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German Heavy Tanks

Armour: 80mm sloped at 55°.
Weight: 43 tons.
Armament: 75mm KwK 42 L/70 gun (79 rounds) and 2
x 7.92mm Mg.
Speed: 46kmh (28mph) on road and 24kmh (15mph) cross-country.
Range: 200km (125 miles) on road and 85km (54 miles)
cross-country.
Crew: 5, commander, gunner, radio operator, loader
and driver.
When German forces
first encountered the KV-1 and T-34 tanks, it was decided to design a
new, more powerful medium tank, which could be quickly put into production.
After extensive design and testing production of the new vehicle, the
PzKfw V Panther, began in December 1942.
The Panther's technical design incorporated many features of the T-34/76,
such as wide tracks for better traction and improved cross-country performance,
a powerful engine, a long barrelled 75mm gun and sloping armour. Despite
this the Panther was larger, heavier and different in many technical aspects.
In addition the vehicle featured large overlapping road wheels and a state
of the art suspension system that enabled it to traverse rough terrain
at high speed. The turret was rotated by a hydraulic power traverse, which
took its power from the gearbox and was operated by the gunner using a
foot lever. If the engine was off the turret could be traversed by hand.
In November 1942, a small pre-production series of 20 tanks was ordered.
These 20 vehicles were designated PzKfw V Panther Ausf A and were technically
different from later Ausf A production models. All were lightly armoured,
with only 60mm of frontal armour and armed with the early version of the
75mm KwK 42 L/70 gun. In February 1943, 20 Ausf A tanks were re-designated
Ausf D1. These Ausf D1 models were exclusively used as test vehicles and
later for training.
In December 1942, a new and improved model, designated Ausf D, was ready.
The vehicle was fitted with an improved version of the 75mm KwK 42 L/70
gun. The turret was rotated by a hydraulic power traverse, which took
its power from the gearbox and was operated by the gunner using a foot
lever. If the engine was off the turret could be traversed by hand. The
Panther's weak spot was its side armor, which ranged from 40mm to 50mm,
depending on the variant.
The Panther first saw action during operation Citadel but suffered badly
from a variety of technical problems including gearbox, transmission and
suspension failure, and more seriously engine fires and by the middle
of August only 43 of the Ausf D1 vehicles were in service.
The next batch of vehicles, the Ausf D2, were powered by a more powerful
HL 230 P30 engine, which became the standard power plant for all later
models of the Panther. The vehicles also featured a cast commander's cupola
instead of the early drum-type and armoured skirts, which were standard
on all later Panthers.
The next variant, the Ausf A, was introduced in August 1943. It featured
a redesigned turret, a mounting bracket for an AA MG34 on the cupola and
a ball-mounted MG34 in the frontal plate. Modifications had also been
made to rectify the technical problems suffered with the gearbox, transmission
and suspension.
In March 1944, the final variant, the Ausf G was introduced. The Panther
Ausf G became the most numerous model and had many new features. These
included a new design for the top hull hatches, removal of the driver's
visor in the front plate and upper hull sides closer to the vertical.
Later variants had a rotating periscope for the driver, a new exhaust
arrangement, a new mantlet design to eliminate the shot trap and a new
engine deck layout with a raised fan cover. Perhaps the most distinctive
feature of the Ausf G was the tapered one-piece upper hull side plate.
The Panther remained in production until the end of the war and was a
formidable weapon.

Armour: 110mm
Weight: 57 tons.
Armament: 88mm KwK 36 L/56 gun (92 rounds) and 2
x 7.92mm Mg.
Speed: 38kmh (23mph) on road and 15kmh (10mph) cross-country.
Range: 96km (60 miles) on road and 64km (40 miles)
cross-country.
Crew: 5, commander, gunner, radio operator, loader
and driver.
The PzKfw VI Ausf E Tiger entered production in July 1942,
after extensive design and testing. The vehicle featured a superstructure,
which was welded to the hull, whereas previous PzKfw models hulls were
bolted. The turret was rotated by a hydraulic power traverse, which took
its power from the gearbox and was operated by the gunner using a foot
lever. If the engine was off the turret could be traversed by hand. The
turret boasted 110mm of armour on the mantlet, with the rest of the turret
being formed of a rolled plate of armour 80mm thick. The hull was similarly
endowed, with the front sections were made up of armour 100mm thick, with
80mm on the sides and rear. Despite the fact that the Tiger's armour was
not sloped, that thickness of armour provided enormous protection for
the vehicle and its crew. The 88mm KwK 36 L/56 gun was a derivative of
the highly successful 88mm Flak gun and could penetrate up to 110mm of
armour at 2000m. The vehicle featured a unique torsion bar suspension
using interleaved road wheels and traction was provided by the two front
sprocket wheels, each of which turned a set of massive solid steel tracks.
The drive train arrangement made the Tiger fairly manoeuvrable considering
its size and weight.
The vehicle suffered with several early mechanical problems. The overlapping
road wheels often clogged with mud and this caused the tracks to ride
up and either come off or jam on the sprocket wheel. It also suffered
from having a limited internal fuel capacity and extremely high consumption
rate, which limited its range considerably. It was a difficult vehicle
to maintain in the field, with the engine and running gear needing constant
attention. It was also an expensive and complicated vehicle to manufacture.
In May 1943, the engine was replaced by the more powerful HL 230 P 45
engine which improved the vehicles off road performance. From September
1943, all production vehicles were coated with Zimmerit anti-magnetic
paste. In March 1944 all steel road wheels were fitted and this allowed
for the outer road wheels to be removed, improving the vehicles running
performance and ease of maintenance. The first 500 production vehicles
were equipped with a snorkelling device allowing them to travel underwater
up to a depth of 4-5m. However, all later models were provided with wading
equipment, which only allowed them to travel underwater to a depth of
1.3m. Production of the Tiger was halted in August 1944, in favour of
the King Tiger, but the vehicle remained in service until the end of the
war.
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