Why would they make 20 tanks with 60mm of glacis armour, when 80mm had apparently been decided on as early as May 1942, long before even the Panther prototypes had been made? So, any more sources on that issue (like Jentz or Spielberger)? Preferably someone pointing to primary sources. This is not something I've heard about outside the internet, even though there are apparently an article in the French Steel Masters magazine to that effect. In this case, the D1/D2 distinction is refering to the engine, where the first 20 + 250 D1 had the HL210 engine, the remaining 600 D2 had the HL230 engine. That even though the 250 additional D1 tanks had standard muzzle brake, standard turret and 80mm of frontal armour. The following 250 tanks were also known as D1 while the last 600 D-series tanks were known as the D2. Then there is some rather muddled text on the achtungpanzer homepage, which suggest that these 20 tanks were originally Ausf. D1" business for me?Īs I understand it, the argument is that there was a late 1942 pre-production of some 20 tanks with 60mm glacis armour, 7,5cm KwK 42 with ball-shaped muzzle brake and a turret with a bulge on the left side, accomodating the cupola.
I wonder if anyone could clear up this "Panther Ausf. In that same webpage you can see a photograph of the Ausf. These Ausf D1 models were exclusively used as test vehicles and later for training. In February 1943, 20 Ausf A tanks were re-designated Ausf D1. In December 1942, a new and improved model, designated Ausf D, was ready. Interesting conversion was Ausf D1 (some sources state that it was an early model Bergepanther) fitted with bolted on PzKpfw IV Ausf H's turret (that could not be traversed), which served as a command tank of schwere Heeres Panzerjager Abteilung 653 on the Eastern Front in early/mid of 1944. A 650hp Maybach HL 210 P 45 engine of 21 liters (1,280 cubic inches] displacement powered them. This gun had a single-chamber muzzle brake from the 75mm KwK 40 L/43 gun and was mounted in a turret that featured a drum cupola that bulged the turret on the left side. All were lightly armored (with 60mm frontal armor) and armed with the early version of the 75mm KwK 42 L/70 gun.
Those 20 tanks were designated Panzerkampfwagen V Panther Ausfuehrung A and were technically different from later Ausf A production models.
War thunder wiki fandom series#
In late 1942, a small pre-production series of 20 tanks was ordered.
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