![]() The Panther Aus B and C were ‘paper’ projects that were never built, while only prototypes were made of the Aus F. The commander’s cupola was fitted with an infrared sight while illumination was provided by an infrared search light mounted on a special version of the SdKfz 251 half track, called the Uhu (Owl). The Panther Aus G was the first tank to use infrared night vision aids in combat, albeit on a small scale. It was the last production variant and 3,126 were made by MAN, Daimler Benz and MNH between March 1944 and April 1945, bringing total production of Panther gun tanks to 5,976 vehicles. The Aus G had further changes to improve reliability, thicker armour, a simplified hull structure and a modified gun mantlet that was intended to eliminate a shot trap. The Panther Aus A was in turn replaced by the Panther Aus G in the spring of 1944, (the Aus F was a projected model that never entered production). They served on the Eastern front, in Italy and in Normandy following the Anglo American invasion in June 1944. The Aus A became the main combat tank of the Wehrmacht and 2,000 were built between August 1943 and May 1944. The gun was complemented by excellent optics.Įight hundred and fifty Panther Aus D were produced before an improved tank, confusingly called the Aus A, superseded it in September 1943! The Aus A had an extensively modified turret with a cast commander’s cupola, a ball mount for the bow machine gun in place of a letter box flap and many changes to improve reliability. 32) was just over 5cms thick the Soviet T34/76 had 4.5cms on the hull front and 6.5cms on the turret front (see E1952.44). The front armour of the principle United States tank of this period, the Sherman, (see E1955. It could penetrate 14.9cm of armour plate sloping at 30 degrees at a range of 1,000 metres. This gun was 70 calibres long and had a muzzle velocity of 1,120 metres/sec. The Panther mounted a long, high velocity, accurate 7.5cm gun, the KwK42. The transmission and drive sprockets were at the front of the hull and the Maybach petrol engine was in the rear. The hull was carried on eight pairs of large road wheels on each side, attached to torsion bars and riding on broad tracks like the T34. This armour was capable of resisting the projectiles fired by most allied tank guns when it entered service. The upper part of the hull front was 6cms thick, the turret front 8cms thick. The Panther hull was welded and had sloping, thick, armour. Many early model Panthers were lost because of mechanical failure rather than by enemy action. The Panther Aus D made its’ combat debut at the Battle of Kursk in July 1943, the largest tank battle in history. These included failures of the wheel rims, problems with the transmission and a tendency for the engine to catch fire. As a result its’ development was rushed and the first production version, the Ausfuhrung D, suffered from many teething problems. Hitler decreed that the new tank, named Panther, had to be ready for service by the end of May 1943 so that it could participate in the offensive against the Soviet Army planned for the summer of 1943, Operation Zitadelle. MAN eventually won the design competition and the first prototype appeared in September 1942. After the Commission reported Daimler Benz and MAN were asked to design a new medium tank. They were superior to any tanks that the Germans had in service and the German troops were soon demanding a new tank to counter them.Ī special Panzer Commission was sent to the eastern front in November 1941 to gather information. ![]() The Soviet T34/76 and KV tanks were a complete surprise to the Germans when they encountered them in July 1941 during the invasion of the Soviet Union. The other contender for the accolade of best tank is the Soviet T34, earlier versions of which inspired some aspects of the design of the Panther. The Panzerkampfwagen V or Panther was the best German tank of World War II and possibly the best medium tank fielded by any of the combatants in World War II.
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