Medium tank T-IV Panzerkampfwagen IV (PzKpfw IV, also Pz. IV), Sd.Kfz.161. Medium German tank Tiger Panzerkampfwagen IV. History and detailed description of the German tank shell
Average tank T-IV Panzerkampfwagen IV (PzKpfw IV, also Pz. IV), Sd.Kfz.161
The production of this tank, created by Krupp, began in 1937 and continued throughout the Second World War. Tells
Like the T-III- (Pz.III) tank, the power plant is located at the rear, and the power transmission and drive wheels are at the front. The control compartment housed the driver and gunner-radio operator, firing from a machine gun mounted in a ball bearing. The fighting compartment was in the middle of the hull. A multifaceted welded tower was mounted here, in which three crew members were accommodated and weapons were installed.
T-IV tanks were produced with the following weapons:
- modifications A-F, assault tank with a 75-mm howitzer;
- modification G, a tank with a 75-mm cannon with a barrel length of 43 caliber;
- modifications N-K, a tank with a 75-mm cannon with a barrel length of 48 calibers.
Due to the constant increase in the thickness of the armor, the weight of the vehicle during production increased from 17.1 tons (modification A) to 24.6 tons (modification H-K). Since 1943, to enhance armor protection, armored screens were installed on the sides of the hull and turret. The long-barreled gun introduced on modifications G, H-K allowed the T-IV to withstand enemy tanks of equal weight (a 75-mm sub-caliber projectile pierced 110-mm armor at a distance of 1000 meters), but its maneuverability, especially of the latest overweight modifications, was unsatisfactory. In total, about 9,500 T-IV tanks of all modifications were produced during the war years.
Tank PzKpfw IV. History of creation.
In the 1920s and early 1930s, the theory of the use of mechanized troops, in particular tanks, was developed by trial and error, the views of theorists changed very often. A number of tank supporters believed that the appearance of armored vehicles would make positional warfare in the style of fighting 1914-1917 impossible from a tactical point of view. In turn, the French relied on the construction of well-fortified long-term defensive positions, such as the Maginot Line. A number of experts believed that the main armament of the tank should be a machine gun, and the main task of armored vehicles is to fight the infantry and artillery of the enemy, the most radically thinking representatives of this school considered the battle between tanks to be pointless, since, allegedly, neither side could inflict damage on the other. There was an opinion that the side that could destroy large quantity enemy tanks. As the main means of fighting tanks, special weapons with special shells were considered - anti-tank guns with armor-piercing shells. In fact, no one knew what the nature of hostilities would be in a future war. Experience civil war in Spain also did not clarify the situation.
The Treaty of Versailles forbade Germany to have combat tracked vehicles, but could not prevent German specialists from working on studying various theories of the use of armored vehicles, and the creation of tanks was carried out by the Germans in secrecy. When in March 1935 Hitler abandoned the restrictions of Versailles, the young "Panzerwaffe" already had all the theoretical studies in the field of application and organizational structure of tank regiments.
In mass production under the banner of "agricultural tractors" were two types of light armed tanks PzKpfw I and PzKpfw II.
The PzKpfw I tank was considered a training vehicle, while the PzKpfw II was intended for reconnaissance, but it turned out that the "two" remained the most massive tank of panzerdivisions until it was replaced by medium tanks PzKpfw III, armed with a 37-mm cannon and three machine guns.
Start of development tank PzKpfw IV dates back to January 1934, when the army gave industry a specification for new tank fire support weighing no more than 24 tons, the future vehicle received the official designation Gesch.Kpfw. (75 mm)(Vskfz.618). Over the next 18 months, specialists from Rheinmetall-Borzing, Krupp and MAN worked on three competing projects for the battalion commander’s vehicle (“battalionführerswagnen” abbreviated as BW). The VK 2001 / K project, presented by Krupp, was recognized as the best, the shape of the turret and hull is close to the PzKpfw III tank.
However, the VK 2001 / K machine did not go into series, because the military was not satisfied with the six-support undercarriage with medium-diameter wheels on spring suspension, it needed to be replaced with a torsion bar. The torsion bar suspension, compared to the spring suspension, provided a smoother movement of the tank and had a greater vertical travel of the road wheels. Krupp engineers, together with representatives of the Office for the Procurement of Arms, agreed on the possibility of using an improved spring suspension design with eight small-diameter road wheels on board on the tank. However, Krupp had to largely revise the proposed original design. In the final version, the PzKpfw IV was a combination of the hull and turret of the VK 2001 / K vehicle with a chassis newly developed by Krupp.
The PzKpfw IV tank was designed according to the classic layout with a rear engine. The commander's seat was located along the axis of the tower directly under the commander's cupola, the gunner was located to the left of the cannon breech, the loader was to the right. In the control compartment, located in front of the tank hull, there were jobs for the driver (to the left of the vehicle axis) and the radio operator's gunner (to the right). Between the driver's seat and the arrow was the transmission. An interesting design feature of the tank was the displacement of the turret by about 8 cm to the left of the longitudinal axis of the vehicle, and the engine - by 15 cm to the right to pass the shaft connecting the engine and transmission. Such a constructive solution made it possible to increase the internal reserved volume on the right side of the hull for the placement of the first shots, which the loader could most easily get. The tower turn drive is electric.
The suspension and chassis consisted of eight small-diameter road wheels grouped into two-wheeled carts suspended on leaf springs, drive wheels installed in the stern of the sloth tank and four rollers supporting the caterpillar. Throughout the history of the operation of PzKpfw IV tanks, their undercarriage remained unchanged, only minor improvements were introduced. The prototype of the tank was manufactured at the Krupp plant in Essen and tested in 1935-36.
Description of the tank PzKpfw IV
armor protection.
In 1942, consulting engineers Mertz and McLillan conducted a detailed survey captured tank PzKpfw IV Ausf.E, in particular, they carefully studied its armor.
- Several armor plates were tested for hardness, all of them were machined. The hardness of the machined armor plates outside and inside was 300-460 Brinell.
- Overhead armor plates with a thickness of 20 mm, with which the armor of the hull sides is reinforced, are made of homogeneous steel and have a hardness of about 370 Brinell. The reinforced side armor is unable to "hold" 2-pound projectiles fired from a distance of 1000 yards.
On the other hand, a tank attack conducted in the Middle East in June 1941 showed that a distance of 500 yards (457 m) can be considered as the limit for effective frontal engagement of a PzKpfw IV with a 2-pounder gun. A report prepared at Woolwich on the study of armor protection of a German tank notes that "armor is 10% better than similar machined English, and in some respects better than homogeneous."
At the same time, the method of connecting the armor plates was criticized, a specialist from Leyland Motors commented on his research: “The quality of the welding is poor, the welds of two of the three armor plates in the area where the shell hit the projectile diverged.”
Power point.
The Maybach engine is designed to operate in moderate climatic conditions, where its performance is satisfactory. At the same time, in the tropics or high dustiness, it breaks down and is prone to overheating. British intelligence, after studying the PzKpfw IV tank captured in 1942, concluded that engine failures were caused by sand getting into the oil system, distributor, dynamo and starter; air filters are inadequate. There were frequent cases of sand getting into the carburetor.
The Maybach engine manual requires the use of gasoline only with an octane rating of 74 with a complete lubricant change after 200, 500, 1000 and 2000 km of run. The recommended engine speed under normal operating conditions is 2600 rpm, but in hot climates (southern regions of the USSR and North Africa), this speed does not provide normal cooling. The use of the engine as a brake is permissible at 2200-2400 rpm, at a speed of 2600-3000 this mode should be avoided.
The main components of the cooling system were two radiators installed at an angle of 25 degrees to the horizon. The radiators were cooled by an airflow forced by two fans; fan drive - belt driven from the main motor shaft. The circulation of water in the cooling system was provided by a centrifuge pump. Air entered the engine compartment through a hole covered with an armored shutter from the right side of the hull and was thrown out through a similar hole on the left side.
The synchro-mechanical transmission proved to be effective, although pulling power in high gears was low, so 6th gear was only used on the highway. The output shafts are combined with the braking and turning mechanism into a single device. To cool this device, a fan was installed to the left of the clutch box. The simultaneous disengagement of the steering control levers could be used as an effective parking brake.
On tanks of later versions, the spring suspension of the road wheels was heavily overloaded, but replacing the damaged two-wheeled bogie seemed to be a fairly simple operation. The tension of the caterpillar was regulated by the position of the sloth mounted on the eccentric. On the Eastern Front, special track expanders, known as "Ostketten", were used, which improved the maneuverability of tanks in the winter months of the year.
German medium tank PzKpfw IV Ausf. B on the training ground during an exercise.
An extremely simple but effective device for dressing a jumped-off caterpillar was tested on an experimental PzKpfw IV tank. It was a factory-made tape that had the same width as the tracks and a perforation for engagement with the gear rim of the drive wheel. One end of the tape was attached to the track that had come off, the other, after it was passed over the rollers, to the drive wheel. The motor was turned on, the drive wheel began to rotate, pulling the tape and the tracks fastened to it until the rims of the drive wheel entered the slots on the tracks. The whole operation took several minutes.
The engine was started by a 24-volt electric starter. Since the auxiliary power generator saved battery power, it was possible to try to start the engine more times on the "four" than on the PzKpfw III tank. In the event of a starter failure, or when the grease thickened in severe frost, an inertial starter was used, the handle of which was connected to the engine shaft through a hole in the aft armor plate. The handle was turned by two people at the same time, the minimum number of turns of the handle required to start the engine was 60 rpm. Starting the engine from an inertial starter has become commonplace in the Russian winter. The minimum temperature of the engine, at which it started to work normally, was t = 50 ° C when the shaft rotated 2000 rpm.
To facilitate starting the engine in the cold climate of the Eastern Front, a special system was developed, known as the "Kuhlwasserubertragung" - a cold water heat exchanger. After starting up and warming up to normal temperature engine of one tank, warm water from it was pumped into the cooling system of the next tank, and cold water came to an already working motor - there was an exchange of refrigerants between the working and non-working motors. After the warm water warmed up the motor a little, it was possible to try to start the engine with an electric starter. The Kuhlwasserubertragung system required minor modifications to the tank's cooling system.
Weapons and optics.
The 75 mm L/24 howitzer installed on the early models of the PzKpfw IV tank had a barrel with 28 grooves 0.85 mm deep and a semi-automatic vertical sliding bolt. The gun was equipped with a clinometric sight, which, if necessary, allowed the tank to conduct aimed fire from closed positions. The barrel recoil cylinder protruded beyond the gun mantlet and covered most of the gun barrel. The gun cradle was heavier than required, resulting in a slight imbalance in the turret.
The composition of the tank gun ammunition included high-explosive, anti-tank, smoke and grapeshot shells. The gunner aimed the gun and the machine gun coaxial with it in elevation, turning a special steering wheel with his left hand. The turret could be deployed either electrically by switching the toggle switch, or manually, for which a steering wheel mounted to the right of the vertical guidance mechanism was used. Both the gunner and the loader could manually deploy the turret; the maximum speed of the manual turn of the tower by the efforts of the gunner was 1.9 g / s, the gunner - 2.6 g / s.
The turret turn electric drive is mounted on the left side of the turret, the turn speed is controlled manually, the maximum turning speed using the electric drive reaches 14 g/s (about two times lower than on British tanks), the minimum is 0.14 g/s. Since the motor responds to control signals with a delay, it is difficult to track a moving target by rotating the turret with an electric drive. The gun is fired with the help of an electric trigger, the button of which is mounted on the handwheel of the manual drive for turning the turret. The recoil mechanism of the barrel after the shot has a hydropneumatic shock absorber. The tower is equipped with various instruments and devices that ensure safe working conditions for crew members.
German tank PzKpfw IV Ausf. G on the march in Normandy.
The installation of long-barreled guns L / 43 and L / 48 instead of the short-barreled L / 24 led to an imbalance in the turret gun mount (the barrel outweighed the breech), a special spring had to be mounted to compensate for the increased mass of the barrel; the spring was installed in a metal cylinder in the right front segment of the tower. More powerful guns also had stronger recoil when fired, which required a redesign of the recoil mechanism, which became wider and longer, but despite the improvements made, the barrel recoil after firing still increased by 50 mm compared to the barrel recoil of the 24-caliber gun. When making marches on their own or when transporting by rail, in order to slightly increase the free internal volume, the 43- and 48-caliber guns rose to an angle of 16 degrees and were fixed in this position by a special external folding support
The telescopic sight of the long-barreled 75-mm gun had two rotating scales and for its time had enough high level complexing. The first scale, the distance scale, rotated around its axis, aiming marks for firing from a cannon and a machine gun were applied to the scale in different quadrants; the scale for firing high-explosive shells (Gr34) and for firing from a machine gun was graduated within 0-3200 m, while the scales for firing armor-piercing shells (PzGr39 and PzGr40) were graduated, respectively, at a distance of 0-2400 m and 0-1400 m The second scale, the sighting scale was shifted in the vertical plane. Both scales could move at the same time, the sighting scale was raised or lowered, and the distance scale was rotated. To hit the selected target, the distance scale was rotated until the required mark was set opposite the mark in the upper part of the sight, and the mark of the sighting scale was superimposed on the target by turning the turret and pointing the gun in a vertical plane.
German medium tanks PzKpfw IV Ausf H during an exercise to work out the interaction of crews. Germany, June 1944
In many respects, the PzKpfw IV tank was the perfect combat vehicle for its time. Inside commander's tower the tank was applied a scale graduated in the range from 1 to 12, in each sector it was divided into divisions for another 24 intervals. When turning the tower, due to a special gear, the commander's cupola rotated in reverse side at the same speed so that the number 12 constantly remained on the center line of the machine body. This design made it easier for the commander to search for the next target and indicate to the gunner the direction to it. To the left of the gunner's seat, an indicator was installed that repeated the layout of the commander's cupola scale and rotated similarly to it. After receiving a command from the commander, the gunner turned the turret in the indicated direction (for example, 10 hours), referring to the repeater scale, and after visually detecting the target, he aimed the gun at it.
The driver had a turret turn indicator in the form of two blue lights indicating in which direction the gun was deployed. It was important for the driver to know in which direction the gun barrel was exposed, so as not to catch it when driving for some kind of obstacle. On the PzKpfw IV tanks of the latest modifications, the driver's signal lights were not installed.
The ammunition load of a tank armed with a cannon with a barrel length of 24 caliber consisted of 80 shells for the cannon and 2700 cartridges for machine guns. On tanks with long-barreled guns, the ammunition load was 87 shells and 3150 rounds of ammunition. It was not easy for the loader to get to most of the ammunition load. Ammunition for machine guns was in drum-type stores with a capacity of 150 rounds. In general, for the convenience of placing ammunition german tank inferior to English. The installation of the course machine gun on the "four" was not balanced, the barrel outweighed, in order to correct this drawback, it was necessary to install a balancing spring. For emergency escape from the control compartment in the floor under the seat of the gunner-radio operator there was a round hatch with a diameter of 43 cm.
In the early versions of the PzKpfw IV, the smoke grenade guides were mounted on the aft armor plate, each guide placed up to five grenades held by springs. The tank commander could launch grenades, both singly and in series. The start was carried out by means of a wire rod, each jerk of the rod caused the rod to turn 1/5 of a full turn and released the next spring. After the appearance of smoke grenade launchers of a new design, which were mounted on the sides of the tower, the old system was abandoned. The commander's turret was equipped with armored shutters that closed the observation glass blocks, the armored shutters could be installed in three positions: fully closed, fully open and intermediate. The viewing glass block of the driver was also closed with an armored shutter. German optics of that time had a slight greenish tint.
Tank PzKpfw IV Ausf.A (Sonderkraftfahrzeug - Sd.Kfz.161)
The first in 1936, the Ausfurung A model was launched into mass production at the Krupp plant in Magdeburg-Bukkau. Structurally, technologically, the vehicle was similar to the PzKpfw III tank: chassis, hull, hull superstructure, turret. Ausf.A tanks were equipped with 12-cylinder Maybach HL108TR internal combustion engines with an HP 250 power. The ZF "Allklauen SFG 75" transmission had five forward gears and one reverse gear.
The armament of the tank consisted of a 75-mm gun and a 7.92-mm machine gun coaxial with it, another 7.92-mm machine gun was installed in the tank hull; ammunition - 122 shells for the cannon and 3000 rounds for two machine guns. Observation devices closed by armored shutters were located in the frontal sheet of the tower, to the left and right of the gun mantlet and in the side tower hatches, in addition, there was one embrasure on the sides of the tower (also closed by an armored shutter) for firing from personal weapons.
In the rear part of the roof of the tower, a commander's cupola of a simple cylindrical shape was mounted, which had eight viewing slots. The turret had a single hinged hatch. The gunner controlled the turn of the turret, the electric drive of the turn was powered by a two-stroke auxiliary electric generator "DKW" installed in the left side of the engine compartment. The electric generator made it possible not to waste the energy of the batteries on the turn of the tower and saved the resource of the main engine. The engine compartment was separated from the combat fire partition, which had a hatch for access to the engine from inside the tank. Three fuel tanks with a total capacity of 453 liters were placed under the floor of the fighting compartment.
The places of the gunner-radio operator and the driver were in the front of the tank, in the roof of the hull above the seats of both crew members there were double-leaf hatches with holes in the covers for launching flares; the holes were closed with armored shutters. The armor thickness of the Ausf.A tank hull was 14.5 mm, the turret was 20 mm, the tank weight was 17.3 tons, and the maximum speed was 30 km/h. A total of 35 Ausf.A modification machines were manufactured; Chassis No. 80101 - 80135.
Tank PzKpfw IV Ausf.B
The production of cars of the Ausfurung B model began in 1937, a large number of changes were made to the design of the new modification, but the main innovation was the installation of a 320-horsepower Maybach HL120TR engine and a transmission with six forward and one reverse speeds. The thickness of the armor in the frontal part was also increased to 30 mm, on some tanks they began to install commander's cupolas of a more advanced form with observation devices covered with armored shutters.
The installation of a course machine gun at the gunner-radio operator was eliminated, instead of a machine gun, a viewing slot and a loophole for firing a pistol appeared, loopholes for firing from personal weapons were also made in the side tower hatches under observation devices; the hatches of the driver and gunner-radio operator became single-leaf. The mass of the Ausf.B tank increased to 17.7 tons, but due to the use of a more powerful engine, the maximum speed also increased to 40 km / h. A total of 45 PzKpfw IV Ausf.B tanks were built; Chassis No. 80201-80300.
Tank PzKpfw IV Ausf.С
In 1938, the modification "Ausfurung C" appeared, already 134 copies of this model were built (chassis no. 80301-80500). Externally, the Ausf.A, B and C tanks practically did not differ from each other, perhaps the only external difference between the Ausf.C tank and the Ausf. B became an armored mask of a machine gun coaxial with a cannon, which was absent on tanks of previous models.
On the PzKpfw IV Ausf. Since later releases, a special frame was mounted under the gun barrel, which served to deflect the antenna when the turret was turned to the right, similar deflectors were mounted on the Ausf.A and Ausf.B vehicles. The armor protection of the frontal part of the turret of the Ausf.C tank was increased to 30 mm, and the weight of the vehicle increased to 18.5 tons, although the maximum speed on the highway remained the same - 35 km / h.
The upgraded Maybach HL120TRM engine of the same power was installed on the tank; this engine became standard for all subsequent variants of the PzKpfw IV.
Tank PzKpfw IV Ausf.D
The turret armament of the Ausf.A, B and C tanks was mounted in an internal mask, which could easily be jammed by shell fragments; Since 1939, the production of Ausfurung D tanks began, which had an external mask, a course machine gun reappeared on the tanks of this modification, the loophole for firing a pistol through the frontal armor plate of the hull was shifted closer to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle.
The thickness of the armor of the sides and stern of the hull was increased to 20 mm; on the tanks of later releases, patch armor was installed, which was bolted to the hull and superstructure or welded on.
As a result of various improvements, the mass of the tank increased to 20 tons. Before the start of World War II, only 45 Ausfurung D tanks were made, in total, 229 vehicles of this modification were built (chassis no. - 80501-80748) - more than the Ausf.A, B and C tanks combined. Some PzKpfw IV Ausf.D tanks were subsequently equipped with 75 mm guns with a barrel length of 48 calibers, these vehicles were used mainly in training units.
Tank PzKpfw IV Ausf.E
The next step in the development of tanks of the PzKpfw IV family was the Ausfurung E model, with increased armor in the frontal part of the hull due to the attachment of 30 mm screens (total thickness - 50 mm), the sides of the hull were built up with 20 mm thick screens. The mass of the Ausf.E tank was already 21 tons. In the course of the factory repair, applied armor was also installed on the “fours” of earlier modifications.
On the PzKpfw IV Ausf.E tanks, the commander's cupola was slightly shifted forward, and its armor was increased from 50 mm to 95 mm; road wheels of a new design and drive wheels of a simplified form were installed. Other innovations include a driver's observation device with a larger glass area, a smoke grenade launcher mounted in the rear of the hull (similar installations were also installed on previous models), hatches for inspection of the brakes are flush with the upper armor plate of the hull (on Ausf.AD hatches protruded above the armor plate and there were cases when they were torn off by bullets from anti-tank rifles). Serial production of Ausf.E tanks began in December 1939. 224 vehicles of this modification were manufactured (chassis no. 80801-81500), before production in April 1941 switched to the release of the next version - "Ausfurung F".
Tank PzKpfw IV Ausf.F1
The PzKpfw IV Ausf.F tanks had a thickness of the integral frontal armor of the hull and turret of 50 mm, sides - 30 mm; overhead armored screens were absent. The turret armor was 50 mm thick in the frontal part, 30 mm in the sides and rear, and the thickness of the gun mantlet was also 50 mm. The increased armor protection did not go unnoticed for the mass of the tank, which again increased to 22.3 tons. improvements to the drive wheels and sloths.
On machines of early releases, new tracks were installed after inserting into the drive wheels and idlers of expansion inserts. Instead of a single-leaf hatch, the commander's turrets of the Ausf.F tanks received double-leaf hatches, and a large box for equipment was mounted on the rear walls of the towers at the factory; the course machine gun was mounted in a ball mount "Kugelblende-50" of a new design. A total of 462 PzKpfw IV Ausf.F tanks were manufactured.
In addition to the Krupp company, the Ausf.F model vehicles were produced by the Vomag factories (64 tanks were assembled, chassis No. 82501-82395) and the Nibelungwerke (13 cars 82601-82613). No. tank chassis produced by the Krupp factory in Magdeburg -82001-82395. Later, the Austrian firm Steyr-Daimler-Puch joined the production of PzKpfw IV tanks, and Vomag (Vogtiandischie Maschinenfabrik AG) in 1940-41. specifically for the production of "fours" built a new plant in Plauen.
Tank PzKpfw IV Ausf.F2 (Sd.Kfz.161/1)
In the months preceding the start of Operation Barbarossa, the possibility of arming the PzKpfw IV tanks with a 50-mm gun with a barrel length of 42 caliber, similar to that installed on the PzKpfw III tanks, was considered. Hitler was extremely interested in this project, since it was possible to transfer the "four" from the category of fire support vehicles to the category of main battle tanks. However, the experience of the war in Russia made it clear not only the fact that the German 50-mm gun is inferior to the 76-mm Soviet one, but also the complete inability of the 50-mm gun with a barrel length of 42 caliber to penetrate the armor of Soviet tanks. It seemed more promising to arm the PzKpfw IV tanks with 50-mm guns with a barrel length of 60 calibers, one such experimental vehicle was built.
The history of tank armament fully showed Germany's unpreparedness for a long war, and the lack of ready-made designs for second-generation tanks also speaks of this. The morale of the soldiers and officers of the Panzerwaffe was greatly affected by the unpleasant discovery of the overwhelming superiority in the characteristics of the tanks in service with the Red Army.
The problem of restoring parity has acquired exceptional importance. PzKpfw III tanks began to be armed with 60-caliber cannons, since the turret shoulder strap of the "four" had a larger diameter than the shoulder strap of the "troika", then if a 50-mm gun with a barrel length of 60 calibers was installed on the PzKpfw IV, the chassis would be too large with too small gun. The quartet's turret could withstand a greater recoil momentum than that of the short-barreled 75-mm gun, it was possible to install a 75-mm gun on the tank with high pressure in the trunk channel.
The choice was made in favor of the 75 mm KwK40 cannon with a 43-caliber barrel and a muzzle brake, the projectile of which could penetrate harrows up to 89 mm thick at an encounter angle of 30 degrees. After such guns were installed on the PzKpfw IV, the designation of the vehicle changed to "Ausfuhrung F2", while vehicles of the same modification, but armed with short-barreled guns, received the designation "Ausfuhrung F1".
Ammunition for the gun consisted of 87 shells, 32 of them were located in the hull superstructure, 33 - in the tank hull. Among the smaller external differences of the Ausfuhrung F2 tanks is the absence of observation devices in the side turret hatches and an enlarged armored casing of the recoil mechanism.
Tanks "Ausfuhrung F2" entered service in early 1942 and proved in practice their ability to deal with the Soviet T-34 and KB, although the armor of the "fours" by the standards of the Eastern Front was still insufficient. The mass of the tank, which increased to 23.6 tons, somewhat worsened its characteristics.
25 PzKpfw IV Ausf tanks were converted into the Ausfuhrung F2 variant. F, about 180 more vehicles were built from scratch, production was discontinued in the summer of 1942. Tank chassis no. built by Krupp - 82396-82500, tank chassis no. built by Vomag - 82565-82600, tank chassis no. firm "Nibelungwerke" - 82614-82700.
Tank PzKpfw IV Ausf.G (Sd.Kfz.161/1 and 161/2)
Attempts to increase the security of the tank led to the appearance at the end of 1942 of the modification "Ausfuhrung G". The designers knew that the mass limit that the undercarriage could withstand had already been chosen, so they had to make a compromise solution - to dismantle the 20-mm side screens that were installed on all "fours", starting with the "E" model, while simultaneously increasing the base armor of the hull to 30 mm, and due to the saved mass, install overhead screens 30 mm thick in the frontal part.
Another measure to increase the security of the tank was the installation of removable anti-cumulative screens (“schurzen”) 5 mm thick on the sides of the hull and turret, the hinge of the screens increased the weight of the vehicle by about 500 kg. In addition, the gun's single-chamber muzzle brake was replaced with a more efficient two-chamber one. The appearance of the vehicle also underwent a number of other changes: instead of a stern smoke launcher, built-in blocks of smoke grenade launchers began to be mounted at the corners of the tower, holes for launching flares in the hatches of the driver and gunner were eliminated.
By the end of the serial production of PzKpfw IV "Ausfuhrung G" tanks, their standard main weapon was a 75-mm gun with a barrel length of 48 calibers, the hatch of the commander's cupola became single-leaf. Late production PzKpfw IV Ausf.G tanks are outwardly almost identical to the early Ausf.N. From May 1942 to June 1943, 1,687 Ausf.G tanks were manufactured, an impressive figure, given that in five years, from the end of 1937 to the summer of 1942, 1,300 PzKpfw IVs of all modifications (Ausf.A -F2), chassis no. - 82701-84400.
In 1944 was made tank PzKpfw IV Ausf.G with hydrostatic drive wheels. The design of the drive was developed by specialists from the firm "Zanradfabrik" in Augsburg. The Maybach's main engine drove two oil pumps, which, in turn, activated two hydraulic motors connected by output shafts to the drive wheels. The entire power plant was located in the aft part of the hull, respectively, and the drive wheels had a rear, and not the usual front position for the PzKpfw IV. The speed of the tank was controlled by the driver, controlling the oil pressure created by the pumps.
After the war, the experimental machine came to the United States and was tested by specialists from the Vickers company from Detroit, this company at that time was engaged in work in the field of hydrostatic drives. The tests had to be interrupted due to material failures and a lack of spare parts. Currently, the PzKpfw IV Ausf.G tank with hydrostatic drive wheels is on display at the US Army Tank Museum, Aberdeen, pc. Maryland.
Tank PzKpfw IV Ausf.H (Sd.Kfz. 161/2)
The installation of a long-barreled 75 mm gun proved to be a rather controversial measure. The cannon led to an excessive overload of the front of the tank, the front springs were under constant pressure, the tank acquired a tendency to swing even when moving on a flat surface. It was possible to get rid of the unpleasant effect on the Ausfuhrung H modification, put into production in March 1943.
On tanks of this model, the integral armor of the frontal part of the hull, superstructure and turret was reinforced up to 80 mm. The PzKpfw IV Ausf.H tank weighed 26 tons, and even despite the use of the new SSG-77 transmission, its characteristics turned out to be lower than those of the “fours” of previous models, so the speed of movement over rough terrain decreased by at least 15 km, and the specific pressure on the ground, the acceleration characteristics of the machine fell. A hydrostatic transmission was tested on the PzKpfw IV Ausf.H experimental tank, but tanks with such a transmission did not go into serial production.
During the production process, a lot of minor improvements were introduced to the tanks of the Ausf.H model, in particular, they began to install completely steel rollers without rubber, the shape of the drive wheels and sloths changed, a turret for the MG-34 anti-aircraft machine gun appeared on the commander's cupola ("Fligerbeschussgerat 42" - installation anti-aircraft machine gun), tower embrasures for firing pistols and a hole in the roof of the tower for launching signal rockets were eliminated.
The Ausf.H tanks were the first "fours" to use zimmerite anti-magnetic coating; only the vertical surfaces of the tank were to be covered with zimmerite, however, in practice, the coating was applied to all surfaces that an infantryman standing on the ground could reach, on the other hand, there were also tanks on which only the forehead of the hull and superstructure was covered with zimmerite. Zimmerite was applied both in factories and in the field
Tanks of the Ausf.H modification became the most massive among all PzKpfw IV models, 3774 of them were built, production ceased in the summer of 1944. Chassis serial numbers are 84401-89600, some of these chassis served as the basis for the construction of assault guns.
Tank PzKpfw IV Ausf.J (Sd.Kfz.161/2)
The last model launched into the series was the Ausfuhrung J modification. Machines of this variant began to enter service in June 1944. From a constructive point of view, the PzKpfw IV Ausf.J was a step backwards.
Instead of an electric drive for turning the tower, a manual one was installed, but it became possible to place an additional fuel tank with a capacity of 200 liters. The increase in the cruising range on the highway from 220 km to 300 km due to the placement of additional fuel (off-road - from 130 km to 180 km) seemed to be an extremely important decision, since panzerdivisions increasingly played the role of "fire brigades", which were transferred from one sector of the Eastern Front another.
An attempt to somewhat reduce the mass of the tank was the installation of welded wire anti-cumulative screens; such screens were called "Tom screens", after the name of General Tom). Such screens were placed only on the sides of the hull, and the former screens made of sheet steel remained on the towers. On tanks of late production, instead of four rollers, three were installed, and vehicles with steel track rollers without rubber were also produced.
Almost all improvements were aimed at reducing the labor intensity of manufacturing tanks, including: the elimination of all loopholes on the tank for firing pistols and extra viewing slots (only the driver, in the commander's turret and in the frontal armor plate of the turret remained), installation of simplified towing loops , replacing the muffler exhaust system with two simple pipes. Another attempt to improve the security of the car was to increase the armor of the turret roof by 18 mm and the stern by 26 mm.
The production of PzKpfw IV Ausf.J tanks ceased in March 1945, with a total of 1,758 vehicles built.
By 1944, it became clear that the design of the tank had exhausted all reserves for modernization, a revolutionary attempt to increase the combat effectiveness of the PzKpfw IV by installing a turret from the Panther tank, armed with a 75-mm gun with a barrel length of 70 calibers, was unsuccessful - the undercarriage was too overloaded. Before proceeding with the installation of the Panther's turret, the designers tried to squeeze the gun from the Panther into the turret of the PzKpfw IV tank. The installation of a wooden model of the gun showed the complete impossibility of the crew members working in the turret due to the tightness created by the breech of the gun. As a result of this failure, the idea was born to mount the entire turret from the Panther on the Pz.IV hull.
Due to the constant modernization of tanks in the course of factory repairs, it is not possible to determine with accuracy how many tanks of one or another modification were built in total. Very often there were various hybrid variants, for example, turrets from Ausf.G were placed on the hulls of the Ausf.D model.
Tactical and technical characteristics of tanks Pz IV
| PzKpfw IV | |
| Crew | |
| Length (mm) | |
| Width | |
| Height | |
| Track | |
| Clearance | |
| Combat weight (kg) | |
| ground pressure | |
| Range: Highway(km) | |
| along the country road | |
| Speed (km/h) | |
| Fuel consumption (l/100 km) | |
| Armor (mm): | |
| Body: forehead | |
| board | |
| stern | |
| Tower: forehead | |
| board | |
| stern |
| PzKpfw IV | |
| Crew | |
| Length (mm) | |
| Width | |
| Height | |
| Track | |
| Clearance | |
| Combat weight (kg) | |
| ground pressure | |
| Range: Highway(km) | |
| along the country road | |
| Speed (km/h) | |
| Fuel consumption (l/100 km) | |
| Armor (mm): | |
| Body: forehead | |
| board | |
| stern | |
| Tower: forehead | |
| board | |
| stern |
| PzKpfw IV | |
| Crew | |
| Length (mm) | |
| Width | |
| Height | |
| Track | |
| Clearance | |
| Combat weight (kg) | |
| ground pressure | |
| Range: Highway(km) | |
| along the country road | |
| Speed (km/h) | |
| Fuel consumption (l/100 km) | |
| Armor (mm): | |
| Body: forehead | |
| board | |
| stern | |
| Tower: forehead | |
| board | |
| stern |
| PzKpfw IV | |
| Crew | |
| Length (mm) | |
| Width | |
| Height | |
| Track | |
| Clearance | |
| Combat weight (kg) | |
| ground pressure | |
| Range: Highway(km) | |
| along the country road | |
| Speed (km/h) | |
| Fuel consumption (l/100 km) | |
| Armor (mm): | |
| Body: forehead | |
| board | |
| stern | |
| Tower: forehead | |
| board | |
| stern |
| PzKpfw IV | |
| Crew | |
| Length (mm) | |
| Width | |
| Height | |
| Track | |
| Clearance | |
| Combat weight (kg) | |
| ground pressure | |
| Range: Highway(km) | |
| along the country road | |
| Speed (km/h) | |
| Fuel consumption (l/100 km) | |
| Armor (mm): | |
| Body: forehead | |
| board | |
| stern | |
| Tower: forehead | |
| board | |
| stern |
| PzKpfw IV | |
| Crew | |
| Length (mm) | |
| Width | |
| Height | |
| Track | |
| Clearance | |
| Combat weight (kg) | |
| ground pressure | |
| Range: Highway(km) | |
| along the country road | |
| Speed (km/h) | |
| Fuel consumption (l/100 km) | |
| Armor (mm): | |
| Body: forehead | |
| board | |
| stern | |
| Tower: forehead | |
| board | |
| stern |
| PzKpfw IV | |
| Crew | |
| Length (mm) | |
| Width | |
| Height | |
| Track | |
| Clearance | |
| Combat weight (kg) | |
| ground pressure | |
| Range: Highway(km) | |
| along the country road | |
| Speed (km/h) | |
| Fuel consumption (l/100 km) | |
| Armor (mm): | |
| Body: forehead | |
| board | |
| stern | |
| Tower: forehead | |
| board | |
| stern |
| PzKpfw IV | |
| Crew | |
| Length (mm) | |
| Width | |
| Height | |
| Track | |
| Clearance | |
| Combat weight (kg) | |
| ground pressure | |
| Range: Highway(km) | |
| along the country road | |
| Speed (km/h) | |
| Fuel consumption (l/100 km) | |
| Armor (mm): | |
| Body: forehead | |
| board | |
| stern | |
| Tower: forehead | |
| board | |
| stern |
| PzKpfw IV | |
| Crew | |
| Length (mm) | |
| Width | |
| Height | |
| Track | |
| Clearance | |
| Combat weight (kg) | |
| ground pressure | |
| Range: Highway(km) | |
| along the country road | |
| Speed (km/h) | |
| Fuel consumption (l/100 km) | |
| Armor (mm): | |
| Body: forehead | |
| board | |
| stern | |
| Tower: forehead | |
| board | |
| stern |
| PzKpfw IV | |
| Crew | |
| Length (mm) | |
| Width | |
| Height | |
| Track | |
| Clearance | |
| Combat weight (kg) | |
| ground pressure | |
| Range: Highway(km) | |
| along the country road | |
| Speed (km/h) | |
| Fuel consumption (l/100 km) | |
| Armor (mm): | |
| Body: forehead | |
| board | |
| stern | |
| Tower: forehead | |
| board | |
| stern |
"Panzerkampfwagen IV" ("PzKpfw IV", also "Pz. IV"; in the USSR it was also known as "T‑IV") - a medium tank of the armored forces of the Wehrmacht during the Second World War. There is a version that the Pz IV was originally classified by the German side as a heavy tank, but it has not been documented.
The most massive tank of the Wehrmacht: 8,686 vehicles were produced; serially produced from 1937 to 1945 in several modifications. The ever-increasing armament and armor of the tank in most cases allowed the PzKpfw IV to effectively resist tanks of a similar class. The French tanker Pierre Danois wrote about the PzKpfw IV (in modification, at that time, still with a short-barreled 75-mm gun): “This medium tank was superior to our B1 and B1 bis in all respects, including weapons and, to some extent, armor ".
History of creation
Under the terms of the Versailles Peace Treaty, Germany, defeated in the First World War, was forbidden to have armored troops, with the exception of a small number of armored vehicles for the needs of the police. But despite this, since 1925, the Reichswehr Armaments Office has been secretly working on the creation of tanks. Until the early 1930s, these developments did not go beyond the construction of prototypes, both because of the insufficient performance of the latter, and because of the weakness of the German industry of that period. Nevertheless, by the middle of 1933, the German designers managed to create their first production tank, the Pz.Kpfw.I, and begin its mass production during 1933-1934. The Pz.Kpfw.I, with its machine gun armament and crew of two, was seen as only a transitional model on the way to building more advanced tanks. The development of two of them began back in 1933 - a more powerful "transitional" tank, the future Pz.Kpfw.II and a full-fledged battle tank, the future Pz.Kpfw.III, armed with a 37-mm cannon, designed mainly to fight other armored vehicles.
Due to the initial armament limitations of the Pz.Kpfw.III, it was decided to supplement it with a fire support tank, with a longer-range cannon with a powerful fragmentation projectile capable of hitting anti-tank defenses beyond the reach of other tanks. In January 1934, the Armaments Department organized a project competition for the creation of a machine of this class, whose mass would not exceed 24 tons. Since work on armored vehicles in Germany at that time was still carried out in secret, the new project, like the rest, was given the code name "support vehicle" (German: Begleitwagen, usually abbreviated to BW; a number of sources give incorrect names for German. Bataillonwagen and German Bataillonfuehrerwagen). From the very beginning, the firms Rheinmetall and Krupp took up the development of projects for the competition, later they were joined by Daimler-Benz and M.A.N. Over the next 18 months, all firms presented their developments, and the Rheinmetall project under the designation VK 2001 (Rh) was even made in metal in the form of a prototype in 1934-1935.
Tank Pz.Kpfw. IV Ausf. J (Armoured Vehicles Museum - Latrun, Israel)
All submitted projects were undercarriage with a staggered arrangement of large-diameter road wheels and the absence of support rollers, with the exception of the same VK 2001 (Rh), which, on the whole, inherited the undercarriage with small-diameter road wheels interlocked in pairs and side screens from an experimental heavy tank Nb.Fz. As a result, the Krupp project - VK 2001 (K) was recognized as the best of them, but the Arms Administration did not satisfy its spring suspension, which they demanded to be replaced with a more advanced torsion bar. However, Krupp insisted on the use of a running gear with interlocked pairs of rollers of medium diameter on a spring suspension, borrowed from the rejected Pz.Kpfw.III prototype of its own design. In order to avoid the inevitable delays in the processing of the project for a torsion bar suspension with the start of production of a tank badly needed by the army, the Ordnance Department was forced to agree to the Krupp proposal. After the subsequent refinement of the project, Krupp received an order for the production of a pre-production batch of a new tank, which by that time had received the designation "armored vehicle with a 75-mm gun" (German: 7.5 cm Geschütz-Panzerwagen) or, according to the end-to-end designation system adopted at that time, "experimental model 618" (German: Versuchskraftfahrzeug 618 or Vs.Kfz.618). From April 1936, the tank acquired its final designation - Panzerkampfwagen IV or Pz.Kpfw.IV. In addition, he was assigned the index Vs.Kfz.222, previously owned by Pz.Kpfw.II.
Tank PzKpfw IV Ausf G. Armored Museum in Kubinka.
Mass production
Panzerkampfwagen IV Ausf.A - Ausf.F1
The first few Pz.Kpfw.IV "zero" series were manufactured in 1936-1937 at the Krupp plant in Essen. The serial production of the first series, 1.Serie / B.W., was launched in October 1937 at the Krupp-Gruson plant in Magdeburg. In total, until March 1938, 35 tanks of this modification were produced, designated as Panzerkampfwagen IV Ausführung A (Ausf.A - “model A”). By unified system designations of German armored vehicles, the tank received the index Sd.Kfz.161. The Ausf.A tanks were in many ways still pre-production vehicles and carried bulletproof armor that did not exceed 15-20 mm and weakly protected observation devices, especially in the commander's cupola. At the same time, the main design features of the Pz.Kpfw.IV had already been determined on the Ausf.A, and although the tank was subsequently upgraded many times, the changes mainly boiled down to the installation of more powerful armor and weapons, or to an unprincipled alteration of individual components.
Immediately after the end of production of the first series, Krupp began production of an improved 2.Serie / B.W. or Ausf.B. The most noticeable outward difference of the tanks of this modification was a straight upper frontal plate, without a prominent driver's cabin and with the elimination of the course machine gun, which was replaced by a viewing device and a hatch for firing personal weapons. The design of viewing devices was also improved, primarily the commander's cupola, which received armored shutters, and the driver's viewing device. According to other sources, the new commander's cupola was already introduced during production, so some of the Ausf.B tanks carried the old-style commander's cupola. Minor changes also affected the landing hatches and various hatches. Frontal armor on the new modification was brought up to 30 mm. The tank also received a more powerful engine and a new 6-speed gearbox, which made it possible to significantly increase its maximum speed, and its cruising range also increased. At the same time, the ammunition load of the Ausf.B was reduced to 80 rounds for the gun and 2,700 machine gun rounds, instead of 120 and 3,000 rounds for the Ausf.A, respectively. Krupp was given an order for the production of 45 Ausf.B tanks, but due to a shortage of components, only 42 vehicles of this modification were actually produced from April to September 1938.
Tank Pz.Kpfw.IV Ausf.A on parade, 1938.
The first relatively massive modification was 3.Serie/B.W. or Ausf.C. Compared to the Ausf.B, the changes in it were insignificant - externally, both modifications are distinguishable only by the presence of an armored casing for the barrel of a coaxial machine gun. The rest of the changes came down to replacing the HL 120TR engine with an HL 120TRM of the same power, as well as the beginning of installing a fender under the gun barrel on part of the tanks to bend the antenna located on the hull when the turret turns. In total, 300 tanks of this modification were ordered, but already in March 1938 the order was reduced to 140 units, as a result of which, according to various sources, 140 or 134 tanks were produced from September 1938 to August 1939, while 6 chassis were transferred for conversion into bridgelayers.
Museum Pz.Kpfw.IV Ausf.D with additional armor
Machines of the next modification, Ausf.D, were produced in two series - 4.Serie / B.W. and 5.Serie/B.W. The most noticeable external change was the return to the broken upper frontal plate of the hull and the forward machine gun, which received enhanced protection. The inner mantlet of the gun, which proved vulnerable to lead spatter from bullet hits, was replaced with an outer one. The thickness of the side and rear armor of the hull and turret was increased to 20 mm. In January 1938, Krupp received an order for the production of 200 4.Serie / B.W. and 48 5.Serie/B.W., but during production, from October 1939 to May 1941, only 229 of them were completed as tanks, while the remaining 19 were allocated for the construction of specialized variants. Some of the late production Ausf.D tanks were produced in a "tropical" version (German tropen or Tp.), with additional ventilation holes in the engine compartment. A number of sources speak of armor reinforcement carried out in 1940-1941 in parts or during repairs, which was carried out by bolting additional 20-mm sheets to the upper side and frontal plates of the tank. According to other sources, later production vehicles were regularly equipped with additional 20 mm side and 30 mm frontal armor plates of the Ausf.E type. Several Ausf.Ds were re-armed with KwK 40 L/48 long guns in 1943, but these converted tanks were only used as training tanks.
Tank Pz.Kpfw.IV Ausf.B or Ausf.C on exercises. November 1943.
The appearance of a new modification, 6.Serie/B.W. or Ausf.E, was caused primarily by the lack of armor protection of early series vehicles, demonstrated during the Polish campaign. On Ausf.E, the thickness of the lower frontal plate was increased to 50mm, in addition, it became standard to install additional 30mm plates above the upper frontal and 20mm above the side plates, although on a small part of the tanks of early production, additional 30mm plates were not were established. The armor protection of the tower, however, remained the same - 30 mm for the frontal plate, 20 mm for the side and aft plates and 35 mm for the gun mantlet. A new commander's cupola was introduced, with a vertical armor thickness of 50 to 95 mm. The inclination of the aft wall of the turret was also reduced, now made of a single sheet, without the "influx" for the turret, and on late production vehicles, an unarmored equipment box was attached to the stern of the turret. In addition, the Ausf.E tanks featured a number of less noticeable changes - a new driver's viewing device, simplified drive and steering wheels, an improved design of various hatches and inspection hatches, and the introduction of a turret fan. The order for the sixth series of Pz.Kpfw.IVs amounted to 225 units and was completed in full between September 1940 and April 1941, in parallel with the production of Ausf.D tanks.
Pz.Kpfw.IV Ausf.F. Finland, 1941.
Shielding with additional armor (on average by 10-12 mm), used on previous modifications, was irrational and was considered only as a temporary solution, which was the reason for the appearance of the next modification, 7.Serie/B.W. or Ausf.F. Instead of using hinged armor, the thickness of the frontal top plate of the hull, the frontal plate of the turret and the mantlet of the gun was increased to 50 mm, and the thickness of the sides of the hull and the sides and rear of the turret was increased to 30 mm. The broken upper frontal plate of the hull was again replaced by a straight one, but this time with the retention of the course machine gun, and the side hatches of the turret received double doors. Due to the fact that the mass of the tank increased by 22.5% compared to the Ausf.A after the changes made, wider tracks were introduced to reduce ground pressure. Other, less noticeable changes included the introduction of ventilation air intakes in the middle frontal plate to cool the brakes, a different arrangement of silencers and slightly modified viewing devices due to the thickening of the armor, and the installation of a course machine gun. On the Ausf.F modification, other firms, in addition to Krupp, joined the production of Pz.Kpfw.IV for the first time. The latter received the first order for 500 machines of the seventh series, later orders for 100 and 25 units were received by Vomag and Nibelungenwerke. Of this number, from April 1941 to March 1942, before switching production to the Ausf.F2 modification, 462 Ausf.F tanks were produced, 25 of which were converted to Ausf.F2 at the factory.
Tank Pz.Kpfw.IV Ausf.E. Yugoslavia, 1941.
Panzerkampfwagen IV Ausf.F2 - Ausf.J
Although the main purpose of the 75 mm Pz.Kpfw.IV cannon was to destroy unarmored or lightly armored targets, the presence of an armor-piercing projectile in its ammunition load allowed the tank to successfully fight armored vehicles protected by bulletproof or light anti-ballistic armor. But against tanks with powerful anti-shell armor, such as the British Matilda or the Soviet KV and T-34, it proved to be completely ineffective. Back in 1940 - early 1941, the successful combat use of the Matilda intensified work on re-equipping the Pz.Kpfw.IV with a gun with better anti-tank capabilities. On February 19, 1941, on the personal order of A. Hitler, work began on arming the tank with a 50-mm Kw.K.38 L / 42 cannon, which was also installed on the Pz.Kpfw.III, and further work to strengthen the armament of the Pz.Kpfw. IV also advanced under his control. In April, one Pz.Kpfw.IV Ausf.D was re-armed with the newest, more powerful 50 mm Kw.K.39 L/60 gun for demonstration to Hitler on his birthday, April 20th. It was even planned to produce a series of 80 tanks with such weapons from August 1941, but by that time the interest of the Ordnance Department (Heereswaffenamt) had shifted to a 75-mm long-barreled gun and these plans were abandoned.
Since the Kw.K.39 had already been approved as a weapon for the Pz.Kpfw.III, it was decided to choose an even more powerful gun for the Pz.Kpfw.IV, which could not be installed on the Pz.Kpfw.III with its smaller turret ring diameter . Since March 1941, Krupp, as an alternative to the 50-mm cannon, has been considering a new 75-mm cannon with a barrel length of 40 calibers, intended to rearm StuG.III assault guns. At a distance of 400 meters, it pierced 70 mm armor at a meeting angle of 60 °, but since the Ordnance Department demanded that the gun barrel did not protrude beyond the dimensions of the tank hull, its length was reduced to 33 calibers, which led to a decrease in armor penetration to 59 mm under the same conditions. It was also planned to develop a sub-caliber armor-piercing projectile with a detachable pallet, penetrating 86-mm armor under the same conditions. Work on re-equipping the Pz.Kpfw.IV with the new gun was going well, and in December 1941 the first prototype was built with a 7.5 cm Kw.K. L/34.5.
Tank Pz.Kpfw.IV Ausf.F2. France, July 1942.
In the meantime, the invasion of the USSR began, during which German troops encountered T-34 and KV tanks, which were slightly vulnerable to the main tank and anti-tank guns of the Wehrmacht and at the same time carried a 76-mm cannon that pierced the frontal armor of German tanks, which were then practically in service with the Panzerwaffe. at any real combat distances. The Special Tank Commission, sent to the front in November 1941 to study this issue, recommended that the German tanks be re-equipped with a weapon that would allow them to hit Soviet vehicles from long distances, while remaining outside the radius of effective fire of the latter. On November 18, 1941, the development of a tank gun was initiated, similar in its capabilities to the new 75-mm Pak 40 anti-tank gun. Such a gun, originally designated Kw.K.44, was developed jointly by Krupp and Rheinmetall. The barrel passed to him from the anti-tank gun without changes, but since the shots of the latter were too long for use in a tank, a shorter and thicker cartridge case was developed for the tank gun, which led to a reworking of the breech of the gun and a reduction in the overall length of the barrel to 43 calibers. Kw.K.44 also received a single-chamber muzzle brake of a spherical shape, different from the anti-tank gun. In this form, the gun was adopted as the 7.5 cm Kw.K.40 L/43.
The Pz.Kpfw.IVs with the new gun were originally designated as "refitted" (German 7.Serie/BW-Umbau or Ausf.F-Umbau), but soon received the designation Ausf.F2, while the Ausf.F vehicles with the old guns were called Ausf.F1 to avoid confusion. The designation of the tank according to a single system changed to Sd.Kfz.161/1. With the exception of a different gun and related minor changes, such as the installation of a new sight, new shot stowage and slightly modified gun recoil armor, the early production Ausf.F2s were identical to the Ausf.F1 tanks. After a month-long break due to the transition to a new modification, the production of Ausf.F2 began in March 1942 and continued until July of the same year. A total of 175 tanks of this variant were produced and another 25 converted from the Ausf.F1.
Tank Pz.Kpfw. IV Ausf. G (tail number 727) of the 1st Panzergrenadier Division "Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler". The vehicle was hit by gunners of the 4th battery of the 595th anti-tank artillery regiment in the area of st. Sumy in Kharkov, on the night of March 11-12, 1943. On the frontal armor plate, almost in the center, two inlets from 76-mm shells are visible.
The appearance of the next modification Pz.Kpfw.IV was not initially caused by any changes in the design of the tank. In June - July 1942, by orders of the Ordnance Department, the designation Pz.Kpfw.IV with long-barreled guns was changed to 8.Serie / B.W. or Ausf.G, and in October the Ausf.F2 designation was finally abolished for previously produced tanks of this modification. The first tanks produced as the Ausf.G were thus identical to their predecessors, but more and more changes were made to the design of the tank during the course of further production. Ausf.G of early releases still carried the index Sd.Kfz.161/1 according to the end-to-end notation, which was replaced by Sd.Kfz.161/2 on later releases. The first changes, made already in the summer of 1942, included a new two-chamber pear-shaped muzzle brake, the elimination of viewing devices in the front side plates of the turret and the observation hatch for the loader in its frontal plate, the transfer of smoke grenade launchers from the rear of the hull to the sides of the turret, and a system to facilitate launching in winter conditions .
Since the 50 mm frontal armor of the Pz.Kpfw.IV was still insufficient, not providing adequate protection against 57 mm and 76 mm guns, it was again reinforced, by welding or, on later production vehicles, by bolting additional 30 mm mm plates above the upper and lower end plates of the hull. The thickness of the front plate of the turret and gun mask, however, was still 50 mm and did not increase in the process of further modernization of the tank. The introduction of additional armor began on the Ausf.F2, when 8 tanks with increased armor thickness were produced in May 1942, but progress was slow. By November, only about half of the vehicles were produced with enhanced armor, and only from January 1943 did it become the standard for all new tanks. Another significant change introduced to the Ausf.G in the spring of 1943 was the replacement of the Kw.K.40 L/43 cannon with the Kw.K.40 L/48 gun with a 48-caliber barrel, which had slightly better armor penetration. Production of the Ausf.G continued until June 1943, with a total of 1,687 tanks of this modification produced. Of this number, about 700 tanks received enhanced armor and 412 received the Kw.K.40 L/48 cannon.
Pz.Kpfw.IV Ausf.H with side screens and zimmerite coating. USSR, July 1944.
The next modification, Ausf.H, became the most massive. The first tanks under this designation, which rolled off the assembly line in April 1943, differed from the last Ausf.G only in the thickening of the front turret roof sheet up to 16 mm and the rear up to 25 mm, as well as reinforced final drives with cast drive wheels, but the first 30 tanks Ausf.H, due to delays in the supply of new components, received only a thickened roof. Since the summer of the same year, instead of an additional 30 mm hull armor, solid-rolled 80 mm plates were introduced to simplify production. In addition, hinged anti-cumulative screens made of 5 mm sheets were introduced, which were installed on most Ausf.H. In this regard, as unnecessary, viewing devices in the sides of the hull and turret were eliminated. Since September, the tanks have been coated with vertical armor with zimmerite to protect against magnetic mines.
Late production Ausf.H tanks received a turret mount for the MG-42 machine gun at the commander's cupola hatch, as well as a vertical stern plate instead of the inclined one that was on all previous tank modifications. In the course of production, various changes were also introduced to reduce the cost and simplify production, such as the introduction of non-rubbered support rollers and the elimination of the driver's periscope viewing device. Since December 1943, the front plates of the hull began to be connected to the side connection "into a spike", to increase resistance to projectile hits. Production of the Ausf.H continued until July 1944. Data on the number of produced tanks of this modification, given in various sources, differ somewhat, from 3935 chassis, of which 3774 were completed as tanks, to 3960 chassis and 3839 tanks.
Destroyed on the Eastern Front, the German medium tank Pz.Kpfw. IV lying upside down on the side of the road. Part of the caterpillar in contact with the ground is missing, in the same place there are no rollers with a fragment of the lower part of the hull, the bottom sheet is torn off, the second caterpillar is torn off. The upper part of the machine, as far as one can judge, does not have such fatal damage. A typical picture during a land mine explosion.
The appearance of the Ausf.J modification on the assembly lines since June 1944 was associated with the desire to reduce the cost and simplify the production of the tank as much as possible in the face of the deteriorating strategic position of Germany. The only but significant change that distinguished the first Ausf.J from the latest Ausf.H was the elimination of the electric turret traverse and the associated auxiliary carburetor engine with a generator. Soon after the launch of the new modification, the pistol ports in the stern and sides of the turret were eliminated, which were useless because of the screens, and the design of other hatches was also simplified. Since July, an additional fuel tank with a capacity of 200 liters was installed in place of the liquidated auxiliary engine, but the fight against its leakage dragged on until September 1944. In addition, the 12-mm roof of the hull began to be reinforced by welding additional 16-mm sheets. All subsequent changes were aimed at further simplifying the design, the most notable among them being the abandonment of the zimmerite coating in September and the reduction of the number of carrier rollers to three per side in December 1944. The production of Ausf.J modification tanks continued almost until the very end of the war, until March 1945, but the slowdown in production due to the weakening of the German industry and difficulties in the supply of raw materials led to the fact that only 1758 tanks of this modification were produced.
Production volumes of the T-4 tank
Design
The Pz.Kpfw.IV had a layout with a combined transmission compartment and control compartment in the front, the engine compartment in the aft, and the fighting compartment in the middle part of the vehicle. The crew of the tank consisted of five people: a driver and gunner-radio operator, located in the control compartment, and a gunner, loader and tank commander, who were in a triple tower.
Armored corps and turret
The turret of the PzKpfw IV tank made it possible to upgrade the tank gun. Inside the tower were the commander, gunner and loader. The commander's seat was directly under the commander's turret, the gunner was located to the left of the cannon breech, the loader was to the right. Additional protection was provided by anti-cumulative screens, which were also installed on the sides. The commander's cupola at the rear of the turret gave the tank good visibility. The tower had an electric turn drive.
Soviet soldiers are considering a broken German tank Pz.Kpfw. IV Ausf. H (single hatch and no triple-barreled grenade launchers on the turret). The tank is painted in tricolor camouflage. Oryol-Kursk direction.
Means of observation and communication
The tank commander in non-combat conditions, as a rule, conducted observation, standing in the hatch of the commander's cupola. In battle, to view the area, he had five wide viewing slots around the perimeter of the commander's cupola, which gave him an all-round view. The viewing slots of the commander, like those of all other crew members, were equipped with a protective triplex glass block on the inside. On the Pz.Kpfw.IV Ausf.A, the viewing slots did not have any additional cover, but on the Ausf.B, the slots were equipped with sliding armor shutters; in this form, the commander's viewing devices remained unchanged on all subsequent modifications. In addition, on tanks of early modifications in the commander's cupola there was a mechanical device for determining the heading angle of the target, with the help of which the commander could carry out accurate target designation to the gunner who had a similar device. However, due to excessive complexity, this system was eliminated starting with the Ausf.F2 modification. Viewing devices for the gunner and loader on the Ausf.A - Ausf.F consisted of, for each of them: a viewing hatch with an armored cover without viewing slots, in the frontal plate of the tower on the sides of the gun mantlet; inspection hatch with a slot in the front side plates and a viewing slot in the side hatch cover of the tower. Starting with the Ausf.G, as well as on parts of the late production Ausf.F2, viewing devices in the front side plates and the loader's viewing hatch in the frontal plate were eliminated. On the part of the tanks of modifications Ausf.H and Ausf.J, in connection with the installation of anti-cumulative screens, viewing devices in the sides of the tower were completely eliminated.
The main means of observation for the driver of the Pz.Kpfw.IV was a wide viewing slot in the frontal plate of the hull. From the inside, the slit was protected by a triplex glass block, from the outside, on the Ausf.A it could be closed with a simple folding armored flap, on the Ausf.B and subsequent modifications with a replaced Sehklappe 30 or 50 sliding flap, also used on the Pz.Kpfw.III. A periscopic binocular viewing device K.F.F.1 was located above the viewing slot on Ausf.A, but it was eliminated on Ausf.B - Ausf.D. On Ausf.E - Ausf.G, the viewing device appeared already in the form of an improved K.F.F.2, but starting with Ausf.H, it was again abandoned. The device was brought out through two holes in the frontal plate of the hull and, if it was not needed, was moved to the right. The gunner-radio operator on most modifications did not have any means of viewing the frontal sector, in addition to the sight of the course machine gun, but on the Ausf.B, Ausf.C and part of the Ausf.D, in place of the machine gun, there was a hatch with a viewing slot in it. Similar hatches were placed in the side plates on most Pz.Kpfw.IVs, being eliminated only on Ausf.J in connection with the installation of anti-cumulative screens. In addition, the driver had a turret position indicator, one of two lights warned of the turret turning to one side or another, in order to avoid damage to the gun when driving in cramped conditions.
For external communications, Pz.Kpfw.IV platoon commanders and above were equipped with a VHF radio station of the Fu 5 model and a Fu 2 receiver. line tanks equipped only with a Fu 2 receiver. FuG5 had a transmitter power of 10 W and provided a communication range of 9.4 km in telegraph and 6.4 km in telephone mode. For internal communication, all Pz.Kpfw.IVs were equipped with a tank intercom for four of the crew members, with the exception of the loader.
The decision to develop a medium tank (also called an artillery support tank) with a short-barreled gun was made in January 1934. The following year, Krupp-Gruson, MAN and Rheinmetall-Borsig presented their prototypes for testing. The army team liked the Krupp project. Machines of modification A were produced in 1937, modifications B (the so-called installation batches) - in 1938. Over the next year, 134 tanks of the C.
The combat weight of the tanks is 18.4 - 19 tons, the thickness of the armor is up to 30 millimeters, the maximum speed on the highway is 40 km / h, the cruising range is 200 kilometers. The turret was equipped with a 75 mm long L / 24 gun (24 caliber) and a coaxial machine gun. Another one was located on the right in the frontal sheet of the hull in a ball mount. In terms of design and layout, the tank basically repeated the medium Pz Kpfw III.
Pz.Kpfw.IV Ausf.B or Ausf.C during exercises. November 1943
German medium tanks PzKpfw IV Ausf H during an exercise to work out the interaction of crews. Germany, June 1944
As of September 1, 1939, the Wehrmacht had 211 Pz Kpfw IV tanks. The tank proved to be excellent during the Polish campaign, and along with the Pz Kpfw III medium tank, it was approved as the main one. Its mass production began in October of the same year. Already in the 40th year, 278 pieces were produced. modifications D and E.
In the German tank divisions at the time of the French invasion, there were about 280 Pz Kpfw IV tanks in the Western Theater. Operation in combat conditions has shown that the armor protection is insufficient. As a result, the thickness of the sheets of the frontal part was increased to 60 mm, the sides - up to 40 mm, the turret - up to 50 mm. As a result, the combat weight of modifications E and F, which were produced in 40-41, increased to 22 tons. To keep the specific pressure within acceptable limits, the width of the tracks was slightly increased - up to 400 millimeters from 380.
The German “fours” lost firefights with Soviet-made KB and T-34 tanks due to inadequate weapon characteristics. Starting in the spring of 1942, 75-mm long-barreled guns (L / 43) began to be installed on the Pz Kpfw IV. starting speed sub-caliber projectile was 920 meters per second. This is how the Sd Kfz 161/1 (modification F2) appeared, which surpassed even the T-34-76 in armament. Modification G was produced in 1942-1943, H - from 43rd and J - from June 44th (all modifications were coded as Sd Kfz 161/2). The last two modifications were the most perfect. The thickness of the frontal armor plates was increased to 80 millimeters. The power of the gun increased: the barrel length was 48 calibers. Weight increased to 25 thousand kg. Ausf J at one gas station could move on the highway for a distance of up to 320 kilometers. Since 1943, 5-mm screens have become mandatory on all tanks, which protected the sides and the turret behind and to the side from bullets from anti-tank rifles and cumulative projectiles.
Pz.Kpfw.IV Ausf.E. Yugoslavia, 1941
Pz.Kpfw.IV Ausf.F. Finland, 1941
The welded hull of the tank was simple in design, although it did not differ in the rational slope of the armor plates. A large number of hatches facilitated access to various mechanisms and assemblies, but at the same time reduced the strength of the hull. Partitions divided the interior into three compartments. The control compartment occupied the front compartment, which housed the gearboxes: onboard and general. The driver and radio operator were located in the same compartment, both had their own observation devices. The multifaceted turret and the middle compartment were assigned to the fighting compartment. The main armament, ammunition rack and other crew members: loader, gunner and commander were located in it. Ventilation was improved by hatches on the sides of the turret, but they reduced the projectile resistance of the tank.
The commander's cupola had five viewing devices with armored shutters. There were also viewing slots in the side hatches of the tower and on both sides of the gun mantlet. The gunner had a telescopic sight. The tower rotated manually or with the help of an electric motor, the vertical aiming of the gun was carried out only manually. The ammunition included smoke and high-explosive fragmentation grenades, cumulative, sub-caliber and armor-piercing shells.
In the engine compartment (aft of the hull) housed a 12-cylinder water-cooled carburetor engine. The undercarriage included eight rubber-coated road wheels of small diameter, which were interlocked in two. The leaf springs were elastic elements pendants.
Pz.Kpfw.IV Ausf.F2. France, July 1942
Pz.Kpfw.IV Ausf.H with side screens and zimmerite coating. USSR, July 1944
The medium tank Pz Kpfw IV proved to be an easy-to-handle and reliable vehicle. However, its patency, especially for overweight tanks latest releases was pretty bad. In terms of armor protection and armament, it surpassed all similar ones produced in Western countries, except for some modifications of the English Komets and American M4s.
Technical characteristics of the medium tank Pz Kpfw IV (Ausf D/Ausf F2/Ausf J):
Year of issue - 1939 / 1942 / 1944;
Combat weight - 20000 kg / 23000 kg / 25000 kg;
Crew - 5 people;
Body length - 5920 mm / 5930 mm / 5930 mm;
Length with gun forward - 5920 mm / 6630 mm / 7020 mm;
Width - 2840 mm / 2840 mm / 2880 mm;
Height - 2680 mm;
BOOKING:
Thickness of armor plates (angle of inclination to the vertical):
The frontal part of the body - 30 mm (12 degrees) / 50 mm (12 degrees) / 80 mm (15 degrees);
Hull sides - 20 mm / 30 mm / 30 mm;
The frontal part of the tower - 30 mm (10 degrees) / 50 mm (11 degrees) / 50 mm (10 degrees);
The bottom and roof of the hull - 10 and 12 mm / 10 and 12 mm / 10 and 16 mm;
WEAPONS:
Gun brand - KwK37/KwK40/KwK40;
Caliber - 75 mm
Barrel length - 24 klb. / 43 klb. / 48 klb.;
Ammunition - 80 shots / 87 shots / 87 shots;
The number of machine guns - 2;
Machine gun caliber - 7.92 mm;
Ammunition - 2700 rounds / 3000 rounds / 3150 rounds
MOBILITY:
Engine type and brand - "Maybach" HL120TRM;
Engine power - 300 liters. s./300 l. s./272 l. With.;
Maximum speed on the highway - 40 km / h / 40 km / h / 38 km / h;
Fuel supply - 470 l / 470 l / 680 l;
Power reserve on the highway - 200 km / 200 km / 320 km;
The average ground pressure is 0.75 kg/cm2/0.84 kg/cm2; 0.89 kg/cm2.
In ambush
German infantry near the PzKpfw IV tank. Vyazma region. October 1941
Less is more—at least sometimes. A smaller caliber can indeed sometimes be more effective than a large caliber - even if at first glance such a statement seems paradoxical.
On the threshold of 1942, German designers of armored vehicles were under tremendous pressure. Over the past few months, they have significantly improved the modification of existing German T-4 tanks, bringing the thickness of the lower frontal plate to 50mm, as well as equipping the vehicles with additional frontal plates 30mm thick.
Due to the increased weight of the tank by 10%, now amounting to 22.3 tons, it was necessary to increase the track width from 380 to 400 mm. To do this, it was necessary to make changes to the design of the guide and drive wheels. In the automotive industry, such improvements like to be called a model change - in the case of the T-4, the designation of the modification changed from "E" to "F".
However, these improvements were not enough to turn the T-4 into a full-fledged rival of the Soviet T-34. First of all, the weak point of these machines was their armament. Along with 88 mm anti-aircraft gun, as well as captured cannons from the stocks of the Red Army - 76-mm guns, which the Germans called "rach-boom" - in the autumn and summer seasons, only the 50-mm Pak 38 anti-tank gun proved its effectiveness, since it fired blanks with a tungsten core.
The leadership of the Wehrmacht was well aware of the existing problems. Even at the end of May 1941, before the attack on the Soviet Union, urgent equipment of the T-4 tank with the Pak 38 gun was discussed, which was supposed to replace the short 75-mm KwK 37 tank gun, called "Shtummel" (Russian cigarette butt). The Pak 38 was only two-thirds larger than the KwK 37.
Context
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Die Welt 05.02.2017Due to the length of the gun at 1.8 m, it was impossible to give the projectiles sufficient acceleration, since their initial velocity was only 400-450 m/s. The muzzle velocity of the Pak 38 shells, despite the fact that the caliber of the gun was only 50 mm, reached more than 800 m/s, and later almost 1200 m/s.
In mid-November 1941, the first prototype of the T-4 tank, equipped with the Pak 38 gun, was to be ready. However, shortly before that, it was discovered that the envisaged modification of the T-4, which was considered a temporary solution on the way to creating a tank capable of resisting the T-34 tank, impossible to implement: Germany did not have enough tungsten to begin mass production of blanks.
On November 14, 1941, a meeting was held at the Fuhrer's headquarters, which cost the German engineers a quiet Christmas. Because Hitler ordered that the production of armored vehicles be completely reorganized as soon as possible. From now on, it was planned to produce only four types of vehicles: light reconnaissance tanks, medium battle tanks based on the old T-4, new heavy tanks ordered for production at the end of June 1941 of the T-6 Tiger tanks, as well as additional "heaviest" tanks.
Four days later, an order was given to develop a new 75-mm gun, the barrel of which was lengthened from 1.8 m to 3.2 m, and which was supposed to replace the Stummel. The initial velocity of the projectile increased from 450 to 900 m/s - this was enough to destroy any T-34 from a distance of 1000-1500 m, even using high-explosive shells.
However, there were also tactical changes. Until now, the T-3 tanks formed the basis of the military equipment of the German tank divisions. They had to fight enemy tanks, while more heavy tanks The T-4s were originally developed as secondary vehicles to destroy targets that small caliber guns could not handle. However, even in battles against French tanks it turned out that only the T-4 could become a serious opponent.
Each German tank regiment nominally had 60 T-3 tanks and 48 T-4 tanks, as well as other tracked vehicles over light construction, some of which were produced in the Czech Republic. However, in fact, on the entire eastern front on July 1, 1941, only 551 T-4 tanks were at the disposal of 19 fighting tank divisions. Despite the fact that the continuous supply of troops with armored vehicles in the amount of about 40 vehicles per month was carried out from factories in Germany for three army groups participating in hostilities in the Soviet Union, due to war-related interruptions in supplies, by the spring of 1942, the number of tanks increased only up to 552.
Nevertheless, according to Hitler's decision, T-4 tanks, which in the past were auxiliary vehicles, were to become the main combat vehicles of tank divisions. This also affected the subsequent modification of German combat vehicles, which at that time was under development, namely the T-5 tank, known as the Panther.
This model, which began to be developed back in 1937, was put into production on November 25, 1941 and managed to gain experience in confronting T-34 tanks. It was the first German tank to have front and side armor plates mounted at an angle. However, it was clear that the supply of tanks of this model in more or less sufficient quantities could be realized no earlier than 1943.
Meanwhile, the T-4 tanks had to cope with the role of the main combat vehicles. The engineers of the companies involved in the development of armored vehicles, primarily Krupp in the city of Essen and Steyr-Puch in the city of St. Valentin (Lower Austria), managed to increase production by the new year and at the same time reorient it to the production of the F2 model, equipped with an elongated Kwk gun 40 supplied to the front since March 1942. Earlier, in January 1942, the production of 59 T-4 tanks in a month for the first time exceeded the established norm of 57 tanks.
Now the T-4 tanks in terms of artillery were approximately on par with the T-34 tanks, but they were still inferior to the powerful Soviet vehicles in terms of mobility. But at that time, another existing drawback was more important - the number of cars produced. For the whole of 1942, 964 T-4 tanks were produced, and only half of them were equipped with an elongated gun, while T-34s were produced in the amount of more than 12 thousand vehicles. And here even new guns could not change anything.
The materials of InoSMI contain only assessments of foreign media and do not reflect the position of the editors of InoSMI.
Tank T-4 (Pz.4) developed in accordance with the requirements for weapons 18-ton class, conditionally pre-
assigned to commanders tank ba - Talons BW (Bataillonsfuhrerwagen). Sa- my mass Wehrmacht tank and the only German tank , which was in mass production throughoutWorld War II.(see photo )
Tank T-4 Pz .4 - most mass weapon german army Second World War
DESIGN AND MODIFICATIONSTank T-4 Pz .4 - most mass weapon german army Second World War
Pz.4 A - installation party. Combat weight 17.3 tons. Engine Maybach HL 108 TR 250 l.e., five-speed gearbox- gearbox. Dimensions 5920x2830x2680 mm. Armament: 75 mm gun KwK 37 with a barrel length of 24 caliber and two machine guns MG 34. Armor thickness 8 - 20 mm. Izgo- 35 weapons were manufactured.
Pz.4B - straight frontal hull plate. The course machine gun was withdrawn. A new commander's cupola and a periscope observation device have been introduced. Engine Maybach HL 120 TR 300 hp, six-speed gearbox. Lobo thickness- turret and hull armor howl - 30 mm. From- 42 (or 45) units were prepared.
Pz.4C - a special chipper under the gun barrel for bending the antenna when turning the turret, spa armor casing- machine gun. Starting from the 40th car- US series installed engine Maybach HL 120 TRM. Manufactured 140 units.
Pz.4D- frontal part of the body like Pz. lVA , including course machine gun. treason- no gun mask. The thickness of the side armor of the hull and turret has been increased to 20 mm. In 1940 - 1941, the frontal armor of the hull and turret was reinforced with 20 mm armor- mi sheets. Manufactured 229 units.
Pz.4E- 30mm frontal hull armor plus an additional 30mm armor plate. Frontal armor of the tower - 30 mm, wt- ka guns - 35 ... 37 mm. Installed but- high commander's cupola with reinforced armor and a ball mount of chickens- Kugelblende 30 owl machine gun, simplified - nye leading and directing wheels, ba- chest for equipment, etc. Combat- total weight is 21 tons. 223 units were manufactured.
Pz .4 F (F 1 ) - the latest modification with a short-barreled gun. straight lobo- hull plate with course machine gun. Commander's cupola of a new design- tions. Single hatches in the sides of the bash- nor replaced by double doors. Frontal armor 50 mm thick. Caterpillar 400 mm wide. 462 units were made.
PZ .4 F 2 - 75 mm KwK gun 40 with a barrel length of 43 calibers and a pear-shaped muzzle- brake. New gun mask mount and new scope TZF 5 f . Combat mas - ca 23.6 tons. 175 units were manufactured.
Pz .4 G (Sd . Kfz . 161/1) - two-chamber muzzle brake guns. Later production tanks were armed with a 75 mm cannon. KwK 40 with a barrel length of 48 calibers, they are- got more armor plate- one in the frontal part of the hull with a thickness of 30 mm, 1450-kg "eastern tracks" and
side screens. 1687 units were made.
Pz. 4N (Sd . Kfz . 161/2) - 75 mm KwK gun 40 with a barrel length of 48 calibers. 80 mm frontal armor. The radio station antenna was moved from the side of the hull to its stern. Installed anti-cumulative 5-mm screens. Commander's cupola of a new type with anti-aircraft installation machine gun MG 34. Vertical aft hull sheet. Six speed gearbox ZF SSG 77. Manufactured 3960 (or 3935) units.
Pz. lVJ (Sd. Kfz. 161/2) - technologically and structurally simplified version Pz. LVH. Manual turret rotation. Support rollers without rubber bandages. Increased fuel capacity- tanks. 1758 units were made.
The first tanks Pz. 4 entered the Wehrmacht in January 1938. The total order for combat vehicles of this type included 709 tank units weapons.
The plan for 1938 provided for the settlement
- rate of 116 tanks, and the firm Krupp almost you - filled it up by handing over 113 vehicles to the troops. The first "combat" operations with fate- eat Pz. IV became the Anschluss of Austria and the capture of the Sudetenland of Czechoslovakia in 1938. In March 1939, they marched through the streets of Prague.On the eve of the invasion of Poland on September 1
- In 1939, there were 211 tanks in the Wehrmacht Pz. 4 modifications A, B and C. According to the current staff, a tank division should have consisted of 24 tanks Pz. IV, 12 cars in each regiment. One- to the full state, only the 1st and 2nd tank regiments of the 1st tank were completed- division howl (1. Panzer Division). The Training Tank Battalion also had a full staff(Panzer Lehr Abteilung), attached 3rd tan- kov division. In other compounds, there were only a few Pz. IV, which - ry in terms of armament and armor protection surpassed all types of Polish tanks opposing them. However, for the time- During the Polish campaign, the Germans lost 76 tanks of this type, 19 of them irretrievably.By the beginning of the French campaign Pan
- the cervaffe already had 290 Pz. IV and 20 bridge layers based on them. Like Pz. lll they were concentrated in the divisions operating in the directions of the main attacks. In the 7th Panzer Division of General Rommel, for example, there were 36 Pz. IV. During the fighting, the French and the English- we managed to knock out 97 tanks Pz. IV. Without - the return losses of the Germans amounted to only 30 combat vehicles of this type.In 1940 specific gravity tanks
Pz. IV in the tank formations of the Wehrmacht increased slightly. On the one hand, due to an increase in production, and on the other, due to a decrease in- Decreases the number of tanks in the division to 258 units. During a fleeting operation in the Balkans in the spring of 1941. Pz. IV, participation - who fought in battles with the Yugoslav, Greek- mi and English troops, losses are not- carriedT ACTICAL AND TECHNICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE TANK Pz. lVFI
COMBAT WEIGHT, t; 22.3, CREW, people; 5.
OVERALL DIMENSIONS mm: length - 5920 width - 2880, height - 2680, ground clearance - 400.
ARMAMENT: 1 cannon KwK 37 caliber 75 mm and 2 machine guns MG 34 ka - libra 7.92 mm.
AMMUNITION: 80 - 87 artillery rounds and 2700 rounds. AIMING INSTRUMENTS* telescopic sight TZF 5b. RESERVATION, mm: forehead of the hull - 50; board - 20+20; feed - 20; roof -11; bottom - 10; tower - 30 - 50.
ENGINE: Maybach HL 120 TRM 12-cylinder carburetor, V -shaped, liquid cooling; working volume 11 867 cm3 3 ; power 300 hp (221 kW) at 3000 rpm. TRANSMISSION - three-disc dry friction main clutch, six-speed synchronized gearbox ZF SSG 76, planetary slewing mechanism, final drives. UNDERCARRIAGE: Eight small-diameter rubber-coated road wheels- meters on board, interlocked in pairs in four carts, suspended- mounted on quarter-elliptical leaf springs; leading to- forest front location with removable gear rims (for- traction lantern); four rubberized support rollers; each track has 99 tracks 400 mm wide. MAXIMUM SPEED, km/h: 42. POWER RESERVE, km: 200.
OVERCOME OBSTACLES: elevation angle, degrees - 30; breadth- on the ditch, m - 2.3; wall height, m - 0.6; fording depth, m - 1. COMMUNICATIONS: radio station Fu 5.
To the beginning of Operation Barbarossa Ver- maht had 439 tanks Pz. IV, by the end of 1941, 348 of them were lost without return- military. Pz. IV, armed short barrel- guns, could not effectively- swarm with Soviet medium and heavy- our tanks. Only with the advent of the long-barrel modification did the situation level off. By the middle of 1943 Pz. IV became the main German tank on Vos- exact front. The staff of a German tank division included a two-battalion tank regiment. In the first battalion, two companies were armed Pz. IV, in the second, only one company. In general, the division- believed 51 tanks Pz. IV combat battalions - nah. In Operation Citadel, they were- whether almost 60% of the tanks that took part- tie in combat operations.
In North Africa, all the way to the capital- battles of the German troops, Pz. IV successfully resisted all types of Union tanks- nicknames. These tanks achieved the greatest success in the fight against the British Krey.- Seri tanks A.9 and A. 10 - move- nym, but lightly armored. The first modification machines F 2 delivered to
North Africa in the summer of 1942. At the end of July, Rommel's African Corps- thought only 13 tanks Pz. IV , of which 9 were F 2. In English documents of that period they were called Panzer IV Special.
Despite the defeat at El Alamein, the Germans began to reorganize- stationing its forces in Africa. On December 9, 1942, the 5th Panzer Army was formed in Tunisia, in which, among- sneeze entered transferred from France
10th Panzer Division, which had- weapons tanks Pz. IV Ausf. G. These tanks participated in the defeat of the American troops at Kasserine on February 14, 1943. However, this was the last successful operation.- walkie-talkie of the Germans on the African continent- those - already on February 23 they were forced- we went on the defensive, their forces were rapidly dwindling. On May 1, 1943 in the German troops- kah in Tunisia there were only 58 tanks - of which 17 Pz. IV.
In 1944, the organization of the German tank- howling division has undergone significant changes. The first battalion of the tank regiment received tanks Pz. V "Panther", WTO - the swarm was completed Pz. IV. In fact, the "panthers" entered the army- not all tank divisions of the Wehrmacht- that. In a number of formations, both battalions had only Pz. IV.
In the summer of 1944, German troops Terpe- whether defeat after defeat, as per- pade, so in the East. I comply- there were also losses: only in two- six months - August and September - 1139 tanks were hit Pz. IV. However, me- her, their number in the troops continued to- be significant. In November 1944 Pz. IV accounted for 40% of German tanks on the Eastern Front, 52% - to the West- nom and 57% - in Italy.
The last major operations of the German army involving Pz. IV began a counteroffensive in the Ardennes in December 1944 and a counterattack by the 6th SS Panzer Army in the area of Lake Balaton in January - March 1945, which ended in- scrap. During January 1945 alone, 287 Pz. IV, of which revolt - renovated and returned to service May 53- tires.
Pz. IV took part in the fighting before last days war, including street fighting in Berlin. On the territory of Czechoslovakia, fighting with fate- The use of tanks of this type continued until May 12, 1945.
tank losses Pz. IV amounted to 7636 units.
Pz. IV in much larger quantities- wah than other German tanks, postav- went for export. According to the German hundred- statistics, the allies of Germany, as well as Turkey and Spain received in 1942 - 1944. 490 combat vehicles. Beyond Ger- Mania Pz. IV were in service in Hungary (74, according to other sources - 104 units), Romania (142), Bulgaria (97), Fin- Landia (14) and Croatia.
Based on the Pz. IV produced self-propelled artillery mounts, commanders- kie tanks, advanced artillery vehicles- Russian observers, evacuation tractors and bridge tanks.
After the surrender of Germany, a large batch of 165 Pz. IV was handed over to Che- Khoslovakia. Having undergone repairs, they are- whether in service with the Czechoslovak army until the early 1950s. Except Czechoslovakia in the post-war years Pz. IV operated in the armies of Spain, Turkey, France, Finland, Bulgaria and Syria.
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