WesWorld

The armored vehicles of the Heer.

Vehicle Name Panzer IIB
Vehicle Type Tank

Length 4.5 meters
Width 2.2 meters
Height 2 meters

Crew 3 men

Weight: 9.19 tons

Engine 160 horsepower diesel
Fuel Capacity 80 gallons

Combat Weight 9.19 metric tons
Ground Pressure 12.1 PSI
Power/Weight Ratio 17.41 hp/metric ton
Top Speed 31.55 MPH
Operating Range 197 miles

Armament
Turret:
20mm cannon w/180 rounds
7.92mm MG w/1600 rounds

Armor:
Hull Front: 30mm
Hull Sides: 15mm
Hull Rear: 15mm
Hull Top: 8mm
Hull Bottom: 8mm
Turret Front: 35mm
Turret Sides: 15mm
Turret Rear: 15mm
Turret Top: 8mm

Development of the Panzers, 1932-1935

The Panzer II was put into production in 1933 more as an interim solution and a training vehicle than as a first-line combat vehicle, it's limited firepower and armor were clear to all. However, it's adoption would give the Heer a chance to further explore larger armored formations, and the Panzer II could continue to serve the Heer even after adoption of larger, more capable vehicles in the scouting role.

Following the adoption of the Panzer II, the Heer requested the design of a new Panzer mounting either a 50mm gun or a 75mm howitzer in different turrets on the same chassis, the idea being to promote commonality between the panzers designed to fight other panzers (equipped with the 50mm gun) and the panzers designed to support the panzers against infantry and strongpoints (equipped with the 75mm howitzer).

The initial competition, in the winter/spring of 1934, did not result in any satisfactory vehicles being presented. A number of interesting technical solutions were presented, but none were in a state where the Heer was comfortable in purchasing the vehicles for fielding.

Also, the events of the Peruvian armored assault in Bolivia were carefully studied. One recommendation that was seized upon was that an infantry support vehicle, less expensive than a turreted panzer, might be well worth investigating, so a specification for such a vehicle (later modified to increase the maximum weight to allow for more armor and to allow it to be more common with the medium and support panzers) was released.

The three vehicles adopted in 1935 as the Panzer III (medium panzer, armed with 50mm L60 gun), Panzer IV (support panzer, armed with 75mm L24 howitzer) and Sturmgeshutz III (support vehicle, armed with 75mm L24 howitzer) were based on a Daimler-Benz designed chassis equipped with a Porsche-designed torsion bar suspension. The turrets of the panzers were designed by Krupp, and were externally identical from the sides and rear to ease production. The StuG III used the same lower hull as it's "cousins", but was equipped with a higher superstructure to provide room to operate the 75mm howitzer installed in the forward hull.

Vehicle Name Panzer IIIC
Vehicle Type Tank

Length 6 meters
Width 2.75 meters
Height 2.4 meters

Crew 5 men

Weight: 19.76 metric tons

Engine 300 horsepower diesel
Fuel Capacity 150 gallons

Ground Pressure 9.36 PSI
Power/Weight Ratio 15.18 hp/metric ton
Top Speed 27.52 MPH
Operating Range 344 miles

Armament
Turret
50mm cannon w/100 rounds
2 7.92mm MGs w/3,000 rounds
Hull
7.92mm MG w/1,500 rounds

Armor
Hull Front: 50mm
Hull Sides: 30mm
Hull Rear: 30mm
Hull Top: 12mm
Hull Bottom: 15mm
Turret Front: 50mm
Turret Sides: 30mm
Turret Rear: 30mm
Turret Top: 12mm

Vehicle Name Panzer IVC
Vehicle Type Tank

Length 6 meters
Width 2.75 meters
Height 2.4 meters

Crew 5 men

Weight: 20.0 metric tons

Engine 300 horsepower diesel
Fuel Capacity 150 gallons

Ground Pressure 9.48 PSI
Power/Weight Ratio 15.0 hp/metric ton
Top Speed 27.18 MPH
Operating Range 340 miles

Armament
Turret
75mm howitzer w/60 rounds
2 7.92mm MGs w/3,000 rounds
Hull
7.92mm MG w/1,500 rounds

Armor
Hull Front: 50mm
Hull Sides: 30mm
Hull Rear: 30mm
Hull Top: 12mm
Hull Bottom: 15mm
Turret Front: 50mm
Turret Sides: 30mm
Turret Rear: 30mm
Turret Top: 12mm

Vehicle Name: Sturmgeshutz IIIC
Vehicle Type: Assault Gun

Length 6 meters
Width 2.75 meters
Height 2 meters

Crew 4 men

Weight: 19 metric tons

Engine 300 horsepower diesel
Fuel Capacity 150 gallons

Ground Pressure 9.01 PSI
Power/Weight Ratio 15.79 hp/metric ton
Top Speed 28.61 MPH
Operating Range 358 miles

Armament
Hull
75mm howitzer w/60 rounds
7.92mm MG w/1500 rounds


Armor
Hull Front: 50mm
Hull Sides: 30mm
Hull Rear: 30mm
Hull Top: 12mm
Hull Bottom: 15mm

Development of the Panzers, 1935

Over the course of 1935 and early 1936, approximately 60 new panzers were delivered to the Heer. These were preproduction models of the Panzer III, Panzer IV, and Sturmgeshutz III, the A models, constructed of mild steel rather than armor plate and intended to be used to fine-tune the designs and work out bugs that might otherwise show up in production vehicles. The use of mild steel was done to allow the vehicles to be produced sooner and less expensively, while the rolling mills prepared for the new orders and the welding processes were worked on. Deliveries took place in small batches, with 4-5 new vehicles showing up at Grafenwohr and being issued to waiting soldiers for their testing, and reports on the results of the testing being returned to the factories. Changes were made to the ammunition racks, to the seating arrangements, the radio installations, the engine cooling and ventilation systems, and details of the suspension. The transmission was also improved, with easier shifting and an intercooler. A revised cupola was also fitted to the last series of the A models. Requests were received from the crews for some method of launching smoke grenades from the vehicle, but this was seen as a problem outside the manufacturers control and referred back to the Heereswaffenamt for development work

Over the same period, the 7.5cm /24 KwK 34 and the 5cm /60 KwK 35 cannon were qualified with their service projectiles. The KwK 34 would begin service with an AP round, an HE round, and a smoke round, while the KwK 35 would begin service with an AP round and an HE round (an APCBC round was under development, but would not be ready for qualification testing until 1936). (Note that the KwK 34's AP round, given it's low velocity, is not particularly effective, but the Panzer IV and Stug III will have AP capability from the start of their service.)

With the adoption of the new medium panzers, development work began on a heavy panzer design. Initial specifications for the heavy panzer were a weight no more than 45000 kilograms, a road speed of not less than 20 mph, and armed with a 10.5cm howitzer or an 8.8cm gun.

Armored Cars, 1935

In 1935, the armored cars and scout cars that serve in the recon battalions of the Heer are of 3 types: 8 wheeled, 6 wheeled, and 4 wheeled. Of these types, the 8 wheeled armored cars are replacing the 6 wheeled armored cars as the 6 wheeled cars have proven to have poor off-road capability. 6 wheeled cars remain in service, however, as the 8 wheeled cars have not yet been produced in sufficient quantity to replace them. It is expected that as the 6 wheeled cars are phased out of service with recon battalions they will be used in security operations.

The types in service in 1935 include (all as historical):

4 wheels:
SdKfz 221 (small numbers, being refitted with 20mm-armed turrets from SdKfz 222).
SdKfz 222
SdKfz 223

6 wheels:
SdKfz 231 (6 rad)
SdKfz 232 (6 rad)
SdKfz 263 (6 rad)

8 wheels:
SdKfz 231 (8 rad)
SdKfz 232 (8 rad)
SdKfz 263 (8 rad)

Halftracks, 1935

In the early 1930s, Germany began adopting half-tracked vehicles as a substitute for trucks when the trucks of the day proved to have inadequate off-road performance. Half-tracks are more expensive than wheeled vehicles, but less expensive than fully-tracked vehicles, and for many purposes will get the job done at acceptable cost and speed. In 1935, there are two different types of halftracks in service with the Heer: armored and unarmored.

Unarmored halftracks - The most common halftracks in the Heer in 1935 are the unarmored halftracks, which were the first type adopted. Originally adopted as tractors for heavy artillery, the use of these vehicles is spreading as their advantages off-road are quite noticeable over a truck of comparable capacity. They are rated by towing capacity, while their bodies are designed (generally) for carrying personnel. Models in service or planned are:

SdKfz 6 - 5 ton medium halftrack
SdKfz 7 - 8 ton medium halftrack
SdKfz 8 - 12 ton heavy halftrack
SdKfz 9 - 18 ton heavy halftrack (in development)
SdKfz 10 - 1 ton light halftrack (in development)
SdKfz 11 - 3 ton light halftrack (in development)


Armored halftracks - These vehicles resulted from the early training experiences of the 1st Panzer Regiment, where even truck-mounted infantry was unable to keep up with the Panzers when they plunged off-road. Initially, some SdKfz 6 half-tracks were used, but soon a new vehicle was developed using a redesigned and somewhat lighter chassis (as the design was not expected to be towing a cannon in addition to carrying it's load). These vehicles are armored against shell splinters and rifle rounds, but they are not intended to stand up to anti-tank weapons, nor are they provided with other than canvas roofs for crew comfort. Currently the following are in service or planned:

SdKfz 250 - light armored halftrack, to carry a half-squad (in development)
SdKfz 251 - medium armored halftrack

Variants on the SdKfz 251 are already being explored, even as they are being delivered in small quantity. These variants beyond the standard troop carrier include: mortar vehicles, communications vehicles, gun tractors for the infantry, assault engineer vehicles, command vehicles, and ambulances. In 1935, the only versions that have been delivered, even in prototype form, are the mortar vehicle (armed with an 81mm mortar) and the communications vehicle (equipped with extra radio gear and large "bedframe" aerials around the chassis body).

Development of the Panzers, 1937

As word of the Japanese Type 96 and it's long 75mm gun reached Germany, a decision was made to uparmor the Panzer III and IV (as an interim measure, no larger tank guns were available) and to investigate improvements in the Panzer II for the light tank and reconnaissance roles. Work was also being done on a more powerful main gun for the Panzer III/IV series vehicles and on a heavy tank design, but neither of these projects were expected to complete before the end of the year.

Uparmoring the Panzer III and IV proved to be easy: the chassis and suspension had been built with sufficient growth room in mind that the process was quite easy, the only noticeable change to the crews was an increase in ground pressure and hence an exacerbated tendency towards bogging down in soft ground. 20mm armor plates were bolted and welded onto the front and upper sides of the hull and onto the front, sides, and rear of the turrets, and strengthened torsion bars were installed for the front 3 road wheels. This brought the panzer's weight up to just under 24 metric tons. These models were referred to as the Panzer IIIE and the Panzer IVD.

The Panzer II was upgraded by installing an improved version of it's existing engine, giving 200 horsepower versus the earlier versions 160, making the panzer faster by almost 10.5 km/h. Proposals for replacing the current 20mm cannon with a 30mm cannon were left on the drawing boards for now, since there were no currently available 30mm cannon (Rheinmetall was working on one for the Luftwaffe, but it wasn't ready yet). An alternative design, based in part on the work done on the Panzer II variants for Belgium, the Netherlands, and Argentina, used the 240 hp engine and wider tracks used on the successful designs for those countries, but used the same turret as the other recon Panzer II to keep weight down to under 10 tons.

A single Sturminfanteriegeshutz 33B prototype, based on the Panzer III chassis was built and demonstrated late in the year as a means of giving mobility and protection to the 150mm infantry gun. No decision was made on production in 1937, though the general review of the vehicle was favorable.

The Panzer II chassis was also examined for it's growth potential, given that the larger Panzer III/IV chassis was expected to be produced at it's best rate for the near future. The Panzer II, on the other hand, would not be needed in as large a quantity in it's current form, giving the potential for reuse of the production line if the chassis could be, with minor modifications, be used for other purposes (like the imperfect but already demonstrated 10.5 cm howitzer on the chassis).

By the middle of the year, the designers had come up with a stretched chassis (4.8 m vs 4.5 m in length) with a strengthened suspension and an additional road wheel, in two variants, one with the engine in the rear as in the Panzer II and another with the engine in the middle of the vehicle. The second variant was intended as a chassis for an improved self-propelled 10.5cm howitzer for indirect fire with a lightly armored superstructure, while the first was intended for an enlarged light tank or light assault gun. The first prototypes produced in late 1937 were a self-propelled 10.5cm howitzer and a sturmgeschutz armed with a direct-fire 7.5cm howitzer identical to the howitzer installed on the Panzer IVC & D and the Sturmgeshutz III.

Design work continued on the heavy panzer, with the allowed weight increasing to 56000 kg and the primary armament being specified as an 8.8cm gun. As this project is currently for domestic purposes only, word of it is being kept fairly quiet within the Heer, Porsche, and Henschel. 5 prototypes were ordered for delivery from the manufacturers for competitive trials.

A new project was also begun for a future replacement for the Panzer IV. This project was based on specifations of a weight of no more than 40000 kg, a speed of 28 mph, and a 7.5cm gun.

Panzer II exports, 1937

Over the course of 1937, a number of countries requested proposals for light tanks, and a number of those countries ended up choosing variants of the Panzer II.

Nordmark was the first to do so, choosing the Panzer II EN variant (a Pz II upengined with a 200 hp diesel and equipped with a 37mm gun and coaxial machinegun, additional front armor and wider tracks). The weight of this model was just under 10 tons. MAN began deliveries of the tanks in September, 1937, and provided a production license to Nordmark for local production.

The Belgian competition resulted in sales of the Panzer II Bel version, which used the long (5.4 m) chassis, the wider tracks, and was armed with the Belgian 47mm FRC gun with a coaxial machinegun. This version also used a larger 240 hp engine and received additional armor on the upper chassis sides and the turret sides and rear. Weight with the larger chassis and heavier armor rose to 13 tons. Deliveries of the 75 vehicles ordered began in October of 1937.

The Dutch, after seeing the Belgians order the Panzer II Bel, placed an order for a very similar vehicle, equipped with Dutch radios, machineguns, and a 45mm gun vs the 47mm in the Belgian tanks. This tank, the Panzer II Neth, weighed in at just over 13 tons, and the first delivery took place a week after the first delivery to Belgium.

Argentina placed orders for 3 different Panzer II derived vehicles: the Panzer II Arg, the StuG II Arg, and the Jagdpanzer II Arg. All three were based on the 4.8m chassis, and the Panzer II Arg and the Jagdpanzer II Arg were armed with the Italian 47mm gun and 1 MG, while the StuG II Arg was armed with the 75mm/24 used on the StuG III. All three vehicles used the 240 hp engine used on the Panzer II Bel, with the wide tracks, and had the additional armor used on that design. First delivery took place in late December of 1937, with 2 Panzer II Arg being delivered by the end of the year.

Vehicle Name Panzer IIE
Vehicle Type Tank

Length 4.5 meters
Width 2.2 meters
Height 2.15 meters

Crew 3 men

Weight: 9.33 tons

Engine 200 horsepower diesel
Fuel Capacity 80 gallons

Combat Weight 9.33 metric tons
Ground Pressure 12.88 PSI
Power/Weight Ratio 21.43 hp/metric ton
Top Speed 38.85 MPH
Operating Range 194 miles

Armament
Turret:
20mm cannon w/180 rounds
7.92mm MG w/1600 rounds

Armor:
Hull Front: 30mm
Hull Sides: 15mm
Hull Rear: 15mm
Hull Top: 8mm
Hull Bottom: 8mm
Turret Front: 35mm
Turret Sides: 20mm
Turret Rear: 20mm
Turret Top: 8mm

Vehicle Name Panzer IIF
Vehicle Type Tank

Length 4.5 meters
Width 2.3 meters
Height 2.15 meters

Crew 3 men

Weight: 10 tons

Engine 240 horsepower diesel
Fuel Capacity 80 gallons

Combat Weight 10.0 metric tons
Ground Pressure 11.83 PSI
Power/Weight Ratio 24.0 hp/metric ton
Top Speed 43.5 MPH
Operating Range 181 miles

Armament
Turret:
30mm cannon w/180 rounds
7.92mm MG w/1600 rounds

Armor:
Hull Front: 30mm
Hull Sides: 15mm
Hull Rear: 15mm
Hull Top: 8mm
Hull Bottom: 10mm
Turret Front: 35mm
Turret Sides: 20mm
Turret Rear: 20mm
Turret Top: 8mm

Vehicle Name Sturmgeshutz II B
Vehicle Type Assault gun

Length 4.8 meters
Width 2.3 meters
Height 1.95 meters

Crew 4 men

Weight: 11.5 tons

Engine 160 horsepower diesel
Fuel Capacity 80 gallons

Combat Weight 11.5 metric tons
Ground Pressure 12.63 PSI
Power/Weight Ratio 13.9 hp/metric ton
Top Speed 25.2 MPH
Operating Range 157.5 miles

Armament
Turret:
75mm howitzer w/45 rounds
7.92mm MG w/1200 rounds

Armor:
Hull Front: 40mm
Hull Sides: 20mm
Hull Rear: 12mm
Hull Top: 8mm
Hull Bottom: 12mm

The Panzer IIF

With the completion of Rheinmettall's work on the MK-101 for the Luftwaffe, a 30mm autocannon was now available for use on a version of the Panzer II. The Heer was not interested, currently, in putting more powerful anti-tank weapons on the Panzer II chassis, seeing the Panzer II (in it's tank form) as becoming a recon vehicle for the panzer divisions, supplementing the armored cars that would perform long distance recon missions. The 30mm autocannon would increase the vehicles punch while not encouraging commanders to engage targets that they should leave alone. The MK-101 was a heavy weapon for an aircraft gun, but on an armored vehicle, the weight was acceptable, and the 10-round magazines, while requiring frequent reloading, did allow the crew to choose between HE and AP projectiles.

The new Panzer IIF also benefited from the previous year's work on the Panzer II Arg and Panzer II Bel variants. Renk had developed a new transmission, too late for those vehicles, but it's design allowed the vehicle designers to install it and the 240 hp diesel engine from those vehicles into the 4.5m chassis used by the Heer. Combined with the wider tracks and road wheels from the variant vehicles, the more heavily armored turret, and additional belly armor requested by the Heer, the little tank was still able to maintain a weight of 10 metric tons.

In it's trials, one concern was noted: if the vehicle attempted a tight turn at high speeds (60+ km/h), there was a high likelihood of it shedding the slowed track.


The Panzer IVF

The Panzer IVF was the first German tank designed from the ground up to mount the new 75mm/48 KwK 38 cannon. Visually, it looked much like the earlier Panzer IVDs with the exception of the long-barreled cannon, re-arranged turret hatches, and the lack of bolted-on armor, but it incorporated a number of improvements over the preceeding Panzer IVD. The bolted-on applique armor had been replaced with thicker plates of armor (not always as thick as the combined thickness on the Panzer IVD, but thicker than the Panzer IVC/B) and thicker deck, belly, and rear plates were used, the tracks were 20% wider to compensate for the increasing weight of the vehicle and the engine was a 330 hp model instead of the older 300 hp model. All in all, the new vehicle weighed slightly over 24.5 metric tons, and could attain a road speed of just over 24 mph.


The Panzer IIIH

While the Panzer IVF was the current and latest design of the panzer III/IV series, there was zero chance that the Heer would receive the funds needed to replace all of the already built Panzer IIIs and IVs with the new model. Even if the money was available, which it wasn't, the production of that many tanks would take several years.

Happily, another option was available. The turret developed for the Panzer IVF used the same size turret ring as the existing Panzer IIIs and IVs, so a refit program to replace the old turrets could be put in place at a fraction of the cost of an all-new tank. Upon return to the factory, the older tank (already upgraded to the Panzer IIIE or Panzer IVD standard) would have it's turret replaced, along with the installation of new ammunition boxes for the hull machinegun and new radios. Then the tank would be returned to the Heer.

This upgrade was referred to (somewhat confusingly) as the Panzer IIIH. In theory, it should have been called the Panzer IVE, but the Panzer IIIEs had priority in conversion over the Panzer IVDs, so (for reasons buried in the Heer bureaucracy), it was given the Panzer IIIH title.

The Panzer IIIH weighed just over 23.5 tons and had a top speed of 23 mph on road.