier than the Panther’s own 44.8 tons. during production – in February 1944, the bolted gun shield was introduced for
Theoretical top speed was 46km/h but driver’s second vision slot was deleted the main gun, sheet metal tail pipe
this could not be sustained for any length and a central rear towing coupling was guards were added and larger diameter
of time without damaging the vehicle’s added; in May the single-piece 88mm self-cleaning idler wheels were fitted;
drive train. In practice, road speed was gun was replaced with a two-piece gun in December the previous engine deck
around 25km/h with cross-country speed and a pair of cooling pipes were added layout, derived from the Panther Ausf.
being more like 15km/h. A fuel capacity of to the engine manifold; in June, three A, was upgraded to that of the Panther
700 litres resulted in a range of 160km on Pilze were welded to the roof of the Ausf. G and flame-suppressing mufflers
the road and 80km cross-country. superstructure for mounting a jib boom were added. Finally, in February 1945 a
The vehicle had a crew of five – crane; from September Zimmerit was no stowage box was deleted from the left

t
JAGDPANTHER AUSF. G2
Led by Hauptmann von Schlippenbach, the II./Panzer Lehr Regiment 130 was
fortunate enough to receive 35 brand new Jagdpanthers straight off the MIAG
production line at Braunschweig in early April 1945. These included Yellow 721.
The 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th Companies got eight each, while the Staff Company
received three. The unit left Braunschweig on April 8 and drove west on the
autobahn for about 35km before stopping to form a west-facing defensive line
in the area of Edemissen-Hämelerwald-Burgdorf. Three days later, on the 11th,
the line was attacked by elements of the US 11th Cavalry Regiment and the 5th
Armored Division. By the end of the day only nine of the original 35 Jagdpanthers
remained operational.

110 PANZER: GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS

rear section of the superstructure. during the war – with MIAG making 270,
Today, earlier examples with the single- MNH 112 and MBA just 37. However, a
piece gun are referred to as the Ausf. G1, further 12 Jagdpanthers were built from
while later examples with the two-piece surviving components after the war under
gun are referred to as the Ausf. G2. the supervision of the Royal Electrical
Between them, the three manufacturers and Mechanical Engineers before being
produced a total of 419 Jagdpanthers shipped back to Britain for trials. •

PANZER: GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS 111

PANZER TANKS

TIGER II
1944-1945

Designed with the benefit of

combat experience in both
the Tiger I and Panther, the
Tiger II had a powerful gun and
its frontal armour was nearly
impenetrable. Entering service
only in 1944, the effectiveness
of this monster tank was badly
hampered by a susceptibility to
mechanical failure and critically
low fuel supplies.

112 PANZER: GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS

t
TIGER II AUSF. B
Between late July and the end of August 1944, the 505th Heavy Panzer Battalion received 45
new Tiger IIs including Black 201 – seen here as it appeared in August at Ohrdruf in Germany.
Training on the new type began immediately and the unit was transported to the front in East
Prussia in September. The Tiger II, aka Königstiger was also called the King Tiger by the
Americans and the Royal Tiger by the British. In fact the name ‘Königstiger’ means Bengal Tiger
in German.

he development of the Tiger specified his twin Porsche 101 air-cooled

T II begins on a tangent with

Porsche’s efforts to amend
its failing Tiger I design at the
beginning of January 1942 as Henschel
V10 engines for the design, generating
300hp at 2200rpm, linked to electric
generators powering electric motors
which actually drove the tracks.
worked out the kinks in its own The VK 45.02 (P) would have weighed
Tiger I. Two versions of a new 65 tons and had a top speed of just
Porsche vehicle were proposed, 35km/h. Suspension involved short
one with electric transmission – longitudinal torsion bars positioned on
the Typ 180 – and another the sides of the vehicle with paired road
with hydraulic transmission, wheels rather than torsion bars running
the Typ 181. across the width of the vehicle from one
The basic chassis was side to the other. Its turret, designed by
eventually designated VK 45.02 Krupp, would be fitted with the long-
(P) by Waffen Prüfamt 6. It was barrelled 88mm KwK 43 (L/71).
to have 80mm of armour all round The turret, which bore a striking
– the upper front being sloped by resemblance to that of the Soviet T-34,
45 degrees, making it better than a had been designed with 80mm thick
flat 100mm plate – and the lower being sloping sides, 100mm of armour on the
sloped by 35 degrees. Dr Porsche himself front and a long rear overhang in order
t
t

TIGER II AUSF. B
All known photos of Black 332 were probably
taken at the training grounds near Mailly-
le-Camp, France, during early August 1944.
During the Battle of Colombelles on August
11, the commander of the 503rd Heavy
Panzer Battalion’s 3rd Company, Leutnant
von Rosen, led a night-time attack involving
12 Tiger IIs against a formation of about
20 Sherman tanks. Less than five minutes
after the engagement began, 12 Shermans
had exploded or burned and two more
were abandoned by their crews, the others
retreated. There were no German losses.

PANZER: GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS 113

PANZER TANKS TIGER II

t
TIGER II AUSF. B
White 1, perhaps White 13, of Panzer-Kompanie 316 (Fkl) survived an Allied artillery
barrage on August 16 while defending Châteaudun, northern France, but the crew were
forced to abandon it later that night.

to provide a counterweight. There was However, as 1942 wore on it became

a pivoting hatch for the commander, clear that Porsche’s chosen suspension
an overhead hatch for the loader and a system was inadequate and likely
sizeable escape hatch on the rear of the to result in serious problems.
turret. In addition the entire rear part of In October, Porsche began to
the turret could be removed, allowing have second thoughts about
direct access to all the components the vehicle’s drivetrain
within, including the main gun. The too – considering a range
gunner benefited from a binocular of different layout and
Turmzielfernrohr 9b/1 telescope, the configuration changes.
loader got a fixed periscope and the With the VK 45.02 (P)’s
commander had all-round visibility future in doubt, Porsche’s
thanks to the cupola periscopes. production contract
Thanks to Porsche’s powerful was reduced to just
position as Hitler’s friend, a full three prototypes on
production contract for the VK 45.02 November 3, 1942.
(P) was placed in February 1942 with a At around the same time,
target date of March 1943 for the first Henschel was given a contract to
five completed examples. design the Tiger I’s replacement. This

114 PANZER: GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS

 THANKS TO PORSCHE’S POWERFUL POSITION AS
HITLER’S FRIEND, A FULL PRODUCTION CONTRACT FOR
THE VK 45.02 (P) WAS PLACED IN FEBRUARY 1942 WITH
A TARGET DATE OF MARCH 1943 FOR THE FIRST FIVE
COMPLETED EXAMPLES.

project became the VK 45.03 (H). On 150mm thick frontal armour with 80mm delivered to Austria’s Nibelungenwerk
December 7, 1942, it was decided that on the sides. for assembly. This work was duly
components previously ordered for the Meanwhile, Porsche pressed on carried out and the parts arrived on
VK 45.02 (P)’s turret could in fact be with its VK 45.02 (P) design and Krupp January 28, 1943, with assembly
used on the VK 45.03 (H), since the turret was already contracted to make three proceeding slowly.
ring dimensions made it compatible. turrets for it along with the prototype The following month, it was decided
On January 3, 1943, it was specified hulls themselves. The component parts that the VK 45.03 (H) should share
that the VK 45.03 (H) should have for all three vehicles would then be as many parts as possible with the
t

t
TIGER II AUSF. B
It is believed that Yellow 123 of the 501st
SS Heavy Panzer Battalion, commanded by
SS-Hauptscharführer Hibbler, was hit and set
on fire by US tanks on August 28, 1944, at
Sailly, France. It was thought at one time this
tank might be the Tiger II currently on display
and in running condition at the Musée des
Blindés, Saumur, France, though this is now
considered unlikely.

PANZER: GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS 115

PANZER TANKS TIGER II

t
TIGER II AUSF. B
Eighteen Tiger IIs of the 505th Heavy
Panzer Battalion counterattacked around
the Bobr River in Poland from June 28
to June 29, 1944. Against them were two
Soviet armoured columns totalling 60
tanks. For the loss of six Tigers, 55 of the
enemy tanks were knocked out. This is
Black 241 of the 505th’s 1st Company as it
appeared in September 1944 in the Narew
sector of the USSR.

then-in-development Panther II. These This would prove to be a costly to injury, the Panther II was then
included the Maybach HL 230 engine, decision because the Panther II was to cancelled.
the Zahnradfabrik AK 7-200 transmission, have been a significantly lighter vehicle The final VK 45.03 (H) hull design had
the road wheels and even the tracks – and as a result the shared parts were a 150mm thick upper front hull sloped at
although the Panther II’s tracks would not necessarily strong enough to cope 50 degrees, a front lower plate 100mm
only be used as the VK 45.03 (H)’s rail with the added weight of the VK 45.03 thick and also sloped at 50 degrees,
transportation tracks. (H)’s thicker armour. Adding insult 25-degree sloped 80mm side armour

116 PANZER: GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS

 t
TIGER II AUSF. B
Tiger IIs of the 503rd Heavy Panzer Battalion’s
3rd Company led by acting company
commander Leutnant Richard von Rosen,
including Black 233, rolled through the streets
of Budapest on October 15, 1944, to put
down a revolt by the Hungarian government
under Admiral Miklós Horthy, which wanted
to negotiate a ceasefire with the Russians.
Leutnant von Rosen’s Tigers drove up to
the Danube Bridge and blocked all traffic to
ensure that no resistance was met.

and 40mm-thick rear deck plates. The with relative ease by hinging up a large which could be rotated to provide an
transmission intended for the Panther II panel and the entire rear deck was excellent field of vision when the hatch
was switched to the Tiger I’s Maybach removable if access to the fuel tanks and was closed. The radio operator on the
Olvar 40 12 16 system, which was easily cooling system was also required. other side of the fighting compartment’s
accessible for maintenance thanks to The driver sat in relative luxury with forward section sat behind an MG
a large removable panel in front of the a height-adjustable seat, pedals and 34 mounted in the forward hull on t
turret. The engine too could be reached steering controls. He also got a periscope a ball mount and also had his own

PANZER: GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS 117

PANZER TANKS TIGER II

t
TIGER II AUSF. B
Black 334 was commanded by Feldwebel Kurt Knispel of the 503rd Heavy Panzer
Battalion. This is how it looked in November 1944 in Budapest, Hungary. Knispel is
recognised as the most successful tank commander of the Second World War with 168
confirmed (possibly as many as 195) kills. He fought at different times as a loader, a
gunner and a commander and was recommended to receive the Knight’s Cross on
four occasions. He was a free-spirited character sporting long hair, a goatee beard
and tattoos. He didn’t care about his slow rise in ranks or for that matter never
actually receiving the Knight’s Cross. Some historians attributed this to his lack
of discipline and concern for his appearance. However, the military establishment
merely acknowledged that Knispel did his duty as a soldier especially in the Tiger I
and Tiger II. His final battle was fought in Vlasatice in Czechoslovakia, where he was
fatally wounded on April 28, 1945, 10 days before the war ended.

periscope. The tank carried 80 rounds of fitted with the turret originally
ammunition for its main gun. designed for the VK 45.02 (P) – known
The tank’s maximum speed was today as the ‘Porsche turret’ due to
41.5km/h but in practice, on the road, its development history rather than its
it could manage 38km/h for extended manufacturer.
periods of time or 15-20km/h cross- Early production examples of the
country. Travelling by road, and with a Tiger II suffered from numerous technical
full fuel load, it could achieve a range of problems which could be serious enough
170km or 120km cross-country. to completely destroy the vehicle. In
The VK 45.03 (H) received the official particular, engine seals and gaskets
designation Tiger II on March 16, 1943, were inadequate and fuel leaks within out of action before they could reach the
and the first prototype was accepted the engine compartment could result in front line.
by Waffenamt inspectors eight months brand new Tiger IIs becoming burned- From the 51st Tiger II onwards, a
later. The second and third prototypes, out wrecks on several occasions. Final new turret design was introduced. This
as well as the first three full production drive failure was another problem which Serienturm or ‘series turret’ had 180mm
type Tiger IIs, were accepted in January bedevilled the tank and resulted in of armour at the front and 80mm on the t
1944. The first 50 Tiger IIs built were numerous production examples being put sides with 40mm on top. Tests on the

TIGER II AUSF. B t
Green 008 was a command vehicle of the
501st Heavy Panzer Battalion’s staff company.
It was photographed in this condition while
passing through Tondorf, Germany, on its way
to participate in the Ardennes Offensive on
December 16, 1944. Two days later it broke
down at Ligneuville. Repaired, it was still
on strength with the 501st in January 1945,
having survived the Ardennes.

118 PANZER: GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS

PANZER: GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS 119
PANZER TANKS T
TIGER II

older turret design had determined that The new turret had the same large compared to 16 in the old design, for a
its curved front resulted in a chance that rear escape hatch as its predecessor total of 86 rounds.
incoming rounds could be deflected and its rear could still be removed to Apart from the visually very noticeable
downwards into the weak upper hull allow access to the main gun. The new turret, a wide range of modifications
– effectively creating a ‘shot trap’ – so more angular design, with sides that were made to the Tiger II during its
the new turret’s frontal plate was almost were less steeply sloped, also provided 15-month production run. To begin with,
flat. Its incredible thickness also made it more internal space for the storage in January 1944, the prototype tanks’
practically impossible for enemy gunners of ammunition – making it possible flat front fenders were replaced
to penetrate. to keep 22 rounds in the new turret with new curved pieces

t
TIGER II AUSF. B
During the battle for the bridge in Stavelot,
Yellow 222 of the 501st SS Heavy Panzer
Battalion’s 2nd Company, commanded by
SS-Unterscharführer Kurt Sowa, was hit
by several shells from an American M10
commanded by Sergeant Ray Dudley, of the
823rd Tank Destroyer Battalion. The Tiger II’s
driver managed to retreat into cover provided
by several buildings, but the Panzer was later
left behind after the German retreat. This is
how it appeared on December 20, 1944.

120 PANZER: GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS

 HANGERS FOR CARRYING REPLACEMENT TRACK
LINKS ON THE OUTSIDE OF THE TANK WERE ADDED
FROM JULY 1944 AND FROM AUGUST 19, EVERY
TIGER II LEAVING THE HENSCHEL FACTORY WAS
PAINTED IN A STANDARD ‘AMBUSH’
CAMOUFLAGE PATTERN.

t
TIGER II AUSF. B
On December 18, 1944, at Stavelot, Belgium,
Black 105 of the 501st Heavy Panzer
Battalion’s 1st Company was hit on the front
mantle by a bazooka round fired by Private
Lee Galloway of the 526th Armored Infantry
Battalion. The tank’s driver, SS-Rottenführer
Walter Bingert, put the vehicle in reverse,
but drove into the corner of a three-storey
house which then collapsed over the tank.
The commander, SS-Obersturmführer Jürgen
Wessel, simply switched Tigers and continued
with the offensive.

and where the prototypes had had clean IIs had straight pipes on the rear of the
armour plating, the first production vehicle but these tended to allow hot
models had Zimmerit paste applied. exhaust gases to be sucked in by the
The following month, a change was cooling system intakes on the rear engine
made to the exhaust pipes. deck. Replacement pipes were therefore
The early Tiger devised with bent tips that directed the
t

PANZER: GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS 121

PANZER TANKS TIGER II

t
TIGER II AUSF. B
Originally commanded by SS-Unterscharführer Paul Tomke, Yellow 213 was
taken over by SS-Obersturmführer Helmut Dollinger of the 501st SS Heavy
Panzer Battalion’s 2nd Company following the breakdown of his own vehicle,
009, on December 18. It was knocked out by American tanks at Wérimont farm
on December 23, and was one of 135 armoured vehicles that Kampfgruppe
Peiper left behind in and around La Gleize. It is now on display at the December
44 Museum, La Gleize, Belgium.

gases away from the tank. In addition, offered exactly the same
a coolant heater was installed beside performance as the original.
the engine with an access port for a The muzzle brake was also
blowtorch. This was intended to make made smaller and lighter.
it easier to start the tank in extremely By June it had been
cold conditions. realised that the standard
During May 1944, a new, less flexible German engineer bridge was
track design was added to the Tiger capable of carrying the Tiger II and
II. The original had been ingeniously so the requirement for deep river fording
designed so that it could be used on gear was relaxed. Most Tiger IIs had
either side of the tank but it tended to actually been built without it anyway.
be quite loose, causing heavy wear on June was also the point at which the 50
the sprockets. The new version’s more early-style turrets had run out and the Hangers for carrying replacement
rigid design kept wear to a minimum. new-style turret was introduced. These track links on the outside of the tank
In addition, a new sighting telescope had three sockets welded to them so were added from July 1944 and from
for the main gun was fitted and the that a crane could be fitted over the August 19, every Tiger II leaving the
design of the main gun itself was turret roof. This could then be used to Henschel factory was painted in a
altered from a single tube to a two- lift out components from the engine bay, standard ‘ambush’ camouflage pattern.
piece tube that was easier to make but including the engine itself. This involved a base coat of RAL 7028,
t

t
TIGER II AUSF. B
Black 100 was the tank of the commander
of the 503rd Heavy Panzer Battalion’s
1st Company, Leutnant Piepgras. Just
before Christmas 1944, its final drive gave
up and it had to be towed to Mor. Here it
was positioned close to the church and
subsequently sank deep into the muddy
ground. On Christmas Eve night, and all alone
in the city, the tank crew repelled an attack by
Soviet infantry. The next morning a recovery
platoon arrived but they could not pull the
tank out of the now frozen mud. By pouring
gasoline around the tank and setting it on
fire they were finally successful and a prime
mover could drag the tank to the rear area.
Here Black 100 was repaired and its final drive
lasted for the rest of the conflict.

122 PANZER: GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS

PANZER: GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS 123
PANZER TANKS TIGER II

t
TIGER II AUSF. B
Commanded by SS-Hauptsturmführer Rolf von Westerhagen of the 501st
SS Heavy Panzer Battalion’s 3rd Company, Blue 331 was knocked out
during the unsuccessful German offensive to liberate Budapest – Operation
Frühlingserwachen or ‘Spring Awakening’. Afterwards, the Russians located all
the knocked-out and abandoned German armoured vehicles, and marked this
particular Tiger II as No. 93 for their records. This is how it appeared in March
1945 in the Lake Balaton area of Hungary.

dark yellow, with areas of red brown, stop using RAL 7028 and
RAL 8017, and olive green, RAL 6003, the other two colours were
painted over it. Previously, Tiger IIs had simply applied directly over
been delivered in an all-over covering of the red primer instead.
dark yellow and it had been up to each In December, the companies
individual unit to add their camouflage responsible for making the Tiger
pattern of choice. In addition, where the II’s armour were told to apply a
interior of earlier Tiger IIs had received an dark green undercoat – RAL 6003
all-over coat of ivory white paint, tanks – before sending the components to
produced after August 1944 were left in Henschel for assembly. At Henschel, a
their base coat of red primer inside. camouflage pattern of RAL 8017 and
As with all other German tanks, in RAL 7028 would then be applied over stray fragments of metal from entering
September 1944 the application of it. A minor modification also approved the intakes. However, it seems that this
Zimmerit ceased. From October 9, 1944, at this point was the addition of armour modification was not generally adopted.
all Tiger IIs received a thinner coat of plates to be fitted over the rear deck From January 1945, Tiger II turrets had
paint than they had before and from air intake gratings. The goal was to a new metal guard installed above the
October 31, Henschel was required to prevent splinters from shells and other aperture for the gunsight. This extended

124 PANZER: GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS

quite a way from the turret face and was just before production ceased in March rebuild began immediately but another
intended primarily to prevent rainwater 1945, another new track design was raid on December 15 resulted in further
from obscuring the sight but with the devised and approved for the Tiger II. delays. Henschel’s subsidiary works
added benefit that it also shielded the Overall, production of the Tiger II and many of its suppliers also suffered
gunner from the rays of the rising or at Henschel had continued steadily damage in bombing raids, causing Tiger
setting sun to a greater degree. Finally, until September 22 when the first of II production to be significantly curtailed.
five bombing raids resulted in severe By March 1945, when Henschel’s
disruption to the assembly line. Further production lines ceased to function,
raids on September 27 and 28, and only the three prototypes and 489
October 2 and 7 annihilated 95% of the series models – 492 tanks in total – had
Henschel factory. Efforts to repair and been built. •

t
TIGER II AUSF. B
Tiger II of 3./schwere Panzer-Abteilung 510,
Kassel area/Germany, April 17, 1945. This
unnumbered but spectacularly camouflaged
Tiger II was one of six brand new Tiger IIs
that were collected at the Henschel factory
in Wilhelmstal by the 510th Heavy Panzer
Battalion’s 3rd Company on March 29, 1945.
It was probably spray-painted in this pattern
by the crew after they left the factory. The
3rd Company was then involved in several
skirmishes between March 30 and April 8.
They disbanded on April 17 and this vehicle,
together with another Tiger II, was abandoned
by its crew and blown up.

PANZER: GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS 125

PANZER TANKS

JAGDTIGER
Produced in only small numbers right at the end, the Jagdtiger was
nevertheless the heaviest armoured fighting vehicle to see combat during
the Second World War.
1944-1945

he idea of building a super It was eventually

T heavy tank destroyer armed

with a 128mm gun had been
talked about by the German
discovered, however, that
the 128mm KwK L/55 –
originally intended for the
army general staff since early 1942 aborted superheavy tank
but no progress was made towards ‘Maus’ – was simply too
constructing such a vehicle until it was long for even the Tiger
discussed during a conference with II’s hull. As a result, this
Adolf Hitler on February 21, 1943. Hitler had to be stretched by
was enthusiastic about the proposal and 400mm to accommodate
approved the construction of prototypes. the weapon.
Since the design of the Tiger II was Although Henschel
already well advanced by this point, it designed its own suspension
was decided that Henschel should use its unit for the Jagdtiger, Dr Ferdinand
chassis as the basis for the new vehicle. Porsche offered Hitler an alternative

126 PANZER: GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS

 t
JAGDTIGER
Black 314 of the 653rd Heavy Panzerjäger Battalion’s 3rd Company, commanded by Feldwebel
Erich Bonike, was with a group of five other Jagdtigers that was ordered to attack American
positions in Morsbronn on the German-French border on March 16, 1945. Approaching the
village, the unit was hit by heavy artillery fire, combined with an aerial attack from P-47
Thunderbolt fighter-bombers. Black 314, hull number 305012, was the last example built with
the Porsche suspension system. Rather than being knocked out by the enemy, it suffered drive
train problems. Unable to proceed with the attack, its crew drove it into a ditch and blew it up to
prevent it from falling into enemy hands.

arrangement which he argued would be whereas this was not necessary for
quicker to build, easier to maintain in the his design, since each bogie operated
field and, above all, substantially cheaper. independently of all the others. The
While the Henschel arrangement difference in cost, according to Porsche,
required nine wheels per side was 866,000 RM per Henschel unit
with torsion bars running versus 462,000 RM per Porsche unit;
laterally from one side of the and it took 360 man hours to build one
vehicle to the other, the Henschel unit versus 140 hours for the
Porsche design consisted Porsche. There was even a weight saving g
of four bogies on each of one ton overall using the Porsche unit
side, each with two wheels rather than Henschel’s.
attached to them with a Work on two prototypes was
very short 1.075m torsion commenced in December 1943 – one
bar fitted to each unit running with Henschel’s suspension and the
longitudinally – parallel with the other with Porsche’s. While the Porsche
wheels themselves. arrangement looked promising on paper,
Porsche claimed that the in practice the individual bogies were
Henschel design required machining to too weak to support the massive 74-
very close tolerances so that both sides ton weight of the vehicle. Nevertheless,
of the vehicle’s
ehicle’s hhullll matched up
peexactly,
actl 10 more e examples
amples withith Porsche’s
t
t

JAGDTIGER
Another Jagdtiger from 653rd Heavy Panzerjäger Battalion’s 3rd Company, Black 323, was among three Jagdtigers which took up defensive
positions in Neustadt, Germany, on March 22, 1945. As American armoured forces drove forwards, between them the trio managed to knock
out a total of 25 tanks and tank destroyers for no losses. When the battle was over, cautiously advancing American soldiers of the 10th Armored
Division found two of the Jagdtigers abandoned. 331 had been left in the middle of Landauer Strasse, while Black 323 was parked in a courtyard
opposite. The latter had taken at least nine direct hits from armour-piercing rounds and three more from high-explosive shells but none of them
had penetrated. The vehicle had been abandoned when it ran out of ammunition because its final drive had suffered damage, making it impossible
to recover under the circumstances. The crew had sabotaged its gun before retreating. The 653rd
finally surrendered its last four operational Jagdtigers to US forces between May 5 and May 7, 1945.

PANZER: GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS 127

PAN
NZER TANKS JAGDTIGER
t
JAGDTIGER
Deployed as part of Panzer Group Hudel, White X7, of the 512th Heavy Panzer Battalion’s 1st Company, joined German
forces attempting to stop the US Army enlarging its Remagen bridgehead across the Rhine in late March 1945.
Positioned along the Sieg River, the 512th attacked the 3rd Armored Division and then retreated, the Jagdtigers being
used to fight a rearguard action – knocking out advancing Shermans at ranges of up to four kilometres. The 512th lost
four Jagdtigers, three of them simply because they broke down, including White X7. The vehicle was abandoned in
Obernephen on April 1. The remainder of the battalion would fight on for two more weeks before surrendering.

suspension were constructed before The vehicle was powered by the

production switched permanently to the V12 Maybach HL 230 P30, developing
original Henschel design. 690hp, resulting in a claimed top speed
The Jagdtiger’s gun had a 10-degree of 42km/h on the road. With a full
traverse to either side and 40 rounds load of 860 litres of fuel in its internal
of ammunition for it could be carried at tanks, range was 250km travelling
any one time. Two loaders were needed by road or 145km travelling cross-
to handle the shells, each of which country. Unfortunately the Jagdtiger
consisted of a separate projectile and struggled to achieve these speeds
cased propellant charge. and distances without breaking
Maximum armour thickness on down. Its huge weight put an
the superstructure forward plate was intolerable strain on the components
250mm, with 150mm on the glacis plate, of its drive train – particularly the
100mm on the lower front plate, 80mm suspension and wheels. In addition,
on the side and rear, 50mm on the flat examples fitted with the Porsche
surface at the front and 40mm on the suspension proved unsuitable for travel
roof to centre and rear. over rough terrain due to excessive
vibration. Not only did this make life
extremely uncomfortable for the crew, it
also threw the gun out of calibration.
There were six crew – commander,
gunner, loader, second loader, driver
and radio operator – although in
practice it sometimes operated with
only five.

128 PANZER: GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS

 A total of between 70 and shortages of the 128mm weapon. new nine-tooth drive sprocket; from
88 Jagdtigers were built at the Modifications on the production line in December the number of track hangers
Nibelungenwerk factory, St Valentin, July 1944 included the addition of four was increased to six pairs on both
Austria, up to May 1945. These pairs of track hanger brackets welded sides and finally in February 1945, Pilze
included four examples built with on to the superstructure sides and the sockets for mounting a two-ton jib boom
an 88mm Pak 43 L/71 gun due to sheet metal guards around the exhausts were welded on to the top edge of the
being removed; in August a travel lock sides of the superstructure.
for the gun was added; from September, Even today, the Jagdtiger remains the
Zimmerit was no longer applied and a heaviest armoured fighting vehicle ever to
new track was fitted with corresponding have entered series production. •

t
JAGDTIGER
This Jagdtiger, White Y5 of the 512th Heavy Panzer Battalion’s
3rd Company, fought in the defence of Paderborn as part of
Panzer Group Hudel on April 1, 1945. The 3rd’s five Jagdtigers
managed to fight off attacks by the US 3rd Armored Division
but the following day White Y5 was destroyed by American
forces while another broke down. The last three vehicles
were loaded on to railway carriages and transported to the
Harz mountains, where they broke down one by one between
April 10 and 15. Many of the 512th’s crews complained bitterly
about the Jagdtiger’s issues – including Tiger I ace Otto
Carius, who wrote about his experiences in his book Tigers in
the Mud. Carius had been used to a rotating turret and quickly
became frustrated with having to turn the entire vehicle for
aiming while under constant pressure from the enemy. On
the other hand, assault gun ace Albert Ernst later said that
the Jagdtiger made him feel invincible with its exceptionally
powerful gun and massive armour protection.

PANZER: GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS 129

PANZER TANKS

COLOUR CHART
RAL 7008 RAL 7021
Graugrün Panzegrau

RAL 7028 RAL 8002

Dunkelgelb Olivegrün

RAL 8017 RAL 8020

Rotbraun Braungelb

130 PANZER: GERMAN WW2 DESIGNS