German Medium Tanks

    Germany's medium Panzers were the last ones designed before the war began and served throughout World War II despite suffering production shortages early in the war.

PanzerKampfwagen (PzKpfw) III

Pz3snubnose.jpg (2607 bytes)
PzKpfw III Ausf N

DIMENSIONS

Mass (mt):
15.2 - 22.3

 Length (m):
5.69		 Width (m):
2.8		 Height (m):
2.36

TIME PERIOD:
1935 (PzKpfw III Ausf A)
to
End of War (PzKpfw III Ausf N)
    A blocky tank accidentally well-suited for mass production, the Panzer III was intended to be the standard medium tank of the Wehrmacht at the beginning of the war.  However, the difficulties in designing the tank put its production behind schedule thus forcing German industry to break it into assembly-line pieces (hull, turret, front superstructure, rear superstructure) to meet the November 1940 production quota of 108 per month.
     The Panzer III had numerous drawbacks, beginning with its blocky armor (which was never rectified), going through its relatively light early-war armament, and ending with its hand-traversed turret (which was made obsolete by the electrically-traversing turret of the M4 Sherman).  Despite these flaws, standard upgrades and modifications throughout the war kept the Panzer III a decent medium tank.   While the Ausf J with the 50mm L/60 was probably the best variant, the last variant (Ausf N) carried a distinctive snub-nosed 75mm gun designed for close range support.

PZ III AUSF A MEDIUM TANK

Max. Speed:   32kph

 Range:  150km
Front Bottom Front Driver Hull, Side Hull, Rear Hull, Deck Gun Shield Turret Front Turret Side
30mm 50mm 30mm 30mm 10mm 30mm 30mm 30mm
37mm KwK L/45 Tank Gun Max. Range:  910m Mx. Penetrate:  60mm
7.92mm Coaxial Machine Gun Max. Range:  450m Light Machine Gun
7.92mm Bow Machine Gun Max. Range:  450m Light Machine Gun

PZ III AUSF G MEDIUM TANK

Max. Speed:   40kph

 Range:  150km
Front Bottom Front Driver Hull, Side Hull, Rear Hull, Deck Gun Shield Turret Front Turret Side
30mm 50mm 30mm 30mm 10mm 30mm 30mm 30mm
50mm KwK L/42 Tank Gun Max. Range:  1140m Mx. Penetrate:  63mm
7.92mm Coaxial Machine Gun Max. Range:  450m Light Machine Gun
7.92mm Bow Machine Gun Max. Range:  450m Light Machine Gun

PZ III AUSF J MEDIUM TANK

Max. Speed:   40kph

 Range:  150km
Front Bottom Front Driver Hull, Side Hull, Rear Hull, Deck Gun Shield Turret Front Turret Side
50mm 76mm 30mm 30mm 10mm 57mm 57mm 30mm
50mm KwK L/60 Tank Gun Max. Range:  1590m Mx. Penetrate:  93mm
7.92mm Coaxial Machine Gun Max. Range:  450m Light Machine Gun
7.92mm Bow Machine Gun Max. Range:  450m Light Machine Gun

PZ III AUSF N MEDIUM TANK

Max. Speed:   40kph

 Range:  150km
Front Bottom Front Driver Hull, Side Hull, Rear Hull, Deck Gun Shield Turret Front Turret Side
50mm 76mm 30mm 30mm 10mm 50mm 77mm 30mm
75mm KwK L/24 Tank Gun Max. Range:  1590m Mx. Penetrate:  65mm
7.92mm Coaxial Machine Gun Max. Range:  450m Light Machine Gun
7.92mm Bow Machine Gun Max. Range:  450m Light Machine Gun

 

PanzerKampfwagen (PzKpfw) IV

Pz4longbarrel.jpg (6105 bytes)
PzKpfw IV Ausf G

DIMENSIONS

Mass (mt):
17.5 - 25

 Length (m):
5.6		 Width (m):
2.8		 Height (m):
2.6

TIME PERIOD:
1936 (PzKpfw IV Ausf A)
to
End of War (PzKpfw IV Ausf J)
    A simple yet effective medium tank, the Panzer IV served long and well throughout the war.  It is notable that the Panzer IV throughout its entire career carried a 75mm gun, although the barrel length was doubled during its service.  Starting out as a unimpressive but solid medium tank, the Panzer IV improved to become extremely effective in the anti-tank role.  When the Ausf G with its long-barrel L/43 appeared in North Africa and Russia, it gave both the heavy-armor mentality of the British (who called it the 'Panzer IV Special') and the Russians something to think about.  Over 8,000 Panzer IVs were built, making it the most numerous German tank of the war.  The largest gun (L/48) was repeatedly found on the Ausf J, which also carried armored skirts over its tracks.
     Needless to say, late-model Panzer IVs made Shermans look positively sick.

PZ IV AUSF D MEDIUM TANK

Max. Speed:   30kph

 Range:  150km
Front Bottom Front Driver Hull, Side Hull, Rear Hull, Deck Gun Shield Turret Front Turret Side
30mm 50mm 30mm 30mm 10mm 50mm 30mm 30mm
75mm KwK L/24 Tank Gun Max. Range:  1590m Mx. Penetrate:  65mm
7.92mm Coaxial Machine Gun Max. Range:  450m Light Machine Gun
7.92mm Bow Machine Gun Max. Range:  450m Light Machine Gun

PZ IV AUSF H MEDIUM TANK

Max. Speed:   38kph

 Range:  150km
Front Bottom Front Driver Hull, Side Hull, Rear Hull, Deck Gun Shield Turret Front Turret Side
50mm 85mm 30mm 30mm 10mm 50mm 50mm 30mm
75mm KwK L/43 (early) or L/48 (late) TG Max. Range:  1820m Mx. Penetrate: 107mm
7.92mm Coaxial Machine Gun Max. Range:  450m Light Machine Gun
7.92mm Bow Machine Gun Max. Range:  450m Light Machine Gun

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