Panther Tank

The Panzerkampfwagen V Panther, next to the PzKpfw VI Tiger, is the best-known German tank of World War II. The Panther and the Soviet T-34 are considered to be the best tanks of World War II. When in June of 1941, Germany invaded Russia, Panzertruppe encountered KV series and T-34/76 tanks, which were far superior in firepower and armor protection to any Panzer at the time. It was then decided, because of the constant reports from the Eastern Front to design a new more powerful medium tank, which could be quickly put into production. On November 25th of 1941, Adolf Hitler ordered Wa Pruef start work on the new tank. In December of 1941, Wa Pruef ordered Daimler-Benz and MAN (Maschinenfabrik Augsburg Nuernberg) to design new 30-ton tank armed with 75mm KwK L/70 gun as a response to the Soviet T-34/76 tank. Rheinmetall-Borsig was in charge of the development of the turret for this new tank. In March of 1942, Daimler-Benz was the first to produce their version of VK3002's design based on previously rejected VK3001 (direct copy of T-34/76) design from January of 1942. Two versions of VK 3001 with different suspensions were designed by Daimler-Benz - one with spring suspension and other with torsion bar suspension. Daimler-Benz VK3002 design was largely based on T-34/76 and was more like a modified German version of it. MAN finished their design of VK3002 in early Spring of 1942.

VK3002(DB)'s turret was mounted in the forward position of the hull just like that of T-34/76. Prototype was presented to the Fuhrer, who ordered the production of 200 to start as soon as possible. On May 11th of 1942, VK3002 project received the designation of Panther. On May 14th of 1942, when extensive tests of both prototypes were completed, Hitler decided to put MAN's design into production. Daimler-Benz's design was rejected since it was assumed that it would cause many problems with identification of the vehicle and also proved to have poor performance and many modifications would have to be made in order to improve its faults. The Daimler-Benz protototype was captured by the Soviets in 1945. Skoda also provided their design similar to Soviet T-34/76, designated Panzerkampfwagen T-25, but its design was also rejected. In June/July of 1942, MAN's Panther was finally accepted for full-scale production. Adolf Hitler ordered that the production of MAN's Panther was to start as early as December of 1942. Adolf Hitler himself insisted on using 75mm KwK 42 L/100 gun, but since it was not ready for production, shorter 75mm KwK 42 L/70 gun, which was capable of penetrating almost 150mm thick armor at the range of 1000 meters was used. Panther's 75mm gun had penetration slightly better than Tiger's 88mm gun. VK3002(MAN)'s design had its turret mounted in the central part of the hull and had better overall performance.

Panther's technical design incorporated many features of the T-34/76, such as wide tracks for better traction and improved cross-country performance, a powerful engine, a hard-hitting long-barrelled 75mm gun, and sloping armor for extra protection. It is important to note that the Panther was the first German-made tank with sloping armor. Although its design was in some ways similar to the T-34/76, the Panther was larger, heavier, and different in many technical aspects. The Panther had large overlapping road wheels and a state-of-the-art suspension system that enabled it to traverse rough terrain at high speed

turret.

The engines for the ....

From July to September 1942, MAN produced two prototypes, only one of which was fitted with a turret. These were extensively tested and proved prone to many technical problems. At the same time, a first order for 1,000 tanks was placed, with the first tank expected in early 1943. In late 1942, a small pre-production series of 20 tanks was ordered. This was the Null-Serie, or Zero Series. Those 20 tanks were designated Panzerkampfwagen V Panther Ausfuehrung A and were technically different from later Ausf A production models. All were lightly armored (with 60mm frontal armor) and armed with the early version of the 75mm KwK 42 L/70 gun. This gun had a single-chamber muzzle brake from the 75mm KwK 40 L/43 gun and was mounted in a turret that featured a drum cupola that bulged the turret on the left side. A 650hp Maybach HL 210 P 45 engine of 21 liters (1,280 cubic inches] displacement powered them. Interesting conversion was Ausf D1 (some sources state that it was an early model Bergepanther) fitted with bolted on PzKpfw IV Ausf H's turret (that could not be traversed), which served as a command tank of schwere Heeres Panzerjager Abteilung 653 on the Eastern Front in early/mid of 1944. The same unit used other early model Bergepanther that was mounted with 20mm Flakvierling anti-aircraft gun and Flakpanzer T-34(r).

Combat Service

In December 1942, a new and improved model, designated Ausf D, was ready. In February 1943, 20 Ausf A tanks were re-designated Ausf D1. These Ausf D1 models were exclusively used as test vehicles and later for training. By this time, preparations were under way for Operation "Zitadelle" (Citadel). For this, the Army ordered 250 Panthers to be ready by May 12, 1943, while 750 more were to be completed as soon as possible. In December 1942, Ausf D entered production, and the first D model left the factory on January 11, 1943. Armor protection was improved (in comparison to Ausf D1) and the newer version of the 75mm KwK 42 L/70 gun was mounted in a hydraulically-powered turret. The first 250 Panther Ausf D tanks were powered by a Maybach HL 210 P 30 [with 23 liters (1,400 cubic inches) displacement] and were also referenced as Ausf D1. The Panther's weak spot was its side armor, which ranged from 40mm to 50mm, depending on the variant.

Panzerkampfwagen V Panther Ausf D(D1), along with PanzerjÃ¤ger Tiger(P) Ferdinand (Sd.Kfz.184) and other new armored fighting vehicles, made their debut with Panzer Abteilungen 51 and 52 (96 tanks each) along with Panzer Regiment Stab 39 (8 tanks each) as part of Heeresgruppe Sued (Army Group South) in July 1943 during Operation Citadel in the Kursk salient. Because of technical problems (especially with the gearbox, transmission and suspension, and engine fires) that were not fully solved until later, many Panthers broke down before and during the battle.

Panther Tank

Panzerkampfwagen V Panther Sd. Kfz. 171

Specifications

Overall, from 1943 to 1945, only some 6000 Panthers were produced by Maschinenfabrik-Augsburg-Nuremberg (MAN) in Kassel and Maschinenfabrik Niedersachsen-Hannover (MNH) in Hannover, along with Daimler-Benz, Henschel and Demag

Specifications Ausf D

Specifications Ausf G

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