Bellona_MVP_s26

8/7/2019 Bellona_MVP_s26

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/bellonamvps26 1/21

SERIES

26

SERIES TWENTY SIX

PANZERKAMPFWAGEN V 'PANTHER' Ausf. 0 (Sd Kfz 171.) (GE)BEFEHLSPANZERWAGEN V 'PANTHER' Ausf. A

(Sd Kfz 267 268)

INFANTRY TANK MK IV CHURCHILL MK III

INFANTRY TANK MK IV CHURCHILL MK IVINFANTR)' TANK MK tv CHURCHILL MK V

BELLONA

40p



---- -

ABOVE: One of the pre-production models of the Panther series. Only 20 of this type ot vehicle

were built and they are easily distinguished by the commander's cupola which protruded into t he

side plate of the turret, the single baffle muzzle brake and skeleton type drive sprocket . Techn i ·

cally they varied from the production Panther Ausf D by having, 60mm frontal armour, th e ZF 7

gearbox and possibly also the Maybach H L 210 P 30 engine. Note the civilian number plate uS-.."<l

during tests.

COVER ILLUSTRATION drawn by George Bradford

A Panther Ausf. D on the Russian Front during 1943. Panzer Grenadier Division Gross Deutsch la dwere important users of these early Panthers. Initially all Pan tners leaving the factories were f in ished

in me normal sand colour. Troops at the front added any camouflage they felt w as necessa ry to

blend in with the surrounding country side. Pictorial evidence indicates that Panther tan ks were

seldom i f ever marked with the Divisional signs normally found on the other vehicles of the Panz er

Divisions.

BELLONA MI LlTARY VEHICLE PRINTS - Series compiler: Hilary Louis Doyle

panzerkampfwagen V 'Panther' Ausf.D und Ausf.A.

Drawings and Historical research by Hilary Louis Doyle.

BELLONA PRINTS which should be studied in conjunction with this Series:

Series 8 - Jagdpanther. Series 13 - PzKpfw 'Tiger' Ausf. E. Series 14 - Porsche Type 100 (VK 3001),

Series 16 - PzKpfw 'Panther' Ausf. G, and Series 25 - T 34/76 A.

Although the 'Panther' development, as such, did not commence until the German Forces had encoun

tered the T 34 on the Russian Front in mid 1941, four German companies had been working on the

design of a 30 tonne tank which would replace the PzKpfw IV , since Spring of 1937. Machinen

Fabrik Augsburg und Nurnberg (MAN), Daimler-Benz (DB), Henschel and Porsche each had developed

a tank to the VK 3001 specification. By 1941 however, the PzKpfw IV had proven itself to be an

excellent vehicle with an adequate development potential , hence there were no plans to put any of

the VK 3001 vehicles into production,although the prototypes had been constructed .

On the 26th May 1941 discussions were held with Hitler which resulted in thedecisionbeing taken t o

initiate development of a heavy tank . This heavy t ank was to have armour protection as had been found

on the British Matilda and French Char B tanks. Henschel and Porsche were asked to undertake the

development of this design, which could be based on their VK 3001 designs. Thus the 'Tiger' was

born.

2



Although the Soviet T 34 tank had been encountered as early as the 3rd July 1941 by units of the

18th Panzer Division , the tactical use of these tanks was very poor and German units were capable of

defeating them by ou t manoeuvre and co-operation between different Service arms. On the 6th

October 1941 the 4th Panzer Division advancing on Mzensk in the area of Army Group Centre was

badly mauled by T 34's in massed formation . The vast superiority of this Sovient tank wa s no clear.

Guderian, wh o was in command of the 2nd Panzer Army in which the 4th Panzer Division fought,

wrote a report on the T 34 and demanded that a representative Panzer Commission be immediately formed and sent to study th is frightening development. Th is Commission travelled tothe Russian

front late in November and reached Guderian's Army on the 20th November 1941. On the 25th of

November MAN and Daimler-Benz were ordered to undertake the creation of a new 30 tonne tank

capable of defeating the T 34 .

On 23rd January 1942 detailed specifications fo r the new tank, based on the findings of the Com

mission that studied the T 34 were given to Hitler and the tw o companies . The main characters were

to be: Weight: 35 tonn es

Speed: 60 Km/hr (37 mph)

Armament: 75mm gun and coaxial MG in turret

Hull armour: Front 60mm, Side 40mm, Rea r 35mm

Turret armour: Front 100mm, Side 40mm, Rear 40mm

Ground pressure: 0.65 Kg/Sq.Cm. (9.2 psi)Fording depth: 4 metres

Engine: Maybach H L 210 V-12 petrol, watercooled developing 650 bh p at ~ 3000 rpm .

BE LOW: A brand new Panther Au sf D at the Henschel Werke, K assel .. Mittelfeld. In the back

ground is a completed Tiger Ausf. E awaiting final painting and in the fore-ground is the nose of

a Panther chassis returning to the factory, after testing, fo r the fitting of a turret and painting .

Henschel built only 200 Panther Ausf D from March to November 1943 when production ceased

in favour of the Tiger Ausf B.

(WARPICS PHOTO)

3

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/Kg/Sq.Cm

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/Kg/Sq.Cm



..,.

= Q

!I

10

I,;) HET

W: ee 1 ........J

'f' = L;;;;;,

=1 =-'

rl )() U

PANZERKAMPfWAGEN 'PANTHER ' AUSf. D.

DRAWN BY HILARY LOUIS DOYlE .

SCALE 1: 76 ( 4 mm to 1 foot)





I n April 1942, only four months later, both MAN and Daimler-Benz submitted their designs (V K 3002)

to the OKH-Waffenpruefamt 6. At this stage, Hitler who was most interested in the project, intervened

suggesting that the 7.5cm L/48 gun be replaced by the more powerful 7.5cm that Rheinmentall were

developing for the 'Tiger'. At the same time he ordered Daimler-Benz to commence production of 200

of their VK 3002. Meanwhile the Waffenpruefamt 6 carried on evaluating the two designs, and decided

that the MAN proposal was more suitable for production . The order was withdrawn from Oainler-Benz

and placed with MAN, despite the fact that, prototypes of the VK 3002 (DB) were already under con

struction.

The Daimler-Benz vehicle was an interesting design, being almost a direct copy of the T 34 in outline and

mechanical layout. It was rejected by the Waffenpruefamt 6 - 'Panther' Committee mainly because it

was based upon a unproven diesel engine MB 507 . (This was one of many attempts to break Maybach's

hold on Military vehicle engine production), rear mounted transmission, all steel w heels. In addition,

Daimler-Benz had followed the design of the T 34 in mounting the turret at the very front of the vehicle,

initially when the 7.5cm L/4B gun was to be fitted the overhang would no t have been too great, bu t that

was not the case with the new 7.5cm L/60 that was no w proposed. Suspension on the Daimler-Benz

vehicle was semi-elliptic leaf springs. Thus the design had many points to recommend i t bu t because of

the specific points mentioned and the fact that i t was a completely new layout not used ii l German tanks so

far, Waffenpruefamt decided to adopt the more conventional MAN design. ~ BELOW: Another photograph of a brand new Panther Ausf 0 at the Henschel Werke. These

photographs were taken on the occasion of the handing over of Panther Ausf 0 and Tiger Ausf E

to an Army Panzer Division. Recognition features of the Ausf 0 are the drum shaped commander's

cupola, pistol and cartridge case ejection hatch in the turret sides, and vertical flap M G port fo r the

radio operator in the hull. For detailed identification watch fo r the following points, tw o openings

fo r the binocular sight on the left of the gun mantlet and 16 rim bolts in each wheel.

(WARPICS PHOTO)

6



ABOVE: The Panther Ausf A. The Ausf A was not so much a different model, but the standard

production model. The Ausf D was put into production so quickly that many detailed design

features were not ready in time. The tw o most noticable fittings of the Ausf A indicate this.

Firstly, the new armoured commander's cupola with seven periscopes and sloped armour which

gave better protection and visibility when 'closed down'. Secondly, the ball mounted MG in the

hull which was developed by Daimler-Benz, and had it s own integral sight thus obviating the need

fo r one of the periscopes formerly required. Finally a single aperture in the gun mantlet, left side,

fo r the single telescope sight.

(IMPERIAL WAR MUSEUM PHOTO).. The 'Panther' project was given top priority, so much so that Ing. Kniepkampf - chief engineer of

Waffenpruefamt 6 - took charge of the chassis design work at MAN .Kniepkampf had been chief

since 1936 and remained so until 1945, he was particulary known fo r introducing interleaved roadwheels and torsion bar suspention to semi-tracked vehicles. His influence in clearly seen in the

suspension of the Panther. The MAN engineer in charge of the 'Panther' design project was Herr

Wiebeche.

Rheinmettal-Borsig, Dusseldorf meanwhile commenced work on the turret and armament, under

the direction of Ing. Zimmer, chief of turret design. The turret was based upon the 7.5cm turret

they had designed fo r the Henschel VK 4501 (Tiger) Waffenpruefamt 6 provided the interior lay

outs and co-ordinated the 'Panther' project.

I n designing the chassis, MAN worked on the assumption that the overall weight of the tank would

not exceed 35 tonnes. The torsion bars were designed so as to be interchangeable fo r all stations

and were designed fo r 700 Kg.sq.cm (100,000 psi) and were provided by Dittman und Neuhaus,

Rhur, Kronpring,Solingen manufactured the bogie wheels while the shock absorbers came from

Hemscheid-Wuppertal, Rhur. The track was designed by Ritsche, Hamburg.

Work progressed rapidly at MAN. The first soft steel pilot model was ready fo r tests in September

1942. These tests were carried out at Nurnberg by MAN. Shortly afterwards the second pilot

7

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/Kg.sq.cm




8

ABOVE: Rear view of the Panther Ausf A shown overleaf. Note that the pistol ports and cart

ridge case ejection hatch were eliminated to strengthen the turret structure. Schuerzen plates were

hung losely and very often were lost or damaged in field conditions. The container on the left side

of the hull is used to carry the cleaning rods. The triple pipe exaust fitting on the left side indicates

the attempt to cure the overheating problems of the motor installation. The outer tw o pipes drew

in cold air over the exaust pipe and kept the heat off the oil cooler and petrol pumps - this feature was introduced on the Ausf A.

(IMPERIAL WA R MUSEUM PHOTO)

vehicle was completed and was shipped to the Army test ground at Kummersdorf. The Rheinmetall

turret was now fitted with a 7.5cm Ll70 gun, as the Ll60 gun had failed to reach expectations when

it was tested early on 1942. Fortunately the requirements fo r this weapon had been laid down as

early as 18th July 1941, fo r the Tiger project.

Once the trials commenced it became clear that the VK 3002 was already over the 35 tonne limit.

Further increases were expected since in June 1942 Hitler had asked that the glasis plate be increased

from 60mm to 80mm. Obviously the Maybach H L 210 engine could no t provide the necessary per ·formance. Unfortunately the only more powerful engine available was a bored-out version of the

H L 210 which had a capacity of 23.88 litres and was therefore called H L 230. This engine developed

700bhp at 3000 rpm. A reduced speed of 45 Km hr had to be accepted, in any event, as existing

clutch and brake steering systems were found inadequate on a vehicle of this weight. To overcome the

main steering problems a new gearbox AK 7-200 was designed which allowed definite fixed radius

turns depending on the gear engaged and even allowed a turn when the vehicle was stationary.

On 23rd June 1942, it was agreed that 250 of the new tanks must be manufactured by the following

May. However, in September 1942, no doubt as a result of the situation at the Front, Hitler demanded

that this figure be raised to 600. By this time MAN had already completed their preparations fo r mas'

production. The call fo r 600 units was realised to be an impossible target, but so that at least 250

tanks be ready by May 1943 OKH ordered Daimler-Benz to speed up their preparations and asked

Henschel at Kassel and Maschinenfabrik Neidersachen . Hannover (MNH) to prepare to build the new

tanks al so. The official designation alotted was Panzerkampf wagen V Panther Ausf D. (Sd Kfz 171).

In October 1942, before even the first production Panther was (lVaiiable, Muehlenbau-Industrie AG

(MIAG) were asked to prepare a design fo r mounting the new 8.8cm Ll71 anti-tank gun in the chassis

of the Panther, i.e. Jagdpanther.



MAN completed their first Panther in November 1942. The first 20 vehicles stil l retained features of

the prototypes that were to be eliminated in the production vehicles. They had 60mm glasis plates

and the commander's cupola was at the extreme left of the turret roof, causing a bulge in the side plate.

A single baffle muzzle brake was used. The ZF 7 gearbox was fitted and i t appears also that the original

Maybach HL 210 engine may have been fitted. By the beginning of January 1943 the design had been

accepted and both MAN and Daimler-Benz undertook full scale production, Daimerler-Benz building

their first Panther that month.

Already many problems were showing themselves in t he pre-production vehicles which were now

receiving proper testing. Due to the urgent need fo r the Panther, production had to continue regardless

and these problems bedeviled the Panther fo r many years. The main troubles encountered on the

Panther Ausf.D. were; failure of the rim bolts holding the tyre to the wheel, a seemingly insignificant

point caused by the increased weignt, bu t when i t wa s on the inside wheel as many as five wheels had to

be removed to get at it. The final drive gears failed frequently, and this was accompanied by failure of

the transmission gears alJd failure of the differential and steering, though the latter was no t considered

so important as i t was estimated that the other component ;; would fail before this one. Finally the HL 230

was found to be prone to overheating.

The main reasons fo r the troubles was the w ei gh t w hich was now 44 tonnes. This increase of 9 tonnes

over the design weight was too much fo r the transmis sio n sys tem which, in addition, had to cope with

the more powerful H L 230 engin e. The ground p res sure was no w 0.85 Kg.sq.cm leading to the problems

with'the wheels, At first it was hop ed that t he ZF 7 gea rbo x, could be re placed by the Maybach Olvar

preselective unit as used in the Tiger, bu t tha t was no t possible, The rim bolts were replaced by stronger

ones, bu t in time these were found unsatisfactory. To achieve a lower ground pressure would have

necessitated a redesign of the trackwork along the lines of t ha t u,ed in the Tiger i.e. wide battle tracks

and narrow tracks fo r transportation . Complication in manufacture meant that the early Panther was

never fully equipped with provision for fording up to 4 metres. Later this requirement was eliminated

because i t had been found impractical on the Tiger Ausf E-Speer would no t allow MAN to undertake

any large scale development work to eliminate these problems until 1944 when work commenced on the

Panther Ausf.F which was scheduled fo r production in 1945.

In January 1943 MAN and Daimler-Benz produced their first regular Panther Ausf D. MNH joined

them in February. Henschel ~ o m m e n c e d building 200 Panthe rs in March and continued until November

1943. On the 10th May 1943 Hitler was assured, by the industry, that despite the fact it had no t com

pleted the 250 Panthers promised, it would have 324 Panthers ready by 31 st May. I n February the

'Schuerzen' armoured aprons were fitted to all Panthers under construction ,

The Panther was used in action fo r the first time in Operation Zitadelle, the Kursk Offensive, which

began on 5th July 1943. The Panther battalions were committed despite the pleas by Panzer experts .

BELOW: Tw o Panther Ausf. A from Panzer Grenadier Division 'Grossdeutscheland' in action

against the Soviets attacking the Memel pocket (Now Klaipeda) on the Lituanian Baltic Coast on

the 11 th November 1944. The Division was evacuated by Sea some 15 days later.

. ~

I, I.: ",-:.,':'.r.' t ~ ~ t ~...f , ' " , ~ t. ......, ~ . : ' C . ~

' . . .:. •• .:: , ' ~

9





that the technical weakness should be overcome and t hat the crews be fully trained in the handling of

this new advanced tank. The Panthers served in the IVth Panzer Army under Hoth, in particular they

were used by Panzer Grenadier [,ivision 'Grossdeutschl and ' who \/Olere in the 48th Panzer Corps of that

Army . Also in action with Pal. _ners in the 4th Panzer Army were the SS Panzer Corps which comprised

of the Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler, Das Reich and Totenkopf Waffen SS Panzer Divisions. Considerable

problems arose with mechanical failure and this was further aggravated by the lack of suitable recovery

vehicles capable of rescuing these heavy tanks. As many as three of the 18th ZgKw semitracked re

covery vehicles were needed to retrieve a Panther. After the collapse of this ill-fated offensive the

German Army was forced to give ground and many Panthers were lost to th e Soviets as they could no t

be recovered in time. The Panther was found to be more than a match fo r the T 34, bu t the crews

confidence was often shaken by the poor reliability , and the problems caused by the breakdowns.

As Operation Zitadelle died out at the end of July 1943 the Panther Ausf A went into production at

Daimler-Benz in Berlin-Marienfelde. The Ausf . A incorporated many of the details that had to be

left out of the early production vehicles due to the speed at which development was completed. A

new commanders cupola with armoured periscopes and a sloped surface to increase protection and the

addition of a proper ball mounting fo r the hull MG, developed by Daimler-Benz were the most notic

able features. Certain minor improvements, were incorporated in an effort to 3liminate some of th e

defects that had become plain during testing and training that had been carried ou t on the production

vehicles. I n a furtherattempt to overcome the rim bolt f ailures, 24 bolts were used instead of the 16

on the wheels of the Ausf. D, the result was a more reliable w heel but p roblems were no t cured untilthe new 'silent bloc' steel rimmed w heels (as on Tiger Au sf . B) were fitted to the Ausf. G late in

1944. The troublesome binocular gun sight was repl aced by a single tel escope, reducing the openings

on the left side of the man le t to one. Finally, to improve the structural st rength, and to ease the turret

production, all the pistol ports and the shellejectionhatch on the turret were deleted. Althou gh the

Ausf. A went into production in July, the Ausf. D was sti ll being produced by Henschel w ho di d not

complete their contract fo r Panthers until November 1943. Turrets and the turret components were

supplied by various c o n c ~ r n s and th is would account fo r th e ex istence of Panther Ausf. D hulls fitted

with Ausf A turrets. Later all Panthers were f i t t ed w it h the new style 24 bo lt roa d w heel, but in the

interim a solution was attempted by drilling holes fo r an additional bolt between each of the normal

16 making a total of 32. As production continued the overheating of the Maybach H L 230 P 30

engine was gradually cured, bu t transmission failures remained a constant pr oblem .

On the 30th July 1943, a Japanese delegation under Colonel Ishide, vi sted th e HenschelWerke and were given demonstrations of the Panther Ausf. D and Tiger Au sf E. Following

this visit Japan decided to purchase one example of each tank, along with a complete set

of drawings and details of production techniques. The Japanese hoped to build these vehicles under

licence by 1945. Negotiations dragged on and were not concluded unti I November 1944

when Daimler-Benz handed over a Panther to the Japanese trade mission, bu t by then there

was no means of shipping such a heavy item to Japan. MAN were supposed to provide the drawings,

but di d no t receive payment, so the drawings never left their factory.

During 1943, the first year of Panther production, 1850 Panther chassis were built . 1768 of these

appeared as battletanks, the remaining 82 were converted to tank retrievers-Bergepanthers-by

Demag AG. No official record has yet been found which w ould show the exact number of Ausf. D

Panthers, but it is estimated that there were about 600. Production of the Panther Ausf A continued

until i t was replaced by the Ausf G in early 1944. On 27th February 1944 Hitler eliminated

Panzerkampfwagen V from the official designation which was now Panzerkampfwagen Panther.

The drawing of the Panther Ausf D is of the type used at Kursk July 1943. Note the early type

of wheels, rods on the mudguards to indicate the width of the tank and brackets fo r the schuerzen

armour aprons. The Panther Ausf. A drawing is of a Befehlspanzer - Command tank . The only

differences to the basic battletank were the additional radio aerials and the additional radio sets

carried within . The number of 7.5cm rounds carried had to be reduced from 79 to 64, but the

MG ammunition was increased from 4200 rounds to 4800 rounds . The Befehlspanzer Panther

which was based not only on the Panther Ausf A but also on reworked Panther Ausf D. The

number Sd Kfz 267 and Sd Kfz 268 was alotted depending on the type of radio equipment

carried. All Panthers were equipped with the standard tank radio FU 5, which was an Ultra

short wave receiver and 10 watt sender operating on the 27200/33300 Kc/s band and used the

usual 2 metre rod aerial. The Sk Kf z 267 also carried the FU 8 which was a medium wave receiver with a 30 watt sender operating on the 1130/3000 Kc/s band which used the mast

star aerial. The Sk Kfz 268 carried in addition to the FU 5 and FU 7 which was an Ultra short

wave receiver d1 and 20 watt sender operating on the 42100/47800 Kc/s band using standard

2 metre rod aerial - this readio was the standard ground to air co-ordination equipment.

10



In addition to Befehlspanzer, the Panther Ausf. D alSO appeared as a Beobachtungs-panzerwag en

Panther. The only photograph which has been located of th is vehicle indicates th at th e Ausf . D

turre t is retained in a much modified form. An Ausf. A commanders cupola is fitted, the gun

and mant!et were removed and replaced by a dummy fixture and a ball mounted MG (As fitted

on the pz Kpfw IV) was added to th e turret.

Techn ical Specifica tion for Panzerkampfwagen V 'Panter' Ausf.D.

Crew: 5 StoWJge

Weight , Comlko\ load ffl. 9876G Ibs 44.09 long Ion s

49.38 Shorl tons 44.80 To nnei Amm .... mlion, 7.5 t.H 1: 79 rUs.

Per fo rmance Ammu ·" lion. 7.92mm: 405 0 rd ,

Speed, jv;<1x. Road: 28 m .p h (4 5 Km p.h.)

Cross Coun t l", 15.5/18.6 tn.p. h. (25 /30 Km.pJ'..l n t e { n ~ 1 Fuel ca pacity : 1621 1l11l.gals.

Max. Gf.Jdicnt: 30 d e g r e , · ~ (66. S'!..) 194 U.S. 'lOlls . 730 L it rcs

Fordingdcpl h : 5' 7" ( 170 cm)

Trench cloning: 8' OW' (245 em)

Slep : 2'11',1'(9 0 em)

Ground p ressure: Ibs/S<l. ills (0.85 KgISQ.cm) Ro litx l homO\)cncous plale , i l r u k l l l ' . l ~ t c p p d wekkd JOintsRange (inte rnd l fue l, road: 124 miles (200 K m)

Nose uPI)!!r : 3.149" 180 m m ) .,: 35 d c g , e e ~ e rO h COUfl lf y: 62 miles {lOO Km) o ~ lo wer: 3 .1 45" (80m01I .1I55deurecs

Sides upp er : 1.574" (4001m) <It 5 0 d e 1 J l e c ~ Power 10 weIght r.. ti o: 15. 6 Metflc ·HP/torllle

S id es low er. 1.57<'1" 140mnl) at gO degreeS

Length overa ll 29' ~ \ " (886 cmlRear : 1. 574" (40m n : 31 GO d e 1 J ' c ~

Length ifl c. M u g u a r d ~ : 23' 4" (710cml "

Oimc:nslons

Dec ki l\g: 0.59 1" \ I5mm ) Odcgrees

Widl h overaU : 10' 10" {330 cmlBelly, fr on t : 0 78 T' (20 m01)

"Orlegrecs

Heigh t : 9 ' 8'° (2 95 an i "Bel ly, rear: 0 .5 19" ( 13m m ) O d"'9rccs

Gro unc l clearaflcc: I OU ':." 154 em) Tu rr e l fron t: 3.14 9" (80 mm ) at 80 degree s

Fire heigh t o f gU ll : 8' 6" (226 em) Tu rr t:: t sides : 1. 772" (4 5 mm) al 65 d@ gr@es

T urrel r ing dia : ! i 'S" (165 cm l T urr e t rear' 1. 772" (45 mOl) a t 62dcgrecs

Road whee l d i3. lo verall, 2' r " (86 cm) Tu rrCI roo f; 0.412" (1 2 mOl l at 0 ~ 7 d C!J"' t::s

Ma m ol ' 4.7'24" (12Qmm) rounded

Tr3ckwork Cup ola : 3.937" (1DOmm) al QOdeg rees

Germa n st ij ndal d ang les: 0 dllgrecs - Hor iZO I'talCe l\(re:;: S' T' (268 ern :

lcngth on gro un(.) : 12' 9!-:' (390 em) i o r ' l Width : 2' 2" (66 (;;'

Number 0 1 lin k) per Irack : 87 , d ry ~ n ' ] l e .: . Driv!!r : direct vis.on , slit and 2 perisco pes

Rad iO opera tor: 2 PCfl SCOPCSCo mma nde r: 6 a rmo ured glass s lits

1 x j·:...·,·ooc h H l 23 0 P 30 V l? !60 £leU" l COnln)ullica l ionsOH V \'o' ;llcr .:oo ',·d , 'l:f.()1 0 1 23 ,:8 "lies ~ I , ; . ' , Opill'] 700 h.h.p ilt 3DOO r. p.m, G.B: 1 c ( l \ l l r e ~ · FU5rlld,0: Ult r.. she " wa ve rfl'C iotvcr e ilnd 10 ", ,,,II°n n rallO 12 volts Bos ch de ct fl C1l! systIl Jl'.

sender c op era t ing on 27200 to 33300

Kc/s ba ll(iT r a n ~ m i , ' ! o n : ZF A K7 200sy nc(()117 fo rwJI U, 1 rcvel sc

S f H I n g : I,.AN mu lt' ·ge'II ..>d, Turn ing c ird e/gear '

ome f, e.'neu tral, 5m ( 16 .5") ls l .l 1m 136' ,

2lid. 18m ! I 3 rd, 30m (98S) 4t h.43m Tedlilical S,:ec ,j,catlOn Voria tio n for Panzerkamp(..vdgc n V ' a t h ~ r ' Aus f A

(141') 5 th, 61m (200" , 6t h, 80 m (26 0') 7: 1

SUSl.lcnsion: 2 tr .1nsveNC 10r SIOn Ilar s pcr ' Od d wh ec 'r: elghl. Co mbat loaded : l 00.800 Ibs 45.0 LOlL; Ions

50.4 Sh ort Io ns, 45.5 ton nes

GIOUIld P . ~ l l e ; 12.4 Ibs/ sq, ins 10.87 Kg lsQ.cml

"-rmillncn! Hei \}ht: l,r 10" (300 cm)

Sights· 1)( TZ F 12a (T eltiSco pc) main Jrm", m\lnt

vla in : 1 X 7.5 cm KWK 42 (Rh elO me \.l lI 1 x KlF Z hu ll MG

Calibre. and lengt h in calibre; : 75 m m (2.95 2 UIS.) l /70Trave rse. 360 degree tun et. Oper at Ion Power ta kd·off and han d

I x 7 9 2 mm MG 34 leo aX lallElevatIon ' IJlus 20 rJc']rees, minus 4 degrCI:S

1 x 7 92 MG 34 ,n hull 1>3 11 mou ntSigh!>' 1 x T ZF 12 (B inoc uJdr ) 1\1/1'" armamenT

(1 x 7.92 mm \ ~ G 34 op t ional fOI AA r l c )

Seco ndary J-\ rma lllent · 1 x 7.92mll1 ".lG 34 (Co ·ax ,,,n

I x 7 92 111nl MG fo r ust.' in hull o r AA mount

1 x9n lon MP3 8 1 pellscup c ~ 1I.1 G SilJht W ZF 2)Gx 9 cm smoke (h schargm s 7 PLons cop\lS

1 )( 27 mm signal pisto l (iJllloau er : 1 p f l ! J t :

11

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/KgISQ.cm





In add ition to Befehlspanze r, the Panther Ausf. D also appeared as a Beobachtungs-panzerwagen

Panther. The only photograph which has been located of this vehicle indicates that the Ausf. D

turret is retained in a much modified form . An Ausf. A commanders cupola is fitted, th e gun

and mantlet were removed and replaced by a dummy fixture and a ball mounted MG (As fitted

on the pz Kpfw IV ) was added to the turret.

Techn ica l Speci f ica ti on fo r Pan zerk amp fwage n V 'Pante r' Au sf.D .

Crew: 5

Wei ght. Combat loaded: 98766 1bs . 44.09 Long lOllS

49.38 Short IOns 44.80 Tonn.: ,

Per for-nance

Speed, ; · x . Ro"d: 28 In f).h . 145 KIll.p.l l.I

etOH coun t ry 15.5118.6 In p.h. (15/30 Km,p.' .J

Max. Gradient: 30 d e t l r e , ' ~ 166.6%)

Ford ing depth' 5' 7'" ( 170 em)

Trench crossing: S' DIS" (245 C : Step: 2' 1 1 ' ' ( 9 0 em)

Ground pr(."SSUf e: Ibs/S(l. ills 10.85 K ~ u c m l Range (inlcr na l luel, rINd: 124 .n iles (200 Km)

Cross coun try:

Powcr to weight ral io :

Oimonsions

leng lh uII€lall:

Lengl h inc. Mudgu" rds.

Width overa ll :

Height :

Grou nd cl earance:

Fire heigh t of gun:

Tu rlet ringdia .:

Rood wheel d ia. (overalll

Trtlckwork

C e I 1 1 r ~ : l englh on grovnd.

Widlh:

62 mi!cs (100 Km)

15.6 MUlr lCHP!tollilC

29' , " tB86 em)

23' 4" 1710 ( 1: 1,

10' 10" (330 em)

9' 8" (295 cn ;)

l ' ~ " 154 cm)

S' 6" (226 cm)

5' 5" t165 em)

2 '9 1.." (86 em)

8' 1" 1268 em )

12' 9%" 1390 em )

2' 2" (66cm l

Nvmbe. of l k ~ per tracie 87, dry Sitlg le pin

MlJehanical Ou la li .

a r ~ s s s o n . Steering:

SuspenSion .

Q. rm"rncr"

1 x ~ l a v b a c h Hl 230 P 30 V )2 160 <.Icy.ees)

O HV \'.'Jte r coo led pel to l 0 1 23.88 ItIres (it:vcl·

OIl,r1(J 70 0 b . ~ al 3000 t .p m. 6 .8: I comprcs

qon ralio. 12 vol l>80sch electrrc,,1system.

ZF AK 7·200 syncrOIl 7 forward. I reve rse

MAN mu lt i·gea red. Turning circle/year :

o rnLltre/neu tral, 5m ( 16.5") ls i , 1 1m (36'1

21,d. 181ll I ) 3r(l, 30m !O8 5') 4th. 430n

( 141') 51h. 6 1m (200') Glh, 80m (260') 7Th

2 I ran5vcrse lorslon 1 J , ~ ~ s I}(lr road wher l

'ila in: 1 X 7.5 em KWK 42 (Rh elnme t{l !i)

Ca lib re, "nd length in ca li bres: 75 10m (2.952 rns.1 l /70

Traverse: 360 dcurce lurrct . Operat ion Power lake·off and hand

Elevat ion: plus 20 d l e s , minus 4 dC 'lfccs

Stgh ls: I/ ( T2F 12 (Binocularl l\l<1in drrnam"nt

SCCO rrddrY Armall1(Jn t : 1 x 7.92rnm i',I G 34 (Co·axlall

I x 7.92 m m MG lor ~ c in hu ll Or AA rnoun!

I l( 9 mm ~ l P 38

6 x 9 em smoke d lsc hargels

I x 27 nUll s,yna l p ! 1

Stowag c

Amm unition, 7. 5 em : 79 rds.

Amm uni t ion, 7.92mm: 4050 ,.Os.

100 ernai Fue l capaCit y: 162 Imp ga ls.

194 U.S. ga .• 73 0 Li t rcs

Armour

Type: Ro ll ed homosencous p lote, in h:rlock u1!.l

steppen we klcd 10uliS

Nose upper: 3. 149"

Nose IOI"N : 3 .1 45 "

Sides uppcr : 1.574"

Sides lower 1.574"

Rear: 1.574"

Decking: 0591"'

Belly, fronl: 0.787"'

Bell y. r ila r: 0.519"

Turret l ronl: 3. 149"

TUffclsl(les: 1772"

Turret rear : 1.772"

Turre l roof: ~ . 4 7 2 " Ma nte l: 4.7 24"

Cupola , 3.937'"

German standard <I ngles:

(SOmm) at 35dcg.,!c s

(eOmm) ill 55 dcgree.(40mm J aI 50 d l!lJf()c.

(40mmJ at 90dc'9lees

(40mm) al6 0 dCtJfees

(I S In n l ) O d ~ g r e e $"{20mmj o d e l e e "(131l1mj"

o degrells

180 min) a t 80 degrees

i45mm ) at 65 degrees

(4Smml al 62 degrees

112mml at 0 t ldcgfees

(120mm ) ro unded

(1 00rnmj al 90 d eg rees

oeJugrees .. Ho ri lOlllat

Vision

Driver :

RadiO opera tor:

Commander:

FU5 rad IO

dir ect VISion, slit and 2 pe ri seOl}lls

2 per iscopes

6 armoured gluss slils

Ult ra shon waV(l reciever c and 10 wa lt

sender cOI.>C ra t ing on 27200 10 33300

Kc /s b K I

Technlcal Sl)ec1 lr c.'!lIO n Varr at lOI) for Panzerk ampfwagc n V 'Palll hlJr' Aust A

'.':elght, COI1I1.1al loadt!"d : 100,800Ibs. 45.0 lO llg tons

50 4 Short to ns. 45.510nnes

Gro und prestu.re : IV l l hs/sq. ins (Q 8 1 Kg /sQ.em l

Heiuht· 9' 10" (300crn)

Sigh ts: 1 x TZ F 12<1 (Telescope) main armdmCfl\

l xKlFZ hv l\ MG

Secondary armament:

I x 7.92 mm MG 34 (co·axlal)

I x 7.92 MG 34 rn hvll ball movn1

(1 7 92 mm MG.34 op 110nal for AA defenc e)J(

VISion

Ruuio upcr"IO' : I pcn sro p.: ~ "'lG sinh I IKZ F- 2)

Command el$ (:U I>oI,,: 7 peri scopes

Gun loader' 1 \"lC lisco pC

11

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/prestu.re






http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/Kg/sQ.em









ABOVE: On its introduction in March 1942 the Churchill Mk II I was the first tank to be armed with

the 6 pdr antitank gun. In this case the gun was a 6 pd r Mk II I L/43. A new welded turret wasdeveloped fo r the bigger gun and other noticable external features were the improved side intake

louvres and completely covered trackwork. The Churchill Mk II I was in action alongside Churchill

MK I in the abortive Dieppe raid on 19th August 1942 where all but a few tanks were lost in the Sea

before a footing was gained on the shore. The Germans subsequently carried out extensive tests

on the Mk Il l 's which were abandoned at Dieppe.

(IMPERIAL WAR MUSEUM PHOTO)

Infantry Tank MK IV Churchill

Drawings and historical research by Arthur J. Gooch.

BELLONA PRINTS which should be studies in conjunction with this Series :

Series 19· Churchill Mk I and Mk II . Series 25· Churchill bridgelayer .

The Churchill Mk II I was the first tank to appear, in March 1942, with the new 6·pdr antitank gun.

12



It was in April 1938 that the Director of Artillery issued a specification fo r the design of the gun

and ammunition fo r tank or anti-tank use. But the design department at this time lacked the staff,

and were to o heavily commited to work on other guns so that the Director of Artillery could get

no priority from the General Staff. Work progressed slowly and i t was not until the Summer of 1940

that the gun finally passed its firing trials at Shoeburyness. 14 pilot models were ordered by t he

Ministry of Supply (MOS) in July_ This order was later increased to 50 .

After battle experience in Fnmce the War Office (WO) specified, in November: 940, that there was

a requirement fo r mounting a gun heavier than the 2-pdr. They were advised that a 6-pdr. gun wasalready under way and that the most effective way of meeti ng the requirement would be to adapt

the Churchill. A Cruiser tank designed specifically to take ·the 6-pdr. gun was already under consid

eration (Cromwell).

At the time, i t was expected that production of tanks and guns would co-incide at the end of 1941

and since the guns could not be available soon er, th ere was no point in modifying the Crusader.

In December 1940,500 guns were ordered bu t i t was not mad e clear as to whether these were to be

made fo r field or tank mounting. Different br eech ri ngs w ere req uired fo r ' tank' mounting, although

a ' tank' gun could be used in a ' field' mounting, it wa s no t so vice versa. In consequence the MOS

ordered equal quantities of each. ~

BELOW: A Churchill Mk III during ;raining in South Wales at t ~ end of 1942. Some Churchill

IVik I i i and earlier Mks were delivered to Russia in August 1942 ur .der lend lease agreements. Mean

while 3 Churchil l Mk III were sent to North Africa where they wec's attached to the 1st Armoured

Division. Although no t used fo r combat one was knocked out by a German 8.8cm gun .

(lMPEFnAL WAR MUSEUM PHOTO)

13



8

.....

=:I :u'"j:I :u

:cuoo~ a::::>Ifa:<!

>.0

14



,.~ W

...J

<{

U<J)

>...

:e.....

.....

xu

:::I'"

o



CHURCHILL - TYPICAL SUSPENS ION UNIT

Technical Specification fo r Churchill Mk III, IV , V Steering : Co nl folled d l f f ~ f e n t r l Suspension : 11 Independentl y sprung bog ies each side

Crew: 5

Weight, Combat loaded : 87,360 lb. 39 Long Ions. Secondary Arm,)menl :

43.68 Short tons. Co·Ax 1.92mm OESA MG in Tunet

7.92mm BESA MG in HullPerformance1.303 OREN MG (AA) stowed in vehicle

Speed. Max. Road: 17 m.p .h. 127 .2 Km.p,h.) 1.2'0 Bomb Thrower (30 bombs)Fording depth : 3' (Y' (91.4 em) Inl 8rnal Fuel c.lpacity : 150 Imp, gals. 187.5 U.S. galsTrench crouing: 12' (r 1365.8 em) 58 1.89 lilres AUX Fu el 32\1', Imp Ga ls.Step ; 4' 0" (121.9 em)

Min . Turning circle: SkidArmour

Ground preuure: 13.23 Ibs/sq. in$.. (0.23 Kg/SQ . em)

Ra nge (internal fuel). Road : 90 Miles 1144 Km ) Power 10 weight ratio: Gross a09 HP/ton Type: Homogeneous plale

Metric: HP/lon HuH:

NoS!: 3.492" {89mmJ at degreesOimensiOM Glasis .plate : 1.488" l38mml n 7(}degrees

Driverspla le: 3.972" ( IOlmm)a l Odegreeslength over;)ll :

25' 2" (765 em)(w ithaux lank ) Sides : 2.98S·· t76m rn ) al 0 deg .ees

Length · Hull only ; 24' 1 .. (735 eml Rear, upp e., 2.508" (64rnml al o degrees Widlhoverall : 10' 8" 1325. 12 em) Decking: O.593-0.744"{15· 19mm) at 90 degreeslaaou air in tak e louwesl Belly: 0.744" (19mm) at 900egr811s

Wid th veh icte: 9' 5" 1287.6 em) Height - Turret room: 8' OW' (245 em) Turret - Welded or Cast :

Ground dearance : I' 9" (53 eml Front : 3.492" (89mm) at 0 degrees

Fire hei!tlt 0 1gun: 6' 6" (199 em) Sides ; 3.492" (89mm) at 0 degree$

Turret (ingdia: 4' 1 0 ~ " (147.96crn)

Road wheel dia. (overall) I' 1" (33 em) Note: 0 degrees .., Verli C41 I

(bunning) 9,75"

Armamenl: Churchill Mk III or Mk IV

Trackwork

Main: OOF6pdr f ew t . Mklll

Centres : 7' 2Y," (219.71 em) Calibre, and length in cal ibres 57 mm /em 12.244 inl..) L/43

Length on ground: 12' 6" (381 an ) T';lver1-e : 360 degrees Oper;lt!on: Electric;lntI Hand Ge;lr

Width: " 10" (55.88 em) Elevlt ion . plus 20deg,ees. mimJ$ 12l1.degre es

Pitch 7.96" (20 .2 em)

Number of links per track 72 Stowage:

Type : Spudded. double rail section Gun r d : 84

MG rd , ; 4950Medtanical Detaih

Armament V,rillion : Churchill Mk III or Mk IV Engine: Bedfo.d'Twin-Six' 12 cylinder

ho rizon tali Vopposed side va lve, Main: OO F Spdr 7 CV/I. Mk IVnormally np irated for g a ~ l i n l l Calibre, and length in Cillibres: 57 mm/cm (2.244 OOil, liSaoperalion. Spark ignilion, liqu id

coo lcd. 127mm bore x 139.7mmArmament Varialion: Churchill Mk V

stroke ' 21 ,23 7cc (5" x S'.-S" '"

1529 cu .in.' ComprClSion Riltio Main: OQF 95mm Tank Howitzer Mk 1

Calib(e, and length in calibres : 95 mm /cm (3.7 ins.) Ll20.755.5:1,350 BHP 4112200 RPM

Transmission: 18" S'P'D' Clutctl. Merritt·BrownStowage: HOW rcls : 4 7

H4 Gear/51eering Box 4F & 1 RMG rds: 4950

'.....16



D

LL Mk IIISCALE 1: 48 ( Yo" to 1 foot) drawn by Arthur J. Gooch

I ." ~ ~ *~ q . m DaD

17Mk Y



ABOVE : The Mk IV Churchill returned to a Cast t urret, w hi ch was known as the 'earl y ' t ype turret .

The 6 pdr gun was retained but a Mk V L/50 was used. This longer gun and th e counterweight at

the muzzle gave it a very slim appearance. The Chu rchill Mk IV was fi rst used in acti on in Tunisia

where their excellent cross country performan ce was most we lcom e. The 6 pdr wa s found very

good against German armour of that peri od, how ever, th e lack of h igh exp losive capab i li ty reduced

the effectiveness of the t ank . To over come t his th e 1st Armou red Divi sio n w o rk sh ops in T unis

converted 120 Churchill Mk IV's by mou nti ng the comp lete 3 75 mm Gun and m ou ntin g from

wrecked Shermans. The resulting ve hicle ':'Jas known as t he Chu rch il l NA 75 and served su cce ss fully

in Sicily ,and Italy.


...... In January 1941 the design was finalised fo r producti on an d t he fo ll owing month 7000 were ordered,

increased in May to 14,000 and again increased in Decembe r t o 28,750. Prod ucti on was planned for

2000 a month, but again i t was not made clear as t o the rat io of ' f ie ld ' o r ' tan k' mount i ngs that was

required, so the MOS took initiative and ordered 40% and 60% re spect ivel y, as t he latte r we re inter·changeable.

Meanwhile in January (1941), i t was decided to build the Cromw ell on the 6·pci: . b as is and in March

a mock·up of the 6 pdr. Crusader was ordered. In March discuss ions commenced w i th Vaux halls fo r

the fitting of the &pdr. gun in the Churchill fo r which it was originally desi gn ed. Thi s necess i tat ed a

re-clesigned turret which was worked out at Egham but proved to be impractical, so Va uxhall engineers

had to re ·d esign 'it themselves, whi ch they did .

After firing trials of welded, cast and bolted turrets the welded version wa s chos en and o rders fo r these

turrets was placed with Babcock & Wilcox in August 1941. Orders fo r the vehicles w as given in October

1941 . However, after the mechanical problems with the Cnurchil i, the 6·pdr. Crusader pro ject was also

started in October.

In the meantime production of &pdr. guns had commenced in August and by the end of the yea r 300

' tank' gun s were delivered. But there were no tanks to take them . Field mountings were ready so th ese

were fitted and some sent to the Middle East. By February 1942 production was running at about 300

a month and had increased to 1,400 a month by June. By December the pl anned 2000 a month rate

had been achieved.

18



Meanwhile, in February 1942 the first Churchill Mk . II I mounting a 6 ·pdr. gun passed its tests and pro

duction commenced achieving a rate of 40 a week by July 1942.

Several of the earlier Mk. I and II vehicles were brought up to the Mk. II I standard with the mounting

of the new gun and turret in add ition to other improvements that had been made such as the fitting of

new ai r intake louvres, track guards and many mechanical refinements. The Mk. IV Churchill appeared

in the Summer of 1942 with a new cast turret mounting the 6-pdr. Some of the early mOdels had the

6 pdr. Mk V gun although the majority had the Mk. III gun. The Mk . V gun had a slightly longer

barrel and was noticably slimmer than the Mk. III. It also featured a large muzzle counterweight whichemphasised its slim appearance. Tw o versions of this cast turret were produced, an'early' version had

the extract fan cowl placed at the side of the turret roof while the 'late' version had the cowl situated

almost on the turret centre line. Both these types were used on the Mk. IV . The Mk. V Churchill was

produced mounting a 95mm how;,zer in place of the 6-pdr. fo r close-support work. This howitzer was

mounted in the'late' cast turret only .

Al l Mk. III, I V and V Churchills mounted a co-axial Besa 7.92mm MG in the turret and a similar machine

gun in the hull.

Churchill Mk . I l l 's were first used in action in the raid on Dieppe on 19th August 1942 with the 14th

Canadian Army Tank Regiment (Calgary Regt). Three Churchill Mk. I l l 's were tested in the Middle

East atEI Alamein though they

wereprimar

ily

usedfo r running

andmaintenance trials, one

wasknocked ou t by an 8 .8cm gun . There were attached to the 1st Armoured Division. Churchill Mk . III 'S

were later used in Tunisia and first saw action with 51 st Royal Tank Regiment (25th Tank Brigade) from

February 1943 until the end of that campaign. production of the Churchill was carried ou t by a group

of eleven firms of which Vauxhall Motors were the productions ' Parents' and the quantitities of Mk .111,

IV and V vehicles built by the groups' firms are listed on page 20.

BELOW : The Churchill Mk V replaced the Mk I, with its 3 inch Howitzer, in the close support

role . A 95 mm Howitzer Mk I was used and is easily identified by short heavy barrel and large

counter weight. The Mk V was produced at the same time as the Mk IV and represented 10% of

the total production.


19



Mk. II I Mk. IV Mk. V

Vauxhall Motors 31

Birmingham Railway Carriage & Wagon Co.

Beyer, Peacock 29 10

Broom & Wade 48

Dennis Bros. 74 213

Gloucester Railway Carriage & Wagon Co. 88 268

Harland & Wolff

Leyland Motors 136 347

Metropolitan-Cammell Carriage & Wagon Co. 98 198

Newton Chambers 110 303 241 .Charles Roberts 61 283

675 1622 241

BELOW: An early C ~ u r c h i l l Mk.111 which still retained the side intake louvres of the Churchill

Mk I and Mk II . A Mk II I fitted with the 6 pdr Mk V L!50 normally seen on the Mk IV is on

Display at the Armor Proving Ground, Aberdeen, Maryland, U.S.A.

(WARPICS PHOTO)

Published by Model & Allied Publications Limited., 13-35 Bridge Street,

1

Date post:	08-Apr-2018
Category:	Documents
Upload:	sobolanul
View:	268 times
Download:	1 times

Bellona_MVP_s26

Documents