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Panzerkampfwagen IV medium |
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The Panzerkampfwagen IV had thedistinction of remaining in productionthroughout World War II, and formedthe backbone of the Germanarmoured divisions. In 1934 the ArmyWeapons Department drew up arequirement for a vehicle under thecover name of the medium tractor(mitteren Traktor) which was to equipthe fourth tank company of eachGerman tank battalion. Rheinmetall-Borsig built the VK 2001(Rh) whileMAN proposed the VK 2002(MAN)and Krupp the VK 2001(K). In the theend Krupp took over t o t a lresponsibility for the vehicle, whichwas also known as the BataillonsFührerwagen (battalion commander'svehicle). This entered production atthe Krupp-Grusonwerke plant atMagdeburg as the PzKpfw IVAusf A, or SdKfz 161, as by this time allcover names had been dropped. Thismodel was armed with a shortbarrelled75-mm (2.95-in) gun, co-axial7.92-mm (0.31-in) machine-gun and asimilar weapon in the bow. Turrettraverse was powered and 122 roundsof 75-mm (2.95-in) and 3,000 rounds ofmachine-gun ammunition werecarried. Maximum armour thicknesswas 20 mm (0.79 in) on the turret and14.5 mm (0.57 in) on the hull, Only a fewof these were built in 1936-7. The nextmodel was the PzKpfw IV Ausf B,which had increased armourprotection, more powerful engine andother more minor improvements. Throughoutthe PzKpfw IV's long productionlife the basic chassis remained unchanged,but as the threat by enemyanti-tank weapons increased so morearmour was added and new weaponswere installed. (Other chassis oftenhad to be phased out of production asthey were incapable of being upgradedto take into account changeson the battlefield.) The final productionmodel was the PzKpfw IV Ausf J, whichappeared in March 1944, Total productionof the PzKpfw IV amounted toabout 9,000 vehicles. The chassis of the PzKpfw IV wasalso used for other, more specializedvehicles including the Jagdpanzer IVtank destroyer, self-propelled antiaircraftgun systems of various types(including one with four 20-mm cannonand another with one 37-mm cannon),self-propelled guns, armoured recoveryvehicles and bridgelayers to namebut a few,'' A typical PzKpfw IV was the PzKpfwIV Ausf F2, which had a hull and turretof all-welded steel armour construction,the former having a maximumthickness of 60mm (2.36 in) and thelatter of 50 mm (1.47 in), The driverwas seated at the front of the hull on theleft, with the bow machine-gunner/radio operator to his right. The commander,gunner and loader were seatedin the turret in the centre of the hull,with an entrance hatch on each side ofthe turret and a cupola for the tankcommander. The engine was at therear of the hull and coupled to a manualtransmission with six forward and onereverse gears. Main armament compriseda long barrelled 75-mm (2,95-in) KwK gun fitted with a muzzle brakeand which could fire a variety ofammunition including HEAT, smoke,APCR, APCBC and high explosive, thelast being used in the infantry supportrole. A 7.92-mm (0.31-in) MG34machine-gun was mounted co-axialwith and to the right of the main armament,while a similar weapon wasmounted in the bow. Totals of 87rounds of 75-mm (2,95-in) and 3,192 rounds of 7.92-mm (0,31-in) machinegunammunition were carried. Turrettraverse was powered through 360°,though manual controls were providedfor emergency use.The additional armour and heavierarmament pushed up the weight untilin the final production version itreached 25 tonnes, but the PzKpfw IVstill had a respectable power-toweightratio and therefore good mobilitycharacteristics.SpecificationPzKpfw IV Ausf HCrew: 5Weight: 25000 kg (55,115 lb)Dimensions: length (includingarmament) 7,02 m (23 ft 0 in); length(hull) 5.89 m (19 ft 4 in); width 3.29 m(10 ft 9.5 in); height 2.68 m (8 ft 9.5 in)Powerplant: one Maybach HL 120TRM 12-cylinder petrol enginedeveloping 300 hp (224 kW)Performance: maximum road speed38 km/h (24 mph); maximum roadrange 200 km (125 miles); fording 1.0m(3 ft 3 in); gradient 60 per cent; verticalobstacle 0.6 m (2 ft 0 in); trench 2,20 m(7 ft 3 in)A PzKpfwIVis serviced in the field inthe USSR. Visible is the shortbarrelled75-mm gun; this was soonfound to be inadequate againstSoviet tanks, and had to be replacedby a longer, higher-velocity gun.
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