Encyclopedia
The
Panzerkampfwagen III , more commonly referred to as the
Panzer III, was a
tank developed in the
1930s by
Germany and used extensively in
World War II. It was designed to fight other AFVs, serving alongside the infantry-support
Pzkpfw IV. It soon became obsolete in this role, and for most purposes was supplanted by up-gunned Panzer IVs, though some would continue to be used for infantry support until late in the war.
Development History
On January 11, 1934, following specifications laid down by
Heinz Guderian, the Army Weapons Department drew up plans for a medium tank with a maximum weight of 24,000 kg and a top speed of 35 km/h. It was intended as the main tank of the German Panzer divisions, capable of engaging and destroying opposing tank forces.
Daimler-Benz,
Krupp,
MAN, and Rheinmetall all produced prototypes. Testing of the prototypes took place in 1936 and 1937, leading to the Daimler-Benz design being chosen for production. The first Panzer III A came off the assembly line in May of 1937, and a total of ten, two of which were unarmed, were produced in 1937. Mass production of the tank, then in model III F, began in 1939.
Between 1937 and 1940, attempts were made to standardize parts between
Krupp's
Panzer IV and Daimler-Benz's Panzer III.
Much of the early development work on the Panzer III was a quest for a suitable suspension. Several variaties of leaf-spring suspensions were tried on ausf A through D before the torsion-bar suspension of the ausf E was standardized. The Panzer III, along with the Soviet KV heavy tank, was one of the first tanks to use this suspension design.
The Panzer III was intended as the main battle tank of the German forces. However, it proved to be inferior to the
T-34 tank of the
Soviet Union and was replaced by an upgunned version of the Panzer IV, which could carry a high-velocity 75 mm gun.
In 1942, the ausf N model of the Panzer III was created with an L/24 75 mm gun, but this was a low-velocity gun designed for anti-infantry and close-support work.
Armor
The Panzer III A through C had 15 mm of slightly sloped homogenous steel armor on all sides, with 10 mm on the top and 5 mm on the bottom. This was quickly determined to be insufficient, and was upgraded to 30 mm in the D, E, F, and G models, with the H model having a second 30 mm layer of face-hardened steel applied to the front and rear hull. The J model had a solid 50 mm plate on the front and rear, while the late J, L, M, models had an additional layer of 20 mm of armor on the front hull. This additional frontal armor meant the Panzer III during 1941 and 1942 was impervious to most British and Russian anti-tank guns at all but close ranges when shot at from the front. The sides were still vulnerable to many enemy weapons including anti-tank rifles.
The unusually heavy rear armor of the Panzer III was a weight penalty that was not commensurate with its combat value. Although several tanks of the early war period had heavy rear armor, in general the design trend during the war was to thin the side and rear armor as much as possible, concentrating heavy armor in the frontal quadrant. For example, the
Panther tank had very heavy frontal armor but thin side and rear armor.
Armament
The Panzer III was intended to fight other tanks and a high-velocity 5cm gun was initially called for. But the infantry were being equipped with the 3.7 cm anti-tank gun, and it was felt that in the interest of standardisation the tanks should carry the same. As a compromise, the turret ring was made large enough to accommodate a 50 mm gun should a future upgrade be required. This single decision would later assure the Panzer III a much prolonged life in the German army.
The early models were equipped with a short barrelled 37 mm gun which proved somewhat satisfactory during the campaigns of 1939 and 1940 but later models were upgraded with the heavier 50 mm KwK38 L/42 and 50 mm KwK39 L/60 guns in response to increasingly better armed and armoured opponents.
By 1942, the Panzer III had become obsolete as a
main battle tank and the decision was made to continue production as a support vehicle. The Ausf N model mounted a low-velocity 75 mm KwK37 L/24 gun - the same gun used by the early models of the
Panzer IV. This tank was used for infantry support as a replacement for the
StuG III assault gun, which was by then mainly used as
tank destroyer.
All early models up to and including the Ausf F had two 7.92 mm
machine guns mounted coaxially with the main gun, and a 7.92 mm machine gun in the hull. Models from the ausf G and later had a single coaxial MG and the hull MG.
Mobility
The Panzer III models A through C were powered by a 230 hp, 12-cylinder Maybach HL 108 TR engine, giving a top speed of 32 km/h and a range of 150 km . All later models were powered by the 320 hp, 12-cylinder Maybach HL 120 TRM engine. Top speed varied among models, depending on the transmission, armor, and gun, but was around 40 km/h . The range was generally around 150 km .
Combat Usage
The Panzer III was used in the campaigns against Poland,
France, the Soviet Union and in
North Africa. Some were still in use in
Normandy and
Arnhem in 1944.
In the Polish and French campaigns, the Panzer III formed a small part of the German armored forces. Only a few hundred ausf A through F were available in these campaigns, most armed with the 37 mm gun. They were the best medium tank available to the Germans and outclassed most of their opponents such as the Polish
7TP, French
R-35 and
H-35 light tanks, and
Somua S-35 cavalry tanks.
By the time of the German invasion of the Soviet Union , the Panzer III was numerically the most important German tank. By this time the majority of the available tanks had the L/42 50 mm gun. The tanks used in North Africa also had the 50 mm L/42. The Panzer III was outclassed by the Soviet
T-34 and KV tanks, although German tactical skill, crew training, and the good ergonomics of the Panzer III all contributed to a rough 6:1 favorable kill ratio for German tanks of all types in 1941.
With the appearance of the T-34, rearming the Panzer III with a more powerful L/60 50 mm gun was prioritized. The ausf J and L versions had this longer gun, thicker armor, and some simplified features. These versions were available throughout 1942 and into 1943. In addition, to counter Soviet antitank rifles, in 1943 the ausf M version began the use of spaced armor skirts around the turret and on the hull sides. By then, however, the Panzer III was beginning to be relegated to secondary roles, and it was replaced as the main German medium tank by the
Panzer IV and
Panther. The final version, ausf N, mounted a short 75 mm howitzer for use in Infantry support.
The Panzer III was a good, but not outstanding, tank in terms of armor, armament and mobility. However, it was well-designed in that it had a three-man turret crew , leaving the commander free to concentrate on commanding the tank and maintaining situational awareness. Although other medium tanks of the time also had this feature, most tanks of the late 1930s had fewer than three men in the turret crew. These other tanks, which may look impressive on paper, lacked this key element of "fightability". The French
Somua S-35 was a classic example of a tank that appeared to be the equal of the Panzer III on paper, with a good gun and strong armor, but with its one-man turret crew it was hopelessly outclassed by the Panzer III.
The Panzer III chassis was the basis for the
Sturmgeschutz III assault gun, probably the most important German self-propelled gun of the war.
Variants
- Panzer III Ausf A,B,C,D - pre-production models in 1937-1938. 75 produced.
- Panzer III Ausf E, F - Production models 1939-1940. Armed with 37 mm guns. 531 produced.
- Panzer III Ausf G - More armour on gun mantlet. Armed with 50 mm L/42 gun. 600 produced in 1940-1941.
- Panzer III Ausf H - Minor modifications. Bolt-on armor added to front hull . 308 produced in 1940-1941.
- Panzer III Ausf J - The hull was lengthened. Front armor modified again . 482 produced in 1941
- Panzer III Ausf J/1 - longer/more effective 50 mm L/60 gun. 1067 produced in late 1941 to mid 1942.
- Panzer III Ausf L - Uparmored to 50 mm + 20 mm plates. 653 produced in 1942.
- Panzer III Ausf M - Minor modifications such as deep-wading exhaust and schurzen; 250 produced in 1942-1943.
- Panzer III Ausf N - Armed with a 75 mm L/24 gun. 700 re-equipped J/L/M models in 1942-1943.
Designs based on chassis
- Tauchpanzer III - Some tanks were converted to "diving tanks" for Operation Sealion.
- Panzerbefehlswagen III - Command tank. Heavier armor, dummy gun, and long-range radios.
- Artillerie-Panzerbeobachtungswagen III - Forward artillery observer tank. 262 produced.
- Flammpanzer III Ausf M/Panzer III - Flamethrower tank. 100 converted from existing Panzer III M.
- Bergepanzer III - In 1944 some Panzer IIIs were converted to armoured recovery vehicles.
- Sturmgeschütz III - Assault gun with 75 mm StuK.
The
Soviet SU-76i self-propelled gun was based on captured German Pz Kpfw III and
StuG III chassis. About 1,200 of these vehicles were converted for
Red Army service by adding an enclosed superstructure and
ZiS-5 76.2 mm gun.
See also
- Comparison of early World War II tanks
External links
References
