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WWII Tech Pubs Briefing
Written by
Daren Beazley
May 20th 1940. A PzKpfw III of the 4.
Panzer-Division advances firing into a French town near Arras. In the
rush to the sea, the fast, mobile panzers kept ahead of desperate French
and British attempts to hold them at bay. In just a few days, the panzers
reached the English Channel, trapping the northern Allied forces between
two German armies.
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Country of Origin:
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Germany
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Manufacturer:
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Daimler-Benz, Henschel, Maschinenfabrik Augsburg-Nürnberg
(MAN), Alkett, Fahrzeug und Motorenbau GmbH (FAMO), Wegmann, Maschinenfabrik
Niedersachen Hannover (MNH), Muhlenbau-Industrie AG (MIAG),
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Major Variants:
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Ausführung A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, J, L, M & N
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Role:
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Medium tank
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Operated by:
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Germany, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Slovakia
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In Service:
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1937
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Number Built:
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6095
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Overview
Article 171 of the Treaty of Versailles
stipulates in paragraph three:
"Germany is likewise forbidden to manufacture
or import armoured vehicles, tanks, or similar machines which may be turned
to military use."
Thus Germany was forbidden to develop
and manufacture, amongst other things, tanks. The first prototype vehicles
of the Panzerkampfwagen III were therefore
developed under the auspicious name of mittlerer traktor
(meduim tractor), later to become officially known as the Zugfuhrerwagen
(platoon commander’s vehicle).
The initial requirement specified
a weight of approximately 10 tons and to be armed with a 20mm cannon.
Studies were made of several foreign armoured vehicle designs and the
Heereswaffenant (Army Weapons Branch), with input from General
Lutz and Heinz Guderian and their Inspectorate for Mechanised Troops,
decided to develop a vehicle that straddled the 'light' and 'medium' classes
of tank. The final specification, still termed as a 'light tank', called
for a vehicle weighing approximately 15 tons to be armed with a 37mm cannon.
The Inspectorate for Mechanised Troops agreed to have the 37mm cannon
installed as long as the turret ring were designed with sufficient diameter
to allow for the recoil of a 50mm gun. This would eventually turn out
to be an extremely wise and almost inspired decision.
In 1935 orders were awarded to a
number of companies to develop prototype vehicles. Rheinmetall-Borsig
and Maschinenfabrik-Augsburg-Neurnberg AG (MAN) supplied their designs
as did Daimler-Benz and Krupp. The prototypes were extensively tested
during 1936 and 1937 at the Kummersdorf and Ulm testing grounds and the
Herreswaffenamt, during the spring of 1937, awarded Daimler Benz
the contract to produce the first series of the Panzer III.
The Panzer III saw limited
action during the invasion of Poland in September of 1939 but was to see
action on every front of the war until late 1943. It was Germany's first
true main/medium battle tank and formed the bulk of the Panzer
Divisions strength during the early years of the Second World War. Production
of the PzKpfw III was, initially, painfully slow and gaps in the Panzer
Divisions strength were filled with Czechoslovakian manufactured PzKpfw
35(t) and PzKpfw 38(t) vehicles. Production ceased in August of 1943 but
chassis were still manufactured and turned over to Sturmgeschütz
III assault vehicle/tank destroyer production which totalled 8587 examples,
the largest set of production statistics for any German tank based armoured
fighting vehicle.
The Panzer III gained a reputation
for being a highly reliable and effective armoured fighting vehicle which
shaped the development plans of both German and Allied tank designers.
The layout of the vehicle and the incorporation of transverse torsion
bar suspension were quickly recognised as a significant step forward in
tank design by the Allies. A copy of the suspension was made from captured
German equipment, for inclusion in the design of future vehicles such
as the M18 Hellcat, M24 Chaffee and M26 Pershing.
The Panzer III saw extensive
service on all fronts until late 1943. It was the best German tank in
the first part of the war but by 1943 it was totally obsolete and was
replaced by the Panzer IV.
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Variants
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Type
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Number Built
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Remarks
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PzKpfw III Ausf A
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10
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Five crew, commander, gunner, loader, driver and radio operator.
Armoured up to 15mm and weighed just over 15 tons. Top speed was
32 km/h and main armament consisted of a 3.7cm KwK L/46.5 cannon.
A 250hp 12-cylinder Maybach 108TR engine powered front drive sprockets.
Transmission consisted of a five-speed gearbox, with one reverse
gear. Suspension and running gear consisted of five road wheels,
sprung by coil springs, with two return rollers.
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PzKpfw III Ausf B
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15
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New suspension incorporated leaf instead of coil springs. Weight
rose slightly to nearly 16 tons.
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PzKpfw III Ausf C
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15
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New suspension incorporated an alternative method of leaf-spring
arrangement, one that employed one large central unit and two smaller
units fore and aft.
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PzKpfw III Ausf D
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30
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Eight wheel leaf-spring suspension system as above but this time
the fore and aft units were angled slightly inwards. Armour thickness
increased to 30mm, which drastically increased the weight of the
vehicle to 19 tons. A new commanders cupola was introduced along
with a six-speed gearbox.
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PzKpfw III Ausf E
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96
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New suspension incorporated transverse torsion bars. Torsion bar
suspension became standard on all Panzer III's thereafter. An enhanced
Maybach HL 120 TR 300hp engine was fitted along with a new Maybach
Variorex pre-selector gearbox. This provided ten forward and one
reverse gears. Weight rose to nearly 20 tons but so did the vehicles
top speed to a healthy 40km/h.
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PzKpfw III Ausf F
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435
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Identical to Ausf E but incorporated ventilation ducts for the
track brakes. Later models were armed with the 5cm KwK 38 L/42 cannon.
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PzKpfw III Ausf G
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600
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Introduced new commanders cupola along with a rear turret mounted
storage bin called a Rommelkiste (Rommelbox). Later models
were armed with the 5cm KwK 38 L/42 cannon. Modified for service
in North Africa by fitting felt filters and larger radiators.
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PzKpfw III Ausf H
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308
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Manufactured with the 5cm KwK 38 L/42 cannon as standard. Introduced
a strengthened transverse torsion bar suspension system with wider
tracks, sprockets and idlers. Weighed over 21 tons with added armour
plate. Incorporated an Aphon synchromesh gear box which provided
six forward and one reverse gears.
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PzKpfw III Ausf J
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2616
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Armour increased to 50mm. Incorporated a new drivers visor along
with a new ‘ball’ mounted MG34 machine gun for the radio operator.
Later models were armed with the 5cm KwK 39 L/60. Coil spring fitted
as a counterbalance for the main gun.
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PzKpfw III Ausf L
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653
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Manufactured with the 5cm KwK 39 L/60 cannon as standard. Front
turret armour increased. Torsion bar main gun counter balance fitted.
Spaced armour fitted.
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PzKpfw III Ausf M
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250
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Incorporated fording equipment. Later vehicles were fitted with
Schürzen and manufactured to Ausf N standard with the
7.5cm KwK L/24 cannon.
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PzKpfw III Ausf N
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700
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Incorporated the 7.5cm KwK L/24 cannon for close support purposes
as standard. Schürzen fitted to later vehicles.
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Specifications
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Model
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PzKpfw III Ausf A
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PzKpfw III Ausf B & C
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PzKpfw III Ausf D
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PzKpfw III Ausf E
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PzKpfw III Ausf F
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Crew
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5
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5
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5
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5
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5
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Weight
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15400 kg
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15900 kg
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16000 kg
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19500 kg
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19800 kg
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Length
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5.69 m
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5.69 m
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5.41 m
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5.41 m
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5.41 m
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Width
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2.81 m
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2.81 m
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2.91 m
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2.91 m
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2.92 m
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Height
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2.34 m
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2.54 m
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2.44 m
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2.44 m
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2.44 m
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Engine
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Maybach HL108TR
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Maybach HL108TR
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Maybach HL120TR
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Maybach HL120TR
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Maybach HL120TRM
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Gasoline Capacity
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300 l
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300 l
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300 l
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320 l
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320 l
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Speed
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32 km/h
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32 km/h
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40 km/h
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40 km/h
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40 km/h
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Armament
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Turret mounted 3.7cm KwK L/46.5 cannon with two 7.92mm MG34 machine
guns.
Hull mounted 7.92mm MG34 machine gun.
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Turret mounted 3.7cm KwK L/46.5 cannon with two 7.92mm MG34 machine
guns.
Hull mounted 7.92mm MG34 machine gun.
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Turret mounted 3.7cm KwK L/46.5 cannon with two 7.92mm MG34 machine
guns.
Hull mounted 7.92mm MG34 machine gun.
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Turret mounted 3.7cm KwK L/46.5 cannon with two 7.92mm MG34 machine
guns.
Hull mounted 7.92mm MG34 machine gun.
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Turret mounted 3.7cm KwK L/46.5 cannon with two 7.92mm MG34 machine
guns.
Hull mounted 7.92mm MG34 machine gun.
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Armour
Hull Front :
Hull Sides :
Hull Rear :
Hull Top :
Superstructure Front :
Superstructure Sides :
Superstructure Rear :
Superstructure Top :
Turret Front :
Turret Sides :
Turret Rear :
Turret Top :
Gun Mantlet :
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15@20°
15@0°
15@0°
5@90°
15@10°
15@0°
15@0°
10@70°-90°
15@15°
15@25°
15@0°-21°
10@82°-90°
15@round
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15@25°
15@0°
15@23°
5@90°
15@11°
15@0°
15@9°
10@73°-90°
15@15°
15@25°
15@0°-21°
10@83°-90°
15@round
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15@20°
15@0°
15@33°
5@90°
15@10°
15@0°
15@10°
10@75°-90°
15@15°
15@25°
15@0°-21°
10@83°-90°
15@round
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30@21°
30@0°
21@10°
16@90°
30@9°
30@0°
21@29°
17@77°-90°
30@15°
30@25°
30@0°-21°
12@83°-90°
30@round
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30@21°
30@0°
21@10°
16@90°
30@9°
30@0°
21@29°
17@77°-90°
30@15°
30@25°
30@0°-21°
12@83°-90°
30@round
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Model
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PzKpfw III Ausf G
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PzKpfw III Ausf H
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PzKpfw III Ausf J
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PzKpfw III Ausf L & M
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PzKpfw III Ausf N
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Crew
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5
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5
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5
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5
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5
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Weight
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20300 kg
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21800 kg
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21500 kg
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22700 kg
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23000 kg
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Length
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5.41 m
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5.52 m
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5.52 m
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5.52 m
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5.52 m
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Width
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2.92 m
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2.95 m
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2.95 m
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2.95 m
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2.95 m
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Height
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2.44 m
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2.50 m
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2.51 m
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2.51 m
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2.51 m
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Engine
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Maybach HL120TRM
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Maybach HL120TRM
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Maybach HL120TRM
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Maybach HL120TRM
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Maybach HL120TRM
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Gasoline Capacity
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320 l
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320 l
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320 l
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320 l
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320 l
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Speed
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42 km/h
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40 km/h
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40 km/h
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38 km/h
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38 km/h
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Armament
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Turret mounted 5.0cm KwK L/42 cannon with a 7.92mm MG34 machine
gun.
Hull mounted 7.92mm MG34 machine gun.
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Turret mounted 5.0cm KwK L/42 cannon with a 7.92mm MG34 machine
gun.
Hull mounted 7.92mm MG34 machine gun.
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Turret mounted 5.0cm KwK L/42 cannon with a 7.92mm MG34 machine
gun.
Hull mounted 7.92mm MG34 machine gun.
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Turret mounted 5.0cm KwK L/60 cannon with a 7.92mm MG34 machine
gun.
Hull mounted 7.92mm MG34 machine gun.
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Turret mounted 7,5cm KwK L/24 cannon with a 7.92mm MG34 machine
gun.
Hull mounted 7.92mm MG34 machine gun.
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Armour
Hull Front :
Hull Sides :
Hull Rear :
Hull Top :
Superstructure Front :
Superstructure Sides :
Superstructure Rear :
Superstructure Top :
Turret Front :
Turret Sides :
Turret Rear :
Turret Top :
Gun Mantlet :
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30@21°
30@0°
30@10°
16@90°
30@9°
30@0°
30@30°
17@77°-90°
30@15°
30@25°
30@0°-21°
12@83°-90°
37@0°-45°
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30+30@23°
30@0°
30+30@8°
16@90°
30+30@9°
30@0°
30@30°
17@77°-90°
30@13°
30@25°
30@13°
10@85°-90°
37@0°-45°
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50@21°
30@0°
50@10°
16@90°
50@9°
30@0°
50@15°
17@75°-90°
30@15°
30@25°
30@12°
10@83°-90°
50@0°-45°
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50@21°
30@0°
50@9°
16@90°
50+20@9°
30@0°
50@17°
18@79°-90°
57@15°
30@25°
30@12°
10@83°-90°
50+20@0°-45°
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50@21°
30@0°
50@9°
16@90°
50+20@9°
30@0°
50@17°
18@79°-90°
57@15°
30@25°
30@12°
10@83°-90°
50@0°-45°
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