Panther - German medium tank of World War II

History of creation

When the Germans encountered Soviet T-34s at the beginning of World War II, they experienced a real shock - this tank was superior to all German armored vehicles of that time. Therefore, already in 1941, it was decided to begin development of a new German medium tank. In general, work on such a machine had been going on since 1938, but the T-34 greatly spurred them on.

In November 1941, MAN and Daimler-Benz were given technical specifications for a new combat vehicle weighing 35 tons, an engine of 600-700 horsepower and 40 mm armor protection. The new tank was immediately given the name “Panther”. And a little earlier they began to develop a new 75 mm tank gun, to penetrate 140 mm armor at a distance of a kilometer.

German designers carefully studied captured examples of enemy tanks, especially the T-34, and in the spring both companies presented their prototypes. The tank from Daimler-Benz turned out to be too similar to the T-34, but overall Hitler liked it. The tank from MAN had a more traditional German layout and appearance. By the way, both companies abandoned the Christie suspension, which was used in the T-34, due to its archaic nature.

To choose from two options, a special “Panther Commission” was assembled. In May, after numerous tests and discussions, she finally decided that the MAN tank was more suitable for the German army.

The Germans considered the tank to be medium because vehicles with guns with a caliber greater than 75 mm were heavy. At the same time, the finished vehicle weighed 44 tons, which according to all other classifications made it a heavy tank.

At the end of 1942, two prototypes were built. During operation, various shortcomings were identified, which were corrected literally on the fly. And already in January 1943, the first production Pz.Kpfw.V Panther vehicle rolled off the production line. By the way, the tank began to be called simply “Panther” only at the beginning of 1944 - previously the index Pz.Kpfw.V was always used to designate it.

Panther Ausf. D1, first modification

TV "Panther": "thirty-four" of the Wehrmacht?

The collision with the latest Soviet tanks forced the Germans to radically reconsider their tank building programs. As you know, the largest tank that the Wehrmacht had at the beginning of the Great Patriotic War was the T-IV modification F (not to be confused with the F2!), weighing only 22.3 tons, and the Germans sincerely believed that a combat vehicle of this weight would be quite suitable for them enough. T-III and T-IV fit perfectly into the concept of blitzkrieg, as the German generals understood it, and the latter did not look for more. Of course, progress did not stand still, and German designers (Daimler-Benz), Krupp and MAN were working on a new project for a medium tank, but its weight should not exceed 20 tons.

"Panther" ausf D

In principle, the military was not against receiving a heavier tank to break through enemy defenses, but did not feel any particular need for it. The latter was expressed both in the absence of any clear technical specifications, and in the fact that no one seriously demanded results from the manufacturers. E. Aders, at that time one of the leading German tank designers, had been working on a 30-ton “breakthrough tank” since 1937, but in 1941 this tank was infinitely far from completion. In essence, there were only two prototypes that did not even have their own turret, although one of them was still equipped with a T-IV turret. The armor of the “heavy tank” did not exceed 50 mm.

The T-34 and KV, with all their shortcomings, became an extremely unpleasant surprise for the German armed forces. It was quite obvious that excellent visibility and ergonomics still could not fully compensate for the relatively weak armor and armament of the “threes” and “fours”. As a result, work on the “20-ton” and “30-ton” tanks was curtailed, and new tasks were put on the agenda of German designers - in the shortest possible time (Henschel) and Porsche (Porsche) had to create a heavy tank weighing 45 tons, and Daimler-Benz and MAN received an order for a medium tank weighing 35 tons. The heavy tank later became the famous “Tiger”, but we will look at the history of its creation some other time. The topic of the material brought to your attention is a medium tank, the design task for which was codenamed “Panther”.

Is it correct to compare the Panther with the T-34?

The fact is that the combat vehicle created according to the “Panther project”, according to the original plan of the Wehrmacht leadership, was supposed to solve the same tasks that were assigned to the “thirty-four” in the Red Army.
In other words, before meeting the T-34, German generals armed their tank divisions with T-III and T-IV and were quite satisfied with them. The German strategy was blitzkrieg, which provided for the rapid destruction of the enemy army by dissecting it and encircling large military masses, followed by forcing them to surrender. To achieve this, the German army needed powerful mobile troops capable of conducting maneuver warfare and deep operations behind enemy lines. The basis of these troops were tank divisions, and until the invasion of the USSR, their tanks, “troikas” and “fours,” quite effectively solved the entire range of tasks facing them. But the appearance of a tank with a 76.2 mm gun and armor that protected well from a standard 37 mm anti-tank “beater”, which 50 mm artillery systems penetrated from the second to the third time, made the capabilities of the T-III and T-IV insufficient. The Germans had the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the T-34 both on the battlefield and in non-combat situations, since a considerable number of “thirty-fours” came to them either completely intact or with minimal damage. Thus, the Germans were able to excellently study the design of the T-34, see both the strengths and weaknesses of this tank of ours. And, which is not at all surprising, they wanted to get a tank that would organically combine the advantages of Soviet and German medium armored vehicles, without having their disadvantages. More specifically, they wanted a medium tank with a powerful 75 mm cannon, armor not inferior to that of the T-34 (that is, ballistic by 1941 standards), as well as a relatively spacious and ergonomic interior for five crew members. And with a good review, of course.

Artillery

Dear M.B. Baryatinsky in his monograph “Panther” steel cat of the Panzerwaffe” points to a 75-mm artillery system ordered by the Wehrmacht from (Rheinmetall), capable of penetrating 140 mm of armor at a distance of a kilometer, and it was precisely such a weapon that was eventually installed on the “Panther”.

KwK 42 with a twin machine gun

In 1941, things were like this with 75-mm anti-tank guns in Germany: in 1938-39. Rheinmetall and Krupp received technical specifications and an order for the creation of a promising 75-mm artillery system. And they were not in too much of a hurry to create them, since in 1940 the same Rheinmetall had only a non-firing prototype of the gun ready, which, by the way, was recognized as the best. However, it turned into a full-fledged artillery system only in 1942 - we are, of course, talking about the wonderful German Pak 40, but with all its advantages, of course, it could not penetrate 140 mm armor at a distance of 1000 m. Even with a sub-caliber projectile. And so, in July 1941, the Wehrmacht generals came to the conclusion that even this promising, but not yet created, weapon was no longer good enough for the newest medium tank. As a result, the tank analogue of the towed Pak 40 - KwK 40 with a barrel length of 43 and 48 calibers, was received by German artillery self-propelled guns and T-IV, and for the "Panther" the KwK 42 artillery system, which was incredibly powerful, was manufactured.

The KwK 40 L48 (that is, with a barrel length of 48 calibers) gave a 6.8 kg projectile an initial speed of 790 m/sec, and this was much, much more than the usual universal “three-inch”: for example, the domestic F-34, which was armed with T -34, reported 6.3 kg. projectile only 655 m/sec. But the long-barreled KwK 42 L70 sent a 6.8 kg projectile flying at a speed of 925 m/sec! As a result, according to the table values, KwK 40 at a distance of a kilometer penetrated 85 mm with an armor-piercing caliber and 95 mm with a sub-caliber projectile, while KwK 42 - 111 and 149 mm, respectively! Judging by the generally accepted data, the KwK 42 was superior in armor penetration even to the 88-mm gun of the Tiger tank at a distance of approximately 2 km, where the capabilities of their shells were approximately equal (the Tiger caliber shell penetrated a little less, and the sub-caliber projectile penetrated a little more than 75-mm “Panther”), in other sources you can find the figure 2,500 m.

The author has already written that for a real battle, it is not so much the table armor penetration that matters, but the direct shot range. And, although the author does not have exact data on the KwK 42, it is quite obvious that in this parameter it was superior to both the KwK 40 and domestic 76.2 mm artillery systems.

Booking

In the last quarter of a century, if not more, the T-34’s reservation scheme has come under very intense criticism.
In the USSR, rational angles of inclination of armor plates were considered an absolute benefit and advantage of the "thirty-four", but then many complaints were discovered. Among which, for example, there were statements that such an inclination of the armor, of course, can ensure a ricochet of enemy ammunition, but only if the caliber of this ammunition is not greater than the thickness of the armor plate. From this point of view, the rational angles of the 40-45 mm armor of the T-34 mod. 1940 lost its meaning even in confrontation with 50 mm guns, not to mention 75 mm. This may, of course, be true, but the opinion of the Germans on this issue is interesting. Having the opportunity to verify from their own experience the advantages and disadvantages of the T-34’s armor protection and knowing full well that the new Soviet tanks are armed with a 76.2 mm cannon, they determined that for their promising tank, 40 mm armor plates with rational angles of inclination were sufficient protection.

Subsequently, during the creation of the tank, the armor protection was strengthened, but how? Let's look at the armor of the Panther in comparison with the T-34 mod. 1940

Panther reservation scheme

As you can see, the front of the Panther's hull is much better protected. The frontal part (upper) is 85 mm thick and located at an angle of 55 degrees. represented virtually indestructible protection against Soviet artillery of 76.2 mm caliber and below at any reasonable distance. The same can be said about the lower armored part, which had the same angle of inclination, but a smaller thickness - 65 mm. The T-34 has approximately the same angles of the upper and lower parts - 60 and 53 degrees, but their thickness is only 45 mm. The turret forehead of the Panther is 100 mm, and the gun mantlet is even 110 mm, while the T-34 is only 40-45 mm.

Another advantage of the German tank is the armored bottom. If for the T-34 it was 16 mm at the nose and 13 mm further, then for the Panther it was 30 and 17 mm, respectively. Obviously, this somewhat improved protection against mines, although it is difficult to say by how much.

At the same time, oddly enough, the sides and rear of the Panther are less protected than the T-34. If we look at the diagram from top to bottom, we see that the thickness of the turret side of a German tank is 45 mm, the inclined hull plate is 40 mm and the vertical hull plate is 40 mm, while for the T-34 the corresponding thicknesses are 45, 40 and 45 mm. It seems that the superiority is quite insignificant, but the angles of the Panther’s armor are less rational - 25 degrees. for turret armor plates and 30 deg. for the hull, while the T-34 has 30 and 40 degrees. respectively. In addition, in the T-34 of a later release (the same age as the Panther), the inclined armor plates on the side of the hull received reinforcement of up to 45 mm. As for the stern of the brainchild of the “gloomy Aryan genius”, the Panther was protected by 40 mm armor at an angle of 30 degrees, and the T-34 was protected by 40 mm armor at an angle of 42-48 degrees.

Engine, transmission, chassis

At the stage of prototypes of the future “Panther”, two approaches collided - “Daimler-Benz” “adopted” the Soviet scheme, according to which both the engine and transmission were located in the rear of the tank, with the rear wheels being driven. At the same time, MAN specialists proposed a traditional German layout: the engine in the stern, and the gearbox, etc., in the bow, while the front wheels were driving.

The battle of opinions led to the creation of the so-called “Panther Commission”, which came to the conclusion that the traditional German scheme, although much more complex, was still better.

As for the engine, Daimler was going to install a diesel engine of its own design on the tank, but a gasoline engine was much more acceptable for Germany. Primarily for the reason that diesel fuel was mostly consumed by Kriegsmarine submarines, and therefore was in fairly short supply. As a result, the Panther received a 700-horsepower Maybach.

In general, driving the Panther after eradicating inevitable childhood diseases was quite convenient and comfortable for the driver. But it cannot be said that the T-34 mod. In 1943 there were some significant problems with this.

Everything good comes at a price

So, German designers did a great job of correcting the mistakes and created a real masterpiece that combined the advantages of the German and Soviet schools of tank building.
At a direct shot distance, the Panther hit the T-34 in any projection, while its frontal protection could practically not be penetrated by any Soviet 76.2-mm gun, namely they formed the basis of the Red Army anti-tank gun. At the same time, the sides and rear of the Panther were protected a little worse than the Thirty-Four. The Germans managed to combine rational armor angles with a spacious fighting compartment, comfortable for five crew members: of course, excellent German optics were also available. It’s not that the T-34 is categorically inferior to the Panther here; our sights were very good, but the German ones are still better.

But the weight of this miracle of engineering reached 44.8 tons, as a result of which the “Panther” can no longer be spoken of as a medium tank, which, in essence, is the key drawback of the “Panther project”. In an effort to create the perfect medium tank, German designers actually turned it into a heavy one. Which, in fact, became the reason for a number of shortcomings of this “Panzerwaffe cat”.

The first of them is a large height, reaching 2,995 mm.

The fact is that in the German scheme, the torsion bars and propeller shaft were placed between the bottom of the tank and the floor of the fighting compartment, which was not required for the T-34, which had both the engine and transmission located in the rear. In other words, the Germans had to raise the fighting compartment and supplies, including fuel and ammunition, above the bottom of the tank to give room for the torsion bar and shaft, and this, naturally, made the German tank taller. On the one hand, it seems that the height of the tank is not such a big problem. But this is if we forget that the higher the target, the higher the target, the greater the direct shot range of any weapon.

Frontal projections of the Panther and T-34

The second drawback is the “chessboard” chassis, which became a real curse for German tankers.

The Germans came up with it in order to provide a heavy tank with a good ride, and they achieved this. But such a chassis, consisting of many rollers, was extremely heavy, much heavier than a regular one, and, in addition, extremely inconvenient to use, because in order to get to the rear rows of rollers, it was necessary to remove the front ones. To be more precise, in order to remove just one inner row roller, it was necessary to dismantle from a third to half of the outer row rollers. And, of course, the canonical example is that which migrates from one publication to another: how the mud and snow that accumulated between the rollers during the Panther’s movement froze at night to such an extent that they blocked the rotation of the rollers, causing the tank to lose the ability to move.

It must be said that Soviet and American tanks of comparable weight - the IS-2 (46 tons) and the M26 Pershing - were deprived of such an innovation and, nevertheless, coped with their tasks quite well. Yes, the Panther’s movement was probably smoother than those of these tanks, but what advantages in battle could this give? Now, if German designers managed to ensure such smoothness that it would be possible to conduct aimed fire on the move - then yes, in this case, of course, one could say that “the game is worth the candle.” However, nothing of the kind happened - like the tanks of the anti-Hitler coalition, the Panther could shoot accurately (that is, not only shoot, but also hit) only from a place. In general, the smooth running of the German tanks, both the Panther and the Tiger, was bought at an excessively high price - it was clearly not worth it. And the post-war experience of tank building confirmed this clearly - despite the fact that the chassis of German tanks were very well studied, the “chessboard” scheme did not gain further distribution.

The third drawback of the tank was the low maintainability of the transmission in field conditions. As mentioned above, the Germans deliberately made the design more complex in favor of quality, and the Panther's transmission was good - while it worked. But as soon as it failed, due to combat damage, or due to internal breakdowns, the tank required factory repairs. Trying to repair the Panther in the field was possible... but extremely difficult.

But, of course, the most important drawback of the Panther was that during the design process it turned from a medium to a heavy tank. “Why is this drawback so critical?” the reader may ask: “Modern main battle tanks weigh over 40 and 50 tons, but the same domestic T-90 weighs 46.5 tons and feels great!”

That’s true, but the problem is that today’s level of technology and economics is slightly different from what it was during the Second World War. And the first answer to the question why a heavy tank during the Great Patriotic War cannot become the main tank is the limited technical resource.

On the one hand, it seems somehow unfair to blame the Panther for its capricious transmission, because in principle it was quite good: some Panthers, according to the testimony of German tank crews, managed to cover up to 1,800 km under their own power, without requiring major repairs . But this was still an exception, which only confirmed the rule, which was that both the engine and transmission of the tank suffered from numerous “childhood diseases”, which took the Germans about a year to eliminate. And the combination of a difficult-to-repair design with its well-known capriciousness obviously led to the fact that the Panther, in essence, turned out to be not a very suitable tank for maneuver warfare, for deep tank raids.

The second fundamental disadvantage of the heavy tank, which they are trying to force to play in an unusual “weight category”, is that the heavy tank, being much larger, more complex and more expensive than the average one, a priori in those years could not be produced in the quantities necessary to saturate tank divisions with them . This is true for absolutely all countries, including, of course, Germany.

It must be said that the Panther was conceived precisely as a main battle tank, which was supposed to replace the T-III and T-IV in the tank units of the Wehrmacht. But the complexity and high cost led to the fact that, despite the fact that the production of Panthers was carried out by factories of as many as 4 companies (MAN, Daimler-Benz, MNH and Henschel), it was impossible to provide a sufficient number of them. And Heinz Guderian, who at that time served as the chief inspector of the Wehrmacht tank forces, after consultations with the Minister of Armaments A. Speer, was forced to moderate his appetites: only one battalion of each tank regiment was to be equipped with Panthers. Of course, these plans also underwent adjustments.

In total, from February 1943 to February 1945 inclusive, the Germans, according to Müller-Hillebrand, produced 5,629 Panthers, not counting various equipment based on it. It must be said that these data are not absolutely accurate, but nevertheless. But T-IV during the same period, 7,471 units were produced. "threes", the production of which was curtailed - 714 units. Thus, in the indicated period, a total of 13,814 “Panthers” and “three rubles” with “fours” were produced, which in theory it was supposed to replace, and it turns out that “Panthers” produced only a little more than 40% of the total volume of production of these three vehicles since the start of Panther production.

Over the same period, the total production of T-34-76 and T-34-85 amounted to 31,804 vehicles.

Thus, the Panthers, on the one hand, could not become a full-fledged medium tank - they simply could not be produced in the quantities required for this. But as a heavy tank they also had significant disadvantages.

Firstly, this is, of course, booking. In 1942-43 The Germans began serial construction of a heavy tank with shell-proof armor - we are, of course, talking about the Tiger, which, thanks to 80-100 mm of armor protecting the front and sides of the tank, was low-vulnerable to anti-tank and field artillery shells. The “Tiger” could very successfully push through the enemy’s defenses: it could be stopped, disabled by breaking, say, a caterpillar, but it was extremely difficult to inflict really heavy damage on it. That is why, according to some data, on the Kursk Bulge, each “Tiger” was knocked out on average 1.9 times - but after that, having received field repairs, it returned to service.

But the “Panther” could not boast of anything like that - the protection of its sides met the requirements of a medium tank; in 1943, it, of course, could not be considered projectile-proof. And when breaking through the Soviet defense, which was built with a “focal” anti-tank missile system, capable of conducting cross-fire at advancing tanks from several positions, it could not, of course, turn towards all of them with its almost invulnerable frontal projection. In other words, all other things being equal, the Panthers would have suffered significantly greater losses than the Tigers when breaking through the enemy defenses.

Secondly, this is the caliber of the gun - although the 75-mm KwK 42 was quite sufficient for anti-tank battles, it was no longer sufficient for hitting the entire range of targets that a heavy tank must fight. And the Germans seemed to have vague doubts about their armor penetration.

That is why, as a further direction for the development of the Panther, already at the beginning of 1943, they saw increasing the thickness of the side armor to 60 mm and installing an even more powerful 88-mm KwK43 L/71 gun (Panther II project) than on the Tiger.

In general, the following can be said about the Panther: German military design thought produced a very strange tank. Too large and complex to become the main fighting vehicle of tank divisions, too capricious for “deep operations”, insufficiently armored to break through enemy defenses, yet until the very end of the war it was capable of effectively destroying any armored vehicles of the USSR and allies.

And here, according to the author of this article, lies the secret of the Panthers’ effectiveness. If we take an analysis of the use of these tanks made by our specialists during the war, we will see that:

“The tactics of using Panther tanks have the following features: a) tanks are used in battle mainly on roads or in the area of roads;

b) Panther tanks are not used separately, but as a rule they are escorted by groups of medium tanks T-III and T-IV;

c) Panther tanks open fire from long distances, using their advantage in artillery weapons, trying to prevent our tanks from getting closer;

d) during an attack, the “panthers” move in one direction, without changing course, trying to use their advantage in frontal defense;

e) during defense, Panther tanks operate from ambushes;

f) when retreating, the Panthers retreat to the nearest shelter in reverse, trying not to expose their sides to artillery fire.”

In other words, the Germans, in fact, used the Panthers in the offensive not as tanks, but as self-propelled artillery units, the actions of which were ensured by the usual “troikas” and “fours”. And in defense, the “Panthers” were an excellent anti-tank self-propelled gun: having realized the direction of the main attack, the Germans could always prepare and meet ours in pre-prepared positions, “head-on”, shooting it from afar, not allowing it to attack from the flank.

In other words, the Panthers, for a number of the reasons listed above, did not meet the requirements of modern maneuver warfare, strategy and tactics of deep operations at that time. But at the moment when the Wehrmacht began to receive them in large quantities, there was no longer talk of any deep operations - after the Kursk Bulge, where the Panthers made their debut, the Wehrmacht finally and irrevocably lost the strategic initiative and could only defend itself, only snapping back with counterattacks. Germany had the issue of mobile defense on its agenda, and for it, the Panther turned out to be almost an ideal tank. Expensive and complex, but still not as much as the Tiger, which means it was produced in noticeably larger quantities, with noticeably better mobility than the Tiger, with an excellently protected frontal projection, with excellent armor penetration characteristics of the 75 mm gun, Based on its performance characteristics, the Panther was remarkably suited to the role of an anti-tank self-propelled gun - a mobile reserve for the defending troops.

In other words, the Panther was almost the ideal tank... for an army losing the war.

To be continued…

TTX

general information

Classification – medium tank according to the German classification;
Combat weight - 44.8 tons;
Layout – engine compartment at the rear, controls at the front;
Crew – 5 people;
Years of production – 1942-1945;
Years of operation – 1943-1947;
A total of 5976 pieces were produced.

Dimensions

Case length – 6870 mm;
Length with gun forward – 8660 mm;
Case width – 3270 mm;
Height – 2995 mm;
Ground clearance – 560 mm.

Booking

Type of armor – rolled, medium and low hardness, surface hardened;
Body forehead, top - 80/55° mm/degree;
Hull side, top - 50/30° mm/degree;
Hull rear, top - 40/30° mm/degree;
Bottom – 17-30 mm;
Housing roof – 17 mm;
Turret forehead – 110/10° mm/degree;
Gun mantlet – 100 mm, cast;
Turret side - 45/25° mm/degree;
Feed cutting - 45/25° mm/degree.

Armament

Caliber and brand of gun – 75 mm KwK 42;
Barrel length – 70 calibers;
Gun ammunition - 81;
Machine guns - 2 × 7.92 MG-42.

Mobility

Engine type – carburetor, 12-cylinder, V-shaped;
Power – 700 horsepower;
Highway speed – 55 km/h;
Speed over rough terrain – 25-30 km/h;
Cruising range on the highway – 250 km;
Specific power – 15.6 hp. per ton;
Suspension type: torsion bar.

Armament.

The main armament of the Panther tank is a 7.5cm KwK 42 cannon. A coaxial MG machine gun is to the right of the gun. Another MG was carried by the radio operator who, if necessary, fired through the loophole in the front plate. The crew had pistols, MP-40 PP and grenades as personal weapons.

The gun's ammunition was placed partly in two side sponsons on both sides of the hull (40 rounds), partly vertically on both sides of the turret (36 rounds) and three rounds under the floor. Both tank machine guns had 5,100 cartridges packed into belts of one hundred and fifty pieces.

Modifications

Pz.Kpfw.V Panther Ausf. D1 – the first twenty production cars. They never took part in battles - crews were trained for them in the rear. The vehicles had an HL 210 P45 engine and 60 mm frontal armor;
Ausf. D2 is the first production modification, very similar to D1. The frontal armor was strengthened, the commander's turret and muzzle brake acquired a “Panther” look;
Ausf. A - modification with a new turret, without embrasures and small hatches, with a more convenient sight and the usual ball mount for a front-line machine gun. The vehicles were often equipped with bulwarks;
Ausf. G – the most widespread modification, produced since the spring of 1944, with reinforced armor. Some “Panthers” were equipped with a gun mantlet with a “skirt” so that the turret would not jam from hits from enemy shells;
Ausf. F - the latest modification, was developed in the fall of 1944. It was supposed to be even more protected, but until the end of the war only a few hulls and turrets were produced and not a single prototype was assembled.

In the fall of 1943, they began to develop a second “Panther”, which would be equipped with an 88-mm cannon, like on the Royal Tiger, and a new turret, that is, a kind of lightweight second Tiger. But a suitable engine for the car was never found.

Tower Ausf. F

Panther II prototype image

Description of design

The layout of the Pz.Kpfw.V “Panther” tank is a classic version with a front-mounted transmission, traditional for German tank building.

The control compartment was located in front of the tank. It housed the main clutch, gearbox, turning mechanism, tank controls, control instruments, a forward machine gun, part of the ammunition, a radio station and workplaces for two crew members - the driver and the radio operator (also known as the machine gunner).

The fighting compartment was located in the middle part of the tank. Here were located: in the turret - a cannon and a coaxial machine gun, observation and aiming devices, vertical and horizontal aiming mechanisms and seats for the tank commander, gunner and loader. In the hull, in niches, along the walls and under the rotating turret floor, there was ammunition.

A water pump, a pump for the hydraulic system for turning the turret and turning the tank, and an air compressor were installed on the bottom of the tank.

The engine compartment, located at the rear of the tank, housed the engine, radiators, fans and fuel tanks. There was a metal partition between the engine and fighting compartments.

Tank body: 1 — driver's hatch; 2 — armored shutter for the machine gun embrasure; 3 — driver's hatch; 4 — radio operator hatch; 5 — periscope observation devices for the driver; 6 — periscope observation devices for the radio operator; 7 — engine compartment hatch; 8 — vents for air flow; 9 — antenna output; 10 — hatch for filling water into the cooling system; 11 — base for installing an air supply pipe for underwater driving of the tank; 12 — hatch for access to the neck of the fuel tanks; 13 — air intake windows of the engine cooling system; 14 — air outlet windows of the engine cooling system; 15 — exhaust pipes; 16 — hatches for access to the track tensioning mechanisms; 17 — hatch for access to the hot water boiler of the cooling system; 18 — hatch for access to the inertial starter drive; 19 — hatch for access to the engine compartment; 20 — hatch for access to the engine drive from the starting handle; 21 — gun mask; 22 — embrasures of a binocular sight; 23 — embrasure of a coaxial machine gun; 24 — embrasure for firing from personal weapons; 25 — hatch for ejecting spent cartridges; 26 — manhole for landing and disembarking the crew; 27 — commander’s cupola; 28 — tower fan vent.

The tank's hull was assembled from armor plates, joined into a spike and welded with a double seam.

The upper frontal plate of the hull was located at an angle of 38° to the horizontal plane, the lower - at an angle of 37°. The lower side sheets are vertical, the upper ones are inclined at an angle of 48°, the stern sheet is at an angle of 60°.

Tank armor scheme.

German infantry escorts an attacking Panther from the SS Viking division. Poland, 1944. The dimensions of the tank provided the infantrymen with reliable cover.

In the front part of the hull roof there were manholes for the driver and radio operator. To enter and exit the tank, the hatch covers were lifted up and moved to the side using a special lifting and turning mechanism (for modification G, they were hinged). Manholes were made in the hatch cover, designed for ease of installation and dismantling of the gearbox and tank control mechanism.

In addition, in the front part of the hull roof, four (for the G variant - two) periscope observation devices were installed (two each for the driver and radio operator) and there was a ventilation hole covered with an armored cap, in front of which a rack was mounted to fix the gun barrel in the stowed position .

The commander's cupola of the Panther tank with an open hatch. The armored caps of the periscopes and the rail welded to them for mounting an anti-aircraft machine gun are clearly visible.

The layout of the turret of the Panther Ausf D tank: 1 - mounting bracket for the gun in a stowed manner; 2 — coaxial machine gun; 3 — loader’s seat; 4 — tower stopper; 5 — tank commander’s seat; 6 — gunner’s seat; 7 — telescopic binocular sight TZF2а; 8 — gun mask; 9 — turret rotation mechanism; 10 — knurling cylinder; 11 — rollback brake cylinder.

The aft part of the hull was divided into three compartments by internal waterproof bulkheads. The two outermost ones, when wading through water barriers, could become filled with water. No water entered the central compartment where the engine was located. The outer compartments were closed from above with armored grilles, four of them served for the influx of air that cooled the radiators, and the two middle ones served for its removal.

The above-engine part was closed with a lid with two ventilation holes.

At the bottom of the tank, hatches were provided for access to the suspension torsion bars, to the drain valves of the power, cooling and lubrication systems, to the water pump and to the drain plug of the gearbox housing.

The tank commander monitors the area through one of the periscopes on the commander's cupola.

The TOWER, which had the shape of a truncated cone, was welded, with the sheets joined into a tenon and the walls inclined at 65°. In the front part of the turret, a cannon, a coaxial machine gun and a sight were installed in a cast semi-cylindrical mask. The tower was driven by a hydraulic turning mechanism with a power of 4 kW. The turning speed depended on the engine speed. At 2500 rpm, a full rotation of the turret was completed in 17 seconds to the right and 18 seconds to the left. With the engine turned off, the turret was rotated manually. At the same time, due to the unbalance of the tower, it was impossible to turn it manually at a roll of more than 5°.

A commander's cupola with six (later seven) observation devices was installed on the roof of the tower.

WEAPONS. The main armament of the Panther is a 7.5 cm KwK 42 cannon of 75 mm caliber, produced at the Rheinmetall-Borsig plant in Dusseldorf. The gun barrel had a length of 70 calibers - 5250 mm; together with the muzzle brake - 5535 mm. The mass was 1000 kg, and the entire installation including the mask was 2650 kg. The maximum rollback length is 420 mm. Vertical aiming - ranging from - 8° to + 18°.

The gun was equipped with a vertical wedge breech and semi-automatic copy type. The semi-automatic device was located on the right side of the breech (closing mechanism) and on the cradle (copier). The recoil devices consisted of a hydraulic recoil brake and an air-liquid knurler. The gun's lifting mechanism is of the sector type.

The breech of the 75-mm KwK 42 cannon of the Ausf.G tank, located in the tank museum in Kubinka. For obvious reasons, the gun bolt is missing.

The cannon was fired using a stationary electric trigger, the button of which was located on the handle of the flywheel of the lifting mechanism.

An air compressor was installed in the fighting compartment under the gunner's seat to blow through the gun barrel after each shot. The air for blowing the barrel was sucked out of the cartridge case box.

A 7.92 mm MG34 machine gun was paired with the cannon. The frontal machine gun was placed in the front plate of the hull in a yoke (Ausf.D) or ball (Ausf.A and G) installation. The commander's cupolas of modifications A and G were adapted for mounting the MG34 anti-aircraft machine gun.

The Ausf.D tanks were equipped with the TZF12 binocular telescopic breakable sight, and the Ausf.A and G tanks were equipped with the TZF12a monocular sight. When the vertical angle of installation of the weapon changed, the position of the objective part of the sights also changed, while the ocular part remained stationary, which ensured operation of the weapon over the entire range of the vertical pointing angle without changing the position of the shooter. The sights were manufactured by Karl Zeiss in Jena.

The barrel of the KwK 42 gun is without a recoil brake, knurl and muzzle brake.

The binocular sight consisted of two tubes, the left of which differed from the right in the absence of a reticle with aiming scales. It had a 2.5x magnification and a 30° field of view. The main disadvantage of the TZF12 binocular sight was its low magnification, which ensured accurate fire at distances of no more than 2000 m, which did not allow full use of the excellent ballistic characteristics of the KwK 42 gun.

The TZF12a monocular sight was designed like the right tube of a binocular sight, but unlike the latter it had variable magnification - 2.5- and 5-fold. The field of view was 30 and 15°, respectively. The TZF12a sight provided targeted fire at distances up to 4000 m.

Tank fighting compartment: 1 - gun breech; 2 — shutter wedge; 3 — pipeline for blowing the barrel bore; 4 — rollback indicator; 5 — semi-automatic cylinder; 6 — socket for installing a gun fence; 7 — flywheel of the lifting mechanism; 8 — sector of the lifting mechanism; 9 — flywheel of the manual rotary mechanism; 10 — control lever for the hydraulic rotating mechanism; 11 — lever for turning on the hydraulic rotating mechanism; 12 — balancing mechanism of the gun; 13 — sleeve catcher; 14 — gunner's seat.

The gun's ammunition consisted of 79 rounds for Ausf.D and A and 82 rounds for Ausf.G. The shots were placed in the niches of the turret box, in the control compartment and in the fighting compartment.

The ammunition load of the machine guns was 5100 for models D and A, and 4800 rounds for G.

Telescopic binocular sight TZF 12: 1 - objective part; 2 — telescopic pipes; 3 - ocular part; 4 — mechanism for setting aiming angles and alignment in height and direction; 5 — cardan shaft; 6 — lever for turning on light filters; 7 — mechanism for installing eyepieces at eye level; 8 — eye for attaching the sight to the turret roof; 9 - forehead protector; 10 — scale illumination wire for night shooting; 11 — sight slide; 12 — slide locking screw.

As auxiliary weapons, tanks of modifications A and G were equipped with a “close combat device” (Nahkampfgerat) - a 26 mm caliber mortar, the ammunition of which included smoke (12 pcs.), fragmentation (20 pcs.) and incendiary fragmentation (24 pcs.) shells. The mortar was located in the right rear part of the tower roof.

Soviet soldiers inspect a damaged Ausf.D Panther. Kursk Bulge, July 1943. The height of the Panther's line of fire was 2260 mm - beyond your reach!

Layout of the Pz.Kpfw.V Panther Ausf A tank: 1 - 75-mm KwK 42 L/70 tank gun; 2 — muzzle brake; 3 — gun mask; 4 — telescopic monocular sight TZF12b; 5 — ammunition capacity of 7.92 mm cartridges; 6 — tower fan; 7 — rail for mounting an anti-aircraft machine gun; 8 — commander’s cupola; 9 — observation device; 10 — case fan; 11 — commander’s seat; 12 — MG34 machine gun; 13 — instrument panel; 14 - radio station; 15 — gunner’s seat; 16 — loader’s seat; 17 — clutch pedal; 18 — brake pedal; 19 — accelerator pedal; 20 — gearbox; 21 - battery; 22 — fan compressor; 23 — Maybach HL 230Р30 engine; 24 — air filter; 25 — oil cooler; 26 - generator; 27 — aft turret hatch; 28 — cylinder of automatic fire extinguishing system; 29 — cooling system tank; 30 — exhaust manifold; 31 — box for ammunition; 32 — oil filter; 33 — gearbox for the turret rotation mechanism; 34 — cardan shaft; 35 — main clutch; 36 — driver’s seat; 37 — rotation mechanism; 38 — driver monitoring device; 39 — hydraulic cylinder for opening the hatch.

ENGINE AND TRANSMISSION. The Panther tank was equipped with a 12-cylinder carburetor four-stroke Maybach HL-230P3O engine with a power of 700 hp. at 3000 rpm (in practice, the speed did not exceed 2500). Cylinder diameter - 130 mm. The piston stroke is 145 mm. The cylinders were arranged in a V-shape at an angle of 60°. Compression ratio - 6.8. Dry engine weight - 1200 kg.

Fuel is leaded gasoline with an octane rating of at least 74. The capacity of five gas tanks is 730 liters. The fuel supply is forced, using four Solex diaphragm pumps. There are four carburetors, Solex 52FFJIID.

Scheme of stowage of ammunition for 75-mm rounds: 1 - stowage in niches of the hull; 2 — laying on the floor of the fighting compartment; 3 - vertical laying; 4 - stowage in the control compartment.

Loading 75mm rounds through the tank's commander's hatch.

The lubrication system is circulating, under pressure, with a dry sump. The oil circulation was carried out by three gear pumps, of which one is injection and two are suction.

The cooling system is liquid. There are four radiators, connected two in series. Radiator capacity is about 170 liters. Zyklon type fans were located on both sides of the engine.

Tank transmission diagram.

A Panther Model G stuck in a swamp and abandoned by its crew. East Prussia, 1944. Open hatches above the engine, aft turret and commander are visible. The driver's hatch cover is torn off.

To speed up engine starting in the cold season, a thermosiphon heater was used, heated by a blowtorch, which was installed on the outside of the hull aft sheet.

The transmission consisted of a cardan drive, a three-disc main dry friction clutch, an AK 7-200 gearbox, a MAN turning mechanism, final drives and LG 900 disc brakes.

View of the rear hull plate of a late-production Ausf.G Panther, as can be judged by the flame arresters on the exhaust pipes.

Tank suspension diagram: 1, 2 - road wheels; 3 - drive wheel; 4 - guide wheel; 5 — balancer; 6 — fixed coupling for fastening torsion bars; 7 — torsion bar bushing; 8, 9 — torsion bars; 10 — movable coupling for fastening torsion bars; 11 — hydraulic shock absorbers.

The gearbox is a three-shaft, longitudinally arranged, seven-speed, five-way, with constant mesh gears and simple (inertia-free) cone synchronizers for engaging gears from 2nd to 7th.

The gearbox housing was centered and rigidly connected to the turning mechanism housing, forming a single assembly and dismantling unit (with a common internal volume and lubrication system) of the transmission: a double-flow gear and turning mechanism. The turning mechanism consisted of two planetary gearboxes. Power was transmitted to the final drives by short transverse rollers with toothed couplings at the ends. Alignment work during tank assembly was thus kept to a minimum, but installation and dismantling of the gear and rotation mechanism from the welded bow of the armored hull presented great difficulties.

The tank control drives are combined, with a hydraulic servo drive with mechanical feedback.

Drive wheel and front chassis rollers.

Elements of the chassis of the Panther tank: breaker roller (top); track roller balancers and their travel limiters (bottom).

The tank's undercarriage, applied to one side, consisted of eight double road wheels with rubber tires with a diameter of 850 mm.

Suspension: individual torsion bar. In order to obtain a large torsion angle, the torsion bars were made double, which ensured the vertical movement of the track roller by 510 mm. The front and rear rollers were equipped with hydraulic shock absorbers.

The front drive wheels had two removable ring gears of 17 teeth each. Pin engagement. A breaker roller was installed between the drive wheels and the first support roller.

The guide wheels are cast, with metal bands and a crank mechanism for tensioning the tracks.

The caterpillars are steel, fine-linked, with 86 single-ridge tracks each. The tracks are cast, 660 mm wide, track pitch is 153 mm.

Balancers with installed inner row support rollers.

ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT was made according to a single-wire circuit. Voltage - 12 V. Sources: Bosch GTLN700 12-1500V J1 generator with a power of 0.7 kW, two Bosch batteries with a capacity of 150 Ah. Consumers: Bosch BFD624ARS15 electric starter with a power of 4.4 kW, control devices, sight illumination, light and sound signaling devices, internal and external lighting equipment, gun and machine gun triggers.

MEANS OF COMMUNICATION. All Panther tanks were equipped with a Fu-5 radio station, which had a range of 6.4 km for telephone and 9.4 km for telegraph.

SPECIAL EQUIPMENT. The fire extinguishing system is automatic. The alarm was displayed on the driver's instrument panel.

Tactical and technical characteristics of Panther tanks

Vehicles based on the Panther tank

Jagdpanther is a heavy self-propelled gun, tank destroyer. It was developed after Ferdinand's success at Kursk as a new self-propelled gun on a more mobile chassis from the Panther. One of the best self-propelled guns of that time, with good armor and firepower;
Bergepanther is an armored repair and recovery vehicle. Instead of a tower, an open platform, a winch and a crane were placed on it. There was a machine gun for defense. It was also considered the best ARV of World War II.

Jagdpanther
Several Panther-based vehicles remain at the project or prototype stage:

Panzerbeobachtungswagen Panther - artillery observer tank - instead of a cannon, a wooden model was installed. The vehicle had several periscopes and a stereoscopic rangefinder. Either one copy or 41 cars were built, there is no exact data;
There were several self-propelled gun projects on the Panther chassis, but all of them did not even become prototypes and remained only on paper;
There were also several projects of anti-aircraft self-propelled guns based on the Panther. Many rejected it, but in 1944 they finally accepted the Flakpanzer “Coelian” ZSU project. Only a mock-up was built, the prototype was never made.

Flakpanzer "Coelian", mockup

Combat use

The Panthers began their combat career in July 1943, and during 22 months of service they managed to visit the Italian, Western and Eastern Fronts.

The first major battle in which they participated was Operation Citadel. Many of the leadership were wary of the operation, noting, among other things, that the “Panthers”, which others so hope for, are not yet ideal and require testing. As a result, the attack was postponed, which gave the Soviet troops the opportunity to improve their defenses. The Germans mainly took part in the battle from the Tigers, Pz Kpfw IV and Pz Kpfw III, but the Panthers actually constantly broke down and burned - out of 200 vehicles, 160 were out of action, and many could not be evacuated.

While the Soviet offensive was underway, the PzKpfw V's shortcomings were corrected, and they finally became combat-ready. Sometimes it was possible to carry out effective counterattacks. Often, Panthers and other tanks were used to quickly move to different locations to hold off the advance of the Red Army. For example, in the battle near Balabanovka, the Vaeske regiment inflicted very serious damage on the enemy, losing only five Panthers and one Tiger.

Tanks participated quite actively in battles in Ukraine, especially near Kamenets-Podolsk. General Hube showed himself well there, although there were weather conditions against the German tanks - the vehicles constantly broke down due to muddy roads.

After the death of Hube, the First Panzer Army clearly needed a little respite, but Hitler refused it. Despite the fairly high efficiency of the Panthers, the Germans were no longer able to restrain the Soviet troops.

In the West

In the West, “Panthers” also actively participated in battles and caused serious damage to the allies. The British and Americans believed that in order to knock out one PzKpfw V it was necessary to lose five Cromwells or Shermans. But the numerical superiority of the Allies did its job here too. In addition, it was forbidden to retreat, and tanks were often hit by artillery attacks, and the terrain of Normandy was completely unsuitable for tanks. The only major success in this zone was the elimination of the British breakthrough at Villers-Bocage.

The battles went differently - on July 11, 1944, the Paters were badly damaged in a battle against Allied tank destroyers, but already on the 18th of the same month, the First SS Panzer Corps stopped three British tank divisions.

Knocked-out Panther

The Panthers took part in Operation Liège, but almost half of the tanks were destroyed by Allied aircraft. Also, many tanks were lost in the encirclement near Falaise. However, intelligence reported that the Panther was becoming more and more reliable, and it was already considered the most dangerous tank in Germany.

The last major operation on the Western Front in which the Panthers participated was the Ardennes offensive. The operation failed with the loss of almost all tanks. And although the PzKpfw V showed itself to be very effective, there were too few of them.

In general, experts believe that the Panther was the best German medium tank of the Second World War, but it needed a little polishing - it was superior to the Pz Kpfw IV in all respects except reliability, but in 1943 reliability was not as important as power , speed and reservation.

T-34 and Panther: who copied whom?

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Sergey Stalk 02/24/2020 13561

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In the winter of 1941, the Wehrmacht was stuck near Moscow, and while its soldiers were freezing their hands and feet, the Reich leadership had reason to think. The clash with the T-34 and KV tanks showed that Soviet engineers were much more successful in introducing projectile armor and powerful tank engines. On November 18, 1941, a whole commission arrived near Moscow to assess the situation. It included the head of the Tank Commission Ferdinand Porsche, his deputy director Oscar Hacker, the head of Department No. 6 of the Armaments Directorate, Colonel Sebastian Fichtner, the civilian head of Department No. 6, engineer Heinrich Kniepkamp, as well as high-ranking representatives of the leading companies, Daimler-Benz, Henschel, MAN and Rheinmetall. They got acquainted with Soviet tanks and appreciated the difficult conditions of the cold winter and off-road conditions.

The conclusions made by the commission seriously influenced the further development of German tank building, and hardly anyone would argue with this. But what were these conclusions? How exactly did Soviet tanks influence German tank building? On this subject, even today one can find a variety of opinions, including the “Panther” as a copy of the T-34, and necessarily an unsuccessful one. How did the German approach to creating tanks actually change after the fall-winter of 1941? German diesel engines and V-2 Even in Soviet times, a myth arose that the Germans were impressed by the powerful Soviet tank diesel engine V-2, but were unable to create either its copy or their own analogue. That’s why German tanks ran on gasoline engines until the very end of the war. This myth is based only on the fact that all production German tanks were gasoline-powered, and there is no serious research into engine development behind it.

The BMW VI engine was produced in the USSR under the designation M-17 and was used not only in aviation, but also in tanks. The Germans, however, were not happy with him.

Soviet specialists and historians did not know much about tank building in Nazi Germany. Before Walter Spielberger, no one seriously studied this topic, and his works were not published in the late Soviet Union. So, in the absence of specific facts, anything can be explained in this way. Why couldn't the Germans create an analogue of the B-2? Because until the end of the war they drove gasoline tanks. Why did they drive gasoline tanks until the end of the war? Because they couldn’t create an analogue of the B-2.

Let's be a little more specific. In the fall of 1935, the Germans first thought about creating a 30-ton heavy tank and a 600 hp engine. for a new weight class. They were disappointed in old aircraft engines like the BMW VI. They produced maximum power at low speeds (1400–1600 per minute) with significant torque. This forced the design of heavier and bulkier transmissions. Therefore, in October 1935, the Armament Directorate held meetings with Daimler-Benz. In fact, these meetings largely determined the direction of development of tank engines until the very end of the war.

At that time, Daimler-Benz was working on the latest DB 600 aircraft engine with a power of 1000 hp. at 2400 rpm. It was much more powerful and faster than the BMW VI, but was made in an inverted (A-shaped) pattern. Servicing carburetors through a hatch in the floor of an armored hull is too much even for the Germans, so engineers proposed creating a V-shaped tank engine with a power of 600 hp based on it. This idea remained on paper, since a bet was placed on the development of the Maybach line of tank engines.

did not give up and in 1936 began work on a new line of even more powerful engines. For aviation, two A-shaped engines were designed, the gasoline DB 603 and the diesel DB 607. Based on them, engineers created V-shaped engines for use on tanks and boats: the gasoline MB 503 and the diesel MB 507. The junior version of the MB 507 with a volume of 42.3 liters produced 850 hp. at 2350 rpm, and the older MB 507 with a volume of 44.5 liters - 1000 hp. at 2400 rpm. In 1937, Department No. 6 of the Armament Directorate, responsible for the motorization of the Wehrmacht, ordered samples of MB 503 and MB 507 for testing, which were successfully completed in the spring of 1938. However, interest in them soon faded; Perhaps Section 6 found these engines too large and overly powerful.

The MB 507 diesel engine was proposed for tanks back in the late 30s, but then this idea was not understood.

So, German engineers considered using powerful V-shaped 12-cylinder water-cooled diesel engines on tanks back in the 30s. After getting acquainted with the T-34, Daimler-Benz designers simply offered a choice of ready-made MB 503 and MB 507 engines - especially since by that time they had been tested on Karl-Geraet self-propelled guns. The tanks became increasingly heavier, so even the 44.5-liter MB 507 no longer seemed excessive. In the summer of 1942, the Germans began work on a standard line of air-cooled diesel engines. Later they would lead to the creation of the X-shaped 16-cylinder tank diesel engine Sla 16. The conclusion suggests itself: both before and after meeting the B-2, the Germans went their own way. Is the Panther from Daimler-Benz a copy of the T-34? It is still possible to come across the opinion that the Germans made an urgent decision to build a replacement for the PzIII and PzIV only after becoming familiar with Soviet tanks. In fact, work on new medium tanks began long before that. Initially, there was talk of further development of the new Pz.Kpfw.III model under the designation ZW38, but the early Pz.Kpfw.III Ausf.E and Ausf.F had difficulty getting used to production, and there was a stream of complaints from the troops about their reliability. The fact is that Department No. 6 insisted on using many controversial innovations, not all of which were brought to fruition. Therefore, in October 1939, I got the opportunity to develop a new medium tank VK 20.01 (D) according to my own vision.

Diagram of the hull and chassis VK 20.01 (D). Pay attention to the recesses on the sides for the spring suspension - similar ones were found on the Pz.Kpfw.III Ausf.B/C/D.

In the new medium tank, Daimler-Benz engineers returned to a locked leaf spring suspension similar to the Pz.Kpfw.III Ausf.D. Track rollers with a diameter of 700 mm were arranged with overlap, and support rollers were abandoned. Instead of the usual Maybach engine, they decided to use their own MB 809 diesel engine. Like the MB 507, this engine was developed in several versions.

As a result, the “junior” one was chosen, with a volume of 17.5 liters and a power of 360 hp. at 2400 rpm. It was lighter, more powerful and more economical than the carburetor HL 120. The MB 809 project was ready in June 1940. The engine passed bench tests in February 1941, and a month later it was installed on the tank. Thus, the VK 20.01 (D), the first German tank with a diesel engine, was designed and built before the attack on the USSR. By the end of the war, the mileage of the prototype chassis exceeded 6,000 kilometers.

Wooden model VK 30.01 (D).

In parallel with Daimler-Benz they worked on the VK 20 program, but their projects remained on paper. The reason for this was the constant changes in requirements, which competitors were unable to shrug off. In December 1941, after an inspection of the T-34, a debate broke out about the fate of the 20-ton medium tanks. Some advocated stopping the entire program in favor of new vehicles of the 30-ton class, in which the characteristics of Soviet tanks could be significantly surpassed. Others believed that in war conditions it was necessary to put the almost finished VK 20 into production without wasting time, especially since the 20-ton tank promised to be cheaper and more widespread.

As we know, it was decided to switch to creating 30-ton medium tanks. prepared the VK 30.01 (D) project - at first glance, very similar to the T-34. Of course, the transmission moved backwards, the hull and turret received rational armor angles, and the heart of the tank became a powerful diesel engine. Usually VK 30.01 (D) is described almost as a German copy of the T-34, but isn’t it time to change this assessment?

Suspension diagram VK 30.01 (D). It is not fundamentally different from the VK 20.01 (D), except for the addition of a double roller on board.

Take a closer look at the Panther from Daimler-Benz: locked leaf spring suspension, staggered large-diameter road wheels, water-cooled diesel engine, 8-speed gearbox. But all this was tested on VK 20.01 (D) even before the attack on the USSR!

As for the engine and transmission compartment, the VK 30.01 (D) stands out noticeably against the background of both the MAN Panther and the Soviet T-34 and KV. Daimler-Benz developed an 8-speed shaftless transmission in which the speeds were activated by multi-plate clutches. According to the design, it was something between the boxes of the Pz.Kpfw.III Ausf.E and Tiger H1. The problem is that shaftless gearboxes are very inconveniently arranged transversely, so the designers placed the box on the side of the engine. A similar layout was used on Grosstraktor a long time ago. How, taking into account such features, one can talk about copying the T-34 is completely unclear!

Hull VK 20.02 from MAN after inspection of the T-34. Later, the VK 30.02 (M) and VK 16.02 hulls will be designed on its basis.

VK 30.01 (D) can be described something like this: it is a further development of the ideas of VK 20.01 (D) in the 30-ton class under the significant influence of the T-34 and taking into account the requirements of Department No. 6. The MAN Panther has a similar story: the designers developed the ideas of the VK 20.02 (M) under Soviet influence. Even the case with rational angles first appeared on the VK 20.02 (M), and its shape turned out to be original. Yes, the T-34 had a decisive influence on the creation of the Panther, but it should not be overestimated. Inclined armor The reader could see that, relative to the B-2, German tank engines developed in their own way, and the “Panther” from Daimler-Benz in no way resembles a copy of Soviet tanks, not to mention the MAN project. But the influence of the T-34 on the development of armor protection is rather underestimated, which is quite strange. Some kind of shaftless gearbox hidden inside is one thing; the hull and turret, the geometry of which largely determines the appearance of the tank, is another thing. But first things first.

The Germans, of course, knew about the sloped armor even before examining the T-34. Back in the 30s, they developed a whole range of hulls with armor plates at rational angles for wheeled and tracked vehicles. As an example, let’s take the Sd.Kfz.252 light ammunition carrier, mass production of which began in 1940. The appearance of the 7.5-cm Selbstfarlafette L/40.8 half-track tank destroyer, work on which began back in 1934, is even more expressive. Due to the active use of reverse slope armor, its hull is somewhat reminiscent of late Soviet heavy tanks.

The appearance of the 7.5 cm Selbstfarlafette L/40.8 speaks for itself.

With all this, German tanks of the same period are described by the phrase “box on box”. For a long time, the Germans skimped on armor in favor of light weight and high mobility, so early German tanks were protected only from bullets and shrapnel, and there was no point in experimenting with geometry. But the engineers conveniently arranged the components and, as it seemed to them, rationally used the internal volume of the case.

In addition, the hulls of many early German tanks consisted of several parts: a lower bathtub (Wanne) and an upper superstructure (Aufbau), as well as a superstructure over the engine compartment. This simplified the assembly of the tank and its overhaul. Let's take the production of Pz.Kpfw.III. First, the suspension, engine, transmission and other units were mounted on the bathtub, and only then a superstructure with a tower was placed on top. Of course, this is much simpler than pushing the transmission through the turret ring, and minor modifications to the hull are required when creating self-propelled guns: you just need to replace the turret superstructure with the wheelhouse. However, this scheme is not compatible with the T-34 type hull, since the upper inclined armor plates will disrupt the vulnerable joint.

Assembly of Pz.Kpfw.III Ausf.G on .

Gradually the Germans switched to solid hulls. Already on VK 30.01 (H) and VK 36.01 the superstructure was made integral with the “bathtub”, but engineers, out of habit, followed the old forms. Moreover, they developed viewing devices and machine gun mounts for armor installed at a slight angle of 9°. Only acquaintance with the T-34 pushed German engineers to reassess their approach. It cannot be said that since the Germans did not use inclined armor on tanks, they did not know about it, because if they knew, they would definitely put their knowledge to use. One can cite many cases of how a clear example prompted use. For example, in the USSR they switched to welded hulls after becoming familiar with German welded structures. Does this mean that in the entire Soviet Union no one could have guessed that two pieces of metal could be welded with an electrode? Of course not. Here we see a similar case.

The impact of the T-34 on different companies was different. The MAN VK 20.02 has a distinctive hull with sloping armor. The hull of the Panther from Daimler-Benz looks quite similar to the T-34, but with a number of significant differences. But I was deeply impressed by the Soviet tank. It is worth noting that we are talking about the early T-34, whose frontal part of the turret was made of a solid bent armor plate - initially the frontal part of the hull was also made bent, but this was quickly abandoned. This point was of great interest to Krupp engineers. For example, the front of the Tiger H1 hull consisted of four armor plates, while the Tiger P had six. If the frontal part is made from just one bent sheet, then assembly can be simplified and the number of welds can be reduced to a minimum.

Projection of the forehead of a heavy tank Pz.Kpfw. Lowe. Please note: the entire forehead of the body is made of one piece, bent in two places.

Krupp engineers already had experience using bent armor plates. Even when developing the VK 30.01 (P), they proposed a cylindrical turret in which the sides and rear were made of a single horseshoe-shaped bent sheet. It is not surprising that after examining the T-34 they decided to widely implement this idea. Already in January 1942, Ferdinand Porsche proposed redesigning the Tiger P's hull with sloped armor. In response, I prepared a hull design for the VK 45.02 (P) with a single bent frontal part installed at an angle of 55°. The transition to a new hull was planned for the 101st tank, but due to the suspension of Tiger P assembly, it never took place. Around the same time, the hull of the super-heavy Löwe was also redesigned by analogy - it also received a forehead from a single bent armor plate.

The significant impact of the T-34 on the tank department was largely ignored for a long time. You can still find drawings and models of VK 45.02 (P) and Löwe with a frontal part of the hull made of upper and lower armor plates with a welded seam. Meanwhile, there is no seam in the drawings, and the part was assumed to be solid. Turrets: before and after The early T-34 influenced German tank building not only with its hull shape, but also with its approach to turret design. This issue deserves a separate analysis. For a long time, the Germans created tank turrets quite simply: they more or less evenly “covered” the turret ring with armor on all sides, so early turrets, when viewed from above, resembled a square or cylinder with a wide frontal part.

One of the first T-34s built. Both the turret forehead and the hull forehead are made of solid bent armor plates.

The turret of the early T-34s was completely different - with a narrow frontal section, a small gun mantlet and a rear niche. These decisions were very relevant for the Germans, who actively used differentiated armor. It is clear that the weight of the armor depends on the thickness of the sheet and its area; This means that if you reduce the area of the thickest armor plates to a minimum, then, all other things being equal, you can lighten the tank. The thickest armor is usually in the forehead, so the narrow frontal part of the T-34 turret attracted the attention of German designers. They also took a closer look at the rear niche: it not only balanced the tank guns, which were becoming larger and heavier, but was also a suitable place for the first-stage ammunition stowage.

Having examined the early T-34, Krupp engineers experienced an unprecedented catharsis and largely revised their understanding of the towers. As a result, the VK 45.02 (P) turret combined the best Soviet and German ideas: sloped armor, a curved forehead with minimal area, a compact gun mantlet, a developed rear niche with ammunition racks and a new commander's turret with periscopes instead of slits. Despite the installation of a heavier gun, increased armor protection and the presence of ammunition racks, the VK 45.02 (P) turret was only two tons heavier than the old Tiger P1 and H1 turret - that’s how important thoughtful geometry is! By analogy, Krupp also designed turrets for early versions of the Maus. Even in the final version, the turret built in metal had its forehead made in the form of a single bent part, similar to the early T-34.

Drawing of an early tower VK 45.03. It differs from the VK 45.02 (P) turret by replacing the electric drive with a hydraulic one.

However, not everything was so rosy. When assembling the early VK 45.02 (P) turrets, 8 out of 15 frontal parts cracked. Although their contours looked beautiful on paper, manufacturability was questionable. Meanwhile, the requirements for protection grew and grew, so Krupp increased the thickness of the frontal part to 180 mm and abandoned the bent shape. This is how the “Royal Tiger” turret appeared, and the old turrets with a 100-mm forehead were used for the first 50 tanks.

for VK 30.01 (D) she also designed a turret similar to the T-34, with a narrow frontal part and a small gun mantlet. Unlike Krupp, it bypassed the rake and opted for a flat frontal piece from the start. In general, the Daimler-Benz turret was more progressive than that of Rheinmetall, but work on it was carried out with a delay of 3-4 months, and their shoulder straps were incompatible (1600 mm versus 1650 mm). Therefore, it was abandoned, and the production “Panthers” received a “Rheinmetall” turret with a wide frontal part.

This is what Panther II would look like with a new turret. As you can see, the gun mantlet has been completely redesigned compared to the regular Panther turret. In the Schmalturm turret, the frontal part has become even narrower.

And yet the new approach won. On Panther II, the turret design was redesigned, narrowing the frontal area and completely redesigning the mantlet. This tower is known as Turm-Panther (Schmale Blende), that is, “tower with a narrow mask.” When the design of a new medium tank reached a dead end, the developments on the turret were transferred to Daimler-Benz.

She developed her old ideas and designed a rather successful Schmalturm tower, i.e. "narrow tower" It was cheaper and more technologically advanced than the standard Panther turret, weighed 100 kg less with better protection (the forehead was 20 mm thicker, the sides and rear were 15 mm thicker) and included the installation of a rangefinder. However, work on it began too late, so the Germans never had time to move on to production of the Pz.Kpfw.V Ausf.F with new turrets.

The VK 16.02 turret was created with an eye to the early T-34, this is especially noticeable in the top view.

In addition, with an eye to the early T-34, Daimler-Benz developed a turret for the VK 16.02 light tank. Later they wanted to install it on the Lux reconnaissance tank, but these ideas remained on paper. But a lightweight version of this turret found its application on the Sd.Kfz.234 armored car. The conclusion is obvious: the impact on the development of the towers was very significant. “Tigers” and haste The topic of German heavy tanks has long been overgrown with all sorts of myths. We will not seriously consider the opinion that the Germans began work on heavy tanks only after the attack on the USSR - it contradicts the facts too much. But when you consider that the Germans have been designing heavy tanks since 1937, a new question immediately arises: what have they been doing all these years? The answer to this is often that heavy tanks did not fit into the concept of blitzkrieg, so work on them was carried out with low priority, but as the Germans got stuck near Moscow and switched to defensive battles, they created the heavy and clumsy Tigers. This question can be formulated differently: what was the Soviet influence on the creation of German heavy tanks? And was it?

First of all, we note that the Germans did not deliberately slow down the heavy tank program. The first heavy tank DW was developed in parallel with the new ZW chassis for the Pz.Kpfw.III: design work was carried out in 1937, and prototypes were tested in 1938. Work on new light tanks was progressing at a similar pace. Another question is that the DW design turned out to be very crude and unsuccessful, and the necessary alterations disrupted the start of mass production. When VK 30.01 (H) was more or less brought to fruition, it was already hopelessly outdated. All the explanations about low priority and blitzkrieg are reminiscent of the fable about the fox and the grapes: if it didn’t work out, then it wasn’t really necessary. However, we have already touched on this story.

This is roughly what the VK 30.01 (P) looked like in May 1941. There was only one last step left before the Tiger.

Now let’s look at how much the Germans changed their approach to heavy tanks after the attack on the USSR, and whether they changed it at all. As is known, the Tiger H1 appeared during the conversion of the VK 36.01 heavy tank chassis into a turret with an 88 mm gun, which was originally created for the VK 30.01 (P) heavy tank. In the period from February to May 1941, Porsche actively discussed the armament of the future tank. Long-barreled 88 mm and 105 mm guns were considered, but in the end they settled on an 88 mm gun with a barrel length of 56 calibers. Thus, the concept of a heavy tank with an 88-mm gun took shape in the spring of 1941, even before the attack on the USSR. At the same time, it was decided to increase the thickness of the frontal armor to 100 mm.

Conversion of VK 36.01 and VK 30.01 (P) into Tiger H1 and Tiger P began in July 1941. In just a year, the Germans wanted to complete the drawings and launch mass production. On May 28, I received an order for VK 45.01 (H), and by July 28, a drawing of a new cooling system in isolated compartments was ready - which means that the body was redesigned even then. Meanwhile, the design of new 15-liter engines for the Tiger P was in full swing. The documents were stamped with a reminder that work on the Geraet 4501 P program (“Product 4501 P”) was being carried out strictly according to deadlines. Conclusion: work on the “Tigers” was actively carried out even before the Germans got stuck near Moscow, and the T-34 and KV-1 did not have any decisive influence on the characteristics of heavy German tanks.

Drawing of the new cooling system of the Tiger H1 tank dated July 28, 1941.

As for the "Royal Tigers", their presentation as a response to the appearance of the IS-2 is simply absurd. The Germans first thought about installing an 88-mm gun with a 71-caliber barrel length on a tank back in September 1941. Only with the practical implementation of this requirement of Hitler did the serious influence of the Soviet school on German heavy tanks begin, since when developing the VK 45.02 (P) for the 88-mm L/71 gun, the hull and turret were designed with an eye on the T-34. The VK 45.03, aka the “Royal Tiger,” appeared so late not because the Germans rushed to create an answer to the new Soviet tanks, but because of another attempt at unification, this time with the Panther II. As they say, this has never happened - and here it is again. Conclusions Let's summarize.

The influence of the Soviet V-2 engine has been greatly exaggerated, as has the supposed inability of the Germans to create their own tank diesel. Both before and after the inspection of the B-2, German engine engineers went their own way. The Germans were able to create efficient diesel engines for tanks, although they used them extremely irrationally.

The T-34 did indeed have a significant influence on the development of German medium tanks. It was after inspecting the new Soviet tanks that the Germans switched to the 30-ton weight class. However, this influence should not be exaggerated. The VK 30.01 (D) may be similar in appearance to the T-34, but technically it is a completely different tank with unique features such as the transmission layout and gearbox design. There is no question of any copying.

The Germans knew about sloped armor before meeting the T-34 and actively used it on armored vehicles. However, for a number of reasons, the development of tank hulls was one step behind. After examining the T-34, the Germans rethought their approach, and the craze for bent armor plates began with renewed vigor.

Early T-34s influenced the development of turrets no less significantly. Before the end of the war, the Germans managed to develop a whole series of turrets based on the Soviet model for a variety of tanks, from the light VK 16.02 to the super-heavy Maus.

The influence of new Soviet tanks on the work on the Tigers is clearly exaggerated. Even before the attack on the USSR, the Germans developed the concept of a heavy tank weighing more than 45 tons with an 88-mm long-barreled gun, and not only developed it, but also began to implement it. Development of the Tigers began in July 1941, although we cannot fully trace their development from surviving documents. As for the installation of a more powerful 88-mm L/71 gun, this is Hitler’s desire, and not the conclusions of the commission after examining Soviet armored vehicles.

LINK TO ORIGINAL SOURCE: https://warspot.ru/7378-t-34-i-nemtsy?utm_referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fzen.yandex.com%2F%3Ffromzen%3Dsearchapp

Tank in culture

The Panther tank was very widespread, so that it can be found in almost all computer and mobile games dedicated to the Second World War, such as Blitzkrieg, Panzer General and others. It also exists in games about tank battles,

The Panther tank can be seen in the following computer games: World of Tanks and War Thunder.

Very often in games the performance characteristics of a tank do not coincide with the real ones.

"Panthers" can be seen in the 1949 Soviet film "The Fall of Berlin" - real tanks on the move took part in the filming.

There are also quite a few models of the Panther, produced by different companies, including the Russian Zvezda. There are both plastic and paper models for bench modeling.

Painted model

Memory of a tank

16 “Panthers” have survived to this day in good condition. Three are in Belgium, 2 are in Great Britain, all modifications are G. In Germany and Canada you can see Ausf. A, in the Netherlands – Ausf. D and Ausf. G. In Russia, the Panther Ausf. is exhibited in Kubinka. G, restored to running condition. Five cars of modifications A and G are in various museums in the USA. Four modification A tanks are on display in France, one Ausf. D is available in Switzerland.

Panther in Kubinka

CONSTRUCTION OF THE PANTHER TANK Ausf.D

The design of the Panther tanks of all modifications is almost identical, with the exception of a number of changes. Therefore, below is a description of the Ausf.D “Panther” device, and changes in vehicles of the Ausf.A and Ausf.G modifications will be discussed in the corresponding chapters. The description of the “Panther” Ausf.D is based on the “Brief Guide to Using the Captured T-V (Panther) Tank” published in 1944.

The tank hull consisted of three compartments - control, combat and engine. The control compartment was located in the front of the tank, it contained a gearbox, turning mechanisms, tank control drives, part of the ammunition, a radio station, as well as workstations for the driver and gunner-radio operator with the corresponding instruments.

The fighting compartment was located in the middle of the tank; above it was a turret with weapons, observation and aiming devices, as well as positions for the tank commander, gunner and loader. Also in the fighting compartment, the main part of the ammunition was located in niches on the walls of the hull and under the floor of the turret.

The engine compartment at the rear of the Panther contained the engine, radiators, fans and fuel tanks. The engine compartment was separated from the combat compartment by a special metal partition.

The tank's hull was assembled from armor plates with thicknesses of 80, 60, 40 and 16 mm. For a stronger connection with each other, the sheets were assembled “in a tenon” or “in a lock” and welded, not only from the outside, but also from the inside. This design ensured high strength and rigidity of the hull, but at the same time it was very expensive and labor-intensive, requiring great precision when cutting armor plates and the use of highly qualified workers. The frontal, upper side and rear hull sheets were installed at large angles of inclination to the vertical - 55, 40 and 60 degrees.

Gearbox of the Panther tank. As you can see, it has quite significant overall dimensions, which made it difficult to dismantle it in the field (RGAE).

In the upper frontal plate there was a hatch-plug for the driver with a viewing device and a hole for firing from the course machine gun for the radio operator. The front part of the hull roof was made removable for ease of installation and dismantling of the gearbox and turning mechanisms. This removable sheet had two hatches above the heads of the driver and radio operator. The hatches were opened using a special lifting and turning mechanism - first they rose up and then turned to the side. The design of the mechanism was quite complex, and often in battles the hatches were jammed by shrapnel.

The driver's seat of the Panther tank Ausf.D. He sat between the left side and the gearbox, which made an unpleasant sound when moving and became very hot (YAM).

Also in the front part of the hull roof (non-removable) there were four holes for installing observation devices (two each for the driver and radio operator), as well as a hole for ventilation of the control compartment, covered with an armored protective cap. A gun stopper was attached above the cap when moving in a marching manner.

In the roof of the hull above the fighting compartment there was a hole with a shoulder strap for installing a turret. The latter was welded from armor plates with a thickness of 100, 45 and 16 mm, installed at angles of 12 (front) and 25 (sides and rear) degrees to the vertical. Just like the body, the tower sheets were assembled into a “lock” and a “quarter”, followed by double welding. In addition, the side plates of the tower had a curved shape, and their manufacture required special, quite powerful presses and bending equipment.

In front of the turret, in a cast mantlet 100 mm thick, a 75 mm cannon with a coaxial 7.92 mm machine gun and a sight was mounted. On the sides of the turret there were three revolver holes (on the right, on the left and in the stern), closed with armor plugs, a hatch for landing the crew (in the stern plate) and a hatch for communication with the infantry (on the left side). The latter is often mistakenly called a “hatch for ejecting spent cartridges,” but it had a completely different purpose. This hatch was intended for “communication” between the tank crew and the infantry units interacting with it. However, in the very first battles it became clear that this idea did not justify itself, and the hatch was soon abandoned.

A commander's cupola with six observation devices and a hatch for landing the vehicle commander was mounted on the roof of the turret at the rear left. Like the driver's and radio operator's hatches, the commander's hatch was opened using a lift-and-turn mechanism - first it lifted up and then turned to the side.

In the front part of the turret roof on the right there was a hole for ventilation, closed at the top with an armor flange.

The engine compartment of the hull was divided into three parts by two longitudinal waterproof bulkheads. The middle one housed the engine, and the right and left ones, when the tank overcame water obstacles along the bottom, were filled with water that cooled the radiators. The engine compartment was sealed.

Changing rollers on the Panther - in order to get to the rollers of the outermost row, right next to the side of the vehicle, the crew had to work hard (BA).

Each radiator compartment was covered from above with two rectangular armor grilles (front and rear), through which cooling air was sucked in, and an armor plate with a round armor grill, through which the air was thrown out. In addition, the left round armor grill had a hole for installing a radio antenna.

Above the middle compartment of the engine compartment there was a large hinged lid (for engine maintenance) with two ventilation holes covered with armored covers. Behind the hinged lid, at the rear plate of the hull, there were three holes covered with armored covers - for pouring fuel into the tanks, for pouring water into the radiators, and for installing an air supply pipe when the tank overcomes water obstacles along the bottom.

Connection diagram of the armor plates of the hull of the Panther tank Ausf.D. It can be clearly seen that the Panther hull was very difficult to manufacture and required a large number of qualified welders for its manufacture.

Connection diagram of the armor plates of the turret of the Panther tank V Ausf.D. Like the hull, the turret was quite difficult to manufacture.

In the rear plate of the hull there was a round hatch for access to the engine (in the center), as well as a hatch for access to the thermosyphon heater, which made it easier to start the engine in the cold season, an access hatch for the inertia starter drive and two hatches for access to the track tensioning mechanisms.

At the bottom of the tank there were hatches of various sizes, providing access to elements of the torsion bar suspension, drain valves of the fuel system, cooling and lubrication systems, a water pump and a drain plug of the gearbox housing.

The main armament of the Panther is a 75-mm KwK 42 cannon with a barrel length of 71 calibers, developed by Rheinmetall-Borsig in Dusseldorf. The gun had a very long barrel - more than five meters (5250 mm) and significantly protruded beyond the dimensions of the Panther. The KwK 42 had a vertical wedge shutter with a semi-automatic copy type and recoil devices consisting of a hydraulic recoil brake and a liquid knurler. Firing was carried out using an electric trigger, the button of which was located on the flywheel of the gun's lifting mechanism, mounted on the right side of the turret.

Diagram of the chassis of the Panther tank Ausf.D and the hydraulic shock absorber of the suspension (below). From the album “Atlas of Tank Chassis,” 1946).

Diagram of the suspension of road wheels, road wheel and track of the Panther tank Ausf.D (from the album "Atlas of Tank Chassis", 1946).

Diagram of the drive wheel (above) and sloth (below) of the Panther tank Ausf.D (from the album “Atlas of Tank Chassis”, 1946).

The turret turning mechanism, located to the left of the gunner's seat, consisted of two parts: a hydraulic turning mechanism driven by a propeller shaft (with the engine running) and a mechanical turning mechanism with two manual drives for the gunner and loader.

The hydraulic mechanism ensured rotation of the tower at a speed of up to 8 degrees per second, and the mechanical one - one degree per three revolutions of the flywheel. By the way, due to the imbalance of the tower, its rotation was very difficult if the Panther had even a slight roll (about five degrees).

Longitudinal section and plan view of the turret of the Ausf.D Panther tank.

The gun's ammunition consisted of 79 rounds, the main part of which was stored in the fighting compartment in the niches of the hull and under the floor of the gun, as well as in the control compartment (to the left of the driver). Shots with armor-piercing (Pz.Gr.39/42), sub-caliber (Pz.Gr.40/42) and high-explosive fragmentation (Spr.Gr.34) shells were used for firing. The shots had rather large overall dimensions (length about 90 cm) and weight (11–14.3 kg), so the work of the Panther loader required remarkable physical effort and dexterity. A 7.92-mm MG 34 machine gun was paired with the cannon, and another similar machine gun was mounted in the front plate of the hull in a special yoke mount. The radio operator fired from it. There were 5,100 rounds of ammunition for the machine guns.

To fire the cannon, a telescopic binocular breakable sight TZF 12, developed by Karl Zeiss in Jena, was used. It had 2.5x magnification and a 28-degree field of view.

The sight consisted of an eyepiece part, two telescopic tubes and an eyepiece part. The sight reticle is placed in the right tube and has scales located around the circumference of the field of view, a central triangle (rear sight) and lateral corrections. The scales are designed for the Spr.Gr.34 high-explosive fragmentation projectile at an effective range of 4000 m, for the Pz.Gr.39/42 armor-piercing projectile - at 3000 m, and for the sub-caliber projectile - at 2000 m.

The Panther's gun had a special system for purging the barrel bore after firing - an air compressor that purged the barrel was located under the gunner's seat. The air for purging the gun barrel was sucked from the cartridge case catcher box, into which the cartridges fell after the shot.

In addition, the Ausf.D part of the Panther was equipped with 90-mm NbK 39 mortars, installed in threes on the right and left sides of the turret. They could fire smoke or fragmentation grenades.

The Panther tanks were equipped with a carburetor 12-cylinder V-shaped liquid-cooled Maybach HL 230 P30 engine with a power of 700 hp. at 3000 rpm. This engine was designed specifically for the Panther and had a cast-iron cylinder block, small overall dimensions and weight (1200 kg). As already mentioned, the first 250 Panthers were equipped with 650-horsepower Maybach HL 210 engines, since production of the HL 230 had not yet been established. But then all HL 210s were replaced with HL 230s (all “Panthers” that participated in the battles near Kursk had HL 230 engines).

Layout of fuel tanks in the Panther tank Ausf.D.

The engine lubrication system is pressure circulating, with a dry sump. Oil circulation was ensured by three gear pumps, of which one was a pressure pump and two were a suction pump. The pumps were located at the bottom of the engine crankcase.

The Maybach HL 230 was liquid cooled with forced circulation of liquid. There were four radiators and two fans, located in two compartments to the right and left of the engine and separated from the latter by waterproof bulkheads (as already mentioned, this was done to ensure cooling when the tank moved along the bottom while overcoming water obstacles).

When the Panther moved on land, air through four hatches with armored grilles (two on each side) entered the radiators and was thrown out by fans. Above the latter there were hatches, also covered with armored bars.

The amount of air supplied to the radiators was regulated by special dampers controlled from the fighting compartment. Water circulation in the cooling system was carried out by a centrifugal pump driven by gears connecting the pump to the engine crankshaft. From the same gears, fans with a two-stage transmission rotated through special drives with cardan shafts.

Initially, the Panthers were equipped with oil-based air filters that did not effectively clean the air supplied to the engine.

But soon Professor Feifel from the Higher Technical School of Vienna made the necessary calculations and proposed the design of a cyclone filter, which turned out to be much more efficient than the previously used oil-inertia filter. Filterwerk Mann & Hummel GmbH in Ludwigsburg took over the mass production of such filters (called Feifel after their designer), which were installed on Panther and Tiger tanks.

At maximum engine speed, this filter, according to the Germans, provided 99 percent cleaning. Feifel filters were used exclusively as pre-filters. Dust deposited by cyclones was automatically removed from the settling zone by fans of the cooling system, which required minimal maintenance work on the filter itself.

But Feifel filters were not installed on all Ausf.D “Panthers” of the first releases. Thus, the manual for using the captured Panther tank, published after studying the vehicles captured during the summer campaign of 1943, says the following: “To clean the air entering the engine, combined air cleaners with mesh filters and oil baths are installed.

On some tanks, in addition to air purifiers, air cyclones installed outside the tank are sequentially activated.”