Guide to the third level light tank Pz.Kpfw. II Ausf. G WoT from aces.gg

Good day everyone and welcome to aces.gg! Friends, now we will talk about a very strange car, an incomprehensible brainchild of the Reichstag, a German light tank of the third level and in front of you is the Pz.Kpfw. II Ausf. G guide

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Frankly speaking, the purpose of this device, its place on the battlefield, is difficult to guess. This is explained by the fact that Pz. II G WoT

in total it has very contradictory parameters and looking ahead I will say that its disadvantages will prevail over its few advantages. However, it’s better to talk about everything in order, so let’s get acquainted.

TTX Pz.Kpfw. II Ausf. G

The first thing that every owner of this German should be aware of is that the tank has an average level of safety margin, as well as a good basic viewing range of 330 meters, which definitely needs to be improved.

From the point of view of survivability, in our case things are poor, since the Pz.Kpfw. II Ausf. G characteristics

the armor, like most light tanks, is weak. We have the most serious protection in the frontal projection, there is a 30-mm gun mantlet, behind which along the contour there is another 30 millimeters of our own armor, which sometimes allows us to tank some weak guns, but in general it can be penetrated by almost all.

The body from the front almost everywhere has the same 30 millimeters of thickness, that is, here is the German light tank Pz. II G

it's even easier to break through. The only exception is the small upper frontal part, which, thanks to its excellent slope, has 124 millimeters of adjustment, but it can only be tanked in cases where an enemy shell accidentally flies into it.

As for the side and rear projection, there is no point in even talking about them, because here is the Pz. II G WoT

boasts a measly 15-20 millimeters of armor, and such cardboard can be penetrated even by second-level equipment.

If you expect that weak armor will be compensated by high mobility indicators, then this is not the case. Of course, the maximum speed of Pz. II G tank

It can develop excellent maneuverability and its maneuverability is very good, but all this is killed by frankly weak dynamics, because of which our German looks like a sleepy fly, that is, it accelerates for a very long time and strained.

In this variety of weaknesses, perhaps only the small dimensions of the Pz. II G World of Tanks

, thanks to which we can easily hide even behind a small obstacle, and also obtain a high camouflage coefficient.

Tactical and technical characteristics of the Pz tank. ll F:

• COMBAT WEIGHT, t: 9.5.
• CREW, people: 3.
• OVERALL DIMENSIONS, mm: length - 4810, width - 2280, height - 2020, ground clearance - 340.
• ARMAMENT: 1 KwK 30 automatic cannon (on some KwK 38 tanks) 20 mm caliber and 1 MG 34 machine gun 7.92 mm caliber.
• AMMUNITION: 320 rounds and 2100 rounds.
• AIMING DEVICES: Zeiss TZF4/38 telescopic sight.
• RESERVATION, mm: forehead - 30; board - 20; feed -15; bottom - 5; roof - 15; tower - 15-30.
• ENGINE: Maybach HL62TRM, 6-cylinder, carburetor, liquid cooling; power 140 l. With. (103 kW) at 2600 rpm, displacement 6234 cc. cm.
• TRANSMISSION: 6-speed manual gearbox (6 - forward, 1 - reverse).
• CHASSIS: five rubber-coated support rollers on board, a front drive wheel, four support rollers; individual suspension on quarter-elliptic leaf springs; each caterpillar has 108 tracks with a width of 300 mm.
• MAX. SPEED, km/h: 40.
• POWER RESERVE, km: 190.
• OBSTACLES TO OVERCOME: ascent angle, degrees. - thirty; ditch width, m - 1.8; wall height, m ​​- 0.63; ford depth, m - 0.925.
• COMMUNICATIONS: shortwave radio station Fu 5.

Collection of articles about the Panzer II tank (Sd.Kfz.121)

Source: Armor collection No. 2 (5) 1996

gun

The combination of lack of armor and mediocre mobility is nothing, the real challenge is the weapons, because despite the fact that our gun is from a level 5 tank, it’s hard to call it good.

Let's start with the fact that the Pz. II G gun

has a loading drum for 6 shells, each of which has a low alpha and these 6 rounds fly out very quickly. The problem is that for some 180 damage from the reel we pay with a very long cooldown of 15 seconds, which is why it can deal a pitiful 682 damage per minute.

This barrel has one significant advantage - it has excellent penetration for the third level. This indicator allows Pz. II G WoT

confidently punch through almost any enemy encountered, and even the relevance of gold in our case is very insignificant. But do not forget about the firing range limitation for a machine gun gun to 400 meters.

As for accuracy, everything is again very strange, because the German light tank Pz. II G

I got a huge scatter, long mixing and very poor stabilization, so it won’t be possible to comfortably implement the drum.

Perhaps it is worth mentioning the very decent vertical aiming angles, because your Pz. II G tank

can lower the barrel 8 degrees down, which is considered a good indicator and allows you to play comfortably from the terrain.

Due to the fact that the only truly important advantage of our gun is its high penetration parameters, it makes sense to pay attention to the pre-top gun.

Of course, Pz.Kpfw is with her. II Ausf. G World of Tanks

gets much less penetration, and the alpha strike is much lower, but the reload speed of the entire drum is excellent, thanks to which we can deal about 1400 units of damage per minute, and these are completely different numbers.

In addition, the accuracy of this gun is also much better, because despite the fact that stabilization remains poor and the dispersion is not much better, in this configuration the Pz. II G

has a much faster reduction, so the process of dealing damage will be much more enjoyable.

To summarize the above, I would like to note that you are free to choose the gun yourself. I just want to note that despite the advantage of the second gun, you can only play normally with it against classmates, so we will still focus on the top version of the weapon and our Pz will continue from this position. II G guide

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Transitional "troika"

The German medium tank
Z.W.38 , production of which began at the very beginning of 1939, was mastered by industry with great difficulty. Pz . Kpfw . III Ausf . E turned out to be more successful than its predecessors, but still had a number of shortcomings. As it turned out, the movement of the tank at a speed of more than 40 km/h led to the rapid destruction of the road wheel tires. There were problems with the gearbox that had to be resolved during mass production. Nevertheless, gradually Pz . Kpfw . III became the backbone of German tank forces. The next modifications of the “troika”, Pz . Kpfw . III Ausf . G and Ausf . H , became a kind of transitional step to more advanced and mass-produced modifications. These vehicles were the most popular Wehrmacht tanks in the first year of the Great Patriotic War.

Large additional circulation

Problems with the Pz.Kpfw.III Ausf.E gearbox appeared at the most inopportune moment. Germany unleashed the Second World War, its army urgently needed a large number of medium tanks. And at this time it turned out that the attempt to simplify the life of the driver-mechanic backfired. The 10-speed semi-automatic transmission of the Maybach Variorex 328 145 brought a lot of headaches. Not only tankers complained about it, but also the director of Daimler-Benz Werk 40. The position of Heinrich Kniepkamp, ​​who was the author of the ZW38 chassis concept, was dealt a serious blow.

As early as 1938, it became clear that all was not well with the ZW38, and Daimler-Benz began work on the VK 20.01 (III), a medium tank that would replace the ZW38. In the fall of 1939, Daimler-Benz received permission to develop the chassis without the intervention of the 6th Department of the Armament Department, that is, without the control of Kniepkamp. Later, he took revenge on the obstinate company for this. In this whole story, the most surprising fact is that Kniepkamp himself was not harmed at all.

Assembly of Pz.Kpfw.III Ausf.G on Daimler-Benz Werk 40. June 1940

Since the war was already underway and the German military had nowhere to go, In 6 (Inspekteur für Heeresmotorisierung, inspection of motorized troops) in the fall of 1939 decided to continue the construction of the Pz.Kpfw.III Ausf.F. At the same time, the command was given to remake the chassis. Instead of the capricious Maybach Variorex, it was planned to return the 6-speed SSG 76 gearbox to its place. Such a change could not be quickly introduced into production, so it was decided to release another batch with the Maybach Variorex. In documents this modification was designated as 6./ZWSerie, and officially known as Pz.Kpfw.III Ausf.G. Compared to the Pz.Kpfw.III Ausf.F, these vehicles initially had virtually no changes. The order for 800 ZWSerie tanks, placed back in 1937, was reduced to 600 by In 6.

A clear demonstration of what a backlog is. The closest tank is a Pz.Kpfw.III Ausf.G with a turret and an Ausf.F. In the center is a typical Ausf.G, and behind it is also an Ausf.G, but with a 5 cm Kw.K 38 L/42 cannon

By the time the decision was made to release the 6th series of Pz.Kpfw.III, 6 enterprises had already participated in the tank production program. When drawing up a new order, the Heereswaffenamt (Army Weapons Office) included one more in this list. It became MNH (Maschinenfabrik Niedersachsen Hannover) from Hannover. The new plant, built in the spring of 1939, was created from the very beginning with military orders in mind. 50 tanks with serial numbers 65901-65950 were built there.

The largest order, as before, was received by Henschel. A total of 155 tanks were built there with serial numbers 65101-65255. Wegmann worked together with Henschel, where part of the towers were built. By the way, later the same combination of Henchel and Wegmann produced the Pz.Kpfw.Tiger Ausf.E.

The second largest order was received by the Alkett plant. 150 Pz.Kpfw.III Ausf.G were built in Spandau with serial numbers 65401-65550. 90 tanks with serial numbers 65001-65090 were built at the MAN plant. 80 tanks were built at the MIAG plant, these tanks received serial numbers 65720-65799. The Daimler-Benz Werk 40 plant built only 60 cars with serial numbers 65801-65860. The FAMO plant in Breslau, which was overloaded with orders for Pz.Kpfw.II, produced the fewest tanks of this type: only 15 tanks with serial numbers 65365-65379 were built here.

The Ausf.G chassis was the same as the Ausf.E and Ausf.F

Production of the PzIII Ausf.G began in March 1940. The Henschel plant was one of the first to master the new modification, producing 6 tanks of this type in March. It is quite easy to distinguish these vehicles from the Pz.Kpfw.III Ausf.F. The driver received a new viewing device (part 021 B 9288), more resistant to enemy fire. At the same time, the tank received a new KFF2 combat driving device. Unlike the previous KFFIV, it did not have a mirror system, but more reliable prisms. In addition, the top aft sheet of the tank now had a thickness of 30 mm, and at the same time the hatch located on it was redone. The number of signal hatches on the tower roof has been reduced to one. A fan also appeared, which improved the situation with the weathering of powder gases during shooting. Finally, the tank received a new commander's cupola (part 021 B 9292), which had more reliable protection for the viewing slots.

Driver's viewing device Fahrersehklappe 30, which was installed on tanks of the Ausf.G and Ausf.H modifications

The launch of production of the Pz.Kpfw.III Ausf.G occurred in parallel with the continued production of the Pz.Kpfw.III Ausf.F. This was also reflected in the appearance of tanks from some manufacturers. Manufacturers from all over the world love to use the reserves, and the Germans are no exception in this case. The clearest example of this is the Pz.Kpfw.III Ausf.G, which ended up in the USSR. Unfortunately, the serial number of this machine could not be found, so it is impossible to determine which company produced it. The tank has already received a thicker stern and a redesigned turret, but its driver's viewing device and commander's cupola are still of early types.

Conspiracy theories that the Germans made such a strange tank specifically for sale to the Russians are unfounded. There are other combinations of the Pz.Kpfw.III Ausf.G, for example with the turret from the Pz.Kpfw.III Ausf.F. On some tanks, the new turrets had the old commander's cupolas. Cases of such “hybridization” were by no means isolated.

5 cm KwK 38 L/42. This gun began to be installed on Pz.Kpfw.III in July 1940

Just 2 months after the start of production of the PzIII Ausf.G, the need for serious modernization became urgent. During the battles in France and Belgium, the weakness of the main armament of the PzIII was clearly evident. Cast armor 40 mm thick, which was the norm for French light and medium tanks, penetrated 3.7 cm KwK only at distances up to 200-300 meters. This disadvantage was compensated by the fact that many French tanks, especially light ones, had too weak weapons and simply could not take advantage of their advantage in armor. The meeting with SOMUA S 35 and Renault D2 could have ended much worse. These vehicles were armed with 47 mm cannons, which penetrated German tanks at distances at which they themselves remained invulnerable to Pz.Kpfw.III fire. The heavy French tanks Char B1 bis became a very serious problem for the Panzerwaffe. Their 60 mm thick armor was an insurmountable barrier for German 37 mm guns.

The turret after installing a 50 mm cannon. It can be seen that the fan has moved

In June 1940, the order was given to begin installing the 50 mm 5 cm KwK 38 L/42 tank gun in the Pz.Kpfw.III. The first 5 tanks with such guns were expected to be received by the end of the month. Development of the 5 cm KwK 38 L/42 began in March 1938. According to the requirements, the armor-piercing projectile had to penetrate 40 mm thick armor installed at an angle of 30 degrees at a distance of 700 meters. In this case, the gun barrel should not protrude beyond the dimensions of the hull.

The gun fit quite easily into the Pz.Kpfw.III turret, although some changes had to be made to its design. The gun mantlet has been reworked. The idea with the internal arrangement of movable armor turned out to be unsuccessful - such a design was often jammed by bullets and shell fragments. The idea of ​​pairing MG 34 machine guns, which could be aimed vertically independently of the gun, also turned out to be wrong. The number of machine guns was reduced to one, and its installation was fixed with a cannon. Now the gun and coaxial machine gun were protected by a single movable armor, in which inspection hatches appeared. Again the roof of the tower had to be redone: the fan moved a little forward and to the right.

Another child has been touched. The tank is armed with a 50 mm cannon, but its commander's cupola is of the old type

In June, it was not possible to start production of the Pa.Kpfw.III with the 5 cm KwK 38 L/42. Despite the fact that by the end of the month the first cars were built at Daimler-Benz Werk 40, they began to be delivered in July. The July successes also turned out to be modest: instead of 35 tanks, only 17 were delivered. At the same time, 67 tanks with 37 mm guns were delivered. It was possible to turn the situation around only in August: with a plan of 77 tanks with new guns, 84 were delivered. At the same time, vehicles with 37-mm guns were produced for some time. In August, 3 such tanks were delivered, in September - 5, and the last 5 - in October. The above-mentioned company MNH was the last to begin production of the PzIII Ausf.G; this happened exactly in July 1940. From the very beginning, the plant produced tanks with 50-mm cannons, but at first production was slow - 3 vehicles per month.

Pz.Kpfw.III Ausf.G with a full set of screens. When installing them, the chassis was strengthened

Work was also underway to modernize already produced vehicles. First of all, they were rearmed with 50-mm KwK 38 L/42 cannons. At the same time, additional armor protection was installed, which turned out to be completely similar to that installed on the PzIII Ausf.EF. The combat weight of the tanks increased after shielding, and the load turned out to be uneven. Understanding perfectly well what this threatens, the Heereswaffenamt also provided for the modernization of the chassis of all previously produced tanks of the ZW38 family, which received additional armor. The vehicles received reinforced torsion bars and shock absorbers, as well as 400 mm wide tracks.

The modernization program began to be implemented in full force in March 1941. Thanks to this, the number of tanks armed with 3.7 cm KwK began to decrease. Nevertheless, by the end of 1941, there were 203 such vehicles, including previously produced “trial” series vehicles, and by the end of 1942 - 89 pieces. In the vast majority of cases these were training tanks.

One of the ZW40s, which did not receive new escape hatches during the conversion

Delays in the production of Pz.Kpfw.III Ausf.F at some enterprises led to the delay in production of Ausf.G. The last tanks of this type were delivered in the spring of 1941.

The fate of the last 20 Alkett tanks was quite interesting. These vehicles, which received turrets similar to the Pz.Kpfw.III Ausf.H, were sent to the FAMO plant. There they underwent a radical redesign of the chassis. It was carried out as part of experimental work authorized by the 6th Department of the Armaments Department. In August 1940, FAMO received an order for the production of a new chassis with a staggered arrangement of road wheels, created using developments from Kniepkamp's brainchild - the heavy half-track tractor Sd.Kfz.9, which was produced by FAMO.

The new chassis proved to be a little better than the old one, although it also had problems

Cars with a completely redesigned chassis were designated ZW40. The designers abandoned support rollers, since the new support rollers were large in diameter (850 mm). The vehicles also received redesigned evacuation hatches, since the new chassis did not allow the use of the old ones. However, some of the cars remained with the old hatches.

After the alteration, due to the larger diameter track rollers, the ground clearance increased slightly. ZW40 did not receive additional armor for the frontal part of the hull. The conversion of each vehicle cost 21,055 Reichsmarks.

It should be added that in addition to the 20 ZW40 ordered, there was one more, the very first. The experimental ZW40 turned out to be a converted Pz.Kpfw.III Ausf.G with serial number 65462, also built by Alkett.

Experiments with a landing trailer. The Germans clearly spied this idea from the Red Army

The test results turned out to be very contradictory. On the one hand, due to the higher ground clearance, cross-country ability has improved. This was especially felt during tests in snowy areas. Here the ZW40 felt more confident than the ZW38. The car was able to overcome snow cover 65 centimeters thick. In addition, during summer tests it turned out that the ZW40 is capable of maintaining a higher speed; this tank had no problems with peeling of bandages. But there were mechanical problems. For example, the turning mechanism of tank 65531 broke during testing in Greece. The main problem was that the 6th Department of the Armaments Department was clearly late with the new chassis. After all, work was in full swing on VK 20.01, which at the end of 1941 flowed into the development of VK 30.02. In addition, even with the new chassis, the Pz.Kpfw.III could not be upgraded with either armor or weapons. The ZW40 business did not progress beyond the construction of the experimental series. These machines were used as training machines.

Late fix

Production of the future PzIII Ausf.H was planned even before the start of World War II. In.6 issued an order for it on July 11, 1938. According to the original plans, it was this modification that was supposed to receive a 50-mm cannon. The designation ZW39 was used for the 7.Serie/ZW turret. But after the confusion with gearboxes in the fall of 1939, production plans had to be changed significantly.

Pz.Kpfw.III Ausf.H chassis diagram

The situation with the capricious Maybach Variorex 328 145 gearbox was complicated by the fact that it was no longer possible to make serious alterations to the chassis design. The Variorex gearbox was small in size, the ZF SSG 76 was significantly longer. The situation was corrected in a very unusual way: the main clutch was attached directly to the engine, while the turning mechanism remained the same. In order not to confuse the SSG 76 with the modified design, the redesigned gearbox was designated SSG 77. With this gearbox, the tank's agility dropped noticeably - to 42 km/h officially specified in the manuals.

The difference in the design of the chassis turned out to be significant, although the general layout remained the same

While preparations for production of the Pz.Kpfw.III Ausf.H were underway, further changes were made to the design of the tank. Even after the campaign in Poland, it became clear that the frontal armor of the PzIII needed to be strengthened. The combat weight of the Pz.Kpfw.III Ausf.H, compared to the Pz.Kpfw.III Ausf.E, increased by 2 tons, which created an urgent need to modernize the chassis. The drive wheels, road wheels, idlers, and shock absorbers were redesigned. The tank received tracks 400 mm wide.

One of the first PzIII Ausf.Hs to be shot down and captured in North Africa. The car still has an early type chassis

The very first Pz.Kpfw.III Ausf.H, produced in October–December 1940, continued to be equipped with the old type chassis, but with 400 mm wide tracks. However, some changes in the appearance of these early cars can still be noticed. First of all, this is a slightly different design of the screen of the front part of the turret box. It was placed close to the armor plate, and there were cutouts in it for the driver’s viewing device and the ball mount of the directional machine gun. In addition, the design of the smoke exhaust device has changed somewhat. Now it had an armored casing that protected it from bullets and small shell fragments.

Typical Pz.Kpfw.III Ausf.H from the 13th Panzer Division, Romania, May-June 1941. The modification can be easily identified by the shape of the turret box screen

The Wehrmacht began receiving vehicles with a new chassis from the beginning of 1941. This is where the evolution of the ZW chassis, for the most part, ended. Later, the protection and armament of the “troikas” continued to be strengthened, but no major changes were made to the chassis design.

Episode 7 was supposed to be short. The agenda was to increase the armor thickness to 50 mm; the additional screen was a temporary solution. In addition, the thickness of the turret forehead was still 30 mm. In August 1940, it was expected that only 250 PzIII Ausf.H units would be built instead of the previously expected 400. The number of companies involved in the assembly was reduced to 4 - Daimler-Benz Werk 40, MAN, MIAG and Henschel.

That's pretty much what happened. In reality, Daimler-Benz Werk 40 built 50 tanks with serial numbers 66001-66050. MAN delivered 98 tanks with serial numbers 66101-66198 (originally it was planned to build 112). Another 72 tanks with serial numbers 66301-66372 were manufactured at MIAG. The Henschel-Wegmann tandem acted as the forefront of production: they made 66 tanks instead of the originally planned 16, they received serial numbers 66401-66466. The total production volume of Pz.Kpfw.III Ausf.H was 286 tanks. The last tanks were delivered in April 1941.

An early version of the Pz.Bef.Wg.Ausf.H had an early chassis and a dummy 37 mm gun

After the end of the French campaign, the Wehrmacht had an urgent need for additional command tanks. However, the construction of command vehicles was not a priority, so the first 2 command Pz.Bef.Wg.Ausf.H were delivered to Daimler-Benz only in November 1940. Production began in earnest in December, when the plant delivered 27 tanks. Subsequently, the production of command tanks of this modification almost never exceeded the volume of 20 vehicles per month. The Pz.Bef.Wg.Ausf.H was produced with short breaks until January 1942, when 14 tanks were delivered.

Such a long life on the assembly line was explained by the fact that the chassis of the Pz.Bef.Wg.Ausf.H was the same as that of the Pz.Kpfw.III Ausf.J, and there was simply no need to replace it when changing modifications of linear tanks. In total, Daimler-Benz Werk 40 delivered 175 tanks of this type, which received serial numbers in the range 70001-70175.

Late version of the command tank with a dummy 50 mm gun and a new chassis

The very first Pz.Bef.Wg.Ausf.H were practically no different from the later Pz.Bef.Wg.Ausf.E. You can understand that this is an Ausf.H only by the serial number, the form of additional reservation and the upper stern plate thickened to 30 mm. Later, the chassis began to change, and this happened gradually: some cars had new drive wheels, but old sloths. The final appearance of the Pz.Bef.Wg.Ausf.H was formed by mid-1941, by which time the 3.7 cm KwK dummy had been replaced by the 5 cm KwK 38 L/42 dummy. True, the movable armor of the gun mantlet has not changed.

Draft design of a “semi-submersible” UT tank

Separately, it is worth mentioning the conversion that part of the PzIII Ausf.G and Ausf.H went through. Its history began on July 1, 1940, when preparations were underway for Operation Sea Lion. For the landing in England, the Germans prepared various means, including tanks capable of overcoming water obstacles. Since the Pz.Kpfw.III was too heavy, it was not possible to make amphibians out of them. Alkett, however, had a project for the floating Pz.Kpfw.III - UT. As planned, the vehicle was equipped with pontoons, thanks to which it was immersed in water only up to the commander’s turret. UT did not advance beyond the preliminary design, turning out to be nothing more than a curiosity.

Testing of the prototype Underwassserkampffarhzeugen. The elements that make the tank sealed are clearly visible, as well as the long flexible pipe OPVT

A completely different fate awaited the project to convert the Pz.Kpfw.III into a vehicle designed to overcome water obstacles along the bottom. Such tanks received the designation UK (Underwasserkampffarhzeugen). Of course, no one intended to drive across the entire English Channel along the bottom. The idea was to unload such tanks from transports without going directly to the shore, so that they would get to the landing site. The hull and turret were sealed, the driver's viewing device, the gun mantlet, the installation of the forward machine gun and the commander's cupola were covered with special covers. The air intakes of the engine compartment were covered with roofs, and air access occurred through a flexible pipe, on top of which there was a float.

The same car from a different angle. The gun mantlet, directional machine gun and driver's viewing device had special covers

According to plans dated July 1, 1940, it was planned to convert 100 Pz.Kpfw.IIIs in a similar way. Of this number, 90 tanks had 37 mm caliber guns, and 10 had 50 mm caliber guns. The maximum diving depth was estimated at 15 meters, but later it was decided to reduce it to 7. The first tests took place by July 9, at which time the designation Tauchpanzer III appeared. When diving to a depth of 3 meters, the commander noted quite tolerable visibility from the turret, covered with a casing with slots that had glass. Immersion tests to a depth of 10 meters were unsuccessful: already at a depth of 7.5 meters the engine compartment began to flood. Despite this, the trials were generally considered successful.

Tauchpanzer III Ausf.G, summer 1941

On July 21, 1940, Hitler ordered the start of conversion of tanks into Tauchpanzer III and IV. Alkett received a contract for the conversion of 200 tanks - 148 Pz.Kpfw.III Ausf.G, 4 Pz.Bef.Wg.III Ausf.E and 48 Pz.Kpfw.IV Ausf.D. The deadline was stated to be the end of August 1940. The conversion of each tank cost 21,364 Reichsmarks. Alkett also converted 52 Pz.Kpfw.II Ausf.C into amphibious tanks.

Judging by the correspondence, the plant coped with the task quite quickly, and there were more tanks with 50-mm guns than the originally ordered number - 20 pieces. The tanks were used to fill four battalions of “diving tanks”, formed at the end of July 1940 and named A, B, C and D. In November, when it became clear that there would be no landing in England in the foreseeable future, the navigable equipment went to Magdeburg .

Tauchpanzer III Ausf.H from the 4th Panzer Division

In 1941, preparations began for Operation Barbarossa. The Wehrmacht ordered 105 additional Tauchpanzers. These included Pz.Kpfw.IV Ausf.E, Pz.Kpfw.IV Ausf.H, as well as 4 Pz.Bef.Wg.Ausf.H. The conversion was carried out in the spring of 1941, all vehicles were ready for the start of hostilities against the Soviet Union.

The most numerous

Unlike the Pz.Kpfw.III Ausf.EF, vehicles of the Ausf.G modification practically did not take part in combat operations on French territory. This was due to the fact that in the spring of 1940 their production was just getting started, and the vehicles did not go into battle from the factory floors. Truly massive deliveries to the troops began in the summer of 1940, when battle-worn units began to receive reinforcements. With the advent of the Ausf.G and Ausf.H modifications, the Pz.Kpfw.III gradually began to occupy its place as the main tank of the Wehrmacht. By the beginning of 1941, vehicles of this type had become the most popular, finally surpassing the Pz.Kpfw.I and Pz.Kpfw.II in numbers.

One of the Pz.Kpfw.III Ausf.G on the Eastern Front. This vehicle received a 50 mm cannon, but was left without screens. Instead, the crew installed spare tracks

By the fall of 1940, the Pz.Kpfw.III had become the best German tank in terms of armament, protection and mobility. First of all, it owes this to the 50-mm KwK 38 L/42 cannon. Until that moment, the “troika’s” advantage over the Pz.Kpfw.IV in terms of armament was minimal (and there was a very serious disadvantage in terms of the high-explosive effect of the projectile). And the Pz.Kpfw.38(t) gun outperformed the 37-mm Pz.Kpfw.III gun.

Not everything, however, was so smooth: the new Pz.Kpfw.III gun could only penetrate the armor of the Char B1 bis at point-blank range with a conventional armor-piercing projectile. The situation was a little better when firing the PzGr 39 armor-piercing projectile, which had a ballistic tip. However, it also made it possible to fight armor of the Char B1 bis level almost point-blank.

An extremely unpleasant wake-up call was the appearance of the British Matilda infantry tank near Arras in May 1940. This vehicle with 75 mm armor could only be hit with a Pz.Gr.40 sub-caliber projectile, and even then from a distance of several hundred meters. On February 19, 1941, Hitler gave the order to arm the Pz.Kpfw.III and Pz.Kpfw.IV with 50-mm cannons with a barrel length of 60 calibers. For the Pz.Kpfw.IV this gun turned out to be an intermediate one; the tank was equipped with it only on a trial basis. But for the Pz.Kpfw.III this weapon turned out to be the most powerful weapon option. True, they began to install it on tanks only at the end of 1941.

Pz.Kpfw.III Ausf.H at the front. Various “field” modifications to the design became commonplace for German tank units. You can see them on this car too

However, in the spring of 1941, the Pz.Kpfw.III was perhaps the best tank of its time in terms of the combination of characteristics of mobility, armament, protection, visibility, ease of operation, mastery of production and reliability. Having started the war in the state of a very advanced, but at the same time capricious machine, the Pz.Kpfw.III by the spring of 1941 got rid of a number of childhood diseases. By that time, they managed to “defeat” even the capricious Maybach Variorex gearbox, which finally became reliable. The difference in combat effectiveness with the cruising British tanks, which turned out to be the first opponents of the PzIII Ausf.GH, was especially large. This happened in the spring of 1941 in North Africa. The German tanks that got there received a set of “tropical” equipment, as well as a turret storage box, also known as the “Rommel box” (Rommelkiste). In the spring of 1941, most other Pz.Kpfw.IIIs were equipped with similar boxes.

There were, however, problems. The appearance of spare road wheels as a standard element of spare parts suggests certain thoughts. And spare tracks of the “troika” were carried not only as additional protection.

Tauchpanzer III Ausf.G with 50 mm gun. Watercraft equipment was in demand for a very short time

By the beginning of the war with the Soviet Union, the Pz.Kpfw.III continued to be the most popular tank of the Wehrmacht. On June 1, there were 1,090 tanks with a 50 mm gun and 350 with a 37 mm gun available. In addition, of the 330 command tanks, the majority were Pz.Bef.Wg.III. Most of the tanks with 50 mm guns were Ausf.GH modifications. This was their finest hour: more advanced PzIII Ausf.Js had just begun to be produced, and they became the basis of German units only in the fall of 1941.

On June 22, 1941, the first intended use of the Tauchpanzer III took place. The most famous episode was the crossing of the Western Bug in the area of ​​the Brest Fortress by tanks on the morning of June 22. Also, Tauchpanzer III underwater driving equipment sets were used by the 3rd Panzer Division during the crossing of the Dnieper. This, however, was the end of the combat use of “diving” tanks for their intended purpose. They were then used as regular tanks. This idea almost didn't pay off. Straussler's design, which was used on the Allied Valentine and Sherman tanks, turned out to be much more effective and widespread. When using it, tankers did not need to fence a sophisticated system of casings and worry too much about the depth of the ford.

The Pz.Kpfw.III Ausf.GH performed well in battle, but they were clearly not ready to face the 76-mm T-34 and KV-1 guns

The Eastern Front turned out to be no resort for German tanks. The appearance of the T-34 and even more so the KV-1 turned out to be an extremely unpleasant surprise. Nevertheless, with the T-34, German medium tanks turned out to be approximately equal. While inferior to Soviet vehicles in terms of protection, armament and, to some extent, mobility, they won in other respects. As already mentioned, by the spring of 1941 the Pz.Kpfw.III was a well-developed vehicle that had lost a number of “childhood diseases.” The designers managed to achieve this taking into account 1.5 years of combat operations.

The T-34 did not have these one and a half years. The Soviet military was well aware of both insufficient visibility and insufficient protection. Alas, they did not have time to put the A-43 (T-34M) into production in the USSR; even a prototype was never built.

We should also not forget that a year and a half of war meant trained crews, many of whom already had combat experience. Nevertheless, even in its unfinished form and with not the most trained crews, the Soviet tank turned out to be an extremely dangerous opponent for the PzIII. Even the screens did not save the German tank, and its 50-mm cannon did not always hit the T-34.

The battles in the USSR in the summer and winter of 1941 turned out to be the peak of the career of the Pz.Kpfw.III modifications of the Ausf.GH

When analyzing loss statistics, it is necessary to understand that the Germans’ concept of “irretrievable losses” was extremely tricky. Nevertheless, it is possible to draw some conclusions about how good a particular tank was. In total, in 1941, the Germans lost 660 Pz.Kpfw.III, that is, approximately half of what they had at the beginning of Operation Barbarossa. The figure seems pretty decent, but this is not compared with other Wehrmacht tanks. The difference with the Pz.Kpfw.38(t) is especially clearly visible, of which more were lost than at the very beginning of the Great Patriotic War (796 tanks out of 722 on June 22, 1941). Of the 517 Pz.Kpfw.IVs in 1941, 348 were lost. In addition to its high combat qualities, the Pz.Kpfw.III was also distinguished by its high maintainability.

Pz.Bef.Wg.Ausf.H served in some units until the beginning of 1943

The heavy losses that German troops suffered in 1941-42 led to the fact that by the spring of 1943 there were almost no early modifications of the PzIII in units. The few surviving tanks were transferred to training units, some received 60-caliber guns or were converted into PzIII Ausf.N with 75 mm guns. In the summer of 1944, individual tanks fought against Anglo-American troops in Normandy. Only one such tank has survived to this day in its original form. This is a Pz.Kpfw.III Ausf.H, lost in 1944 during a crossing. The car, pulled out from the bottom in the 90s, is now in Kyiv. In addition, several Pz.Kpfw.III Ausf.Hs converted into Pz.Kpfw.III Ausf.Ns have recently been discovered. One such tank is currently being restored in Poland.

Sources:

1. Panzer Tracts No.3-2 Panzerkampfwagen III Ausf.E, F, G, und H development and production from 1938 to 1941, Thomas L. Jentz, Hilary Louis Doyle, 2007, ISBN 0–9771643-9-X
2. Panzer Tracts No.3-4 Panzerbefehlswagen Ausf.D1, E, H, J und K, Thomas L. Jentz, Hilary Louis Doyle, 2010, ISBN 0–9815382–8–2
3. Der Panzerkampfwagen III und seine Abarten, Walter J. Spielberger, Motorbuch Verlag, 1994, ISBN 978-3879433360.
4. Photo archive of the author

Advantages and disadvantages

Well, we managed to analyze the general characteristics of the tank, examined in detail the parameters of its armament, but for completeness of perception it is still worth dotting the i’s, that is, highlighting the main advantages and disadvantages of the Pz. II G WoT

, breaking them down point by point. Pros: • Excellent maximum speed and maneuverability; • Decent camouflage; • Very high penetration rates; • Comfortable vertical aiming angles. Cons: • Mediocre booking; • Poor mobility due to low dynamics; • Small alphastrike; • Long reloading of the drum and poor DPM; • Disgusting accuracy (spread, stabilization, convergence).

Equipment for Pz. II G

The naked eye can see that the vehicle in our hands is not the most successful and strong, so the importance of installing additional modules increases, because we need to make the tank more suitable for combat conditions. However, at the third level the choice is small, so for Pz.Kpfw. II Ausf. G equipment

it is worth installing the following: 1. – as you know, this module gives a 5% boost to several important parameters at once, so this choice is obvious. 2. – poor accuracy must be compensated, and our only option is to speed up the convergence. 3. – the viewing range at our disposal is not bad, but it needs to be improved, and in order to maintain mobility, the choice will be like this.

However, it is worth noting that if you want to get maximum visibility and are not afraid to sacrifice your mobility, the last point can be replaced with, at least it will be possible to shine passively perfectly.

Reasons for the appearance of the Panther tank Ausf.G.

At a meeting held on May 4, 1943 at the MAN office, a number of important decisions were made. Since the Panther I tank has been in serial production for a long time, it was necessary to make changes aimed at reducing the labor intensity of manufacturing hulls, making them according to the type of hull developed for the Panther II tank. The following changes should be made:

• 
  The wedge at the bottom of the hull superstructure should be eliminated. The new fender bottom should be made smooth from the front outer edge of the radiator assembly to the frontal armor plate of the hull. Leave the bottom of the shelf in the area of ​​the radiator and fuel tanks unchanged. As a result of this alteration, the slope of the body sheet will change from the existing 40 degrees to 29 degrees. In order to maintain the same level of protection provided by the side of the hull, its thickness should be increased from 40 to 50 mm. This change will cause the tank's weight to increase by approximately 305 kg. To compensate for the increase in mass and in order to reduce the range of armor plates by their thickness, it is proposed to reduce the thickness of the lower frontal armor plate of the hull from 60 to 50 mm, which will give a weight saving of 150 kg. For the same purposes, the thickness of the front armor plate of the hull bottom should be reduced from 30 to 25 mm, which will save another 100 kg of weight. These changes in the thickness of the armor plates make it possible to compensate for the increase in weight associated with an increase in the thickness of the hull armor; the increase in weight if implemented will be only 55 kg. It is possible to compensate for this mass by revising the shape of the fuel tanks and the design of a number of other internal components and assemblies. Thus, increasing the thickness of the hull armor plates will not lead to an increase in mass as a whole.

• The bottom of the fender is currently located 50 mm closer to the track than that of the Panther II tank. MAN specialists decided that when driving over very rough terrain, there is a high probability of contact between the surface of the track tracks and the lower surface of the fender, so there should be no seams or fasteners on the fender. The method of attaching the Schuerzen side shields should be changed by welding the brackets to the sides of the hull rather than securing them to the bottom of the fender.
• The revised design of the Panther tank uses only armor plates with thicknesses of 16, 25, 40, 50 and 80 mm. The rear wall should be connected to the bottom not by overlap, but by simple overlap on the bottom followed by welding. This connection method makes it possible to compensate for differences in length between the bottom and sides of the hull.
• Instead of a rounded recess, the hatch components in the superstructure are made with rounded edges. MAN specialists do not consider it practical to increase the thickness of the armor from 40 to 50 mm, since increasing the thickness will complicate the manufacturing process of the base for the driver's rotating periscope with enhanced armor protection. There is no need to make the covers of the holes in the bottom of the case secret. New covers should be manufactured with raised flanges. The holes themselves in the housing should be made with burners. The result of using external covers will be a slight decrease in ground clearance.

All design changes aimed at reducing the labor intensity of technological processes introduced into the design of the Panther II tank should be implemented into the design of the Panther I tank.

In addition to modifications to the hull shape, changes were made to the chassis design, starting with the very first Ausf. G.

• The driver's and gunner's hatches are hinged.
• A driver's rotating periscope was installed and the viewing slit was eliminated.
• A stepped embrasure of the forward machine gun was made to increase the likelihood of a ricochet when bullets and shrapnel hit the embrasure.
• The armored cover of the ventilation hole below the gun barrel lock has been redone.
• One headlight is installed directly on the left fender liner.
• The roof of the engine compartment, the air intake grille, the carburetor air intake cap, a new fuel filler cap, radiator drainage, and the antenna input have been redone.
• The exhaust pipes, brakes, and transmission ventilation system have been redesigned, eliminating the need for two cooling pipes in the left exhaust pipe.
• The gun's ammunition load was increased to 82 shells.
• The fastening of tools and equipment on the sides of the hull superstructure has been changed; new tools and equipment include a larger wooden jack pad, longer (8.2 m) and thicker (32 mm diameter) tow ropes.
• The fastenings of the side screen sections are fixed on the extensions of the fender liners along the entire length of the hull side.
• The shock absorber mounting points have been changed and modernized.

The Panther tanks of platoon and company commanders were equipped with two radio stations, FuG-5 (10 W transmitter with a VHF receiver in the range 27.2 - 33.4 MHz) and FuG-2 (VHF receiver of the same range as the FuG-5 radio receiver ). The FuG-5 radio station provided stable wireless communication within a radius of 46 km; the communication range was highly dependent on the terrain and atmospheric and climatic conditions. Linear Panther tanks were equipped only with FuG-5 radio stations. All tanks were equipped with internal intercoms.

Tactics for playing Pz. II G

As has been said many times before, the role of this unit in battle is ambiguous and incomprehensible. Judge for yourself, the German light tank Pz. II G has weak armor and mediocre dynamics, that is, even carouseling the enemy will be difficult.

In addition, we have excellent penetration, but the damage is low, the reload time is long, the accuracy is terrible and the firing range is limited. So what to do? What is it like for Pz. II G tactics

conducting a battle, if it is dangerous to get close to the enemy, and it is impossible to fire from afar?

First of all, we can shine actively, for this Pz. II G World of Tanks

must reach its maximum speed and cruise around the map, avoiding hills, falling into holes and soft soils, so as not to lose speed, because our dynamics are weak.

As for dealing damage, raid tactics will do, although they are dangerous. This means that Pz. II G tank

must take advantage of the effect of surprise, appear from a direction from which the enemy is not expecting you, quickly fire your drum at him and hide even faster while reloading.

Of course, you will have the hardest time in battles against levels 4-5, because there the enemies are more dangerous in every sense. So Pz. II G WoT

can be considered an absolutely passable tank, capable of some accomplishments at the top of the list, but overall it is a mediocre and uncomfortable vehicle.

Command tank.

Panzerbefehlswalen Panther (Sd.Kfz.267/268) (was a regular Panther tank, slightly modified by installing additional radio equipment and accessories for it. Due to the installation of an additional GG400 electric generator, the ammunition load for the command tank's gun was reduced to 64 rounds. Twin The machine gun is not installed with the cannon; the hole for it in the cannon mask is closed with a plug.

The command tank "Panther" Ausf.G Sd.Kfz.267 was equipped with the radio station FuG-8 (80 W transmitter and receiver of the medium wave range, 0.83 - 3 MHz) and FuG -5 (10 W transmitter with VHF receiver, range 27.2 - 33.4 MHz). The command tank "Panther" Ausf.G Sd.Kfz.267 is externally distinguished by the Antennenfuss No. 1 antenna input with a diameter of 104 mm mounted on an insulator, protected by a cylindrical armored fence. The antenna input is mounted on the roof of the engine compartment. The Sternantenne D antenna of the FuG-8 radio station was installed on this antenna input. The 2 m high Stabnantenne antenna of the FuG-5 radio station was mounted in the right rear corner of the tower roof. Poles for attaching the Sternantenne antenna were placed on the left side of the hull below the cylindrical container with a banner.

The command "Panther" Ausf.G Sd.Kfz.268 was equipped with a FuG-7 radio station (20W transmitter and VHF receiver in the 42.1-47.8 MHz range) and a FuG-5 radio station. The Sd.Kfz.268 tank is identified by a 1.4 m high Stabnantenne antenna of the FuG-7 radio station mounted on the left side of the engine compartment roof and a 2 meter antenna. Stabnantenne of the FuG-5 radio station installed in the right rear corner of the turret roof.

On August 16, 1943, Wa Pruf entrusted the Krupp company with the production of “ennobled”, “entzwickelte” hulls, starting with hull no. 2801. The decision to begin production of the new type of hulls was planned to be made at the end of August. Until the designation Ausf.G appeared, tanks with such hulls were known as “Panthers” with “entzwickelte” hulls. In contrast to the transition from the production of Ausf.D modification tanks to Ausf.A tanks, which took very little time, the transition from the production of Ausf.A tanks to Ausf.G tanks led to the suspension of the delivery of finished products for two months by all three MAN companies , MKN and Daimler-Benz. MAN was the first to switch to production of the Ausf.G Panther on April 3, 1944, reporting on tests of a tank with an “entzwickelte” hull assembled in March. Tests did not reveal any serious problems with the new modification of the tank.

The so-called “Panther Programm”, adopted on October 26, 1944, provided for mass production of tanks of the Ausf.G modification until the restructuring of production to the production of tanks of the Ausf.F model. with a narrow tower (Schmalturm). Until May 1945, the program provided for the construction of 2,650 Ausf.G Panthers with old turrets (930 by MAN, 830 by Daimler-Benz and 890 by MKN) in addition to the Ausf.F Panthers. Due to the bombing of factories by Allied aircraft and problems with the new fire control system, all three companies continued mass production of Ausf.G tanks until the end of the war. In total, the MAN company produced 1143 Ausf.G Panther tanks from 03.44 to 04.45, the Daimler-Benz company delivered 1004 Ausf.G Panther tanks from 05.44 to 04.45, the MKN company from 07.44. to 03.45 approximately 806 “Panther” Ausf.G.