PANZRKAMPFWAGEN V PANTHER – It was very clear by the end of 1941that Russian armour was outperforming German armour and this imbalance needed to be addressed. The T-34 has already proven itself and was more than a match for the Panzer IV. Two German companies – MAN and Daimler Benz were given the task of designing a more powerful tank. The MAN design was the one that was accepted in May 1942. By September 1942 a prototype was being tested, and the vehicle designated Panzerkampfwagen V Panther. It was ordered into immediate production. The battle was first used during the battle of Kursk in July 1943 and did not perform well. It was plagued with a number of problems. On July 10 out of 200 Panthers, only 38 were available as serviceable. Once these early teething problems were solved the Panther became a formidable tank. It was widely used in Normandy the preceding weeks after D-day as well as on the Eastern Front. The French continued to use the Panther for some time after World War Two as well. The Panther had a top speed of 34 mph, with a range of 110 miles. It was powered by a Maybach HL230P30 V12 petrol engine producing 700 hp. It weighed 45 tons.
PANZRKAMPFWAGEN VI TIGER – Although the Tiger was a very robust design with a 700bhp engine and an eight speed gearbox with four reverse gears. It still showed severe deficiencies under operational conditions. Its range was only 70 miles and even with the well thought out interleaving of the bogies in the torsion bar suspension to enhance mobility, it was incompatible with the fast moving Panzer divisions. This meant it was rejected by the German tank leaders, who preferred the more mobile, smaller tanks which could be manufactured in greater quantity. Despite this, the Tiger I could easily exchange shots with enemy tanks at long ranges. Its deep wading abilities was unique amongst German tanks. The tiger was originally named as the
PzKw VI Ausfuhrung H, although it became known as the Tiger after being name as such by Ferdinand Porsche. Even though the Tiger I has a number of technical problems which combined to reduce its operational efficiency. It performed very well on the Eastern Front and in Tunisia. Comparatively few, however were used in North Africa as a result of air and submarine attacks Axis supply convoys. The Tigers frontal armour proved highly effective at stopping rounds from most anti-tank guns. The Tiger could knock out its most common opponents the T-34, Sherman and Churchill IV at ranges exceeding 2000 metres. The T-34 could not penetrate a Tigers frontal armour from any range. Although could penetrate a Tigers side armour at much closer ranges. This meant Shermans would attack a Tiger in fours and at close range to get a shot into either the side or the rear of the tanks. In the latter stages of World War Two aircraft with rockets became a deadlier foe. The Tiger I was phased out from January 1944 with the introduction of the Tiger II with a total of 1355 Tigers having been produced. It is still a highly regarded Tank and some ways was slightly ahead of its time. It had a top speed of 23 mph on flat ground or roads and was powered by a single Maybach HL230P45 V-12 petrol engine producing 700hp. It weighed 57 tons.
PANZRKAMPFWAGEN VI TIGER II – The Tiger II combined the heavy armour of the Tiger I with the slopped armour of the Panther. It was a completely different tank to the Tiger I. Being first used in action in Normandy in July 1944 before being used on the Eastern Front the following month. The Tiger II also called the king Tiger was the most powerful tank to be deployed anywhere during World War Two. Together with the Panther formed a German spearhead for the Battle of the Bulge in December 1944. The offensive though petered out due to a lack of fuel and many Tigers ended up being abandoned.
Despite its success in combat the Tiger continued to experience many problems. The overlapping suspension was one, which could easily become clogged with mud. During the Russian winter this mud would freeze and would need to be chipped away before the tank could move. The Tiger II chassis was used as the basis for the JagTiger B which was armed with a 128mm gun. With a range of 105 miles the King Tiger had an improved range over the Tiger I’s 70 miles. It had a top speed of 22 mph on fat ground or road. It was powered by a Maybach HL230P30 V-12 petrol engine producing 700 hp. It weighed 70 tons with the production turret.
IS-1 – The IS-1 was developed from the KV series of tanks to combat German tanks such as the Tiger and Panther. Its design was named the KV-13. Marshal Kliment had fallen out of political favour, however, and so the name was changed to Iosif (Joseph) Stalin instead. The first batch used for evaluation were called the IS-85. The IS made use of the 85mm gun of the KV-85, but production models were fitted with the long 122mm gun. This had greater penetrating power and also enough strength to blow off a tanks turret even if it failed to penetrate the armour. This modification led the tank to be called the IS-2. The first IS-2s appeared in 1944. A further variant the IS-3 retained the 122mm gun but had a much more rounded and redesigned turret. The IS tank was used to spearhead the final assault on Berlin in April 1945, their power and protection enabling them to break through enemy defence barriers. The IS-1 was powered by a V-2 IS 12 cylinder 550hp diesel engine. It had a top speed of 25 mph and a range of 155 miles. It weighed 45.3 tons. Without a doubt a great tank but with shortcomings like so many World War Two tanks. Engine development was certainly one factor with heavy tanks from all sides often being underpowered.
GLOSSARY
Bazooka – The Bazooka is a man-portable recoilless rocket antitank weapon, mainly used by the US Army. Also referred to as the “Stovepipe”, the bazooka was amongst the first-generation of rocket propelled anti-tank weapons used in infantry combat. In World War Two the M1 and starting with the invasion of Sicily the M1A1. Both had a range of 400 feet and an effective range of 150 feet.
Focke Wulf FW-190 – The FW-190 was a German single-seat, single-engine fighter aircraft designed by Kurt Tank in the late 1930s and widely used during World War II. Powered by a twin-row BMW 801 radial engine that powered most operational versions enabled the Fw 190 to lift larger loads than the Bf 109, allowing its use as a day fighter, fighter-bomber, ground-attack aircraft and, to a lesser degree, night fighter.
Hanomag – The Sd.Kfz. 251 was a half-track armoured fighting vehicle designed and first built by the Hanomag company in 1939 nd was used throughout World War II, and based on their earlier, unarmored Sd.Kfz. 11 vehicle. The Sd.Kfz. 251 was designed to transport the panzergrenadiers – German mechanized infantry corps into battle. Sd.Kfz. 251s was the most widely produced German half-track of the war, with at least 15,252 vehicles and variants produced by various manufacturers, and were commonly referred to simply as “Hanomags” by both German and Allied soldiers. he initial idea was for a vehicle that could be used to transport a single squad of 10 panzergrenadiers to the battlefield protected from enemy small arms fire, and with some protection from artillery fire. In addition, the standard mounting of at least one MG 34 or later a MG 42 machine gun allowed the vehicle to provide support by fire for the infantry squad once they had disembarked in battle. Later in the war, doctrine changed as they found they could fight the battle from inside the vehicle, and greater weaponry was added to increase firepower.