Tag Archives: panzerkampfwagen

German Panzerkampfwagen III, Ausf. L (Tamiya)

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This is the Tamiya 35 215-2600 kit in 1/35 scale, of the ‘German Panzerkampfwagen III, Ausf. L’.

German Panzerkampfwagen III, Ausf. L

History

The German Pz.Kpfw.III, along with the IV, played an active part in the early stages of WWII as their mainstrength tanks. However when they encountered the Russian KV and T-34 tanks on the Eastern Front, the weakness of the Pz.Kpfw.III was revealed and the balance of power tipped in favor of the Russians. Thus the Pz.Kpfw.III underwent constant improvement throughout its career to maintain an advantage. The Pz.Kpfw.III had a number of types, from the A to N. Among them, the Ausf. L was produced from July 1942.

As it was manufactured at the existing tank factory, the basic performance and structure were the same as previous versions with a few modifications. Armament consisted of an improved, long barreled Kwk50 L/60 tank gun, which was effective against the Russian T34 tanks up to a range of 600m, plus two 7.92mm MG34 machine guns. The armor of the front superstructure was increased to 57mm in thickness, and a 20mm thick spaced armor was added to the gun mantlet as well, which increased the tank’s weight by 200kg.

To cope with the added weight, the suspension system was also strengthened. The powerplant was a Maybach HL120TRM, V-12, water cooled engine producing 300 horsepower. In total 635 Ausf. L’s were produced by the end of 1942, and many of them saw active service on the Eastern Front and the North African Front. Although its roll was shortly replaced by the Tiger I and the Panther, the durable chassis of the Pz.Kpfw.III was used for self-propelled guns till the end of the war.

Source: Tamiya website

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German Panzerkampfwagen III, Ausf. F (Dragon)

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This is the Dragon 6632 kit in 1/35 scale, of the ‘Panzerkampfwagen III, Ausf. F’.

Panzerkampfwagen III, Ausf. F

History

Panzer III was the common name of a medium tank that was developed in the 1930s by Germany and was used extensively in World War II. The official German designation was Panzerkampfwagen III Sd Kfz. 141 (abbreviated PzKpfw III) translating as “armoured fighting vehicle”.

It was intended to fight other armoured fighting vehicles and serve alongside the infantry-supporting Panzer IV. However, as the Germans faced the formidable T-34, stronger anti-tank guns were needed. Since the Panzer IV had a bigger turret ring, the role was reversed. The Panzer IV mounted the long barreled 7.5 cm KwK 40 gun and engaged in tank-to-tank battles.

The Panzer III became obsolete in this role and for most purposes was supplanted by the Panzer IV. From 1942, the last version of Panzer III mounted the 7.5 cm KwK 37 L/24, better suited for infantry support. Production of the Panzer III ended in 1943. However, the Panzer III’s capable chassis provided hulls for the Sturmgeschütz III until the end of the war.

Source: Wikipedia

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German Panzerkampfwagen IV, Ausf. C (Dragon)

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This is the Dragon 6291 kit in 1/35 scale, of the ‘German Panzerkampfwagen IV, Ausf. C’.

German Panzerkampfwagen IV, Ausf. C

History

The Panzerkampfwagen IV (Pz.Kpfw.IV), more commonly referred to as the Panzer IV, was a tank developed by Germany and used extensively in World War II. It was designed initially as an infantry-support medium tank, to work in conjunction with the anti-tank Pzkpfw III. Later in the war, it was up-gunned and up-armored, and took over the tank-fighting role.

The Panzer IV was the most common German tank of World War II, and was used as the base for many other fighting vehicles, such as tank destroyers and self-propelled antiaircraft gun.

The Panzer IV has the distinction of being the only German tank to remain in continuous production throughout all of WWII, with over 9,000 produced since 1939. Only 138 “C” versions were made between 1938 and 1939.

Source: Dragon website

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German Panzerkampfwagen III, Ausf. J (Initial production) (Dragon)

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This is the Dragon 6463 kit in 1/35 scale, of the ‘German Panzerkampfwagen III, Ausf. J – Initial production’.

German Panzerkampfwagen III, Ausf. J - Initial production

History

The Panzer III was Germany’s main battle tank for the first couple of years of WWII, with earlier Panzer IV variants serving primarily as close-support weapons. However, after Pz.Kpfw.III tanks began encountering more heavily armored T-34 and KV-1 tanks during the invasion of Russia, existing Panzer III models were found to be inadequate for the task.

One solution was to up-gun the tank with a longer and more powerful 5cm KwK 38 L/42 cannon, and to add more armor to the vehicle. Thus the Panzer III Ausf. J was born. It featured 50mm-thick solid armor plates on the front and rear of the hull, an increase from the previous 30mm-thick armor plates.

Among other modifications, the new armor resulted in a ball-mount MG being fitted on the front superstructure and a redesigned driver’s visor.

Source: Dragon website

Manufacturer

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German Panzerkampfwagen IV, Ausf. F1/F2 (Italeri)

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This is the Italeri 6217 kit in 1/35 scale, of the ‘German Panzerkampfwagen IV, Ausf. F1/F2’.

German Panzerkampfwagen IV, Ausf. F1/F2

History

The Panzer IV was developed during the opening months of World War Two to equip German armoured divisions with a tank having a 7.5 cm cannon.

Given the shortcomings of the previous Panzer III, equipped with a 5 cm gun (often in difficulty against the Soviet T34 with its 5 cm gun and highly effective armour), it also featured enhanced protection.

The Mark IV was used extensively by the German Army on all fronts during the Second World War: numerous variants were produced to counter the constant improvements made to enemy tanks.

Source: Italeri website

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German Panzerkampfwagen III, Ausf. N, w/winterketten (Dragon)

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This is the Dragon 6606 kit in 1/35 scale, of the ‘German Panzerkampfwagen III, Ausf. N, w/winterketten’.

German Panzerkampfwagen III, Ausf. N, w/winterketten

History

Panzer III was the common name of a medium tank that was developed in the 1930s by Germany and was used extensively in World War II. The official German designation was Panzerkampfwagen III Sd Kfz. 141 (abbreviated Pz.Kpfw.III) translating as “armoured fighting vehicle”.

It was intended to fight other armoured fighting vehicles and serve alongside the infantry-supporting Panzer IV. However, as the Germans faced the formidable T-34, stronger anti-tank guns were needed. Since the Panzer IV had a bigger turret ring, the role was reversed. The Panzer IV mounted the long barreled 7.5 cm KwK 40 gun and engaged in tank-to-tank battles.

The Panzer III became obsolete in this role and for most purposes was supplanted by the Panzer IV. From 1942, the last version of Panzer III mounted the 7.5 cm KwK 37 L/24, better suited for infantry support. Production of the Panzer III ended in 1943. However, the Panzer III’s capable chassis provided hulls for the Sturmgeschütz III until the end of the war.

Source: Wikipedia

Manufacturer

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