Planned new models were the PzKpfw V Ausf F and the Panther II. This very powerful defensive weapon was used in Italy in the Gustav and Goths lines, on the Atlantic wall and Siegfried line, as well as on the Eastern front. There was also a bunker with a reinforced Panther turret, called the ‘Ostwall Turm’ (Eastern wall turret). Variants of the Panther tank included an observation tank, recovery tank, command tank, the tank destroyer Jagdpanther and a conversion to a similar look to the American M10 tank destroyer used by a special unit during the Battle of the Bulge. However, several tank units of the Red Army used captured Panther tanks during the war.Ī converted Panther tank which resembled the American M10 tank destroyer and was used during the Ardennes offensive.
Ww2 tank battles on youtube license#
The Panther was also to be built in Romania and Hungary under license for their armed forces, but the further course of the war prevented this. The versions B and C were never put into production and so the first production model of the Panther was the PzKpfw V Ausf D.įor some peculiar reasons a further version A followed, the Pzkpfw V Ausf A, which was built from August 1943 and was used in Normandy in summer 1944.įinally, the main version PzKpfw V Ausf G appeared from March 1944, which remained in production until the end of the war. The first production model was the PzKpfw V Ausf A, which was no more than a pre-production model. A Panther Ausf G tank between a Tiger I and a King Tiger tank at the RAC Tank Museum, Bovington Camp, Dorset (UK). Even after the end of the war, the tank was still used by the French armed forces and was built for them until sufficient modern vehicles were available. Once the mechanical problems had been overcome, confidence in the new tank increased again and most experts consider the Panther tank as a whole to be the best main battle tank of the Second World War. The Panther saw it’s first combat mission on the Eastern front at the Battle of Kursk and was then deployed in increasing numbers on all fronts. In fact, from the first version, the PzKpfw V Panther Ausf D, more vehicles were lost due to technical breakdowns than due to combat action, which quickly diminished the crews’ confidence in their new tanks. The Panther tank was put into production without proper inspections and tests and so numerous problems quickly became apparent. New Panther D’s leave the MAN plant for transport to the Eastern Front for their first action at Kursk. By the beginning of 1945 only about 4,800 Panther tanks had been built. But the Allied air raids led to the fact that the maximum number of 330 vehicles per month was never exceeded.
Ww2 tank battles on youtube series#
Since Hitler insisted on the readiness of the new medium Panther tank for the coming summer offensive in 1943, series production was to start at MAN only two months later.Īt the same time Daimler-Benz also began to prepare for the production of the MAN Panther and in 1943 Henschel followed, together with hundreds of subcontractors.Īctually it had been planned to produce 600 Panthers every month. The first prototypes of the new tank were called Panzerkampfwagen V Panther (SdKfz 171) and were completed in September 1942. A new Panther D leaves the factory in before of a Tiger I. Among other reasons the responsible persons in Germany probably did not want to be accused of copying a product of the ‘subhumans’ from the East and so – not surprisingly – the MAN design was accepted. The engine to be used was the Daimler-Benz MB507 diesel. The VK 3002(DB) was practically a copy of the Soviet T-34 transferred for German requirements, with the turret sitting at the front. Daimler-Benz’s Panther design resembled the Soviet T-34.
To meet these requirements, Daimler-Benz submitted the VK 3002(DB) design, while MAN submitted the VK 3002(MAN) design. On November 25, 1941, a specification was issued to Daimler-Benz and MAN by the Waffenamt ( Weapons Office), which demanded a new medium main battle tank with the long 75 mm cannon, well flat armor for maximum protection like the Soviet T-34, a limited combat weight and larger wheels for improved mobility. However, these vehicles were not taken over for production and their further development led to the Tiger tank (VK 4501). In 1941 the companies Henschel and Porsche had each finished prototypes of a new tank in the 30 to 35 ton class, which were called VK 3001(H) or VK 3001(P).
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