Panther tank

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Panther Ausf. A
Panther Ausf. A painted in one of many camouflage patterns
Type	Medium tank
Place of origin	Nazi Germany
Service history
In service	1943 - 1945 (Nazi Germany)
Used by	Nazi Germany France
Wars	World War II
Production history
Designer	MAN AG
Designed	1942
Produced	1942 - 1945
Number built	Close to 6000
Specifications
Weight	44.8 tonnes
Length	6.87 m, 8.66 m with gun forward
Width	3.42 m
Height	2.99 m
Crew	5 (Driver, radio-operator, commander, gunner, loader)
Armor	15-120 mm
Primary armament	1 × 7.5 cm KwK 42 L/70 79 rounds
Secondary armament	2 × 7.92 mm Maschinengewehr 34 5,100 rounds
Engine	V-12 petrol Maybach HL230 P30 700 PS (690 hp, 515 kW)
Power/weight	16 hp (12 kW)/tonne
Suspension	double torsion bar, interleaved road wheels
Operational range	250 km
Speed	55 km/h (first models), 46 km/h (later models)

The Panther ( listen (help·info)) was a tank fielded by Germany in World War II that served from mid-1943 to the end of the European war in 1945. It was intended as a counter to the T-34, and to replace the Panzer III and IV, though it served along with them as well as the heavier Tiger tanks until the end of the war. The Panther's excellent combination of firepower, mobility, and protection served as a benchmark for other nations' late war and immediate post-war tank designs and it is frequently regarded (along with the Soviet T-34 and American M4 Sherman) as one of the best tank designs of World War II.^[1]

Until 1944, it was designated as the Panzerkampfwagen V Panther and had the ordnance inventory designation of Sd.Kfz. 171. On 27, February 1944, Hitler ordered that the Roman numeral V be deleted from the designation.

Contents 1 Development and production 1.1 Production figures 2 Design characteristics 2.1 Engine 2.2 Suspension 2.3 Steering 2.4 Armor 2.5 Armament 3 Combat use 3.1 Panther battalion organization 4 The Allied response 5 Further development 5.1 Panther II 5.2 Panther Ausf. F 5.3 Derived vehicles 6 Postwar and foreign use 7 Surviving vehicles 8 Detailed specifications 9 Notes 10 References 11 External links

[edit] Development and production

The Panther was a direct response to the Soviet T-34 and KV-1 tanks. First encountered on 23 June, 1941,^{[citation needed]} the T-34 outclassed the existing Panzer III and IV. At the insistence of General Heinz Guderian, a special Panzerkommision was dispatched to the Eastern Front to assess the Russian tanks. Among the features of the Soviet tank considered most significant were the sloping armor, which gave much improved shot deflection and also increased the effective armor thickness against penetration, the wide track, which improved mobility over soft ground, and the 76.2 mm gun, which had good armour penetration and fired an effective high-explosive round. Daimler-Benz (DB) and Maschinenfabrik Augsburg-Nürnberg AG (MAN) were given the task of designing a new thirty to thirty-five-ton tank, designated VK30.02, by April 1942 (apparently in time to be shown to Hitler for his birthday).

The DB design was a direct homage to the T-34. It resembled the T-34 hull and turret form. DB's design used a leaf spring suspension whereas the T-34 originally used coil springs. The DB turret was smaller than that of the MAN design and had a smaller turret ring which was the result of the narrower hull required by the leaf spring suspension. The main advantages of the leaf springs over a torsion bar suspension were a lower hull silhouette and a simpler shock dampening design. Like the T34, the DB design had a rear drive sprocket. Unlike the T-34, the DB design had a three-man turret crew: commander, gunner, and loader. But as the planned L/70 75mm gun was much longer and heavier than the T-34's, mounting it in the Daimler-Benz turret was difficult. Plans to reduce the turret crew to two men to stem this problem were eventually dropped.

The MAN design embodied more conventional German thinking with the transmission and drive sprocket in the front and a turret placed centrally on the hull. It had a petrol engine and eight torsion-bar suspension axles per side. Because of the torsion bar suspension, the MAN Panther was higher and had a wider hull than the DB design. The slightly earlier, Henschel designed Tiger I heavy tank's use of a "slack-track" Christie-style pattern of large road wheels with no return rollers for the upper run of track, and with the main road wheels being overlapping and interleaved in layout, were design concepts broadly repeated with the MAN design for the Panther.

The two designs were reviewed over a period from January 1942 through March 1942. Reichminister Todt, and later, his replacement Albert Speer, both recommended the DB design to Hitler because of its several advantages over the initial MAN design. However, at the final submission, MAN improved their design, having learned from the DB proposal, and a review by a special commission appointed by Hitler in May 1942 ended up selecting the MAN design. Hitler approved this decision after reviewing it overnight. One of the principal reasons given for this decision was that the MAN design used an existing turret designed by Rheinmetall-Borsig while the DB design would have required a brand new turret to be designed and produced, substantially delaying the commencement of production.^[2]

The MAN design also had better fording ability, easier gun servicing and higher mobility due to better suspension, wider tracks, and a bigger fuel tank. A mild steel prototype was produced by September 1942 and, after testing at Kummersdorf, was officially accepted. It was put into immediate production. The start of production was delayed, however, mainly because there were too few specialized machine tools needed for the machining of the hull. Finished tanks were produced in December and suffered from reliability problems as a result of this haste. The demand for this tank was so high that the manufacturing was soon expanded beyond MAN to include Daimler-Benz, Maschinenfabrik Niedersachsen-Hannover (MNH) and Henschel & Sohn in Kassel.

The initial production target was 250 tanks per month at MAN. This was increased to 600 per month in January 1943. Despite determined efforts, this figure was never reached due to disruption by Allied bombing, manufacturing bottlenecks, and other difficulties. Production in 1943 averaged 148 per month. In 1944, it averaged 315 a month (3,777 having been built that year), peaking with 380 in July and ending around the end of March 1945, with at least 6,000 built in total. Strength peaked on 1 September, 1944 at 2,304 tanks, but that same month a record number of 692 tanks were reported lost ^[3]

[edit] Production figures

Model	Number	Date	Notes
Prototype	2	11/42	Designated V1 and V2
Ausf. D	842	1/43 to 9/43
Ausf. A	2,192	8/43 to 6/44	Sometimes called Ausf. A2
Ausf. G	2,953	3/44 to 4/45
Befehlspanzer Panther	329	5/43 to 2/45	Converted
Beobachtungspanzer Panther	41	44 to 45	Converted
Bergepanther	347	43 to 45

Panther production 1944 by manufacturer [4]	% of total 1944
Maschinenfabrik Augsburg-Nürnberg (M.A.N.)	35%
Daimler-Benz	31%
Maschinenfabrik Niedersachsen-Hannover	31%
Other	3%

[edit] Design characteristics

The weight of the production model was increased to 43 tons from the original plans for a 35 ton tank. Hitler had personally reviewed the final designs and insisted on an increase in the thickness of the frontal armor - the front glacis plate was increased from 60mm to 80mm and the turret front plate was increased from 80mm to 100mm. ^[5]

Once the problems caused by the vulnerability of the engine and the transmission were solved, it proved to be a very effective fighting vehicle.

The crew was made up of five members: driver, radio operator (who also fired the bow machine gun), gunner, loader, and commander.

[edit] Engine

The Panther was powered by a 700 PS (690 hp, 515 kW)/3000 rpm, 23.1 litre Maybach HL 230 P30 V-12 petrol engine that drove two front drive sprockets via the gearbox and steering unit. The engine was generally considered reliable, and had a fatigue life of up to 2000 kilometers. Maybach HL230 engines were fitted with a governor in late 1943 that limited the engine revolutions to 2500 rpm and power to 600 PS (592 hp, 441 kW). The installation of the governor also reduced the tank's top speed from 55 km/h to 46 km/h.

[edit] Suspension

The suspension consisted of front drive sprockets, rear idlers and eight double-interleaved rubber-rimmed steel road wheels on each side, suspended on a dual torsion bar suspension. The Panther's suspension was costly and time-consuming to manufacture and the interleaved system made replacing inner road wheels time consuming. The interleaved wheels also had a tendency to become locked in frozen mud and ice overnight in the harsh winter weather of the Eastern Front^{[citation needed]}. They did provide better flotation and stability and better armor coverage of the hull side^{[citation needed]}, but the complexities of the interleaved wheels, which had long been standard on all German half-tracks, meant that no other country ever adopted this design for their tanks. In September 1944, and again in March/April 1945, M.A.N. built a limited number of Panther tanks with steel roadwheels originally designed for the Tiger II and late series Tiger I tanks. The reasons for this change are unclear and could have been either a shortage of rubber or an attempt to reduce roadwheel failure. ^[6]

[edit] Steering

Steering was accomplished through a seven-speed AK 7-200 synchromesh gearbox, designed by ZF, and a MAN single radius steering system, operated by steering levers. The steering system allowed a single, fixed radius of turn at each gear. The higher the gear, the bigger was the turning radius. If the radius was bigger than desired, the steering brakes could be used to tighten the turn.

The weakest parts in the tank were, throughout its career, the final drive units. The main reason was that the units could not be manufactured using hollow spur gears, due to the shortage of suitable gear-cutting machinery in Germany during the war. The final drives were in fact so weak that their fatigue life was sometimes as low as 150 km. The US M4 Sherman tank, in contrast, had a double helical gear arrangement on its final drive which placed no limits on maximum speed.

[edit] Armor

The armor consisted of a thick homogeneous ((fact)) steel glacis (i.e. frontal hull) plate sloped back at 55 degrees from the vertical, welded but also interlocked for strength. The combination of thick 80 mm armor with a high degree of slope made the Panther's glacis armor extremely effective; few Allied or Soviet weapons could penetrate it. The front of the turret was composed of a 100 mm thick cast mantlet, made in the shape of a transverse half-cylinder. The transverse-cylindrical shape of the mantlet meant that it was more likely to deflect shells, but it was discovered that the lower section of the transverse-cylindrical mantlet created a shot-trap. If a non-penetrating hit bounced downwards off the mantlet's lower section, it could penetrate the thin forward hull roof armor, and plunge down into the front crew compartment. Penetrations of this nature could have had catastrophic results since the front crew compartment housed the driver and radio operator sitting along both sides of the massive gearbox and steering unit combination, topped with the radio equipment. From September 1944, a slightly redesigned mantlet with a much thicker "chin" design was fitted to some Panther Gs, the chin being intended to prevent such deflections.

The side armor was much thinner (40–50 mm thick). The thinner side armor was necessary to keep the tank's overall weight within reasonable bounds, but it made the Panther vulnerable to attacks from the side by most Allied and Soviet tank and anti-tank guns. German tactical doctrine for the use of the Panther thus emphasised the importance of flank protection.^{[citation needed]} Five millimeter thick skirt armor, Schürzen, intended to provide protection for the lower side hull from Soviet anti-tank rifle fire was fitted on the hull side. Zimmerit coating against magnetic mines also became standard with late ausf Ds, and was retrofitted to older versions. The time-consuming addition of Zimmerit was dropped from new Panthers from about September 1944.

[edit] Armament

The main gun was a 7.5 cm Rheinmetall-Borsig KwK 42 (L/70) with 79 rounds (82 on Ausf. G) with semi-automatic shell ejection. The main gun used three different types of ammunition, APCBC-HE (Pzgr. 39/42), HE (Sprgr. 42) and APCR (Pzgr. 40/42), the last of which was usually in short supply. While it was of only average caliber for its time, the Panther's gun was one of the most powerful tank guns of WWII, due to the large propellant charge and the long barrel, which gave it a very high muzzle velocity and excellent armor-piercing qualities. The flat trajectory also made hitting targets much easier, since accuracy was less sensitive to range. The 75 mm gun actually had more penetrating power than the main gun of the Tiger I heavy tank, the 8.8 cm KwK 36 L/56 except at the longest ranges.

On the other hand, the sheer power of the propellant used in the Panther's ammunition necessitated thicker casing walls, and this in turn resulted in a comparatively smaller high-explosive shell. As a result, the Panther, while being an extremely effective tank killer, was far less effective in the infantry support role, as its high-explosive shell lacked explosive power.

The tank had normally two MG 34 machine guns of a specific version designed for use in armored combat vehicles featuring an armored barrel sleeve. An MG 34 machine gun was located co-axially with the main gun on the gun mantlet; an identical MG 34 was located on the glacis plate and fired by the radio operator. Initial Ausf. D and early Ausf. A models used a "letterbox" flap opening, through which the machine gun was fired. Later Ausf A and all Ausf G models use a more conventional ball mount in the glacis for this machine gun. The Ausf A introduced a new cast commander's cupola. It featured a steel hoop to which a third MG 34 or either the coaxial or the bow machine gun could be mounted for use in the anti-aircraft role, though it was rare for this to be used in actual combat situations.

[edit] Combat use

The Panther was intended to supplement the Panzer IV and replace the Panzer III medium tanks. Each German Panzer (armored) division had two tank battalions; the intent was to equip one battalion in each division with Panthers, retaining the lighter, older, but still useful Panzer IV in the other battalion. Starting in January, 1943, Panthers were sent out to units for training.

However, early tanks were plagued with mechanical problems. The track and suspension often broke,^{[citation needed]} and the engine was dangerously prone to overheating and suffered from connecting rod or bearing failures. Gasoline leaks from the fuel pump or carburetor, as well as motor oil leaks from gaskets easily produced fires in the engine compartment; several Panthers were destroyed in such fires. Transmission and final drive breakdowns were the most common and difficult to repair. A large list of other problems were detected in these early Panthers and so from April through May 1943, the Panthers were shipped back for a major rebuilding program. The first rebuild program did not correct all of the problems and so a second rebuild program was started.

The Panther tank was seen as a necessary component of the upcoming Operation Zitadelle, and the attack was delayed several times because of the mechanical problems of the Panthers.^{[citation needed]}

It was not until the period of June 23-29 that a total of 200 rebuilt Panthers were finally issued to Panther Regiment von Lauchert of the XLVIII Panzer Corps (4 Panzer Army). Two of the Panthers were immediately lost due to motor fires upon disembarking from the trains. By July 5, 1943, when the Battle of Kursk started, there were only 184 operational Panthers.^{[citation needed]} Within two days, the number of operational Panthers had dropped to 40.^{[citation needed]} On July 17, 1943 after Hitler had ordered a stop to the German offensive, Gen. Heinz Guderian sent in the following preliminary assessment of the Panthers:^[7]

Due to enemy action and mechanical breakdowns, the combat strength sank rapidly during the first few days. By the evening of 10 July there were only 10 operational Panthers in the front line. 25 Panthers had been lost as total writeoffs (23 were hit and burnt and two had caught fire during the approach march). 100 Panthers were in need of repair (56 were damaged by hits and mines and 44 by mechanical breakdown). 60 percent of the mechanical breakdowns could be easily repaired. Approximately 40 Panthers had already been repaired and were on the way to the front. About 25 still had not been recovered by the repair service.

...

On the evening of 11 July, 38 Panthers were operational, 31 were total writeoffs and 131 were in need of repair. A slow increase in the combat strength is observable. The large number of losses by hits (81 Panthers up to 10 July) attests to the heavy fighting.

—Heinz Guderian^[7]

A later Oberquartiermeister report (generated every ten days) of the inventory of Panthers on July 20, 1943, showed 41 Panthers listed as operational, 85 listed as repairable, 16 severely damaged and needing repair in Germany, 56 burnt out(due to enemy action), and 2 that had been destroyed by motor fires.^{[citation needed]}

However, before the Germans ended their offensive at Kursk, the Soviets began their counteroffensive, and succeeded in pushing the Germans back into a steady retreat. Thus, an Oberquartiermeister report on August 11, 1943 showed that the numbers of total writeoffs in Panthers swelled to 156, with only 9 operational Panthers.^{[citation needed]} The German Army at this point was forced into a fighting retreat and was thus losing more Panthers both in combat and also as a result of having to abandon and destroy their damaged Panthers. ^[8]

Heinz Guderian later remarked about the early Panther's performance in the battle: "they burnt too easily, the fuel and oil systems were insufficiently protected, and the crews were lost due to lack of training."^{[citation needed]} Guderian also stated, however, that the firepower and frontal armor were good.

By June 1944, Panthers were about half of the German tank strength both in the east and the west.^{[citation needed]} At the end of the war it was the third most produced German armored fighting vehicle.

Perhaps^{[citation needed]} the best known German Panther commander was SS-Oberscharführer Ernst Barkmann of the 2nd SS-Panzer Regiment "Das Reich".

Panther turrets, from battle-damaged and retired vehicles along with specially manufactured ones, were also mounted in fixed fortifications. Turrets (mechanically traverseable) were mounted on concrete emplacements (Pantherturm III - Betonsockel - concrete base) or welded steel boxes (Pantherturm I - Stahluntersatz - steel sub-base), which housed the ammunition storage and fighting compartment along with crew quarters. Such emplacements were located in the fortifications of the West Wall, Gothic Line, Hitler Line (one of those was located at Piedimonte in Monte Cassino area^{[clarification needed]}) and in the east (about 12 in Berlin).

The Panther remained a major German tank until the end of the war. Later versions of the Panzer IV with long 75 mm KwK 40 L/48 guns were slightly cheaper to produce and more reliable, and so they remained in production alongside the Panther. However, the main reason for the prolonged Panzer IV production was that the reorganization of the German tank industry to manufacture Panthers rather than Panzer IVs would have resulted in an unacceptable, albeit temporary, decrease in overall tank production.

Around the time of the Battle of the Bulge, as part of Otto Skorzeny's Operation Greif commando mission, 5 Panther tanks assigned to Skorzeny's Panzerbrigade 150 were disguised to look roughly like an M10 Tank Destroyer by welding on additional plates, applying US-style camouflage paint and markings.^[9] This was carried out as part of a larger operation that involved soldiers disguised as Americans and other activities. The disguised Panthers were detected and destroyed.

[edit] Panther battalion organization

Composition of a panzer battalion equipped with Panther tanks, 1943. Two panzer battalions would comprise the panzer regiment of a panzer division.

• Battalion Command (composed of Communication and Reconnaissance platoons)
• Communication Platoon - 3 × Befehlswagen Panther SdKfz.267/268
• Reconnaissance Platoon - 5 × Panther
• 1st Company - 22 × Panther
  • Company Command - 2 × Panther
    • 1st Platoon - 5 × Panther
    • 2nd Platoon - 5 × Panther
    • 3rd Platoon - 5 × Panther
    • 4th Platoon - 5 × Panther
• 2nd Company - 22 × Panther (composed as 1st Company)
• 3rd Company - 22 × Panther (composed as 1st Company)
• 4th Company - 22 × Panther (composed as 1st Company)
• Service Platoon - 2 × Bergepanther

From 1943 to 1945, many modifications were made to unit organization by reducing both number of companies and platoons due to the war situation.

[edit] The Allied response

The Soviet response to the large numbers of Panthers on their front was swift. In 1943 the Red Army was still equipped with T-34 tanks armed with the same 76.2 mm gun as in 1941. This gun was ineffective against the Panther's frontal armor, meaning the Soviet tank had to flank the Panther to destroy it, while the Panther's main gun could penetrate the T-34 at long range from any angle. Plans were made to improve the T-34 with an 85 mm gun and new and more spacious three-man turret, producing the T-34-85. Although this tank was not quite the equal of the Panther, it was much better than the 76.2 mm-armed versions and made up for its quality shortcomings by being produced in greater quantities than the Panther. New self-propelled anti-tank vehicles based on the T-34 hull, such as the SU-85 and SU-100, were also developed. By mid-1944, the Red Army was deploying far more T-34-85s than the Germans had Panthers.

A German comparison of German tanks with the new Soviet T-34-85 and IS-2 heavy tank (with a 122 mm gun), from 23 March 1944, stated that "the Panther is far superior to the T-34/85 for frontal fire (Panther Ausf G could penetrate frontal armor of T-34-85 at 2,000 m, while T-34-85 could penetrate frontal armor of Panther Ausf G at 500 m), approximately equal for side and rear fire, superior to the IS-2 for frontal fire and inferior for side and rear fire."

The Panther weighed about as much as the new Soviet IS-2 heavy tank, and indeed this vehicle is a closer match than the much lighter T-34. Later in the war (1944 and on) Soviets found the quality of German armour dropped, lack of alloying metals made the plates too brittle. In November 1943 at Kubinka, during trials of guns proposed to be mounted on the IS-2, a 122-mm round fired from the A-19 gun passed clear through a captured Panther, penetrating both the front and rear armour.^[10]

The Western Allies' response was inconsistent. The Panther was not employed against the western Allies until early 1944 at Anzio, where Panthers were employed in small numbers. Until shortly before D-Day, the Panther was thought to be another heavy tank that would not be built in large numbers. However, just before D-Day, Allied intelligence investigated Panther production, and using a statistical analysis of the road wheels on two captured tanks, estimated that Panther production for February 1944 was 270,^[11] thus indicating that it would be found in much larger numbers than had previously been anticipated.^[12] In the planning for the Battle of Normandy, the US Army expected to face a handful of German heavy tanks alongside large numbers of Panzer IVs, and thus had little time to prepare to face the Panther. Instead, almost half the German tanks in Normandy were Panthers, whose frontal armour could not be penetrated by the 75 mm guns of the US Sherman tanks. This was due to then-current US armor doctrine which assigned tanks to infantry support and exploitation roles, avoiding enemy tanks, and left the main anti-armor role to dedicated tank destroyers.

The British were more astute in their recognition of the increasing armor strength of German tanks, and had by the time of the Normandy invasion started a program to mount the excellent 17-pounder anti-tank gun on some of their M4 Shermans (Firefly). British and Commonwealth tank units in Normandy were initially equipped at the rate of 1 Firefly to 3 Shermans or Cromwells. This increased until by the end of the war, half of the British M4 Shermans were Fireflies.

The US eventually produced large numbers of 76 mm-armed Shermans, 90 mm-armed tank destroyers, and eventually the Pershing heavy tank. Even with these better weapons, it was still difficult to penetrate the frontal armor of the Panther.

Production of Panther tanks and other German tanks dropped off sharply after January 1945. The result was that for the rest of the war during 1945, the greatest threats to the tanks of the Western Allies were no longer German tanks, but infantry anti-tank weapons such as the Panzerschrek and Panzerfaust, and infantry anti-tank guns such as the ubiquitous 75mm KwK 40, and mobile anti-tank guns such as the Marder, StuG III, StuG IV, and Jagdpanzer. A German Army status report dated March 15, 1945 showed only 117 Panthers, only 49 of which were operational, left in the entire Western Front)^[13].

[edit] Further development

[edit] Panther II

Design work on the Panther II began in February 1943. The main aim was to secure maximum interchangeability of parts with the Tiger II heavy tank in order to ease manufacturing. The Panther II had a hull similar to the Tiger II, and also shared nearly-identical steel tired road wheels (seven versus the Tiger II's nine), "contact shoe" and "connector link" track, suspension and brakes.

Another part to be changed was the turret. In March 1944, work started on a turret projected to have a smaller forward aspect, thicker frontal armour and the ability to eliminate shot-trap under the mantle, leading to better ballistic properties. It became known as the Schmalturm (narrow turret). Also referred to in German as Turm mit schmaler Blende (narrow-mantlet turret).

The other significant differences between the Panther and the Panther II were the running gear and increased armor protection. There is evidence that the new Maybach HL234 fuel-injected engine (900hp operated by an 8-speed hydraulic transmission) would be eventually used to propel it but, as the Maybach HL234 was unavailable at the time (and was never completed), the Maybach HL 230 P 30 engine was mounted in the prototype instead, to be later replaced by the newer engine in production models. With this newer engine, it is believed that the Panther II’s performance would be similar to that of the Panther Ausf. G, despite the increased weight of the armour.

Due to the recoil space inside the Schmalturm being similar to the previous turret designs, the Panther II was initially designed to carry the same 7.5 cm KwK L/70 seen in production Panthers. Later, on 23 January 1945, development of an altered Schmalturm and turret ring to accommodate the 8.8 cm KwK L/71 gun was initiated by Daimler-Benz. Although the placement of the gun changed, the weight increased by a metric tonne and ammunition storage was smaller, there was evidence that the project would be approved for production. As far as it's known the 7.5 cm KwK L/100 was not considered for the Panther II.

Since the Schmalturm turret design was never completed before the cancellation of the Panther II project, for test purposes, the prototype Panther II was fitted with the newly built Ausf. G variant turret armed with 75mm KwK 42 L/70 gun, new mantlet to avoid shot-trap and with special mountings for infrared device and telescopic range finder.

The Panther II project never got further than a single chassis that now can be seen in the Patton Museum. When it was captured, the chassis didn't have a turret and so, after restoration, an Ausf. G turret similar to the used in the prototype was fitted.

[edit] Panther Ausf. F

After the cancellation of the Panther II project, it was decided to use the lessons learned in the project in the production Panthers. Further development of the Panther Ausf. G led to the Ausf. F variant, slated for production in April 1945.

The key points for this Panther variant were the adoption of the Panther II's Schmalturm, with its better ballistic properties, and an extended front hull roof which was slightly thicker. The Ausf. F's Schmalturm was to have a built-in stereoscopic rangefinder and it weighted less than the original Panther Ausf. D, A and G turrets. A partially destroyed example of a production Schmalturm is on display at the Bovington Tank Museum.

A number of Ausf. F hulls were built at Daimler-Benz and Ruhrstahl-Hattingen steelworks; however there is no evidence that any completed Ausf. F saw service before the end of the war. Indeed, since some key components for the Schmalturm were never completed, the operation of any Panther Ausf. F built would have been seriously impaired.

The Panther Ausf. F is not to be confused with the Panther II, which was an entirely new design with a heavier chassis.

[edit] Derived vehicles

• Jagdpanther - heavy tank destroyer with the 88 mm L/71
• Befehlspanzer Panther - command tank with additional radio equipment
• Beobachtungspanzer Panther - observation tank for artillery spotters; dummy gun; armed with only two MG 34
• Bergepanther - armored recovery vehicle

[edit] Postwar and foreign use

Although a technologically sophisticated vehicle for its time, the Panther's design had only a very limited influence on postwar tank development. The French postwar AMX 50 tank prototype was influenced by the Panther but never entered series production. The French did produce a modified version of the Panther's 75 mm KwK 42 L/70 gun, as the 75 mm DEFA and CN75-50 gun. This gun equipped the first iteration of the AMX 13 light tank as well as the EBR armored car, and was also used by the Israeli M50 Super Sherman.

The Panther itself also saw some limited use outside the German military, both before and after 1945.

During the war, the Red Army employed a number of captured Panthers. These were repainted with prominent Soviet emblems and tactical markings to avoid friendly fire incidents. The Red Army still used a few Panthers as late as spring 1945.^{[citation needed]}

One captured vehicle (nicknamed "Cuckoo") also saw service with the British Coldstream Guards for some time.[1]

Japan reportedly bought a single Panther Ausf. D for reverse engineering purposes in 1943. However the tank apparently never actually made it to Japan. The Panther's sloped armour and turret design nevertheless did influence the design of Japans last wartime tank prototypes; the medium Type 4 Chi-To and heavy Type 5 Chi-Ri.^[14]

After the war, France was able to recover enough operable vehicles and components to equip the French Army's 503e Régiment de Chars de Combat with a force of fifty Panthers. These remained in service until about 1950, by which time they had all been replaced by French-built ARL 44 heavy tanks.

In 1946, Sweden sent a delegation to France to examine surviving specimens of German military vehicles. During their visit, the delegates found a few surviving Panthers and had one shipped to Sweden for further testing and evaluation. Testing continued until 1961. The tank is currently on display in the Deutsches Panzermuseum in Munster. ^[15]

[edit] Surviving vehicles

Twenty-eight Panthers survive in conditions ranging from wrecks to fully restored. Four - held by the Kubinka Tank Museum in Russia, the Musée des Blindés in France and the Deutsches Panzermuseum in Munster and the Wehrtechnische Studiensammlung in Koblenz, Germany - are in running condition.

Two more Panthers are being restored to running condition by private collectors in England (Kevin Wheatcroft) and the United States (the late Jacques Littlefield). Kevin Wheatcroft will also restore the two other Panther tanks that he owns to running condition.^{[citation needed]}

A unique Panther Ausf. D (the only known complete survivor) is displayed in the Wilhelmina park in Breda, The Netherlands. This tank was donated by the Polish 1st Armored Division after liberating Breda. It was restored in 2004-2005 for static display by Kevin Wheatcroft in exchange for automotive components.

The Panther on display at Panzermuseum Thun, Switzerland is advertised as an Ausf. D/G hybrid, with a D hull and G turret. There are many questions surrounding this vehicle. The turret has a replacement sheet metal mantlet, vaguely resembling a late Ausf. G mantlet, with no ports for gunners sight or coaxial MG. The pistol port on the turret rear indicates an Ausf. A or early Ausf G. The hull with the "letterbox" MG slot indicates an Ausf. D or early Ausf. A. The turret and hull numbers could help identify the correct model designation for the hybrid but neither of the numbers have been made public.

In January 2008 a partially restored Panther Ausf. A was put on display in the Lebreton gallery at the Canadian War Museum. The Panther had been donated to the museum from CFB Borden, which acquired it following V-E celebrations in May 1945. It had spent two years in restoration prior to being put on public display.^[15]

A Panther Ausf. G can be found in the village of Houffalize in the Ardennes region of Belgium. It fell into the river during the Battle of the Bulge and was later retrieved as a memorial.

Two Panthers, an Ausf. A and Ausf. G, sit side by side in a field at the US Army Ordnance Museum.

[edit] Detailed specifications

• Crew: 5

Dimensions

• Length
  • including gun: 8.66 m
  • hull only: 6.87 m
• Width:
  • hull: 3.27 m,
  • with skirt plates: 3.42 m
• Height: 2.99 m
• Combat weight:
  • Ausf. D 43.0 t
  • Ausf. A 45.5 tonnes
  • Ausf. G 44.8 t (46.58 t with steel road wheels)

Performance

• Road speed: 55 km/h at 3,000 rpm (46 km/h at 2,500 rpm)
• Road range: 200 km

Suspension and tracks

• type: dual torsion-bar
• Shock absorbers: on 2nd and 7th swing arms on either side
• Track type: Kgs 64/660/150 dual center guide
• Track width: 660 mm
• Ground contact length: 3.92 m
• Track links: 86
• Ground pressure: 0.88 kg/cm²

Obstacle crossing

• Vertical obstacle: 0.9 m
• Trench crossing : 1.9 m
• Fording: 1.7 m

Engine and transmission

• Maybach HL 230 P30 V-12, four-stroke internal combustion
• Displacement: 23.095 litres
• Compression ratio: 6.8:1
• Fuel: gasoline, 74 octane
• Power: 700 PS at 3,000 rpm, 600 PS at 2,500 rpm
• Fuel consumption (road): 3.5 l/km
• Fuel capacity: 720 litres
• Transmission: ZF AK 7-200 synchromesh manual
• Gears: 7 forward, 1 reverse
• Steering: MAN single-radius clutch-brake
• Main clutch: Fichtel & Sachs LAG 3/70H
• Steering ratio: 1:1.5

Armament

• Main gun: 7.5 cm Kwk 42 L/70
  • Breech: semiautomatic
  • Traverse: 360°, 24°/second
  • Elevation: +18°/-8°
  • Rounds carried: 79; Ausf. G: 82
• Primary gun sight: Leitz TZF 12; Ausf. A and G: TZF 12a
  • Magnification: 2.5×/5×
  • Field of view: 28°/14°
• Radio equipment
  • Fu 5 transmitter/receiver
  • Fu 2 receiver

Armor

• • Hull front, lower: 60 mm at 35°; upper: 80 mm at 35°
  • Hull side, lower: 40 mm at 90°; upper: 40 mm at 50°; Ausf. G: 50 mm at 60°
  • Hull rear: 40 mm at 60°
  • Turret front: 80 mm at 78°; Ausf. A: 110 mm at 78°; Ausf. G: 100 mm at 80°
  • Turret side: 45 mm at 65°
  • Turret rear: 45 mm at 65°
  • Turret, top: 15 mm at 5°; Ausf. G: 30 mm at 5°
  • Gun mantlet: 120 mm rounded

All angles from horizontal

[edit] Notes

[edit] References

This article includes a list of references or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it has insufficient inline citations. Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations where appropriate. (April 2009)

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Panzerkampfwagen V Panther

• Littlefield Panther
• AFV Database
• Panther, and Panther II at Achtung Panzer!
• Panthers survivors - A PDF file presenting the Panther tanks
• 1943 US Intelligence Report on Panther Tank
• A photo-slide show of the Panther tank
• pantherfiebel: a manual for the panther tank
• Panther II tank photos @ 5 Star General site

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