SdKfz 161 Panzer IV

History of SdKfz 161 Panzer IV

Panzer IV (or "Panzerkampfwagen IV", abbreviated "Pz. KpfW. IV") formed the backbone of the German army from the very beginning, fighting where its strength was needed. The type proved to be both reliable and deadly, and a large number of model variants appeared during World War II, increasing its range and striking power. Some 9,000 Panzer IVs were eventually produced for the German army from 1937 to 1945, making it the largest number of all German tanks.

This tank also became the only German system in service throughout the war, despite the availability of the new Panther series. The system proved very successful and continued to be used by the military for some time after the war, a testament to its excellent design in 1934.

Many enemies came to respect the German ingenuity, which developed the formidable virtuosity of the Panzer IV. In many respects, the Panzer IV was never directly replaced by a successor, but instead appeared where it was needed in various forms throughout the war.

Germany's dilemma

In January 1934, the German Army Ordnance Office decided to use two intermediate tanks to power its future armored forces. Colonel Heinz Guderian directed the charge and imagined two such tanks running side by side when calculating roles, depending on the economic situation at the time. The first of the two became the Panzer III, a lighter and relatively smaller design designed to engage enemy tanks directly (actually known as the "Tank Killer"). The second design this time larger and heavier than the Panzer III was to be a class-leading Panzer IV, a five-person vehicle designed to complement the existing Panzers 1, 2 and upcoming The action of the Panzer III battlefield. Essentially, the Panzer IV was designed to be a kind of "fire support vehicle", fulfilling the role of an escort tank, becoming the fourth tank company of each tank battalion.

The 24-ton weight limit was set as some German authorities feared that heavier things wouldn't be able to pass through the old bridges that dot the German countryside. The light tanks before the Panzer IV were also insufficiently equipped to mount high-speed large-caliber main guns. Development will continue in true Versailles treaty fashion, and this new medium tank will go by the pseudonym "mitten Traktor" or "mittel Traktor".

Ultimately, of course, when Hitler's plans for Europe were announced and put into practice, the format was completely scrapped.

Pz.KpfW Competition for production rights.

Armed with these specifications, the right German heavy industry companies looking for this potentially lucrative manufacturing contract are already competing. Feedback came from Krupp-Grusonwerke, MAN and Rheinmetall Borsig. MAN showed its VK 2002 (MAN) prototype, while Rheinmetall Borsig produced its VK 2001 (Rh) design. However, the construction of the Krupp-Gruson plant under the development name VK 2001(K) - "Bataillons-Fuhrerwagen" prevailed. The official German military name Sd.

Vehicle 161 was applied, officially dispelling any doubts about its early origins as a "medium tractor". The Krupp-Grussen factory in Magdeburg was commissioned to manufacture the new tank. Krupp-Grusonwerke manufactured no less than 35 pre-production prototypes of Pz. KpfW. IV Ausf.

A ("Ausf A" means "Type A"), delivered from October 1937 to early 1938.

The first 75mm main gun

As a fire support vehicle, the initial armament will revolve around a short-barreled 75mm main gun, numbered 7.5cm Kw. KL/24. The system had a length of just under 1.80 m and had a low speed, making it incapable of fighting enemy anti-tank positions dug in fortifications and infantry.

Ironically, the tank's lethality will fall on the lighter, smaller Panzer III. At the time there was some idea of ??equipping the new Panzer IV with a long-barreled high-speed 75mm main gun, but this idea was abandoned as many believed that the low-velocity short-barreled tank had enough firepower to penetrate the armor of French and British tanks pointing them towards The west.

Pz.KpfW. IV Ausf. a

Ausf. A basically set the design standard for the rest of Pz.KpfW. IV variants are as follows. Power is provided by a single 250 hp Maybach 108TR series water-cooled 12-cylinder gasoline engine mounted in the rear of the fuselage.

The coupled SGR 75 transmission enables five forward and one reverse gears. The weapon is the aforementioned short-barreled low-velocity (1,260 ft/s) 75mm main gun, which fires both high-explosive shells as the main gun and armor-piercing rounds. The main gun could theoretically penetrate a 1.4-inch-thick armored surface, which was sloped at a 30-degree angle, at a distance of nearly 1,100 yards.

The entire armor system weighs 18 tons and the armor thickness reaches 20 mm. Top road speed is 19 mph and range is 93 miles.

The war in Europe actually started with the invasion of Poland in September 1939. Ausf. A was used in pre-production form in subsequent combat operations and also participated in the invasion of Norway and eventually the Netherlands and France itself. This time, the German authorities were well-positioned to their strategy of maximizing tank formations and eliminating flaws in the Panzer IV design as a whole. Before the invasion of the Soviet Union, Ausf.A was relieved of frontline duties to make way for Ausf.B.

Many Ausf.A models were retained as trainers for emerging tank tankers.

Surprisingly, the basic Panzer IV chassis remained largely unchanged throughout the life of the tank, although limitations inherent in some of the passed models dictated new variants with different primary weapons and armor. The latter will be a growing problem - as direct combat has shown - although their armament will eventually get better.

The crew position of the Panzer IV

Crew responsibility falls to five people, including the tank commander, gunner and loader (located in the turret) and driver and radio operator/archer (located in the front hull).

The tank commander is the brain of Pz. KpfW. IV and maintained close contact with his gunners and drivers. He is also responsible for communicating and receiving information with other tanks in the field. His position was in the central rear of the turret, just behind the breech of the main gun, and the commander reserved external access through a hatch in the dome above his seat.

His duties include scanning the field for suitable targets, identifying those targets, pointing out the ammunition type to the loader, and focusing on the overall welfare/cohesion of the crew. Communicating inside the noisy, often smelly tank is via a talkback tube or a simple touch signal with someone within range.

After a while, experienced tank crews learned to work side by side without interruption.

Gunner is the second most important position in Pz.KpfW. IV. It is also used to scan the terrain ahead and identify potential enemy targets or observe their movements, and it is also responsible for informing the loader of the next ammunition projectile to be used. The gunner steers the turret around his ring manually via an electricity-based system or in the event of a broken electrical system.

The gunner also maintains and operates the available coaxial 7.92mm MG 34 infantry machine gun when required. Its position in the turret is to the right of the breech.

Modern tank systems (especially Russian ones) do away with manual loaders, opting instead for complex but effective automatic loading systems.

The loader serves the gunner and can also act as a radio operator/archer in a pinch. His position sees him sitting to the left of the breech of the main gun. His duties included following orders from gunners and tank commanders, and maintaining all available ammunition supplies.

Identifying the order and then loading the projectile into the breech became second nature in time, as a few seconds lost in the loading process could spell doom for the entire crew.

The radio operator monitors all communications through various channels and reports to the tank commander and driver. If he is not actively participating in any communication, he is simply receiving information and reporting all the important things. His additional duties included operating the bow-mounted 7.92mm MG-34 infantry machine gun. While this defensive position provided some limited traversal, it became standard on WWII main battle tanks. If desired, the radio operator can also act as a loader (and vice versa).

Its location is on the right front of the fuselage superstructure (indicated by the spherical position of the machine gun in the photo). In modern tanks, the bow gunner/radio operator has been completely eliminated.

The driver sits on the left front of the superstructure of the hull and is under the direct command of the tank commander. He can also receive his commands over the radio by the radio operator and react accordingly. The driver is tasked with performing general maintenance on the fuel tank and monitoring various vehicle fluid levels and engine performance.

If possible, the driver can also report forward targets to the gunner and commander.

Tank IV Tour

Design by Pz. KpfW. Compared to its US, UK and Russian counterparts, the IV impresses and runs through. The design features eight "twin" wheels (in sets of two) on one side, with corresponding idlers, sprockets, and four chain idlers on one side.

The forward fuselage has a flat front fairing with a sloping upper cover that leads to the fuselage superstructure. Where possible, the fuselage structure has flat sides and viewing windows. Both the driver and the radio operator were seated under their respective hatches. The electric turret (with manual cross safety) sits in its ring and has a flat front fairing with corresponding slopes on the sides. An access port is located at the commander's dome on top of the turret, while side access ports are provided along the rear quarter panel of the turret for the gunner and loader respectively.

The cupola extends above the top of the turret, allowing the tank commander to stand in his place if necessary (in true command form). The engine is housed in the rear compartment, which has two protruding tubular vertical exhaust ports. Additional tracks and wheels, as well as small engineering equipment and infantry, can be loaded on top of the hull. The main guns vary in length depending on the Panzer IV model, and the first three production models - Ausf.

A, Ausf. B and Ausf. C - all have internally mounted shrouds. Standard ammo counts changed to 122 rounds of 75mm and 3,000 rounds of 7.92mm.

Pz.KpfW. IV Ausf. B

Pz. KpfW. Ausf. B appeared in 1938 to replace the outgoing Ausf. A. The Ausf. B came in improved form with a revised higher output Maybach engine and a new SSG 75 transmission with six forward gears and one reverse.

The increase in performance was welcomed as the thickness of the frontal armor was increased to 30mm. This was purchased with the extra weight and associated performance loss - the tank now weighs 19 tons. The main weapon is still the short-barreled low-speed 75mm gun.

Deliveries began in April 1938 and continued until September of that year. Although about 45 systems were ordered for the Bundeswehr, only 42 were actually delivered due to a lack of materials. However, Ausf. B's legacy was short-lived, as Ausf. C was coming.

Pz.KpfW. IV Ausf. C

Pz. KpfW. IV Ausf. C arrived just in time to replace the Ausf. B Along the Krupp production line.

The Ausf.C is largely similar to its predecessor, except that its nose-mounted 7.92mm machine gun (at the radio operator's place) has been removed and an aiming slot and pistol port are introduced instead. Its main gun is the same short-barreled low-velocity 75mm gun found on the Ausf.A pre-production and Ausf.B production models.

As of August 1939, only 134 Ausf.C models were produced, but this is still the most numerous example of the Pz.KpfW. IV is queued up to this point.