Panther D

The Panther was a medium tank of the German Army in World War II. Until 1944 it was designated as the PzKpfw V Panther, and also had the Ordnance inventory designation of SdKfz 171.

The Panther was a direct response to the Soviet T-34. First encountered on 23 June 1941, the T-34 decisively outclassed the existing Panzer IV and Panzer III. At the insistence of General Heinz Guderian a team was dispatched to Russia to assess the T-34. Three features of the Russian tank were considered most significant: the sloping armour, which gave much improved shot deflection and also increased the apparent armour thickness against penetration, the wide track and large road wheels which improved stability, and the long, over-hanging gun, a feature German designers had avoided up to then. Daimler-Benz and MAN were tasked with designing a new 30-35 ton tank, designated VK3002, by next April (apparently in time to be shown to Hitler for his birthday).

The two proposals were delivered in April 1942. The Daimler-Benz design was a direct 'homage' to the T-34, side-stepping the German propensity for overengineering, and hence complexity, to produce a clean, simple design resembling the T-34 in hull and turret form, engine, drive system, leaf spring suspension, track layout, and other features. The MAN design was more conventional to German thinking; it was higher and wider with a substantial turret placed far back on the hull, a petrol engine, torsion bar suspension and a characteristically German internal crew layout. The MAN design was accepted in May 1942, in spite of Hitler's preference for the DB design. A mild steel prototype was produced by September 1942 and after testing at Kummersdorf was officially accepted. It was put into immediate production with the very highest priority. Finished tanks were produced in December and suffered from reliability problems as a result of this haste. The demand for this tank was so high the manufacturing was soon expanded out of MAN to include Daimler-Benz and in 1943 the firms of Maschinenfabrik Niedersachsen and Henschel.

The initial production target was 250 a month at MAN; this was increased to 600 a month in January 1943. Despite determined efforts, this figure was never reached due to disruption by Allied bombing, manufacturing bottlenecks and other difficulties. Production in 1943 averaged 148 per month. In 1944, it averaged 315 a month (3777 having been built that year), peaking with 380 in July and ending around the end of March 1945 with at least 6000 built in total. Strength peaked on 1 September 1944 at 2304, but that same month a record number of 692 tanks were reported lost (source: T.L. Jentz (1999) Die deutsche Panzertruppe Band 2).

If the over-hanging gun and sloping armour are ignored, the Panther was a conventional German design. The tank's weight had increased to 43 tons from the planned 35. It was powered by a 700 horsepower (520 kW), 23 litre Maybach HL 230 V-12 petrol engine. The engine drove eight double-interleaved steel and rubber bogie wheels on each side suspended on staggered torsion bar suspension. Tank control was accomplished through a Maybach-Olvar seven-speed synchromesh epicyclic box and hydraulic disc brakes. The crew was made up of five members: driver, radio operator, gunner, loader, and commander. The armour consisted of a homogenous steel glacis plate, welded but also interlocked for strength. Original models only had a maximum of 60 mm of armour. This was soon increased to 80mm. On the production of the Ausf. D and later models, the armor had a maximum thickness of 120 mm. A 5mm armored Skirt and Zimmerit coating also became standard.

The main gun was a 75mm Rheinmetall KwK 42 L/70 with 79 rounds supported by two MG 34 machine guns. 75mm was not a particularly large calibre for the time. Nonetheless, the Panther's gun was one of the most powerful tank guns of the war, due to the large propellant charge and the long barrel, which gave it a very high muzzle velocity. The flat trajectory also made hitting targets much easier, since aiming was less sensitive to range. The 75mm gun actually had more penetrating power than the 88mm gun of the Tiger I, although not of the Tiger II

The Panther first saw mass action around the Kursk on July 5, 1943. Early tanks were plagued with mechanical problems: the track and suspension often broke and the engine was dangerously prone to over-heating and bursting into flames. Initially, more Panthers were disabled by their own failings than by enemy action.

The Panther remained a major German medium tank until the end of the war. Later versions of the Panzer IV with long 75mm guns were cheaper to produce and more reliable and so remained in production alongside the Panther.

Panthers saw the most service on the Eastern Front, though by the D-Day landings of June 1944, Panzer units stationed in France were also receiving Panther tanks, which were used to good effect on that front.

Design work on the Panther II, or Ausf. F, began in February 1943. The main aim was to secure maximum interchangeability of parts with the Tiger II heavy tank in order to ease manufacturing. The Panther II had a hull similar to the Tiger, although with increased side armour, and also shared identical wheels, track, suspension and brakes. The major change was a new, narrow turret, sometimes called the Panzerturm Schmal. Compared to the original, this turret was lighter, had a reduced frontage, could take a larger gun, and was quicker to build. It also fitted the same turret ring and had thicker armor. It included a stereoscopic rangefinder and gyrostabiliser and could fit the L/70, L/100 guns or even the same 88mm gun as the Tiger II. An upgraded engine was also included. The failing economic situation in Germany at the end of the war halted Panther II production at the prototype stage.

The Panther was of major significance in the evolution of the tank. Early postwar tanks such as the Leopard 1 show its influence.

Of note

• The term "Panzer" tends to cause confusion for some non-German speakers when referring to the Panzer V Panther. It should be noted that the German term "Panzer" means "armor" or "tank". The German term "Panther" translates directly as "panther". The German "Panzer" does not translate as "Panther". However, Panther is the official nickname of the vehicle.

• The Panther, while officially classified as a medium tank, was often considered a heavy tank by its opponents, particularly the Americans and British, whose tanks continued to be outclassed by the Panther until late 1944. The Panther is sometimes considered the first Main Battle Tank, a tank class which has replaced both medium and heavy tanks in the West after the war.

• The Panther had a humorous instruction manual for the crew, called the Pantherfibel (Panther Primer); just as the Tiger tank before it had the Tigerfibel.

External links

• AFV Database (http://afvdb.50megs.com/germany/pz5.html)
• Panther at Achtungpanzer.com (http://www.achtungpanzer.com/pz4.htm)