German tanks in World War II
Encyclopedia
Nazi Germany
had several tank designs during World War II
. In addition to these domestic designs, Germany also made use of various captured and foreign-built tanks.
The German tank force was an amazing success due to tactical innovation more than tank quality. Many of their tanks outclassed allied armor, delivered more casualties than they took in most engagements due to the impressive training the German soldiers received, and the excellent tactics used by the German forces.
Using the Blitzkrieg
, Guderian
, Paul Ludwig Ewald von Kleist
and other field commanders such as Rommel
broke the hiatus of the Phoney War in a manner almost outside the comprehension of the Allied
— and, indeed, the German — High Command. In actual tank-on-tank encounters the German armour performed poorly, but as a coherent unit, the combined arms tactic of the Blitzkrieg shocked the west.
The German
Panzer
force at the start of World War II
was not especially impressive. Only 4% of the defence budget was spent on armoured fighting vehicle
(AFV) production. Guderian
had planned for two main tanks, the Panzer III
was in production but the second support tank with a 75 mm gun was not. Designated the Panzer IV
, design work had begun in 1935 and trials of prototype
s were undertaken in 1937, but by the time of the invasion of Poland
only a few hundred 'troop trial' models were available. The development work was then halted and limited production began by Krupp in Gruson, Essen and Bochum in October 1939 with 20 vehicles built. Even that low number could not be sustained however, production dropping to ten in April 1940. Production was also dropped because metal was very expensive and not many citizens were donating it.
Nevertheless the number of available Panzer IV's (211) was still larger than that of the Panzer III (98). There were also technical problems with the Panzer III: it was widely considered to be under-gunned with a 37 mm KwK L/45 and production was split between four manufacturers (MAN, Daimler-Benz, Rheinmetall-Borsig, and Krupp) with little regard for each firm's expertise, and the rate of production was initially very low (40 in September 1939, 58 in June 1940) taking until December 1940 to reach 100 examples a month. The Panzer force for the early German victories was a mix of the Panzer I
(machine-gun
only) and Panzer II
(20mm gun) light tanks, and Czech tanks (the Panzer 38(t)
and the Panzer 35(t)
). By May 1940 349 Panzer III's were available for the attacks on France
and the Low Countries
. Through superior command/control and tactics, the Germans were able to prevail in the Battle of France
, despite the deficiencies of their Panzers.
That the Panzer III was undergunned was recognized during its conception and its design included a large turret ring to make it possible to fit a 2250 ft/s (656 m/s) 50 mm KwK L/42 gun on later models. In July 1940, too late to see action in the final weeks of the Battle of France, the first 17 of these models were produced. Designated the Panzer III Ausf. F, the other changes included an upgraded Maybach engine and numerous minor changes to ease mass production.
The Ausf. F was quickly supplanted by the Ausf. G which was the main tank of the Afrika Korps
in 1940-41 and also saw action in Yugoslavia
and Greece
. Around 2,150 Panzer IIIs were produced of which around 450 were the Ausf G. These tanks were still under-gunned, poorly armored and mechanically over-complex in comparison to the British tanks. After fighting in Libya
in late 1940 the Ausf. H was put into production with simpler mechanics, wider tracks and improved armour. In April 1941 there was a general 'recall' of the Panzer III to upgrade the main gun to the new 50 mm L/60, with the new Panzergranate 40 round, muzzle velocity was pushed to 3875 ft/s (1,181 m/s). New tanks produced with this gun were designated Ausf. J.
The invasion of the Soviet Union
in Operation Barbarossa
signalled an enormous change in German tank development. In July 1941 36 Panzer and motorized infantry divisions were assigned to the invasion fielding over 3000 AFV's. In June 1941, these tanks first encountered the Soviet T-34
and the German tanks were outclassed in every aspect of battle performance. A little later the American-made M3 Lee
and then M4 Sherman
tanks were encountered in the Western Desert, the M4 outclassing German armour in that theatre too.
As an immediate measure the Panzer III's armour was upgraded to 70 mm by additional plates and to protect against hollow charge attacks spaced armour was introduced. But the Panzer III was clearly outclassed and production was ended in August 1943 with the Ausf. M (a conversion of older types), the vehicle having been up-gunned to a 75 mm L/24 and downgraded to a support role. The Panzer III chassis did continue to be made until the end of the war as the base of a range of special purpose vehicles like Sturmgeschütz III
.
Slow production of the Panzer IV
had been continuing, by the end of 1940 386 Ausf. Ds were in service and in 1941 a further 480 were produced, this was despite an order from the army for 2,200. The short 75 mm gun was the main advantage of the Panzer IV, weight and armour were close to that of the Panzer III. The Panzer IV became the most numerous tank of the Panzer divisions, although already outclassed in 1942 it was easy to maintain and simpler to produce than other German tanks. The Ausf. E was the major production variant, although the Ausf. F2 (later renamed in Ausf. G) with a long high velocity gun was the most impressive performer. First introduced in 1940 the 22 ton machine was progressively improved, with the addition of the L/43 gun the most significant change - it could penetrate 80 mm of armour at 1800 m. Later variants further improved the gun to a 75 mm L/48 but were mainly characterised by increasing the main armor and adding spacer and skirt armor to protect against anti-tank weapons. Zimmerit
paste, to prevent magnetic charges attaching was also introduced on the Panzer IV. About 12,000 Panzer IV tanks (derived chassis included) were produced during the war, more than twice as many as the next tank.
Despite continued efforts with the lighter tanks throughout the war the German designers did produce a direct counter to the heavier Allied tanks with the PzKpfw V, the Panther
(in 1944 the PzKpfw designation was dropped and the vehicle was known simply as the Panther). Design work on the replacement for the Panzer IV
had begun in 1937 and prototypes were being tested in 1941. The emergence of the T-34 led to an acceleration of this leisurely time-table. At the insistence of Guderian a team was dispatched to the eastern front in November 1941 to assess the T-34 and report. Three features of the Soviet tank were considered as most significant, top was the sloped armour
all round which gave much improved shot deflection and also increased the armour thickness against penetration; second was the wide track and large road wheels which improved stability; and third was the long over-hanging gun, a feature German designers had avoided up to then. Daimler-Benz and MAN were tasked with designing and building a new 30-35 ton tank by next Spring. At the same time the existing prototype tanks were up-gunned to 88 mm and ordered into production as the PzKpfw VI, the Tiger
.
The two T-34 influenced proposals were delivered in April 1942. The Daimler-Benz design was a 'homage' to the T-34, ditching the propensity for engineering excellence, and hence complexity, to produce a clean, simple design with plenty of potential. The MAN design were more conventional to German thinking and was the one accepted by the Waffenprüfamt 6 committee. A prototype was demanded by May and design detail work was assigned to Kniepkampf.
If the over-hanging gun and sloping armour are ignored the Panther is a conventional German design, its internal layout for the five crew was standard and the mechanicals were complex. Weighing 43 tons it was powered by a 700 hp (522 kW) petrol engine driving eight double-leaved bogie wheels on each side, control was through a seven-speed gearbox and hydraulic disc brakes. The armour was homogenous steel plate
, welded but also interlocked for strength. Preproduction models had only 60 mm armour but this was soon increased to 80 mm on the production Ausf. D and later models had a maximum of 120 mm. The main gun was a 75 mm L/70 with 79 rounds, supported by one or two MG 34 machine guns.
The MAN design was officially accepted in September 1942 and put into immediate production with top priority, finished tanks were being produced just two months later and suffered from reliability problems as a result of this haste. With a production target of 600 vehicles a month the work had to be expanded out of MAN to include Daimler-Benz and in 1943 the firms of Maschinenfabrik Niedersachsen-Hannover and Henschel. Due to disruption monthly production never approached the target, peaking in 1944 with 330 a month and ending around February 1945 with at least 5964 built. The Panther first saw action around Kursk on July 5, 1943.
In addition to these mainstream efforts the German army also experimented with a variety of unusual prototypes and also put into production several peculiarities. Some Tiger tanks
were fitted with anti-personnel grenade launcher
s which were loaded and fired from within the tank as an anti-ambush device.
The first of these German-built tanks was the Panzer I. It was not designed for combat, but rather as a training vehicle to familiarize tank crews with Germany's modern battle concepts, and to prepare the nation’s industry for the upcoming war effort. Nevertheless, the tank design did see actual combat, first during the Spanish Civil War
of 1936, then again during World War II, and elsewhere.
Since the tank was never intended to be used in actual combat, it was plagued by weapon and armour shortcomings through its entire life. Attempts were made to improve the design, but with little success. The Panzer I’s participation in the Spanish Civil war did, however, provide vital information to the German military about modern tank warfare.
Number built—1,856
The Panzer II was ordered into production because the construction of medium tanks, later to be known as the Panzer III and IV, was falling behind schedule. The Panzer II was intended to “fill the gap” until the III and IV could come into full production. Along with the Panzer I, the II made up the bulk of German tank forces during the invasion of Poland and France.
number built—5,774
The Panzer III was intended to be the main medium core of the German armor force when it was designed during the inter-war period. While it was originally designed to fight other tanks, its 37 mm and later 50 mm guns could not keep pace with Soviet T-34 and KV tanks. In 1941, the Panzer III was the most numerous German tank, but by late 1943 it was largely replaced by later versions of the Panzer IV and Panther. Its self-propelled gun
chassis variant, the Sturmgeschütz III
was, with just over 9,400 units built, the most produced German armored fighting vehicle of World War II.
Number built—8,800
The Panzer IV was the workhorse of the German tank force during World War II. It saw combat in all theaters, and was the only German tank to remain in production for the entire war.
The Panzer IV was originally intended to be a support tank. It was thus armed with a 75 mm howitzer intended primarily to fire high-explosive shells in support of other tanks or infantry. By Mid 1942, it was rearmed with a longer 75 mm dual-purpose gun which could defeat most Soviet tanks. In the second half of the war, about half of all German tanks were Panzer IVs.
Number built—6,000
The Panther was a medium tank (45 tonnes) with a crew of five, which was designed to counter the excellent Soviet T-34
tank. In weight it was comparable to US and Soviet heavy tanks. It had sloped armour (for better protection) and carried a long-barreled 75 mm gun. Series production began in 1943 and a total of 4,800 were produced. Initial mechanical problems were mostly fixed, and the Panther is considered the best German tank of the war.
Number built—1,347
In response to the T-34 after the invasion of the Soviet Union
, the German forces ordered the construction of a new heavy tank. Originally to be named the Panzer VI, Hitler ordered the name changed. The tank had formidable firepower and thick armor. It had some mechanical problems due to its weight.
Even larger and heavier than the Tiger I
the Königstiger (King Tiger) was the largest and most powerful tank released by German forces during the war. It had the firepower to knock out virtually any allied tank and enough armor to shrug off most allied firepower at the time(excluding hollow charge weapons), but it suffered from multiple mechanical problems due to its rushed development and excessive weight.
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
had several tank designs during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. In addition to these domestic designs, Germany also made use of various captured and foreign-built tanks.
Development and uses
Using the Blitzkrieg
Blitzkrieg
For other uses of the word, see: Blitzkrieg Blitzkrieg is an anglicized word describing all-motorised force concentration of tanks, infantry, artillery, combat engineers and air power, concentrating overwhelming force at high speed to break through enemy lines, and, once the lines are broken,...
, Guderian
Guderian
Guderian may refer to:People with the surname Guderian:*Heinz Guderian, a military theorist and innovative General of the German Army during the Second World War....
, Paul Ludwig Ewald von Kleist
Paul Ludwig Ewald von Kleist
Paul Ludwig Ewald von Kleist was a leading German field marshal during World War II. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords...
and other field commanders such as Rommel
Rommel
Erwin Rommel was a German World War II field marshal.Rommel may also refer to:*Rommel *Rommel Adducul , Filipino basketball player*Rommel Fernández , first Panamanian footballer to play in Europe...
broke the hiatus of the Phoney War in a manner almost outside the comprehension of the Allied
Allies
In everyday English usage, allies are people, groups, or nations that have joined together in an association for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out between them...
— and, indeed, the German — High Command. In actual tank-on-tank encounters the German armour performed poorly, but as a coherent unit, the combined arms tactic of the Blitzkrieg shocked the west.
The German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
Panzer
Panzer
A Panzer is a German language word that, when used as a noun, means "tank". When it is used as an adjective, it means either tank or "armoured" .- Etymology :...
force at the start of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
was not especially impressive. Only 4% of the defence budget was spent on armoured fighting vehicle
Armoured fighting vehicle
An armoured fighting vehicle is a combat vehicle, protected by strong armour and armed with weapons. AFVs can be wheeled or tracked....
(AFV) production. Guderian
Guderian
Guderian may refer to:People with the surname Guderian:*Heinz Guderian, a military theorist and innovative General of the German Army during the Second World War....
had planned for two main tanks, the Panzer III
Panzer III
Panzer III was the common name of a medium tank that was developed in the 1930s by Germany and was used extensively in World War II. The official German designation was Panzerkampfwagen III translating as "armoured battle vehicle". It was intended to fight other armoured fighting vehicles and...
was in production but the second support tank with a 75 mm gun was not. Designated the Panzer IV
Panzer IV
The Panzerkampfwagen IV , commonly known as the Panzer IV, was a medium tank developed in Nazi Germany in the late 1930s and used extensively during the Second World War. Its ordnance inventory designation was Sd.Kfz...
, design work had begun in 1935 and trials of prototype
Prototype
A prototype is an early sample or model built to test a concept or process or to act as a thing to be replicated or learned from.The word prototype derives from the Greek πρωτότυπον , "primitive form", neutral of πρωτότυπος , "original, primitive", from πρῶτος , "first" and τύπος ,...
s were undertaken in 1937, but by the time of the invasion of Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
only a few hundred 'troop trial' models were available. The development work was then halted and limited production began by Krupp in Gruson, Essen and Bochum in October 1939 with 20 vehicles built. Even that low number could not be sustained however, production dropping to ten in April 1940. Production was also dropped because metal was very expensive and not many citizens were donating it.
Panzer I
The Panzer I was a light tank produced in Germany in the 1930s. The name is short for the German ' , abbreviated . The tank's official German ordnance inventory designation was SdKfz 101 .Design of the Panzer I began in 1932 and mass production in 1934...
(machine-gun
Machine gun
A machine gun is a fully automatic mounted or portable firearm, usually designed to fire rounds in quick succession from an ammunition belt or large-capacity magazine, typically at a rate of several hundred rounds per minute....
only) and Panzer II
Panzer II
The Panzer II was the common name for a family of German tanks used in World War II. The official German designation was Panzerkampfwagen II...
(20mm gun) light tanks, and Czech tanks (the Panzer 38(t)
Panzer 38(t)
The Panzerkampfwagen 38 was originally a Czech tank of pre-World War II design. After Czechoslovakia was taken over by Germany, it was adopted by the German Army, seeing service in the invasions of Poland and Russia. Production ended in 1942, when its armament was deemed inadequate. In all, over...
and the Panzer 35(t)
Panzer 35(t)
The Panzerkampfwagen 35, commonly shortened to Panzer 35 or abbreviated as Pz.Kpfw. 35, was a Czechoslovak-designed light tank used mainly by Nazi Germany during World War II. The letter stood for tschechisch...
). By May 1940 349 Panzer III's were available for the attacks on France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and the Low Countries
Low Countries
The Low Countries are the historical lands around the low-lying delta of the Rhine, Scheldt, and Meuse rivers, including the modern countries of Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and parts of northern France and western Germany....
. Through superior command/control and tactics, the Germans were able to prevail in the Battle of France
Battle of France
In the Second World War, the Battle of France was the German invasion of France and the Low Countries, beginning on 10 May 1940, which ended the Phoney War. The battle consisted of two main operations. In the first, Fall Gelb , German armoured units pushed through the Ardennes, to cut off and...
, despite the deficiencies of their Panzers.
That the Panzer III was undergunned was recognized during its conception and its design included a large turret ring to make it possible to fit a 2250 ft/s (656 m/s) 50 mm KwK L/42 gun on later models. In July 1940, too late to see action in the final weeks of the Battle of France, the first 17 of these models were produced. Designated the Panzer III Ausf. F, the other changes included an upgraded Maybach engine and numerous minor changes to ease mass production.
The Ausf. F was quickly supplanted by the Ausf. G which was the main tank of the Afrika Korps
Afrika Korps
The German Africa Corps , or the Afrika Korps as it was popularly called, was the German expeditionary force in Libya and Tunisia during the North African Campaign of World War II...
in 1940-41 and also saw action in Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
and Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
. Around 2,150 Panzer IIIs were produced of which around 450 were the Ausf G. These tanks were still under-gunned, poorly armored and mechanically over-complex in comparison to the British tanks. After fighting in Libya
Libya
Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....
in late 1940 the Ausf. H was put into production with simpler mechanics, wider tracks and improved armour. In April 1941 there was a general 'recall' of the Panzer III to upgrade the main gun to the new 50 mm L/60, with the new Panzergranate 40 round, muzzle velocity was pushed to 3875 ft/s (1,181 m/s). New tanks produced with this gun were designated Ausf. J.
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
in Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was the code name for Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II that began on 22 June 1941. Over 4.5 million troops of the Axis powers invaded the USSR along a front., the largest invasion in the history of warfare...
signalled an enormous change in German tank development. In July 1941 36 Panzer and motorized infantry divisions were assigned to the invasion fielding over 3000 AFV's. In June 1941, these tanks first encountered the Soviet T-34
T-34
The T-34 was a Soviet medium tank produced from 1940 to 1958. Although its armour and armament were surpassed by later tanks of the era, it has been often credited as the most effective, efficient and influential design of World War II...
and the German tanks were outclassed in every aspect of battle performance. A little later the American-made M3 Lee
M3 Lee
The Medium Tank M3 was an American tank used during World War II. In Britain the tank was called "General Lee", named after Confederate General Robert E. Lee, and the modified version built with a new turret was called the "General Grant", named after U.S. General Ulysses S. Grant.Design commenced...
and then M4 Sherman
M4 Sherman
The M4 Sherman, formally Medium Tank, M4, was the primary tank used by the United States during World War II. Thousands were also distributed to the Allies, including the British Commonwealth and Soviet armies, via lend-lease...
tanks were encountered in the Western Desert, the M4 outclassing German armour in that theatre too.
As an immediate measure the Panzer III's armour was upgraded to 70 mm by additional plates and to protect against hollow charge attacks spaced armour was introduced. But the Panzer III was clearly outclassed and production was ended in August 1943 with the Ausf. M (a conversion of older types), the vehicle having been up-gunned to a 75 mm L/24 and downgraded to a support role. The Panzer III chassis did continue to be made until the end of the war as the base of a range of special purpose vehicles like Sturmgeschütz III
Sturmgeschütz III
The Sturmgeschütz III assault gun was Germany's most produced armoured fighting vehicle during World War II. It was built on the chassis of the proven Panzer III tank...
.
Slow production of the Panzer IV
Panzer IV
The Panzerkampfwagen IV , commonly known as the Panzer IV, was a medium tank developed in Nazi Germany in the late 1930s and used extensively during the Second World War. Its ordnance inventory designation was Sd.Kfz...
had been continuing, by the end of 1940 386 Ausf. Ds were in service and in 1941 a further 480 were produced, this was despite an order from the army for 2,200. The short 75 mm gun was the main advantage of the Panzer IV, weight and armour were close to that of the Panzer III. The Panzer IV became the most numerous tank of the Panzer divisions, although already outclassed in 1942 it was easy to maintain and simpler to produce than other German tanks. The Ausf. E was the major production variant, although the Ausf. F2 (later renamed in Ausf. G) with a long high velocity gun was the most impressive performer. First introduced in 1940 the 22 ton machine was progressively improved, with the addition of the L/43 gun the most significant change - it could penetrate 80 mm of armour at 1800 m. Later variants further improved the gun to a 75 mm L/48 but were mainly characterised by increasing the main armor and adding spacer and skirt armor to protect against anti-tank weapons. Zimmerit
Zimmerit
Zimmerit was a coating produced for German armored fighting vehicles during World War II for the purpose of combating magnetically attached anti-tank mines, although Germany was the only country to use magnetic mines against tanks in large scale numbers...
paste, to prevent magnetic charges attaching was also introduced on the Panzer IV. About 12,000 Panzer IV tanks (derived chassis included) were produced during the war, more than twice as many as the next tank.
Panther tank
Panther is the common name of a medium tank fielded by Nazi Germany in World War II that served from mid-1943 to the end of the European war in 1945. It was intended as a counter to the T-34, and to replace the Panzer III and Panzer IV; while never replacing the latter, it served alongside it as...
(in 1944 the PzKpfw designation was dropped and the vehicle was known simply as the Panther). Design work on the replacement for the Panzer IV
Panzer IV
The Panzerkampfwagen IV , commonly known as the Panzer IV, was a medium tank developed in Nazi Germany in the late 1930s and used extensively during the Second World War. Its ordnance inventory designation was Sd.Kfz...
had begun in 1937 and prototypes were being tested in 1941. The emergence of the T-34 led to an acceleration of this leisurely time-table. At the insistence of Guderian a team was dispatched to the eastern front in November 1941 to assess the T-34 and report. Three features of the Soviet tank were considered as most significant, top was the sloped armour
Sloped armour
Sloped armour is armour that is neither in a vertical nor a horizontal position. Such "angled" armour is often mounted on tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles...
all round which gave much improved shot deflection and also increased the armour thickness against penetration; second was the wide track and large road wheels which improved stability; and third was the long over-hanging gun, a feature German designers had avoided up to then. Daimler-Benz and MAN were tasked with designing and building a new 30-35 ton tank by next Spring. At the same time the existing prototype tanks were up-gunned to 88 mm and ordered into production as the PzKpfw VI, the Tiger
Tiger I
Tiger I is the common name of a German heavy tank developed in 1942 and used in World War II. The final official German designation was Panzerkampfwagen Tiger Ausf. E, often shortened to Tiger. It was an answer to the unexpectedly formidable Soviet armour encountered in the initial months of...
.
The two T-34 influenced proposals were delivered in April 1942. The Daimler-Benz design was a 'homage' to the T-34, ditching the propensity for engineering excellence, and hence complexity, to produce a clean, simple design with plenty of potential. The MAN design were more conventional to German thinking and was the one accepted by the Waffenprüfamt 6 committee. A prototype was demanded by May and design detail work was assigned to Kniepkampf.
If the over-hanging gun and sloping armour are ignored the Panther is a conventional German design, its internal layout for the five crew was standard and the mechanicals were complex. Weighing 43 tons it was powered by a 700 hp (522 kW) petrol engine driving eight double-leaved bogie wheels on each side, control was through a seven-speed gearbox and hydraulic disc brakes. The armour was homogenous steel plate
Rolled homogeneous armour
Rolled homogeneous armour is a type of steel which is used to armour vehicles.-Composition:Armoured steel must be hard yet impervious to shock in order to resist high velocity metal projectiles. Steel with these characteristics is produced by processing cast steel billets of appropriate size and...
, welded but also interlocked for strength. Preproduction models had only 60 mm armour but this was soon increased to 80 mm on the production Ausf. D and later models had a maximum of 120 mm. The main gun was a 75 mm L/70 with 79 rounds, supported by one or two MG 34 machine guns.
The MAN design was officially accepted in September 1942 and put into immediate production with top priority, finished tanks were being produced just two months later and suffered from reliability problems as a result of this haste. With a production target of 600 vehicles a month the work had to be expanded out of MAN to include Daimler-Benz and in 1943 the firms of Maschinenfabrik Niedersachsen-Hannover and Henschel. Due to disruption monthly production never approached the target, peaking in 1944 with 330 a month and ending around February 1945 with at least 5964 built. The Panther first saw action around Kursk on July 5, 1943.
In addition to these mainstream efforts the German army also experimented with a variety of unusual prototypes and also put into production several peculiarities. Some Tiger tanks
Tiger I
Tiger I is the common name of a German heavy tank developed in 1942 and used in World War II. The final official German designation was Panzerkampfwagen Tiger Ausf. E, often shortened to Tiger. It was an answer to the unexpectedly formidable Soviet armour encountered in the initial months of...
were fitted with anti-personnel grenade launcher
Grenade launcher
A grenade launcher or grenade discharger is a weapon that launches a grenade with more accuracy, higher velocity, and to greater distances than a soldier could throw it by hand....
s which were loaded and fired from within the tank as an anti-ambush device.
Panzer I
Number built—1,493The first of these German-built tanks was the Panzer I. It was not designed for combat, but rather as a training vehicle to familiarize tank crews with Germany's modern battle concepts, and to prepare the nation’s industry for the upcoming war effort. Nevertheless, the tank design did see actual combat, first during the Spanish Civil War
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
of 1936, then again during World War II, and elsewhere.
Since the tank was never intended to be used in actual combat, it was plagued by weapon and armour shortcomings through its entire life. Attempts were made to improve the design, but with little success. The Panzer I’s participation in the Spanish Civil war did, however, provide vital information to the German military about modern tank warfare.
Panzer II
Number built—1,856
The Panzer II was ordered into production because the construction of medium tanks, later to be known as the Panzer III and IV, was falling behind schedule. The Panzer II was intended to “fill the gap” until the III and IV could come into full production. Along with the Panzer I, the II made up the bulk of German tank forces during the invasion of Poland and France.
Panzer III
number built—5,774
The Panzer III was intended to be the main medium core of the German armor force when it was designed during the inter-war period. While it was originally designed to fight other tanks, its 37 mm and later 50 mm guns could not keep pace with Soviet T-34 and KV tanks. In 1941, the Panzer III was the most numerous German tank, but by late 1943 it was largely replaced by later versions of the Panzer IV and Panther. Its self-propelled gun
Self-propelled gun
A self-propelled gun is form of self-propelled artillery, and in modern use is usually used to refer to artillery pieces such as howitzers....
chassis variant, the Sturmgeschütz III
Sturmgeschütz III
The Sturmgeschütz III assault gun was Germany's most produced armoured fighting vehicle during World War II. It was built on the chassis of the proven Panzer III tank...
was, with just over 9,400 units built, the most produced German armored fighting vehicle of World War II.
Panzer IV
Number built—8,800
The Panzer IV was the workhorse of the German tank force during World War II. It saw combat in all theaters, and was the only German tank to remain in production for the entire war.
The Panzer IV was originally intended to be a support tank. It was thus armed with a 75 mm howitzer intended primarily to fire high-explosive shells in support of other tanks or infantry. By Mid 1942, it was rearmed with a longer 75 mm dual-purpose gun which could defeat most Soviet tanks. In the second half of the war, about half of all German tanks were Panzer IVs.
Panzer V "Panther"
Number built—6,000
The Panther was a medium tank (45 tonnes) with a crew of five, which was designed to counter the excellent Soviet T-34
T-34
The T-34 was a Soviet medium tank produced from 1940 to 1958. Although its armour and armament were surpassed by later tanks of the era, it has been often credited as the most effective, efficient and influential design of World War II...
tank. In weight it was comparable to US and Soviet heavy tanks. It had sloped armour (for better protection) and carried a long-barreled 75 mm gun. Series production began in 1943 and a total of 4,800 were produced. Initial mechanical problems were mostly fixed, and the Panther is considered the best German tank of the war.
Panzer VI "Tiger"
Number built—1,347
In response to the T-34 after the invasion of the Soviet Union
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was the code name for Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II that began on 22 June 1941. Over 4.5 million troops of the Axis powers invaded the USSR along a front., the largest invasion in the history of warfare...
, the German forces ordered the construction of a new heavy tank. Originally to be named the Panzer VI, Hitler ordered the name changed. The tank had formidable firepower and thick armor. It had some mechanical problems due to its weight.
Panzer VI "Tiger II"
Number built—492Even larger and heavier than the Tiger I
Tiger I
Tiger I is the common name of a German heavy tank developed in 1942 and used in World War II. The final official German designation was Panzerkampfwagen Tiger Ausf. E, often shortened to Tiger. It was an answer to the unexpectedly formidable Soviet armour encountered in the initial months of...
the Königstiger (King Tiger) was the largest and most powerful tank released by German forces during the war. It had the firepower to knock out virtually any allied tank and enough armor to shrug off most allied firepower at the time(excluding hollow charge weapons), but it suffered from multiple mechanical problems due to its rushed development and excessive weight.
See also
- NeubaufahrzeugNeubaufahrzeugThe German Neubaufahrzeug series of tank prototypes were a first attempt to create a heavy tank for the Wehrmacht after Adolf Hitler had come to power. Multi-turreted, heavy and slow, they did not fit in with the Blitzkrieg tactics and therefore only five were made...
- German armoured fighting vehicles of World War IIGerman armoured fighting vehicles of World War IIThe German Wehrmacht used an extensive variety of combat vehicles during the Second World War. This article is a summary of those vehicles.-Panzer I:Also known as: PzKpfw I, 'Panzer I', Sd. Kfz. 101...
- Military technology during World War II
- Glossary of German WWII military terms
- German armoured fighting vehicle production during World War II