Tanks on the Battle field, Of WW2 Check it out Options

[Spartan]

The Panzerkampfwagen IV (PzKpfw IV), more commonly referred to as the Panzer IV, was a tank developed by Nazi Germany and used extensively in WW2. It was designed initially as an infantry-support medium tank, to work in conjunction with the anti-tank crews. Later in the war, it was up-gunned and up-armored, and took over the tank-fighting role. The Panzer IV was the most common German tank of World War II, and was used as the base for many other fighting vehicles, such as tank destroyers and self-propelled antiaircraft guns. By the end of the war nearly 9000 had been built.




Panzer III
n 1936 german industry passed to develope a true battle tank using the experiences got with the previous panzers. Panzer III Ausf. E (Sd.Kfz. 141), armed with a 37mm L46 gun (muzzle speed of 762 m/s), appeared in less than a hundred (previous III models included) during the polish campaign. Circa 300 Panzer III were ready for French campaign, too few to fill the Panzerdivisionen's order of battle and so being often replaced by the light PzKpfw 38(t)s, 35(t)s and IIs; this last operation proved the "foolness" of using 37mm gun against the heavy armored tanks such as the Char B1-bis or the british Matildas. A handful of new Ausf. F, armed with 50mm L42 KwK 38 was tested in the final days of the campaign. Ausf. Fs and heavier armored Ausf. Gs formed the bulk of General Rommel's Afrika Korps when it landed in Libya on 28th February 1941 for reinforcing the Italian anti-tank defence. Experience on the field proved necessity of better tropicalization in both engine filters and turret ventilation.





Sherman M4
In March 1941 the U.S army decided it needed a new tank to replace the Grant M2A1. After looking at five different proposals the Sherman M4 was chosen. Production began early in 1942. The original armament was a 75mm gun capable of firing high explosive shells. Its 500hp engine had a maximum speed of 26mph. This was replaced by a 76mm high-velocity gun in February 1944. The tank's suspension was redesigned and improved by the beginning of 1945.

Although inferior to the best German and Soviet tanks in armament and protection, it was superior in terms of reliability, serviceability and cost-effectiveness. The British army used the Sherman Tank at El Aleman in 1942 and by 1943 was the mainstay of Allied operations in Africa and Europe.

No picture available. sry guys

Like last time i want u guys to do a lil reaserch.

[FeezyWeezy]

Ok I had my Breakfast and Coffee... time for Panzer III

PzKpfw 3 / Panzerkampfwagen III / Panzer III

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Aus N Panzer III

The Panzerkampfwagen III (PzKpfw III), more commonly referred to as the Panzer III, was a tank developed in the 1930s by Nazi Germany and used extensively in World War II. It was designed to fight other AFVs, serving alongside the infantry-support Pzkpfw IV. It soon became obsolete in this role, and for most purposes was supplanted by up-gunned Panzer IVs, though some would continue to be used for infantry support until late in the war.

On January 11, 1934, following specifications laid down by Heinz Guderian, the Army Weapons Department drew up plans for a medium tank with a maximum weight of 24,000 kg and a top speed of 35 km/h. It was intended as the main tank of the German Panzer divisions, capable of engaging and destroying opposing tank forces.

Daimler-Benz, Krupp, MAN, and Rheinmetall all produced prototypes. Testing of the prototypes took place in 1936 and 1937, leading to the Daimler-Benz design being chosen for production. The first Panzer III A came off the assembly line in May of 1937, and a total of ten, two of which were unarmed, were produced in 1937. Mass production of the tank, then in model III F, began in 1939.

Between 1937 and 1940, attempts were made to standardize parts between Krupp's Panzer IV and Daimler-Benz's Panzer III.

Much of the early development work on the Panzer III was a quest for a suitable suspension. Several variaties of leaf-spring suspensions were tried on ausf A through D before the torsion-bar suspension of the ausf E was standardized. The Panzer III, along with the Soviet KV heavy tank, was one of the first tanks to use this suspension design.

The Panzer III was intended as the main battle tank of the German forces. However, it proved to be inferior to the T-34 tank of the Soviet Union and was replaced by an upgunned version of the Panzer IV, which could carry a high-velocity 75mm gun.

In 1942, the ausf N model of the Panzer III was created with an L/24 75mm gun, but this was a low-velocity gun designed for anti-infantry and close-support work.



The Panzer III was used in the campaigns against Poland, France, the Soviet Union and in North Africa. Some were still in use in Normandy and Arnhem in 1944.

In the Polish and French campaigns, the Panzer III formed a small part of the German armored forces. Only a few hundred ausf A through F were available in these campaigns, most armed with the 37mm gun. They were the best medium tank available to the Germans and outclassed most of their opponents such as the Polish 7TP, French R-35 and H-35 light tanks, and Somua S-35 cavalry tanks.

By the time of the German invasion of the Soviet Union (Operation Barbarossa), the Panzer III was numerically the most important German tank. By this time the majority of the available tanks (including re-armed ausf E and F, plus new ausf G and H models) had the L/42 50mm gun. The tanks used in North Africa also had the 50mm L/42. The Panzer III was outclassed by the Soviet T-34 and KV tanks, although German tactical skill, crew training, and the good ergonomics of the Panzer III all contributed to a rough 6:1 favorable kill ratio for German tanks of all types in 1941.

With the appearance of the T-34, rearming the Panzer III with a more powerful L/60 50mm gun was prioritized. The ausf J and L versions had this longer gun, thicker armor, and some simplified features. These versions were available throughout 1942 and into 1943. In addition, to counter Soviet antitank rifles, in 1943 the ausf M version began the use of spaced armor skirts on the turret and hull. By then, however, the Panzer III was beginning to be relegated to secondary roles, as it was replaced as the main German medium tank by the Panzer IV and Panther. The final version, ausf N, mounted a short 75mm howitzer for use in Infantry support.

The Panzer III was a good, but not outstanding, tank in terms of armor, armament and mobility. However, it was well-designed in that it had a three-man turret crew (gunner, loader and commander), leaving the commander free to concentrate on commanding the tank and maintaining situational awareness. Although other medium tanks of the time also had this feature, most tanks of the late 1930s had less than three men in the turret crew. These other tanks, which may look impressive on paper, lacked this key element of "fightability". The French Somua S-35 was a classic example of a tank that appeared to be the equal of the Panzer III on paper, with a good gun and strong armor, but with its one-man turret crew it was hopelessly outclassed by the Panzer III.

The Panzer III chassis was the basis for the Sturmgeschutz III assault gun, probably the most important German self-propelled gun of the war.

Some notable uses for Panzer III chassis



Flammpanzer III

Installing a flamethrower system into the Panzer III turret was something new, because the turret with the spray tube still was 360° traversable by installing a packing box connection in the flame oil delivery pipe. The spray tube and the co-axially mounted MG 34 could be elevated from -10° to +20°. Another MG 34 was mounted in the superstructure front plate. The tank carried 1020 lites of flame fuel and 3750 rounds for the MG's.
Again the pressure for propelling the flame fuel was given by a Koebe-pump. With 15-17 athmospheres and a flow rate of 7.8l/s there were ranges up to 60m achievable. The armor protection consisted of 57mm plates on turretfront, 30mm at turret side and rear. Chassis was protected 80mm at the front, 30mm at the sides and 50mm at the rear. The length was 6.41m, width was 2.97m and height 2.5m. The tank weighted 23.8tons, the Maybach HL120TRM engine gave 265hp at 2600rpm, so the tank got a maximum speed of 40km/h. The step climbing ability was 60cm and the fording depth 80cm. Trenchcrossing ability was 2m and the ground pressure was 1,04 kg/cm2. In February 1943 production of the Flammpanzer III began, which were ordered because of the streetfighting experiences in Stalingrad and should be used there, what never happened. 100 Panzer III Ausf.M were taken from production line of Miag and were converted by Wegmann in Kassel to Flammpanzer. In April 1943 the conversion of all 100 tanks was already finished. Most of them were sent to the eastern front where mainly the Division 'Großdeutschland' and the 6.Pz.Div got Flammpanzer III. Also the 1.PzDiv, the 11.PzDiv, the 14.PzDiv and the 24.PzDiv got Flammpanzer III. At the eastern front most of the Flammpanzer III got side skirts for protection. In Italy Flammpanzer III were issued to the 16.PzDiv and the 26.PzDiv.
On 31st December 1943 all in all 32 Flammpanzer III were reported of which 15 were operational

There where Flammpanzers using Panzer II chassis and other Panzer versions. Like the Tiger.

http://www.geocities.com/capecanaveral/lab...7/eflamm.html#6

Sturmgeschütz III

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Assault Gun Battalion (Rynnäkkötykkipataljoona, Ryn.Tyk.P) - Sturmkanone 40 or StuG IIIG (Sturmgeschütz III Ausf. G, "Sturmi") Finnish Sturmgeschütz III.
Note the von Rosen Cross.
(thanks to Blinky for this info)

The Sturmgeschütz assault gun was one of Germany's most produced Armored fighting vehicle during World War II. It was built on the chassis of the Panzer III tank. Initially intended as a mobile, armoured light gun for infantry support, the StuG was continually modified until, by 1942, it was widely employed as a tank destroyer.

The Sturmgeschütz series is probably best known for its excellent price-to-performance ratio. By the end of the war, over 10,500 had been built.

The Sturmgeschütz III originated from an initial proposal that Colonel Erich von Manstein submitted to General Beck in 1935 in which he suggested that Sturmartillerie (Assault Artillery) units should be used in a direct-fire support role for infantry divisions. To that end, on June 15, 1936, Daimler-Benz AG received an order to develop an armoured infantry support vehicle capable of mounting a 75 mm (2.95 in) artillery piece. The gun was to have a limited traverse of a minimum of 25 degrees and be mounted in a fully enclosed superstructure that provided overhead protection for the crew. The height of the vehicle was not to exceed that of the average man.

Daimler-Benz AG used the chassis and running gear of its recently designed Panzerkampfwagen III medium tank as a basis for the new vehicle. Prototype manufacture was passed over to Alkett, which produced five examples in 1937 of the experimental 0-series StuG based upon the PzKpfw III Ausf. B. These prototypes featured a mild steel superstructure and Krupp's short-barreled 75 mm Sturmkanone 37 L/24.

As the StuG III was intended to fill an anti-infantry close support combat role, early models were fitted with a low-velocity 75 mm StuK 37 L/24 gun, firing high explosive shells. After the Germans encountered the Soviet T-34, the StuG III were armed with the high-velocity 75 mm StuK 40 L/43 (Spring 1942) or 75 mm L/48 (Autumn 1942) anti-tank gun.

Later models of the StuG III had a 7.92mm MG34 mounted on the hull for added anti-infantry protection.

In 1944 the Finnish army received 59 StuG III from Germany and used them against Soviet Union. These Stug III's destroyed at least 87 enemy tanks, for a loss of only 8 StuG's (some of these were destroyed by the crew before they abandonded the vehicle). After the war most of surviving vehicles were used as main battle tanks of the Finnish army.

After the Second World War, the Soviet Union gave some of the captured German vehicles to Syria, which continued to use them at least until the Six Days War (1967).




Edit: Repaired some links and some resizing.



This post has been edited by FeezyWeezy: 03/18/06 12:04pm