Panzer V Panther
>Type Medium tank
>Place of origin Nazi Germany
>In service 1943–1945 (Nazi Germany)
>Used by Nazi Germany Kingdom of Hungary Kingdom of Romania (postwar) Soviet Union (captured) France (captured, postwar)
>Wars World War II
>Designer MAN AG
>Designed 1942
>Manufacturer MAN, Daimler-Benz, MNH
>Produced 1942–1945 (1946- 9 post war for British Army)
>Number built about 6,000
>Weight 44.8 tonnes (44.1 long tons; 49.4 short tons)
>Length 6.87 metres (22 ft 6 in) 8.66 metres (28 ft 5 in) gun forward
>Width 3.27 metres (10 ft 9 in) 3.42 metres (11 ft 3 in) with skirts
>Height 2.99 metres (9 ft 10 in)
>Crew 5 (Driver, radio-operator/hull machine gunner, commander, gunner, loader)
>Armor 15–120 mm (0.59–4.7 in)
>Main armament 1 × 7.5 cm KwK 42 L/70
79 rounds
>Secondary armament 2 × 7.92 mm Maschinengewehr 34 5,100 rounds
>Engine V-12 petrol Maybach HL230 P30 700 PS (690 hp, 515 kW)
>Power/weight 15.39 PS/tonne (13.77 hp/ton)
>Transmission ZF AK 7-200. 7 forward 1 reverse
>Suspension double torsion bar, interleaved road wheels
>range 250 km (160 mi)
>Speed 55 km/h (34 mph) (first models), 46 km/h (29 mph) (later models)
Panther is the common name of a medium tank deployed by Nazi Germany in World War II from mid-1943 to the end of the European war in 1945. It was intended as a counter to the Russian T-34, and as a replacement for the Panzer III and Panzer IV. While never replacing the latter, it served alongside it and the heavier Tiger tanks until the end of the war. The Panther's excellent combination of firepower, mobility, and protection served as a benchmark for other nations' late war and post-war tank designs, and it is regarded as one of the best tanks of World War II.
Until 1944, it was designated as the Panzerkampfwagen V Panther and had the ordnance inventory designation of Sd.Kfz. 171. On 27 February 1944, Hitler ordered that the Roman numeral V be deleted from the designation.
The Panther tank was a compromise of various requirements. While sharing essentially the same engine as the Tiger I tank, it had better frontal armor (including the benefit of a sloping angle, increasing effective armor depth), better gun penetration, was lighter and thus faster, and could handle rough terrain better than the Tigers. The tradeoff was weaker side armor. The Panther proved to be deadly in open country and shooting from long range, but vulnerable to close-quarters combat. Also, the 75 mm gun fired a slightly smaller shell than the Tiger's 88 mm gun, providing less high explosive firepower against infantry.
The Panther was also far cheaper to produce than the Tiger tanks, and only slightly more expensive than the Panzer IV, as its design came to fruition when the Reich Ministry of Armament and War Production was making great efforts to increase war production. Key elements of the Panther design, such as its armor, transmission, and final drive, were compromises made specifically to improve production rates and address Germany's war shortages, whereas other elements such as its highly compact engine and its complex suspension system remained with their elegant but complicated engineering. The result was that Panther tank production was far higher than what was possible for the Tiger tanks, but not much higher than what had been accomplished with the Panzer IV. At the same time, the simplified final drive became the single major cause of breakdowns of the Panther tank, and was a problem that was never corrected.
The Panther tank arrived in 1943 at a crucial phase in World War II for Germany. Rushed into combat at the Battle of Kursk with un-corrected teething problems, which resulted in breakdowns and other equipment failures, the Panther tank would thereafter only be fighting outnumbered in Germany's steady retreat against the Allies for the remainder of World War II. Its success as a battlefield weapon was thus hampered by Germany's generally declining position in the war, with the loss of airpower protection by the Luftwaffe, the loss of fuel and training space, and the declining quality of tank crews. Nevertheless, the Panther tank demanded respect from the Allies, and its combat capabilities led directly to the introduction of heavier Allied tanks such as the Soviet IS-2 and the American M26 Pershing into the war.
Until 1944, it was designated as the Panzerkampfwagen V Panther and had the ordnance inventory designation of Sd.Kfz. 171. On 27 February 1944, Hitler ordered that the Roman numeral V be deleted from the designation.
The Panther tank was a compromise of various requirements. While sharing essentially the same engine as the Tiger I tank, it had better frontal armor (including the benefit of a sloping angle, increasing effective armor depth), better gun penetration, was lighter and thus faster, and could handle rough terrain better than the Tigers. The tradeoff was weaker side armor. The Panther proved to be deadly in open country and shooting from long range, but vulnerable to close-quarters combat. Also, the 75 mm gun fired a slightly smaller shell than the Tiger's 88 mm gun, providing less high explosive firepower against infantry.
The Panther was also far cheaper to produce than the Tiger tanks, and only slightly more expensive than the Panzer IV, as its design came to fruition when the Reich Ministry of Armament and War Production was making great efforts to increase war production. Key elements of the Panther design, such as its armor, transmission, and final drive, were compromises made specifically to improve production rates and address Germany's war shortages, whereas other elements such as its highly compact engine and its complex suspension system remained with their elegant but complicated engineering. The result was that Panther tank production was far higher than what was possible for the Tiger tanks, but not much higher than what had been accomplished with the Panzer IV. At the same time, the simplified final drive became the single major cause of breakdowns of the Panther tank, and was a problem that was never corrected.
The Panther tank arrived in 1943 at a crucial phase in World War II for Germany. Rushed into combat at the Battle of Kursk with un-corrected teething problems, which resulted in breakdowns and other equipment failures, the Panther tank would thereafter only be fighting outnumbered in Germany's steady retreat against the Allies for the remainder of World War II. Its success as a battlefield weapon was thus hampered by Germany's generally declining position in the war, with the loss of airpower protection by the Luftwaffe, the loss of fuel and training space, and the declining quality of tank crews. Nevertheless, the Panther tank demanded respect from the Allies, and its combat capabilities led directly to the introduction of heavier Allied tanks such as the Soviet IS-2 and the American M26 Pershing into the war.
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The main gun was a 7.5 cm Rheinmetall-Borsig KwK 42 (L/70) with semi-automatic shell ejection and a supply of 79 rounds (82 on Ausf. G). The main gun used three different types of ammunition: APCBC-HE (Pzgr. 39/42), HE (Sprgr. 42) and APCR (Pzgr. 40/42), the last of which was usually in short supply. While it was of only average caliber for its time, the Panther's gun was one of the most powerful tank guns of World War II, due to the large propellant charge and the long barrel, which gave it a very high muzzle velocity and excellent armor-piercing qualities. The flat trajectory also made hitting targets much easier, since accuracy was less sensitive to range. The high velocity increased the chance of hitting a moving target. The Panther's 75 mm gun had more penetrating power than the main gun of the Tiger I heavy tank, the 8.8 cm KwK 36 L/56, although the larger 88 mm projectile might inflict more damage if it did penetrate.
The tank typically had two MG 34 machine guns of a specific version designed for use in armored combat vehicles featuring an armored barrel sleeve. An MG 34 machine gun was located co-axially with the main gun on the gun mantlet; an identical MG 34 was located on the glacis plate and fired by the radio operator. Initial Ausf. D and early Ausf. A models used a "letterbox" flap enclosing its underlying thin, vertical arrowslit-like aperture, through which the machine gun was fired.[58] In later Ausf A and all Ausf G models (starting in late November-early December 1943), a ball mount in the glacis plate with a K.Z.F.2 machine gun sight was installed for the hull machine gun
The tank typically had two MG 34 machine guns of a specific version designed for use in armored combat vehicles featuring an armored barrel sleeve. An MG 34 machine gun was located co-axially with the main gun on the gun mantlet; an identical MG 34 was located on the glacis plate and fired by the radio operator. Initial Ausf. D and early Ausf. A models used a "letterbox" flap enclosing its underlying thin, vertical arrowslit-like aperture, through which the machine gun was fired.[58] In later Ausf A and all Ausf G models (starting in late November-early December 1943), a ball mount in the glacis plate with a K.Z.F.2 machine gun sight was installed for the hull machine gun
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The Panther saw combat for the first time in Kursk on a large scale 5 of July of 1943 . The first tanks were plagued of mechanical problems: the chains caterpillars and the suspension were often broken and the motor one was prone to overheating and to explode in flames. Initially, more Panther was damaged by their own failures that by enemy operation.
Heinz Guderian, that did not want that Hitler ordered that the tanks went so soon to combat, commented later on the operation of the Panther in combat, " they burned with too much facility, the systems of fuel and oil insufficiently were protected, and the crews were lost due to the lack of entrenamiento." Nevertheless, Guderian also indicated that the firepower and the frontal shield were good.
After Kursk, the problems of model D were fixed. The tank stayed with German main tank until the end of the war. The later versions of Panzer IV with long tube of 75 mm were cheaper to produce and more trustworthy, reason why its production stayed along with the one of the Panther.
The Panther saw the majority of the service in the Eastern front, although in D-day, the Panzer units parked in France also received Panther tanks, that they were used in the combat, by armored units of the Wehrmacht and the Waffen FOLL. Approximately half of the tanks German in France was Panther.
During Batalla of the Ardennes a number of Panther was formed to seem to M10 Wolverine, like part of an operation greater than it included to soldiers parachutists disguised like Americans, and other activities.
Heinz Guderian, that did not want that Hitler ordered that the tanks went so soon to combat, commented later on the operation of the Panther in combat, " they burned with too much facility, the systems of fuel and oil insufficiently were protected, and the crews were lost due to the lack of entrenamiento." Nevertheless, Guderian also indicated that the firepower and the frontal shield were good.
After Kursk, the problems of model D were fixed. The tank stayed with German main tank until the end of the war. The later versions of Panzer IV with long tube of 75 mm were cheaper to produce and more trustworthy, reason why its production stayed along with the one of the Panther.
The Panther saw the majority of the service in the Eastern front, although in D-day, the Panzer units parked in France also received Panther tanks, that they were used in the combat, by armored units of the Wehrmacht and the Waffen FOLL. Approximately half of the tanks German in France was Panther.
During Batalla of the Ardennes a number of Panther was formed to seem to M10 Wolverine, like part of an operation greater than it included to soldiers parachutists disguised like Americans, and other activities.
