panzerregiments-equipmentandorganisation

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1978 Almark Publishing Co. Ltd. Text W. J. K. Davis Colour Ar t & Linework Almark Publishing Co. l td. All rights reserved. No partof this publication maybe reproduced, stored in a retrieval system ortransmitted by any means electronic, mechanical,or by photocopying, without prior permission ofthe publishers.First Published 1978.ISBN 085524 296 5

t t n ~ c r By9lcgimcntS. W. J. K. Da

Photographic CreditsSQUADRON SIGNAL ARCHIVEIMPERIAL WAR MUSEUMBUNDES ARCHIVEAPC ARCHIVE

Distributed in the U. S. A. by Squadron/Signal Publications Inc., 3461, East Ten Mile Road, Warren, Michigan 48091. Printed in Great Britain by Edwin Snell Printers, Babylon Hill, Yeovil, Somerset, fo r the publishers, Almark Publishing Co. l td. 49 Malden Way, New Malden, Surrey KT3 6EA, England. AlmarkPublishingCo. Ltd., Lon


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INTRODUCTION When, in the late 1920s and early 1930s, the Germansstarted secretly to rebuild their armed forces, variousinfluences were instrumental in shaping them. In particularthree things - the cavalry tradition; the desire to create animpressive 'showpiece' army; the new theories ofarmoured warfare being purveyed by the British expertLiddel Hart and others - combined to lead the General Staffto develop the concept of a lightning war of movement, theBlitzkrieg. This in turn emphasised a need for mobile,hard-hitting spearhead forces both to make an initialbreakthrough and then to exploit it.

In the German army these forces were originallyenvisaged as of three types:1. The Panzer, (or armoured), Divisions which wouldmake the breakthrough.2. The Leichte, (or light), Divisions which were to be theheirs of the reformed cavalry divisions exploiting theopportunities created by the Panzers.3. Motorised infantry divisions which would consolidatethe gains.All would be highly mobile and the first two would

Regimental commander's 'Panther' with infantry,with MP43 's (later Stg43/44) an MG42 and 'Panzerfvariety of equipment and the uniforms worn by thes

incorporate an armoured element to act as thIndeed originally the Panzer Divisions wereentirely tank (panzerkamfwagen) divisions wimotorised artillery and infantry supportDivisions were to have a great deal of lightestablished 'cavalry' regiments hopefully beon a new family of half-tracked carriers whileunit of light tanks would provide speedy fireOnce Hitler came to power, this progimplemented and development of the nbrought into the open. Unfortunately reality less grandiose than ideals, development and armoured vehicles in particular beingexpected. As a result the intended five Panzerto be formed with 'ersatz' (substitute) equdummy wooden tanks mounted on car pressed into service fo r training purposes units were equipped largely withPanzerkampfwagen I and II (Pzkpfw I and II). Thlittle more than a fast, lightly armoured machiand the latter mounted only a light cannon bu


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ressive, provided excellent training and, in the earlyes of the war, proved surprisingly effective againstrepared enemies.e planned four light divisions, in consequence, weren more hampered. They were to have had an armouredalion composed of a special Pzkpfw II reconnaissanceant but very few of these were produced and thecient but complex half-tracked carriers were stillborn.eed up to 1939 these Divisions still retained mountediments as their main fighting component.n that year, however, they were all hurriedly converted

Panzer Divisions using whatever equipmentd be scraped up and a further Panzer Division, the 10th,S also improvised for the Polish campaign of September9. Fortunately the equipment position had been slightlyed by the annexation of Czechoslovakia in March ofyear, the German army suddenly acquiring thereby aIection of several hundred efficient modern tanksether with additional production facilities. In addition

d u c t i o n of the standard Pzkpfw 11/ and IV was slowlyIding up. On the other hand, the panzerisation of thet divisions meant that the follow-'up forces were noger there and early campaigns illustrated the danger ofwing pure tank forces to break through on their own.a reSUlt, the Panzer Divisions themselves wereganised with fewer tanks and more infantry while sometorized infantry formations were upgraded to whatknown as Panzer Grenadier, (or armoured infantry),isions. These were strong, fully mobile formations withand an armoured Abteilung (a battaliond unit) rather than a full armoured regiment. Sincedern battle tanks were always in short supply thewas usually equipped either with assault guns oroutdated tanks modified fo r the close support role.s was not too great a handicap since the AbteilungenS intended mainly to provide the support whichcialised infantry tanks gave in other armies. As the wargressed, too, additional armoured Abteilungen weremed outside divisions and used as army or corps

ops. They were most commonly heavy tank units and inwere sometimes incorporated into Panzer brigadesich included battalion-sized infantry and artilleryport units. The original ten Panzer Divisions wereto a total of 27 Wehrmacht and 7 SS formations

panzer units to be described in this book wereays the heart of the striking force and, so far asand certain crack army divisionskept up to strength with standard vehicles. Panzerin a defensive role, or those on minornts, however, frequently had to make do with sub-of tanks or evento a divisionfo r refitting depended on what was available attime_ It is impossible to cover all eventualities and thethat follow represent what was intended. It shouldnoted that even the planners recognised threeGrund G/iederung or basic establishmentich was the notional plan of what an ideal divisionZoll Gliederung or plannedwas what they thought they couldfor a particular divison when raised or refitted; and1st Gliederung which showed what a division actually

Pzkpfw Ausf. A's of the early wehrmacht fording a stream.crews are not wearing Nazi insignia on their uniforms whlater with an order dated 30th October 1935.Grund and 1st might well be mainly coincidental!To avoid continual repetition and explanation, sGerman army terms and organisation symbols havused throughout this book. The main differennomenclature are:(1) The German tank or Panzer Regiment is a fowhich equates roughly to the contemporarybrigade, being composed of two or more AbteiAn Abteilung is a unit roughly equivalent to a BAmerican battalion, possessing its own adminiheadquarters and having two or more sub-ucompany size. In German parlance such equivalent to a British tank squadron, was nknown as a Kompanie since cavalry terms wcommon in the Wehrmacht, and its componencalled Zuge (s. Zug). This is best translated as pThe headquarters was referred to as the Stabsand its administrative support unit waStabskompanie. Attached might also be such itesupport unit (Versorgungs.. , an engineer (Pionier-zug) asignals unit (Nachrichtimzug) andmore supply columns (Kolonne). Units could bearmoured (gegpanzerte, or gp); motorised (mpartly motorised (T.mot).


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A Pzkpfw 11/ fording a stream to join the other vehicles of itsregiment, Pzkpfw II 's formed up on the other side.

(2) Equipment had standard ordnance designations: abattle tank was a Panzerkampfwagen (armoured battlevehicle), usually abbreviated to Pzkpfw with a typenumeral after it. An assault gun, with its mainarmament in a fixed armoured housing, was aSturmgeschiitz (Stug.). An armoured personnel carrierwas a Schutzenpanzerwagen or Spw. Most vehicletypes had also an ordnance dsignation, either motorvehicle (Kraftfahrzeug or Kfz) or special motor vehicle(SonderKraftfahrzeug or SdKfz) with a type classificationnumber that denoted its role. It should be noted thatthe type numbers for tanks (eg Pzkpfw IV) were notmark numbers as most British s o u r ~ e s give them. Thesewere indicated by the production variant code(Ausfiihrung, or Ausf.) followed by a letter (eg. Ausf. G).(3) Specific symbols were used to denote differentorganisations and weapons both on charts and onvehicles. These are described in detail in 'WehrmachtMarkings' 1939-45 'Almark' but some specificallyassociated with tank units are shown in Fig.1. It shouldbe noted that all vehicles belonging to a particular unitcarried its symbol no matter what their type (eg. amotorcycle belonging to a tank company carries thelozenge symbol). In addition all fighting vehicles carrieda national marking, usually a cross, an individualidentification sign and a divisional sign. Supportvehicles had the divisional symbol and militaryregistration numbers on normal numberplates.

4

.. ..@ 00)-0 0

Pzkpfw III Ausf

Tank regiments were often in acarry their associated infantrymmarch. Panzer Grendadiers 'Panther'.


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PANZER REGIMENTS & ABTEILUNGEN WITHIN THE DIVISIOPANZER DIVISION HEADQUARTERS

6! ~ 6 ~ 6 ~ , 6 S 4 3 2II I\ S S S \ \ S S S \ ~ ~ -

PANZER GRENADIER BRIGADERegiment 2 (Motorised) Regiment I (Armoured)

Anti-Tank Abteilung Reconnaissance Abteilung

Artillery RegimentErsatz Signals EngineerAbteilung Abteilung Abteilung

Divisional Services

PANZER GRENADIER DIVISION HEADQUARTERS

PANZER GRENADIER BRIGADERegiment 2 (Motorised)

Anti-Tank Abteilung

ErsatzAbteilung

Artillery Regiment

SignalsAbteilungDivisional Services

Regiment I (Motorised)

Reconnaissance Abteilung

EngineerAbteilung

\


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o o o @d. e.KEY

~ a. armoured (tracked).b. self-propelled (unarmouretracked).c. half-tracked.d. wheeled, motorised.e. partly motorised .010

n.

f. motorcycle.g. Unit of company strengtor over.h. Regimental HQ.j . Abteilung HQ.k. assault gun.

1. FLAK weapon.m. multi-barrelled FLAK.n. machine gun.p. maintenance and repair uq. engineer unit.r. signals unit.s. support unit.t. HQ unit.

) o ( )b. C.gL f2

3. Weapon Typet L4 . M m 6 ~ r e t D ~ ~VersS. St t

LEFT: A Sdkfz 250 of the 24th Panzer Division leading Pand Sdkfz 251 's in Russia. The tactical marking on the 2motorised artillery unit.

Tactical SignsParticular to Panzer UnitsMost of the signs and symbols used on armouredof the tank regiments were common to all armGerman army. AFVs, however, had certain symbolto themselves which are described here for compThey were the means by which commanders inwere able to identify individual vehicles witcommand and consisted of a series of letters anpainted on turret or superstructure. There were tgroups, one for HQ vehicles and the other for tanfighting companies.1. HQ vehicles: Regimental HQ armoured vehiclarge R followed by a two-digit cipher indicoccupant's job. Thus R01 was the regimental comR02 his adjutant and R03, normally, the signalTanks in the HQ company bore serials R04 onwardeach Abteilung a similar method was used but thwere prefixed by large Roman numerals I, IIappropriate. It may be worth noting that this sysbecame fully operational after the 1940 French cup to then some units simply painted on abbreviaAdj. for Adjutant) but this may have been becausefor clear tactical control had not been realised fu

1. Unit Type\ \ (a.

2. Unit Designation

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2. Company vehicles: Each tank or assault gun was- ocated a three-digit cipher. The first figure indicated theco mpany within the regiment (or in the case of anependent Abteilung, the company within the Abteilung).~ e second digit showed the platoon within that company- d the third figure showed the individual vehicle withint platoon. Thus within a regiment there was nol lplication and any tank could be quickly identified. A'stinement of the system allocated special groups to::ommand vehicles, X01 indicating the companymmander and X02 his CSM, while platoon leaders took 11, X21, etc. With the three-abte,Yung organisation it was- s quite possible to have numbers in the 9XX range and. ese could also be seen in two-abteilung formations if aIger or assault-gun company was attacked.Painting: Initially the signs were painted on detachableTl8 tal lozenges fitting in brackets on hull sides and rear.e intention was to make it easy to change symbols;;}9 tween vehicles as required but the small plates were noteasily visible and sometimes became dislodged. From late. 940 onwards, therefore, signs were painted directly onto:- rret and superstructure. There were many variations

A regimental commander (left) confers with one of his suNote the HF aerial mounted on the commanders Sdkfz 251for long range communications to the companies regiment.

some of which are shown in the illustrations. white was often done hurriedly -n the field and thwith black or red outlined in white were more comin particular showed up well against the latcamouflage and was often used where concealmnot an important factor. Signs were overpaintedones as required.Crosses: The national cross in various fonormally displayed on hull sides and rear. Plain wused in Poland and the 1940 French campthereafter black centred crosses were more usua


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ABOVE: A scene at a regimental headquarters in North Afrdispatch rider mounted on a BMW R12 combination is in frontcommand vehicle, which appears to be converted single-decke

LEFT: A regiment commander in his tank. His aid is weareversible winter suit, plain-grey side outwards.

considering tank units, most people envisage only thebut in fact both the regiment as a wholeAbteilung had its own headquarters andto control its operations.with the exception of certain specialised

and types ofto them varied.Regimental Headquarters was divided into two parts. HOof three tanks, allocated to the(R01), his adjutant (R02), and the(R03) together with one or twoof the basic.main armament of the regiment butwith radio. In practice in the early'Panzerbefehlswagen'of the Pzkpfw I, /I, or 11/

PzkpfwandPanther variants were more commonly fighting tankswith particularly comprehensive radioToback up HQ, there was ' an HO companywhich provided fire support andadministrative services. Its exact composition varied but itnormally had four or five battle tanks (R04.. on) as adefence platoon, together with a motorised signals

platoon and an administrative section with a few mcycles or light cars and one or two armoured commvehicles based either on armoured car chassis or omedium armoured personnel carrier (Sdkfz 251). Tlatter could, up to 1943-4 at least, normally be recognby the massive frame radio aerials carried above bodywork. The company organisation also included ueight 3.7cm anti-aircraft guns. Initially towed, these later, from about 1941-2, mounted on half-track orfully tracked chassis so that they could manoeuvrethe tanks. Lastly, the company also had its own firsmaintenance and supp ly detachment - a rough equivof the British Light Aid Detachments (LAD) of the peThis included ammunition tenders and at least sunarmoured half-track vehicles of the 1 tonne and 5series since it was intended to manoeuvre with HO.From time to time HO units were also strengtheneadditional fighting vehicles. From 1941-on, as the Pzkwas phased out of service with the tank Abteilungen, icustomary to attach a platoon of up to eight to RegHO as reconnaissance tanks and this lasted until abouend of 1943. As the war progressed, too, troopPzkpfw 11/ flamethrowers were occasionally attachespecial duties. Six to ten was the official allocationwas not always adhered to. 24 Panzer Division,example, had no less than 17 on strength at one periits service on the Russian front and some Bintelligence reports suggest that occasionally a fewallocated permanently to each Abteilung.


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PANZER REGIMENT GRUND GLIEDERUNGENPanzer Regiment 1940-1 b \ ~ \ O ~ \ i \ nst.'Ill b S t . ~ l I ~ S t . \ I\][Smw\ ~ s ~ b t \ 1 ~ H [ \ i ! .ijH ~

22. 22. 22- 5+17 6tl1\'1'''\ oLe 0 \vers\ Ole 0 \'Iers\ oPanzer Regiment 1942-3 6 \ ~ t . ~ \ O ~ Ost. 6 S L ~ Qst.l\nsSA0\l ~ \ ns \Abt\\ 1 \ \ m \ m \ N

22. 2.2.le \lJecs\ oo 0

Panzer Regiment 1944 _ ~ _~ \St.\\O\ t l ~ t . ~ 6 \ ~ t . ~\N\rr\Jl[ \Jl[ \ \ ~ \ 1 l \ 1 l \ 1 l ~17 t7 17 17 17 17 17 17

lo*,rsJ k ~ s d


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PANZER ABTEILUNGEN: TYPICAL GRUND GLIEDERUNGENPanzer Abteilungen in Panzer Grenadier Division, 19441 \\St \ \0 \ [ v ; ~ ]

o t- 0~ ill \ ~ ] [ ~ ~ ill \ P z ~14Independent Assault Gun Abteilungen1 \ \Vers.\ ole 01

~ illQ \ ~ illS \ ~ ill8 ~Army Heavy Tank Abteilungen

6 \St \ \0 \ \N\3lI\ \N\:srr\ 11 9 11 9

Tiger Abteilungen in Panzer Brigade

b \St \\ S:szrS3ZIS3Zl \ N B Support uillffiBngade servi17 17 17 17

10


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A battalion commander in conversation with two infantry example is fitted with an HF frame aerial in additionmotorcyclists, mounted on BMW R12 solo machines. The small mounted whip. Note the MG34 in a ball mount for selfcommand tank was buil t on the chassis of a Pzkpfw I Ausf. B. This

The Tank AbteilungenAs can be seen from the organisation charts, the tankAbteilungen consisted of three or four distinct sub-units.1. Abteilung HQ. This, like Regimental HQ, wastheoretically divided into several parts. HQ properconsisted of three command tanks, although in later yearsat least these were more likely to be fighting vehicles thanweaponless command posts. They were allocated to theAbteilung commander (01, prefixed by theAbteilung numberin Roman numerals); his adjutant (02) and signals officer(03). In attendance was the HQ support companyconsisting of a defence platoon of five tanks similar tothose of the Abteilung's main force (04 being allocated tothe company commander); a platoon of 2cm anti-aircraftcannon; and a strong combat engineer andcommunications platoon. Up to about 1943 the latter wereoften a mixture of motor-cycle and lorry-borne troopswhile the AA component usually consisted of eight singlebarrel weapons either towed or mounted on a half-tracked

chassis. In the 1944 organisations, however, tofficially replaced by three self-propelled quadguns either on modified Pzkpfw IV chassisequipment) or on semi-armoured half-tracks ofseries so that they could operate with the tanks.same time the engineer detachment was equifive Sdkfz 251 armoured carriers and assumeddefence role. In addition up to about 1943-4 eachhad a motorised-maintenance detachment an(60 tonne) motorised supply column. These amalgamated into divisional services but theplatoon was expanded to provide a first-lielement. Total non-AFV strength was then fourtand cars, and eight motorcycles; it includecommand car for company HQ and three signals remainder being largely stores and ammunition practice these were a miscellaneous collection ovehicles the bases could provide.


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TYPICAL HQ UNITS Typical Strengths Panzer Regiment HQ 1940-2 HQ ICOM

Exact strengnot knownN/K

OFF 4 - - - ~ NCO 3 5DRs 7 5MT 2+4 1( ~ ~ ~ \ MGs 13 1+1 13+3NCO 3 OFF 4 3ORs 7 9MT 2+2 1& ~ j s r r ~ r n Q 9 + 1 ~ 1Gs 2 1 5 3 4 eMT 2+2 3 11 Ot7 4t2

Tank Abteilungen HQ 1943-5 OFF 4 NCO 3 3DRs 7 9MT 3+2 1MGs 2 23 5 11 3 *Including 5 SPW MT 3+2 3 5+6 +7 4+1

Tiger Abteilungen HQ OFF 4 NCO 4 2DRs 7 8MT 4+2 &\;11\( ,m'2c)m .\ Gs 2(3) 3-5 3 12

MT4+2 4t1 15+7 Army Tank Abteilungen OFF 4

NCO 4 2DRs 7 8MT 4+2 1

?MGs 1-MT 4t-2 3 12+7 4+1

V B ~ O \3 5

1+1

3 \...3 . J 312


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A Pzkpfw VI 'Tiger' in the process of being camouflaged by its crewon the edge of a wood. The Tiger was a heavy vehicle used by armytank companies and SS tank divisions. Its weight was its drawback

2. The Tank Companies. The varying organisationpatterns can be read from the charts but these do not tellthe whole story. Each company had its own headquartersplatoon consist ing of two fighting tanks with a supportgroup of two light lorries or half-tracks and two motor-cycle combinations or Kettenkraftradern (SdKfz 2). Totalstrength of HQ platoon, in 1944 at least, was 19 men and anofficer. Then there were three (or in one 1944 organisation,four) fighting platoons of five battle tanks each. Asoriginally envisaged in the 1940-1 scheme, these eachcomprised two platoons of Pzkpfw 11/ or equivalent to actas battle tanks and one platoon of short-gunned Pzkpfw IVfor infantry close-support work. In 1943-4, however, thePanzer Grenadier Regiments were allocated their ownmobile close support weapons and so the organisationwas changed to two, four-company Abteilungen each of aparticular tank type. Initially the arrangement retained 17tanks per company and although some 1944 organisationcharts give a suggested company strength of 22 tanks this

and only 1350 examples of the AusfE shown here wereProduction was switched to the improved 'King' Tigers.

was applied only to a very few elite divisions on rwould appear that Abteilungen using assault gunsthe normal organisational structure, the assasimply substituting directly for battle tanks.It may be worth noting that in the 1943-4 perdivisions were strengthened by a heavy tank coTigers which was organised separately fromAbteilungen and was regarded as the regim

Company. Company organisation was normal andirect ly under Regimental HQ.The armoured Abteilung of a Panzer Grenadiediffered in some details since it had no regimentaThus it had a support company of regimental addition to its HQ company and in genestablishment was slightly lower. In particular HQhad only three tanks or assault guns instead of fthe tank companies, or more usually, asscompanies had platoons of four instead of five


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Equipment of the Tank AbteilungenAs described in the introduction, the original conception ofthe Panzer Division was somewhat delayed by slowdevelopment of its intended equipment. Consequentlyinitial equipment consisted mainly of light armouredmachine gun carriers, designated for propaganda purposesPanzerkamfwagen I, with an admixture of the slightlyheavier Pzkpfw /I, a 10 tonne vehicle mounting a 2cmcannon. These, it was recognised, were inadequatesubstitutes for the projected 'standard' Pzkpfw III and IVwhich were envisaged as a battle tank and an infantrysupport tank respectively, but they did provide therequisite numbers. They were supplemented from 1939-onby two efficient Czech tanks taken into service as thePzkpfw 35(t) and 3(Kt) which were simply substituted fo rPzkpfw III in the establishment; and the comparativelysmall number of pz IV required was achieved soon afterwar broke out. By late 1940, pz IV companies were up tostrength and pz III were becoming available in quantity so,except in Africa, the pz I was quickly phased out. By 1941-2the ' standard establishment required three mixedAbteilungen of Pzkpfw III and IV though many divisions stillhad Pzkpfw /I or 38(t) substituting for their Pzkpfw IIIcompanies. By mid 1942, indeed, experience in both Africaand Russia had shown that even the 5cm gun of theupgunned Pzkpfw III was inadequate and from 1943onwards the intended equipment was an improvedPzkpfw IV and the Pzkpfw V or Panther; both were armed14

Pzkpfw V Ausf. A Panthe

with long 7.5cm guns and production of the Pzto be stepped up drastically.The position was officially regularised in Apthe promulgation of a new establishment bPzkpfw IV Abteilung and a Panther Abteilungalways exceeded production and only a fedivisions ever received their full complemedivisions, usually SS or those without Panttemporarily allotted a company of Tiger heavmany were lucky even to have a full Pzkpfw IVTheir second one, instead of Panthers, was oftewith long-barrelled assault guns which were defence, better armoured than the equivalencould be produced quickly. On quieter fronts nedivisions in 1944 might even have to makemiscellany of captured vehicles. 21 Panzer Divopposing the Normandy landings, is stateincluded ex-French tanks and even on activeRussia, hard-worked formations were odepleted. 24 Panzer Division for example, amoment in its career during the Stalingrad camhardly more than a strong Panzer Grenadier D'established' Panther Abteilung was non-existPzkpfw IV Abteilung, in only three companiescomposed partly of tanks and partly of assaulThe following pages describe in detail vehicletank units but do not consider variants usedpurposes.


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ALLOCATION OF TACTICAL CALL SIGNS IN AN ABTEILUNG1st Bn. HQ (Tanks only shown)

&& 0 0Cdr. Adj. Sigs.HQ Company TanksCdOO&&& &

1 Company PLATOONS & 0 0 &&&& ~ &&&&&Cdr.& - - &&&&CSM. HQStaff &002 Company PLATOONS&&&&&& ~ &Cdr.& ~ - &CSM. HQ Staff &.3 Company PLATOONS&&&&&00 ..-. &Cdr.& diIJI, - &CSM. HQ Staff &


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Panzerkampfwagen I and its Variants

Pzkpfw I (MG) (Sdkfz 101) Ausf. A & 8Kleine Panzerbefehlswagen (Sdkfz 265)The Pzkpfw I was the first tank to be taken into service withthe Wehrmacht. Its design was started as early as 1932under the misleading description 'LandwirtschaftlicherSchlepper' - agricultural trac tor - and in 1933 various firmswere invited to submit prototypes.The first accepted was a design by Krupp, using a Krupp,rear-mounted air-cooled flat-four petrol engine of 57hpwith drive to front sprocket wheels and with a bogie-beamsuspension using four road wheels a side. It had a twoman crew, the driver sitting on the left, and mounted twoMG13, 7.92mm machine guns in a small revolving turretE offset right of the centre line. Fighting weight was 5.4tonne and 15mm thick armour was fitted all round. ThisA vehicle was classed as Ausfiihrung A and 150 weretl produced from 1934-on.d The more common variant, however, was the Ausfiihrungir 8 built by various firms between 1935 and 1938 to a total of

Fn 1500. The major difference was that it had a 6-cylinder100hp Maybach water-cooled engine, necessitating alonger rear body and suspension unit with five road wheelsc each side. All-up weight was increased to 6 tannes.Both these variants were in service together on trialsduring the Spanish Civil War. They were really intendedonly to make a show and to provide training andexperience for the Panzer troops; indeed some had openbodywork without armament and were used specificallyfo r driver training purposes. Unfortunately, delays instandard tank production meant that they had to beretained in service during the first two years of the war,substituting in the regiments for Pzkpfw /Is while the lattersubstituted for Pzkpfw /lis! No less than 1445 were oncharge at the start of the Polish campaign and 543 werestill allocated to divisions during the French campaign of1940. Obsolete by then and surviving mainly because ofthe surprise and lack of effective armoured opposition,they were withdrawn or relegated to quiet areas as fast aspossible. Some did serve in the early stages of the African

16

ABOVE LEFT: Pzkpfw I Ausf. A (Sdkfz 101)ABOVE RIGHT: Pzkpfw I Ausf. B (Sdkfz 101)BELOW: Panzerbefehlswagen I (Sdkfz 265)

and Balkan campaigns but they were eservice by the end of 1941 .The only other variant used by the Panzethe Kleine Panzerbefehlswagen (Sdkfz 265)200 were built on both A and B type chasarmoured fighting compartment replaccarried a crew of three with an armamentfiring MG 13, and had comprehensive radits period (Fu 2 and Fu 6). 96 were used dcampaign by regimental and Abteilung HQwere not very popular and were withdraSurplus chassis were used for various SPother units within the Panzer Divisions.

. .._-_../

14


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Panzerkampfwagen II and its VariantsLEFT: Pzkpfw /I Ausf. B (Sdwith infantry. Note the commcupola, spare roadwheels anstowage.

Pzkpfw /I (2cm) (Sdkfz 121) Ausf. a1, a2, a3, b, c.Pzkpfw /I (2cm) (Sdkfz 121) Ausf. A, B, C, D, F, G, J.Pzkpfw /I (2cm) (Sdkfz 121) Ausf. D,E.By 1934 it had become clear that, owing to the delay inPzkpfw 11/ and IV design, an interim battle tank would benecessary. In 1934, therefore, three firms were invited tobuild prototypes under the'cover' designation LaS 100; thevehicle was to mount a 2cm cannon and one 7.92mmmachine gun in a revolving turret.

BELOW LEFT: Pzkpfw /I Ausf. A (Development was rather more complex than Pzkpfw I, running through five experimental seriedefinitive model appeared. The first batch, in 1935, was 25 examples of Ausf. a1 weighingwith a rear mounted 6-cylinder Maybach pedeveloping 130hp with a crew of three; Ausf. a2year, accounted fo r another 25 with minor improengine arrangements and in 1936, 50 vehiclesfollowed with minor modifications. All three varroad wheels a side with suspension similar toPzkpfw I as did the 100 examples of Ausfollowed. The latter did, however, have an engito 140hp and the definitive tracks and drive while Ausf. c had the definitive running gear withindependently sprung, wheels a side. All marks

Kwk 30 and an MG 34 in a well sloped turret complex curved nose plate to the hull. Armour wall round on the 'a' series but subsequent vefrontal armour increased to 30mm.The major definitive versions were Ausf. A, Bmajor difference from 'c ' being provision ofangled front plate. Some 955 of these mallocated to the Panzer Regiments, especiallydivisions 1-5, fo r the French campaign and so


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-ests showed them to be reasonably safe in Force 4":: conditions. They were never used for their intended- ~ o and were apparently reconverted to normal tanks_ after the invasion was called off. - e so-called Schnellkampfwagen, Ausf. D and E, were .- edly different. They were intended as fast tanks forgh t divisions and had a new, Christie type suspensionfour large road wheels a side and no return rollers. AIIs-ght was increased to 10 tonnes and top road speed

- ~ imental Commander'spfw II Ausf. B

=--.:: .': The Pzkpfw /I chassis was used to - -igh velocity anti-tank guns. Thea -= ~ If (Sdkfz /31) is shown.

6

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variant by 1940. A low operr-topped 'turret' ean MG 34 replaced the normal one andprojectors, each with a 180 0 arc of fire, werethe front glacis plate. They could fire appbursts of 2-3 seconds duration and had a 35 metres. Most of these vehicles are knownto special armoured units outside the normstructure.


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Panzerkampfwagen 35(t) and 38(t)Pzkpfw 35(t) (3.7cm)Pzkpfw 38(t) (3.7cm)The two other early types taken into regular service withthe German army in 1939 were those acquired as a result ofthe annexation of Czechoslovakia in March of that year.The Czech armament industry, based mainly on the firms ofSkoda and Ceskomoravska-Kolben-Danek, was then oneof the most advanced in Europe and producing twoexcellent vehicles:LT35 (Lehky Tank or Light Tank 35). This was a10.5 tonne vehicle developed by Skoda and introduced in1935. Around 200 examples had been produced by 1939and most were impressed into Wehrmacht service, beingallocated initially to the newly formed 6th Panzer Division inlieu of Pzkpfw Ills: it had 106 on strength at the beginningof the French campaign according to German orders ofbattle. Others were allocated to various allies - theRoumanians, Hungarians and Italians all had a few later and at the end of 1941 167 were still on charge though thenconsidered obsolete. Most remaining examples werethereafter converted to munitions carriers or heavy tractorsand some may have served Panzer support companies inthis role.ThePzkpfw35(t). as it was known in German service, wasa simple rugged machine with rivetted armour 25mm thickat the front and 16mm at the sides. It was powered by a120hp 4-cylinder, rear-mounted petrol engine, had a fourman crew and an armament of one 3.7cm gun (Skoda A3)and one 7.92mm machine gun mounted coaxially, in arevolving turret. A second 7.92mm machine gun was fittedin the hull front on a gimbal mount. The tank was not verypopular with 6th Panzer Division owing to its highsilhouette but served competently until replaced byPzkpfw Ills.RIGHT: Pzkpfw 35(t) and Pzkpfw "BELOW: Pzkpfw 35(t)


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. - - , ,=!= . . rather cramped room for a four-man crew; the- =- 'sticated suspension with four large wheels a sideted in pairs on beams gave them a reasonable ride.

e 200-odd examples in service were promptly;>ssed and production was stepped up. The 228les available in May 1940 were issued to 7th and 8th- - - Divisions in lieu of Type Ills and proved so useful

c: e tank continued in production until early 1942; at its- ' late in 1941, some 1095 vehicles were in use with- s divisions, mainly in Russia. By 1942, however, the- ~ N 38ft) was outclassed by the Russian T34 and, since

et ring did not allow larger calibre guns to be fitted,,Jradually withdrawn from service or retired to less..: g fronts. The basic chassis was so highly thoughtit remained in production for various other_ ses for the rest of the war but only one variantwith the Panzer Abteilungen. This was a 2cm AA gun.ed on the 38ft) chassis in an open fighting_ortment and taken on charge as the 2cm FLAK 38_ :c: auf Sf 38ft) fSdkfz 140). Some 167 were produced

2cm Flakpanzer 38(t)

ABOVE: Jagdpanzer 38 Hetzer' on Pzkpfw 38ft) c

during 1943/4 for use by the Abteilung AAhad a 5-man crew, weighed 9.8 tonnes andby the 150hp engine moved forward in the croom for the, rather cramped, fighting com

o


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-: :> LEFT: pzkpfw 38(t)'s

'TOM LEFT: Pzkpfw 38(t)'s with smoke; r - ' ers on the rear exhaust.

~ " ' p III (3.7cm KwK L/45) (Sdkfz 141) Ausf. A-D~ pfw //I (5cm KwK L/42) (Sdkfz 141) Ausf. E-H- pfw III (5cm KwK L/60) (Sdkfz 141) Ausf. J-M-.... pfw //I (7.5cm KwK L/24) (Sdkfz 141/2) Ausf. N:::- 'saged as the main battle-tank of the Panzer Regiments; t companies', development of the Pzkpfw //I began in=5-6 under the cover designation of ZugfUhrerwagen' or:- Z100n commander 's vehicle. Of all German tanks, the-- "ofw //I probably went through most experimental- -

-

~ es before reaching its final form. It was plannedinally as a 15 tonne machine with a 3.7cm gun almosttical to the weapon then being developed as the's main anti-tank gun and firing only solid armourcing shot. The prototypes, of which ten were built inas AusfOhrung A, conformed to the design, having the- em gun mounted in a slightly offset turret with two34 machine guns and with a further MG 34 in the hull~ t. Engine was a 12-cylinder Maybach water-cooled

::--01 engine of 250hp and the running gear had five large- eels each side.s f u h r u n g Band C, 15 examples of each, followed in:. ; , their main differences being in experiments with: : ative suspension systems involving smaller road- eels, and they in turn were followed by 55 examples off. D at the end of 1938. These had an uprated motor ofp, 30mm armour all round with a consequent weight-ease to 19 tonnes, and running gear comprising eight

II road wheels in pairs on spring arms and three return-= ers a side. As with other German tanks the engine was-mounted, driving front-mounted sprockets. All: '" ious vehicles were reworked to this standard and in:39 were issued to the original Panzer Divisions fo r trials,

t h e r with some examples of AusfOhrung E. This haddefinit ive running gear with only six road wheels a sidemost had a modified turret with only one MG 34-nunted coaxially with the main armament. The vehicles'S- e given war trials in Poland and some 349 are recorded

:s being available fo r the start of the 1940 French- paign, distributed mainly in the original five Panzernsions.


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to 1942-3 the Pzkpfw 1/1 was regarded as theof the so-called 'light companies' andof modifications to improve itsas 1938, the fitting of a 5cm gun had

and the turret ring was made largeto accommodate such a weapon. Early campaignsthe 3.7cm gun to be inadequate and the 5cmKwKwas installed in all tanks built after about mid 1940 asF. This, besides the new gun, had an engine uprated300hp, a better cupola and a stores bin behind the turret.96 were built before minor modifications producedAusf. G - which included some tropicalised variants the Ausf. H which had modified tracks and a simplerweight was increased to 21.6 tannes.

tank was already outclassed by then since the designnot allow of larger calibre tank guns being fitted but laanything better kept it in production through 1942. Ausf. L, from the end of 1941, had increased armour, u70mm in places, and the Ausf. M had further mmodifications, continuing in small scale production into 1


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z p w us .: =-POSITE PAGE TOP: Pzkpfw /1/ Ausf. G's"':"' the Afrika Korps.

~ P O S I T E PAGE BOTTOM: Munitions:l>. rlZer III of regimental staff unit in Russia

~ r m i n g a Tiger with 88 mm ammunition.

~ o w RIGHT: Pzkpfw Ill's in North Africa.--, TOp photograph shows a DAK. column:z- 5' desert road and the bottom picture acolumn with motorcycles and__ '


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IV (7 .5cm KwK L/24) (Sdkfz 161) Ausf. A-F1IV (7.5cm KwK L/43) (Sdkfz 161) Ausf. F2IV (7 .5cm KwK L /48) (Sdkfz 161/1) Ausf. GIV (7.5cm KwK L/48) (Sdkfz 161/2) Ausf. H, JPzkpfw IV was originally envisaged as the closeto equip the 'medium companies' of theand was developed under the codeof 8attailansfDhrer Wagen (Battalion commander'sasto the PZkpfw 11/ and was designedan 18 tonne vehicle powered by a 320hp engine andshort 7.5cm gun. Krupp built prototypes and input into production as Ausf. A.was intended to - be the definitive version, 750with eight small road wheels, four return rollers and

and its VariantsLEFT: Pzkpfw IV Ausf D of the 6th PDivision.

RIGHT UPPER: Pzkpfw IV Ausf J winfantry machine gun section aboard.

BOTTOM LEFT: Pzkpfw IV Ausf CNote the Mauser rifle slung on therear. Rifles were not usually carried bmen.

BOTTOM RIGHT: Pzkpfw IV Ausf. applique armour on the glacis.

companies of divisions engaged in Poland. During 19they were supplemented by Ausf. D and in 1939 by Auwhich was uparmoured to 40mm (hull) with 60mm frarmour and a weight of 22 tannes. It is interesting ththat time, the Pzkpfw IV was envisaged as having osubsidiary role and, once initial equipment was complproduction was sharply reduced, only enough beingto repl ace losses.278 of all variants are recorded as available for theFrench campaign and an unspecified number (probabwas converted for deep wading to take part inprojected invasion of Britain. They were allocated theavy companies of composite Abte,Yungen 8, C andDwent thence to Panzer Regiment 18 for the invasioRussia.In 1941 appeared the Ausf. F, once more


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In 1942 appeared the 'definitive' battle tank, Ausf. G(Sdkfz 161/1) with 80mm frontal armour, a muzzle-brakefor the higher velocity gun and, from August 1942, the veryeffective 7.5cm KwK L/ 48. Previous vehicles wereretrofitted to this standard where possible and a total of964 Pzkpfw IV was produced during the year. Early in 1943there followed Ausf. H (Sdkfz 161/2) which had better reararmour and 5mm armour skirting plates, both on turret andon hull sides while in 1944 there followed Ausf. J withminor improvements; to save steel this mark was fittedwith wire-mesh skirting since this was sufficient todetonate hollow-charge missiles.In all a total of 8003 Pzkpfw IV battle tanks of all marksare recorded as being delivered before the war 's end andthe Pzkpfw G, Hand J were the mainstay of the Wehrmacht

Panzer Divisions right to the last. All Panzer Regim1944 on were established for a Pzkpfw IV Abtegreat efforts were made to ensure that this at kept up to strength so far as possible. Even up toPzkpfw IV was the equal of most allied tanks inand could give a reasonable account of itself aT 34. Most importantly it was a reliable and ruggea characteristic wh ich went far to make updefects.A variant also used by the Panzer RegimentsPanzerbefehlswagen IV, produced for Abteilungmainly on Ausf. H chassis. This retained tharmament but was fitted with comprehensiveequipment; the loader doubled as spare radio o

Pzkpfw IV Ausf. G

~ .LZ ceca ~ r - ~ .. 'Ii'.4 l ~


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es

Pzkpfw V 'Panther (7.5cm KwK42 Li70) (Sdkfz 171)Ausf. D, A.Pzkpfw V 'Panther' (7 .5cm KwK42 L170) (Sdkfz 171) Ausf. G.During the 1930s the design of a heavier tank than thePzkpfw IV had been investigated from time to time but thedesign of the Panther stemmed directly from the firstGe rman engagements against the Russian T 34 tank in mid. S41 . It was immediately realised that existing battle tanksere inadequate and Daimler Benz and M.A.I\!.'I1aschinenfabrik Augsburg-Niirnberg) were asked tosubmit designs fo r a tank in the 35-tanne range to take a,5 cm, L/70 gun then being developed by RheinmetallBo rsig. Various prototypes were built, the MAN . designoeing selected although it was overweight (c 43 tannes)and had teething troubles with both motor andtransmission which were overloaded. A short preproduction run showed up these weaknesses and allsubsequent vehicles were provided w ith strengthenedtransmission and an uprated Maybach petrol engine of700hp. Production of the first major series, Ausf. D,commenced in November 1942 and the tanks were put intoservice on the Russian front almost immediately - withdisastrous results. Engines burnt out, transmissions brokedown, unreliability was such that more tanks were lost:hrough defects than through enemy action.Despite this unpromising beginning, however, thePanther turned out to tbe the best general-purpose tankproduced by either side during the war. It was fast,mounted a powerful, accurate gun which was quitecapable of destroying any enemy tank, and was wellarmoured. The armouring was ballistically well shaped, thehull being fitted with sloped armour to a maximumhickness of 80mm and the turret had sloped sides and rearvith few projections. Torsion bar suspension was fittedand running gear comprised seven large overlapping roadwheels a side without return rollers. As normal a rearengine drove front sprockets.=AR LEFT: Pzkpfw IV Ausf D of an SS panzer regiment...EFT: The short 7.5 cm KwK main armament of a Pzkpfw IV .

BELOW: Pzkpfw V AusfG icamouflage. This model hahull sides.

BOTTOM: A knocked-out PThis tank has exhaust pipe


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The Ausf. D, of which comparatively fe w were built,from later marks in not having a hull machine gunbuilt into the left side of the turret.A, which replaced it in production during 1943, hadof the teething troubles corrected, had a hull MG 34a ball mount and a better cupola built into the turret top.s fitted with 5mm skirt armour on hull sides only andwith zimmerit anti-magneticof these two marks were built and theirwas acknowledged by Hitler who made thedesignation official in February 1944.The final battle tank variant used by Panzer Regiments

Ausfiihrung G produced from 1944 onwards, to aof 3,740. It had singl&-sloped armour andit had a fiv&as a very efficientwould appear to have beento the Panzer Regiments of SS Divisions andformations in Russia although some were usedFrance, including those allocated to Panzer Lehr Division.1. Panzerbefehlswagen Panther (SdKfz 267, 268). Anof Panthers of Ausf. G and A werewith wireless to act asof the Panther Abteilungen and asHQ tanks. They retained their normal armamentt can be recognised in photographs by the collection offrom turret sides and rear.2. Bergewagen Panther (SdKfz 179). One of the majorin using heavy tanks was that the normal tanky procedures could not be used, since the standardtonne half-tracked vehicles could not easily to w eitheror Tiger. Consequently some 297 recovery vehiclesbuilt between 1943 and 1945,

ABOVE: The Bergepanzer 'Panther' (Sdkfz 179) recovery vehicla Panther tank in tow.

being issued to the tank recovery companies of tbattalions having Panthers on strength. The basic vewas a fully armoured Panther hull with ancompartment replacing the turret. It was fitted with hwinching gear, had a fiv&-man crew and mounted acannon fo r local defence. A few were stripped in theand used as munitions carriers where conditions msupply difficult.BELOW: The handsome Jagdpanzer V (Sdkfz 173) JagdPaenabled the powerful 8.8 cm Pak 43/3 to be mounted ontPanther tank chassis.


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. ' - -," .- '

w VI Tiger I (8.8cm KwK36 L/56) (Sdkfz 181) Ausf. E= ~ VI Tiger /I (8 .8cm KwK43 Ll70) (Sdkfz 182) Ausf. B- .:c. Pzkpfw VI, more commonly known as the Tiger,

-ted in 1937 plans for a heavy break-through tank but- ' 'S' became 'rear in an order for a 45 tonne tank placed in- - ' 941 . Henschel and Porsche competed, the Henschel; emerging as the winner and going into production_ '- e Ausf. H. (This designation was officially changed to- -= E early in 1944).- - - Tiger I was a heavy, squat tank with overlapping

- .=, suspension and running gear and could be fitted- - . li th wide tracks, for battle, or with narrow ones forort in the latter case, the outer set of the three sets-:-:d wheels could be removed. It was a well-engineerede with armour plating up to 100mm thick at the frontthick at the side; it mounted the 8.8cmKwK36, a- - ca tion of the 8cm AA gun with adapted breech and a

- 2 brake, together with the usual coaxial and hulle guns. Power was provided by a 650hp Maybachder petrol engine, later up rated to 700hp, and early

;-:s had elaborate air cleaners and snorkel equipment: ':: 5 wading; it was realised that many bridges would" eak to take its weight. This was eventually no less- - .:'- ronnes and caused some problems; it threw a strain~ :ransmission and made disabled tanks difficult to

- - - . . a. The other main disadvantage was that the- '- e turret had a very slow traverse.heless, the Tiger 1 was an extremely formidable:: . t e standards of its time. Only 1350 were produced- oduction being phased out in August 1944 in. f the improved Ausf. B. It was normally used bycompanies and Abteilungen but companies were

: -S(j to certain Wehrmacht tank regiments in Russia- Divisions had Tiger's in their establishment.- ' .=c I er 1/ or King Tiger(Ausf. B) does not really concern-=-= since only 377 were put into service and it was

~ -no st exclusively by independent companies anden. It was an even heavier vehicle, grossing

The main armament was removed and the tubeing fitted with winching gear. A few wAbteilungen using Tigers.

LEFT: Curious infantrymen around a Pzkpfw VI Au'Tiger'. The width of the combat tracks is noticeabl

BELOW: Pzkpfw VI 'Tiger ' in Russia. Although battlethe foremost roadwheel is not mounted on this tan

BOTTOM: Pzkpfw VI Ausf B (Sdkfz 182) 'King Tiger'built turret.


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Sturmgeschutz III and IV

Gepanzerte Selbstfahrlafette fii rSturmgeschutz 7.5cm Sk 40(Sdkfz 142)Gepanzerte Selbstfahrlafette fii rSturmgeschutz 7.5cm Sk 40(Sdkfz 163)The Sturmgeschutz, or assault gun, was originallydesigned as a close support weapon to accompanyinfantry attacks. The first variants (Sdkfz 142 Ausf. A-E)were basically Pzkpfw 11/ hulls with the superstructurereplaced by a closed, armoured fighting compartmenthousing a 7.5cm L/24 gun - known in this guise as aSturmkanone (Sk); the gun had only very limited traverse.Weight was just over 20 tonnes and it had a crew of four.These vehicles were tried out in 1940 and then issued toartillery units. In 1941, however, it was realised that,upgunned and uparmoured, the Stug 11/ might form atemporary counter to the T 34 and, in early 1942, the Ausf. Fwas introduced. This had a 7.5cm Sk40 L/43 as in thecontemporary Pzkpfw IV, strengthened armour up to 80mmthick in places and an improved gun mount. From nr. 120on, it was even further improved as Ausf. G (Sdkfz 142/1)by fitting the L/48 gun and in this form was frequentlyissued to Panzer Abtel1ungen .of the Panzer GrenadierDivisions and also, as a substitute for battle tanks, to somePanzer Regiments, especially on the Russian front. Over8000 were produced between 1943 and 1945.

The Stug 11/ was supplemented in 1943-4equivalent machine on the PZkpfw IV chassis, thhull giving a slightly different profile. Otherwvehicles were very similar and the Stug. IV was several Panzer Regiments as a substitute for matanks in 1944. Production was relatively smaldropped in favour of the specialist Jiigdpanzer IV1944.LEFT: Stug III AusfG. This is an independent battalion comvehicle.

TOP RIGHT: Stug IV 7.5 cm Stuk 40 L/48 (Sdkfz 163)

BELOW: Stug III AusfE in action.

BOTTOM: Stug I II Ausf G late production model.

BOTTOM LEFT: A Jagdpanzer IV 7.5 cm Stuk 42 Ll70 ofPanzer Division.


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ate on Captured Vehicles- c; already mentioned, the German army adopted as; ; : dard equipment the Czech tanks LT35 and LT38 but- s was not common practice; they happened to be

Pzkpfw39-H 735(f) used by the Germans on 'quiet froHotchkiss H39 of the French army.- -ailable at the time when indigenous tank productionId not cope with demand. During the course of the war,ever, various other ex-enemy tanks were taken into~ service and these notes describe those which- e into fairly regular use. It should be noted that units ofarmies often 'impressed' captured vehicles in the field if- .ray were short of equipment temporarily but these were-= ely taken on charge and were normally abandoned if- ey broke down. Besides such vehicles, two majorrces of equipment became available to the Germans

ri ng the war.. After the French campaign of 1940, all survivingicles except those ceded to the Vichy government wereurally available. Most were either stored or converted to- -propelled chassis for various uses but four types were...sed in some quantity:Char Moyen Renault R2. This was a medium infantry- k mounting a 4.7cm gun and one or two machine guns,-th armour of 40mm maximum thickness. Powered by a


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it was already obsolescent by 1940 but wasby some Abteilungen for local defence in81 and 81 bis. This tank, the major Frenchtank in 1940, was produced from 1935 onwards. Itof Worldr I designs, mounting a short 7.5cm gun in the hull fronta 4.7cm gun and two machine guns in a revolvingIt was powered by a 6-cylinder 250hp petrol engineof between 40 andan upratedof 300hp. Since a large quantity was captured, theused by the Wehrmacht for training Abteilungen

out of store for use onS35. This was a good tank by 1940 standards,with a maximum thickness ofthe turret of the B1 bis. It wasby a 190hp V8 engine and, unusually, had rearIt was certainly issued as standard equipment to

21 st Panzer andPanzer Division at one period.. After the Italian surrender in 1943, considerableof Italian army equipment were taken over by theMostly soft-skin vehicles were used but itthat some Carro Armato M13/40 medium tanks

Germans examining abandoned French WWI Renault light taThe wehrmacht used these as Pzkpfw 18-R 73CXf).

were issued to format ions in the Balkans. The M13/40 wthe standard Italian medium tank, rather similarappearance to the Pzkpfw 35(t) and mounting a 4.7cm and an 8mm MG in a revolving turret. It had 30mm armour and 40mm turret armouring but was noparticularly effective fighting vehicle.Type Ausf. Dimensions

...JE. . . J I0 :1 wZO w...J

u..0-IE.I-...Jw I...J

EI -I - :J0~ f f i>o

E~ 3oa . . ~ C i i: : : > < . ! ) ~: J i ! !$.! : : .

0::::>o~ -o:EE~ ci.

o tw c:l:e:C5(/) o.ux ~ x ---.~ ~

w


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- -" 5.0 calibre B.B em KwK36 of a Tiger Ausf. E.- -'" eart of any armoured fighting vehicle is i ts armament

~ _ ,he Germans were fortunate in that, after the first year.s of the war, their main tank guns were always at least_2 and usually superior to those of the allies. A gun can

- -0 : onsidered as three major items: The piece or ordnance itself, comprising the barreland breech assembly with the appurtenances.- The sighting and ranging mechanisms.! The carriage or mount.~ a n k gun is a specialised piece of ordnance, being of:.ssity a long-barrelled, high velocity equipment- ::; Ie of penetrating targets at long ranges and with aat trajectory. The technical German term was Kanone,

- .:'!i may be translated as gun, as distinct from howitzers: er forms of artillery. German guns were usually_ 'bed in terms of their calibre, year of origin and the'e/ length ratio of their barrels. Thus the 8.8cm KwK36_ ::5 was of 8.8cm calibre, .originated in 1936 - as an AA- and had a calibre/length ratio of 56. In general one- .say that the longer the barrel for a given calibre the_ :.::er was the accuracy and muzzle velocity but the more; Idy the weapon became. It became common practice- e longer weapons to fi t muzzle brakes_- _ungsbremse) to help limit the recoil after firing.- obtaining range, accuracy and penetrating power, the

- : . of the design is of course paramount and the~ . a n 5cm, 7.5cm and 8.8cm guns were certainly among- st advanced in the world fo r their period. They also---:- :: '10 useful features which were not always present in_. pponents' weapons.- - 'sy were standardised: it was German practice to use-- ;. same design, with slight adaptations, in differentnts for different purposes. Thus the 7.5cm L/48__ gun was very similar to the equivalent anti-tankipment (Panzer Abwehr Kanone 40 or PAK 40) and-:: an assault gun variant known as the Sturm-Kanone

- . The 8.8cm series was developed directly from an AA:; which had proved effective for anti-tank use.were deliberately designed as multi-role weapons~ e to fire high explosive and smoke shells as well as.:- ur-piercing shot. This considerably increased their

~ r s a t i l i t y in battle.

ABOVE: The German B.B em dual purpose weapostandardised larger calibre guns in tanks.

BELOW: The smallest German AFV gun, themounted in a Pzspw (6 rad) Sdkfz 231 heavy armo


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lied to this innate good design were sighting-echanisms in most cases considerably superior to those_' allied weapons, and in particular to those of. : emporary Russian tanks. This gave the German crewss ight, and badly needed, edge over the Russian guns- 'ch were otherwise the equal of German equipment fort of the war.e major types of tank gun used by the Germans are.vn in Table 1. It will be seen that both calibre andincreased steadily, the limitat ions on each being the" and strength of the tank turrets currently available.--=y were all designed as anti-armour weapons with the- ca ption of the 7.5cm KwK L/24. This was basically an~ close-support weapon and was most useful when~ high explosive at 'soft' targets It is difficult to find accurate records of the penetrating_oV er of tank guns. The table gives a general idea of the-:..... .'t'er of the more common weapons firing on single. ness armour plate and penetrating at 900 (vertical to-- s line of flight) and inclined 30 0 from the vertical ('600 ') . Itbeen compiled from Allied and German sources and ituld be noted that most German sources give the rather- -1 ranges shown. These equate quite closely to 500, 15002500 yards and may be conversions.':>etails of Major Guns Table 1

- on el l M/V Proj. mmof theoretical armour penetration at:ratio m/sec Wt 457m 1373m 2285m(kQ.) 90 60 90 60 90 60: '-::n KwK36 L!45 762 0.68 51 43 short range weapon~ K w K 3 8 L/ 60 823 2.25 78 47 61 40~ K w K 3 7 l/24 385 6.8 41 not really an anti-armour Qun::-:m KwK40 L!48 750 6.8 154 115 115 80 83 53' ::en KwK43 L!70 935 6.8 182 141 121

~ - n K w K 3 6 L!56 810 9.4 130 110 109 94!..::.


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Anti-Aircraft GunsIntegral in the Panzer Regiments and Abteilungen wtwo major types of anti-aircraft gun (Flugzeug-Kanone, or FLAK) developed in parallel to thequivalents; there is, after all, considerable between the two types since both require longaccuracy and penetrating power. The light AA eqwas the 2cm FLAK 30, introduced in 19supplemented in 1940 by the 2cm FLAK 38. Thgood, reliable weapons with a high effective rat(220 rpm) and even more lethal when mountequadruple mount as the 2cm Flakvierling 38. Originsingle barrel version was mounted on its own two-wtrailer, towed either by a wheeled vehicle suchKrupp L243 or by a light half-track, but later variaoften mounted on the 1-tonne series of halfcarriers (Sdkfz 10). The Flakvierling in regimental

LEFT: Flakvierling 38 quad mount on a half-track belonLuftwaffe unit serving with the 2nd Panzer Division.BELOW' 3.7 cm Flak 36 on a half-track chassis. Note treversible suits worn by the gun-crew.


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.as normally mounted on semi-armoured 5 tonne or:. onne half-tracked chassis although some were also built: to Pzkpfw IV chassis in 1944-5 as the so-called/;rbelwind (V\lhirlwind, with an open turret) or M6belwagen:: n iture Van, with an open-topped fightingpartment).e other equipment was the 3.7cm FLAK 36 and its-cessors the 3.7cm FLAK 37 and 43. This was the

:-:; dard light AA gun of the German army and had an:=' 'ective range of some 3500 metres as against the 2200-e es of the 2cm weapon. Like the latter it could be

'led but in Panzer Regiment service was normally on a--propelled mount. The 8 tonne half-track series was-cs t common but variants on Pzkpfw IV chassis, Ostwind- eted) and M6belwagen (open compartment) were useds. "all quantities during the latter part of the war.

[An ti-Aircraft Weapons Table 2"=,,:on el l M/V Max Range Wtofround cyclicratio ml sec in metres ingrammes rate of

AP HE Ground Air (rpm):": "7 ' R..AK 30 L!55 830 900 4800 2200 115-148 280- .: ::: R..AK 38 L!55 830 900 4800 2200 115-148 480

R..AK 36-x - R..AK 37 L!60 770 820 6500 3500 623 -658 160

-=--._ N: Elements of the 24th Panzer Division on the move. An-e Zgkw (Sdkfz 7) provides anti-aircraft cover wi th a twin 2 cm.- ng.

UPPER RIGHT:Rakpanzer IV 2 cmM6belwagenRIGHT: Light 'flak'.A twin MG347.92 mm (ZwillingsLafette 34)mounting on aheavilycamouflaged lighttruck.

2 cm Flak 38 mounted on a Sdkfz 10 Dhalf-track.


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---Machi ne Guns

./-- . P/'. /r-... i2J. .'.:-- ~ lit!Two main patterns of machine gun were used in AFVs ofthe Panzer Regiments.MG 13K. This was a light, air-cooled, recoil-operatedweapon dating from the 1914-18 war and sometimesknown as the Dreyse gun, from the name of its designer. Ithad a cyclic rate of fire of 500-625 rounds a minute and thecalibre was 7_92mm.MG 34. This was the standard machine gun of theGerman army at 1939 and was the normal hull and turretmachine gun for most indigenous tank types. It was agood, versatile weapon, air-cooled and of 7.92mm calibre

with a cyclic rate of fire of c.9oo rounds a minute and anaccurate range of 6-800 metres. It was never replaced bythe later MG 42 since tank mountings would not accept thelatter.

LEFT: MG13. This machine gun aearly panzers. It is shown with itssaddle and 20 round box magazin".

QBELOW: MG42 being fired asdefence weapon from a Stug 11/ . Tan early production model.

TOP LEFT: The basic infantry MG3With its butt and bipod removedwas fitted into AFV mountings.

MIDDLE LEFT: The MG34 modiarmoured barrel jacket. This gunfor ground use . The bipod-frassembly and buttstock were carrthe vehicle for dismounted use.

BOTTOM LEFT: MG42 fitted wround belt-box, which could be fitgun and the MG34, though notmountings inside the vehicle. Tfired fully automatic only and adapted for AFV internal mountin

TOP RIGHT: Panzer 11/ crewmanco-axial MG34 m. poised for diaction in a 'posed' photograph. This a standard MG34.

BOTTOM RIGHT: Pzkpfw IVcleaning weapons. The man ingreen sui t is cleaning an MG34 m,other man attends to a P38 spistol.40


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Tank Crew's Personal Arms

BELOW: Mauser Karbiner 98K. This was thestandard German infantry rifle during World WarTwo.

ABOVE: Tank crewman with a P

TOP LEFT: Pistole 08 or 'Lugetank crew as a side arm unti l subecame available to replace it.still in service at the war's end.

MIDDLE LEFT: Pistole 38. Thiswas intended to replace the Lugrugged sidearm than the Luger atank crews as a personal weap

TOP RIGHT: MP38. This particua later safety MP40 bolt handle

MIDDLE RIGHT: MP40 whicMP38. It was constructed from

OPPOSITE BOTTOM LEFT: MP

OPPOSITE BOTTOM RIGHTtankmen examine an abandone

42


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Support (Versorgungs) and Maintenance CompaniesLEFT: Light repair shop of a maintenance company, shows meunder repair. The Adler light truthe camera has the 'G', synonyvehicles in General GPanzergruppe.

BELOW: A mixed transport coluwehrmacht. Horse-drawn and The Saloon-bodied cars with ciplates and WH (Wehrmacht Heerwings later gave way to the militcars such as the Stoewer 40, nethis photograph, and pictureopposite page.

In addition to its fighting units, each tank regiment had amaintenance salvage company attached directly toRegimental HQ while each Abteilung had its own supportcompany. In the early part of the war each Abteilung alsohad a 6O-tonne capacity supply column attached but thesewere later amalgamated under Divisional Services for thesake of economy.Regimental maintenance company: This was intendedto provide first line servicing for all the regiment sequipment (i.e. breakdowns which it was judged wouldtake less than 48 hours to repair) and to provide at leastsome means of recovering temporarily knocked outvehicles. Its composition and vehicle strength varieddepending on the current regimental organisation and tanktype but in general it comprised:Company HQ: A small command group, 11 or 12 strongwith one or two light command cars, a signals vehicle anda couple of dispatch riders.Tank maintenance platoon for each Abteilung. This

t y p i c ~ l I y had a strength of between 50 and 60 personneland was equipped mainly with workshop trucks (Kfz 51and 79). maintenance vehicles (Kfz 61 or 69) and ligh t repairvehicles (Kfz 2/40). Exact types varied depending onavailability but typically they were based on the mediumlorry chassis or the equivalent Schell programm 3 tonnechassis with specialist bodywork. At least one vehicle waslikely to be a 5 tonne (or heavier) half-track fitted withdemountable sheer-legs to facilitate engine changing.Established vehicle strength of such a platoon in 1944 was14 lorries or cars and one motor-cycle, and this is likely tohave been fairly constant for the whole war.Tank salvage platoon. Specifically intended forrecovering and bringing in broken down vehicles thisplatoon was about 45 strong and in 1944 had acomplement of 15 vehicles and one dispatch rider motorcycle. As the only sub-unit likely to come into directcontact with the enemy it was provided with limited smallarms for local defence (LMG and SMG) and its vehiclesincluded heavy recovery equipment. Initially these werenormally 12 tonne or 18 tonne half-tracked lorries equipped44

k.,'"

-, c;' : r r : -

of


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for lifting and towing but with the advent of the Pzkpfw Vand VI they were not sufficient. Special Bergepanzer(recovery) versions of the Pzkpfw /II, V and VI were thensubstituted where appropriate. Since the platoon had to beable to function of f roads its equipment was, at leasttheoretically, composed almost entirely of half-tracked orfour-wheel drive vehicles.Smaller sections were allocated to servIcing theregiment's guns (Ordnance); to repairing and maintainingsignals equipment; and to carrying a stock of spare parts.

Each had four or five specialised vehicles and a personnelstrength of between 15 and 25. There was also a smallsupply group - it could not really be called a column sinceits load capacity was only about 20 tonnes - which had alight car, seven or eight lorries and a motorcycle. Normalequipment would be 3 tonners or equivalent, though inRussia Maultier half-tracked lorries were often used.Tank Abteilung support companies. Each AbteHunghad its own support company, composition varying as thetank type and strength varied. No exact establishments areavailable bu t in general it would contain:

{a) HQ, a command unit about 20 strong with the usual twolight cars or Kettenkrader and two lorries - one almostcertainly a signals vehicle - plus one or two dispatchriders.

ABOVE: Sdkfz 2 Stoewer 40 light car of the wehrmacht. body-work was standardised to fit on the commercchassis' that were available,BELOW: An Opel Blitz being freed from the mud by thefforts of army tank men and SS personnel. The Opel Btruck saw extensive service on al l fronts and was perhapopular and easily recognised vehicle in German army


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(b) A small medical section commanded by an officerdoctor and comprising two or three vehicles sometimes including an armoured ambulance based onthe Sdkfz 251 .(c) Strong maintenance, fuel and munition supply sectionstotalling perhaps 220 men with a big allocation ofstores-carrying vehicles. 77 vehicles was the nominalestablishment for a 1944-type Division.(d) An administrative section to take care of thepaperwork.

These support companies were fully motorisednormally equipped with wheeled vehicles rather tracks. The exceptions were usually in the masections which would have an allocation of 1 ohalf-track vehicles equipped for engineering wunder difficult conditions, forward supply sectiomight have Maultiers or even the properWehrmacht Schlepper (SWS or heavy army tractracked lorry of 5 tonne capacity).


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Panzer Uniforms

ABOVE: Panther hull machine gunner/radio operator in green fatiguejacket.

These notes apply only to the special uniforms worn byPanzer unit personnel either manning or maintainingarmoured vehicles. Supporting troops wore the normalArmy uniform and equipment.

RIGHT: Crewman in the black uniform. Note he is wearing a 'poloneck ' jumper under his jacket. The lanyard ring into his jacket isprobably attached to the butt of a P38 pistol carried inside the doublebreasted jacke t when the leather holster was not used. The object inIrs mouth is a very thick sandwich!TOP LEFT: NSU bUilt Kettenkraftrad in Russia.FAR LEFT: A Phanomen ambulance of the Luftwaffe evacuatingwounded by aircraft. The aircraft, a FW 189, operated closely withthe panzer regiments as an aerial observation post.LEFT: A Sdkfz 6 Praga 5 tonne -recovery half-track passing aSdkfz 250 of a panzer regiment.

Tanks crews' black uniform. \lVhen the Panzfirst formed it was decided to give armoured veha distinctive uniform that was simultaneously prthat recalled the old elite light cavalry from wwere supposed to derive. The result was a two-psuit, worn over a mouse-grey shirt and black tijacket was short, double-breasted and had anwith fairly wide lapels; the left one could be foldwarmth if required, two small buttons being pthe right side of the chest to secure the lShoulder straps were provided as normal, thwere at times sewn down all round to avoid cprojections, and the jacket had a fly front withbuttons. The accompanying trousers were loncut, fastening above laced, black ankle boothead-gear was the so-called Panzer beret, efcombination-type headgear in which a rather bcover concealed a stiff felted 'crash' liner toprotection when riding in the vehicle. This wafrom 1940-on by a black version of the normal feforage cap which was in service until the war'ssupplemented, but never entirely replaced, bversion of the einheitsmUtze, the peaked foragewas introduced in 1943. Troops were also issuestandard grey steel helmets.


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Tank crews reed-green uniform. A two-piece greenuniform identical in cut to the black one but made of denimwas also issued to Panzer units. It was intended forsummer wear but was in practice worn at any time and onoccasions was even used as an over-jacket. There is nodoubt that, being tough and easily washable, it waspreferred to the black uniform in dirty conditions eventhough the latter was intended to hide stains. Someversions had a large patch pocket on the left breast.Insignia. Waffenfarbe (arm of service colour) for Panzertroops was rose pink and this was worn on all uniforms aspiping on the shoulder straps. Initially the collars and collarpatches of the black uniform were also piped but thepractice was discontinued for new stock in 1942. Rankinsignia were confined to the shoulder straps, collarpatches being a distinctive silver death's head (Totenkopf)design on a black or green background as appropriate. The'normal' blue-green blacking was not, in principle, used onPanzer uniforms. The national emblem was worn in theappropriate place. So far as is known, support troops worenormal uniform with the appropriate waffenfarber piping. Inthis context it may be worth noting that all ranks in 24Panzer Divison wore golden-yellow piping, not pink, as atoken of their cavalry origin. On these two pages are a variety of tank crewranging from the black suit and reed-green denireversible winter suit. The pre-war uniformOberleutnant below is interesting, being devoiinsignia. Compare this with the colour plate on pag


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NOTIONAL ESTABLISHMENTFOR PZ UNITS 4/1944

PERSONNEL LIGHT WEAPONS VEHICLESREGTL. UNITS

(/ ) (/ )c:: (/ ) ZW -I (/ )U en (/ ) en en 0 ~ :::>w l?u::: 0 en -I l? l? !n z I -LL U c:: LL ~ ~ 0... ......0 z 0 a: -I (/ ) 0: l - (/ ) ~REGT. HQ. 4 3 7 9 - 2 3 2REGT. HQ. COY. 5 54 56 37 16 9 76 8 - 15SP 3.7cm AA Pin. 1 27 49 19 8 16 42 - 3 7MAINT/SUPPLY Coy. 6 39 185 209 17 4 4 - - 68STANDARD(Pzkpfw IV)ABTEILUNGABT. HQ. 4 3 7 10 1 1 3 - - 2/3ABT.HQ. COY. 4 37 104 61 27 24 61 8 3 19SUPPORT COY. 7 51 123 137 3 21 20 - - 661 TANK COY. 4 50 39 6 34* 18 69 17 - 22 TANK COY. 4 50 39 6 34* 18 69 17 - 23 TANK COY. 4 50 39 6 34* 18 69 17 - 24 TANK COY. 4 50 39 6 34* 18 69 17 - 2

These appear to include tank machine-guns.

(/ )w-IU>-U......~2526

2822222

HQ Tanks or Crew incl(lower establishment)

HQ Tanks or Crew incl

An interesting pre-war parade photograph of a panzer scoutcompany of a panzer reconnaissance battalion with Mercedes carsand early modelSdkfz 261's, and 221 's and 263 armoured cars. Notethe dress uniform of the soldier in the right foreground. TheSdkfz 261 's have their aerials folded. Note also the battalion pennanton the lead car.

Tank Regiment Allocationsto Army Divisions 1944

DIVISION I 1 I 2 I 3 I 4 I 5 I 6 I 7 I 81 91 10111 112113TANK REGT.I 1 1 31 6135131111 1251101 331 711512914

DIVISION 114115116117118119120121122123124125126TANKREGT136 1** 1 21391181271211 51204120112419126NOTE. 27 pz Div. was short lived.116 pz Div. allocation was not clear.

SS Div. tank regts. called by name of their division.GD and Panzer Lehr called by name of their division.** at this time a pz Grenadier Division.

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Pzkpfw VI Ausf. E late model Tiger'

ABO VE :personnelFlak 38bridge, aloPzkpfw" Aright.


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Arco.anthlSaon

7.92 mm machinegun belts being loaded into a Pzkpfw III. These100 round belts for the co-axial and bow MG34's were loadedinto canvas bags when stowed inside the vehicle.

Colour Plates Page 36(d) A young Leutnant of Panzer RegimentHerman Goring. This Luftwaffe divisionwore the army panzer uniform withLuftwaffe insignia, cuff title and whitewaffenfarb. Numerous variations existed onthe basic theme, such as white backing tothe collar totenkopfs. The ribbon in the collarbutton-hole is that of the Iron Cross. Themedal is worn (under the wearers hand)along with the LUftwaffe ground combatbadge. (Erdkampfabzeichen der Luftwaffe).

(e) The winter reversible suit worncamouflage-side outwards by a Hauptman(Captain) who's rank is shown in green on ablack patch on the upper left arm. Thiscaptain wears the officers cap (schirmiJtze)with pink waffenfarb piping. These capswere usually modified for field wear byremoving the grommet and silver cap cords.

Colour Plates

(a) Tropical uniform aNorth Africa. The exone of the many vuniform was issued igreen or tan, whichneutral fabric. A s(feldmUtze) was usualtropical type nationawoven motif's on awhich also appearedgreen backing to tropunknown. The special (which were often moshown here. The shocut-down and sewn tThe weapon is the MPpistols formed the maiof tank crews in all th(b) The original blapanzer uniform as worissued to the embrRegiments. No Nazi nworn initially, the Nazduring 1935. The 'Sambelt was later discarduniform, as later allfloppy beret conceal(worn for protection insway to the headgear (c) The winter reversiblfor service in Russia side outwards. Thecamouflaged (shown'mouse-grey' as showthis example. The greidentification worn tobetween similar-clad Scolours were changepurposes. This crewmSoviet PPSh 41 sub-mGerman troops whenadmired its 71 round mworn here were designfinger free for weapon

(f) The reed-green psimilar lines to the dversion. A large pocstitched on a slant - obody. This suit was wear but was often woin service. Normal insthis suit and decoranormal. The wearerGreen fatigues cut to talso worn by tank cpage 49.

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panzerregiments-equipmentandorganisation

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