Talk:Panzer III/IV

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What does this sentence actually mean?

There is a sentence currently in this article which I don't understand, and I'm hoping that someone can explain it: "The most striking change was the use of a box drive with large wheels, with a hydraulic pivoting device tower."

This sentence is in reference to some change made to the Panzer III/IV design which contrasts with the earlier Panzer III and Panzer IV designs. Beyond that, I have no idea. It could be in reference to changes in the final drive, or perhaps the braking systems? I'm stumped, but I know that this sentence needs to be clarified going forward. FlintTD (talk) 04:16, 6 September 2023 (UTC)[reply]

After tracking down a German copy of Spielberger and Wiener's book (the only source for this article at the time that sentence was first written), I located a sentence in the section on the Panzer III/IV on page 41: "Das auffallendste Merkmal der PzKpfw III n.A. und IV n.A. war ein Schachtellaufwerk mit großen Laufrädern"(sic). Google Translate translates this sentence to: "The most striking feature of the PzKpfw III n.A. and IV n.A. was a box drive with large wheels" in English. To me, it seems fairly obvious that part of the sentence I am confused about is a mistranslation of the term schachtellaufwerk as "box drive". Furthermore, the sentence in the Spielberger text directly preceding the one about schachtellaufwerk reads as follows: "8. Hydraulische Schwenkbarkeit des Turms auch beim Panzer III, dadurch geringere Belastung der Besatzung und grosere Richtgeschwindigkeit"(sic). Google Translate translates it as follows: "Hydraulic pivoting of the turrent also on the Panzer III, resulting in less strain on the crew and greater target speed." For context, this is the last point on a list of positive aspects of the Panzer III/IV proposal. I am not as confident, but still willing to bet, that this sentence is the origin of the "hydraulic pivoting device tower". I know that a Google Translate interpretation of a source is not an rigrorous research practice, however I do now believe that the above sentence which confused me was the result of two conjoined mistranslations originating from the same source material. Assuming no one has any objections, I will move forward with what I have gleaned from this small investigation. FlintTD (talk) 02:46, 12 September 2023 (UTC)[reply]