PANZER - Panther tank - the development

The Panther tank fielded by Nazi 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 as the best tank design of World War II

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.

The Panther tank was a compromise of various requirements. While sharing essentially the same engine as the Tiger I tank, it had better frontal armor and firepower, and was lighter overall and thus faster, and could handle rough terrain better than the Tigers. The tradeoff was weaker side armor, and so the Panther would prove to be deadly in open country and shooting from long range, but vulnerable to close-quarters combat.

The Panther was also far cheaper to produce than the Tiger tanks, and only slightly more expensive than the Panzer IV, as its design came to fruition at the same time that the Reich Ministry of Armament and War Production was making great efforts to ramp up war production. Key parts of the Panther tank, such as its armor, transmission, and final drive, were compromises made specifically to improve production rates and address Germany's war shortages, whereas other parts such as its highly compact engine and its complex suspension system remained with their elegant but complicated engineering. The result would be that Panther tank production would be far higher than what was possible for the Tiger tanks, but would not be much higher than what had been accomplished with the Panzer IV. At the same time, the simplified final drive became the single major cause of breakdowns of the Panther tank, and was a problem that was never corrected.

The Panther tank arrived in 1943 at a crucial phase in World War II for Germany. Rushed into combat at the Battle of Kursk before its teething problems were corrected, the Panther tank would thereafter only be fighting outnumbered in Germany's steady retreat against the Allies for the remainder of World War II. Its success as a battlefield weapon was thus hampered by Germany's generally declining position in this war, with the loss of airpower protection by the Luftwaffe, the loss of fuel and training space, and the declining quality of tank crews. Nevertheless, the Panther tank demanded respect from the Allies, and its combat capabilities led directly to the introduction of heavier Allied tanks such as the IS-2 and the M26 Pershing into the war.

Category:

Autos & Vehicles

Tags:

• PANZER
• Panther
• tank
• 'panther
• panzer tank
• german
• army
• ww2
• yt:crop=16:9

[MyStone88]

Hitler must have been higher than a kite on drugs when he decided to invade the USSR.

Just look at the world map in area size. You 21st century NAZI lovers need to realize

that Germany lost in a big way because of a fkn monster. Once again, repeat after me...

Axis of EVIL lost and the Allies WON. 

[DanielFenf806]

hihi wie geil hab 3 brüste

[hailherrosner]

@lynx69able The Sherman could only kill the Panther on the sides because of thin 50mm armour, not frontally where it had 80mm of sloped Glacis armour at 35 degrees, the front turret mantlet was 120mm thick. Also keep in mind that the KWK 42 L/70 75mm gun could rip through 149mm of armour at 2,000 meters or 2 km using armor piercing rounds, so the Sherman and T-34 had to get the Panther on sides or rear, by ambushing them. In open country, Shermans and T-34's had no chance, not even the T34/85.

[hailherrosner]

The Brits and Americans underestimated how many Panther's would be in Normandy, they were shocked to find out that nearly 40% of German tanks in Normandy battle were Panthers. The Brits found out how deadly the Panther tanks along with Tiger's could be, in Operation Goodwood over 500 Sherman's and Churchills were blown to bits, it was a disaster for allies.

[Danny77uk]

The Panther was a quantum leap beyond anything the Germans had before - it made even the Tiger look archaic. To think that these tankers had been riding around in the dominative PzKpfw 1 just three years before! Amazing what a nation can do when properly motivated.

[Dreachon]

@lynx69able

The T-34/85 couldn't even penetrate the frontal armour at 500m unless it tried to go and hit the lower part of it's gun mantlet, the same goes for the sherman and that was it's only chance of knocking it out from the front.

That is not decent combat range but short range and then hoping you can hit that small portion of the tank.

The pershing could but with the APBC at 1000m, though this shell was only avaialable in limited quantity while the APCBC could only at 400m or less.

[lynx69able]

@49bobbyk wouldn't call it such a superior weapon rather a good weapon but tanks like the t-34/85, pershing, and yes even the sherman could kill these tanks at decent combat ranges

[49bobbyk]

Best balance of armor and firepower. Superior weapon. Too little too late.

[SgtBuckwald]

good work

[twinkell]

very nice vid!