by Phil Gardocki

Panzer IV Ausf 'H'

As photographed by the author.

Used with permission from the US Army Ordnance Museum.

Of all the tanks of World War II, the Panzer IV was probably the most successful model. The original design intent of this panzer was to both provide a heavily armored spear point for an
armored attack and for infantry support. It's armor was about as thick as that of the Panzer III, but with a broader turret ring that could support short barreled 7.5 cm gun required to blow up obstacles
in their path. Behind the spearpoint would come the main battle tank, the Panzer III to engage enemy tanks.

It was that broader chassis that allowed the long series of upgrades that turned the Panzer IV into the longest lived, most heavily produced tank in the German army.

The prewar versions of the Panzer IV, ausf A through F1 were all armed with the 7.5cm/L24 gun. But this only had a penetration of 5.8cm of armor at 500 meters. During the battle for France, this gun was found to be useless against the French Char B, and British Matilda tanks.

In late 1940 and early 1941 prototypes were made with both a 5 cm/L60 and the 7.5 cm L34. Neither of which were very promising in light of encounters with current British and Soviet models. By March, 1942, production models of version F2 were outfitted with the longer barrel L40 gun and sent to all fronts to the desperate panzer units.

The reason for the long delay in up gunning the model rests with the production requirements for a large gun. Most of the industrial effort is producing the a rifled barrel. All other parts of a gun can be created with easily mass produced parts, but the barrel takes specialized machinery. The 7.5cm barrel was needed in a number of weapons, including the light infantry gun, at 6 per infantry battalion, Sturmgeschutz, and the PAK 40 antitank gun. And despite efforts that more than doubled production every year of this popular caliber, supply never kept up with demand.

As time went on, the Panzer IV was upgraded to 8 cm of armor, and a 7.5cm/L48 that could penetrate 12.7cm of armor at 500 meters. The chassis for the Panzer IV was used for a number of other vehicles, including the STG-IV, the Hummel, Jadgpanzer IV, Sturmhaubitze, Brummbar, and the Nashorn.

Panzer IV A-F1	Specification	Panzer IV F2-G	Specification	Panzer IV H-J	Specification
Gun	7.5cm L24	Gun	7.5cm L40	Gun	7.5cm L48
40Weight	18-22 tonnes	Weight	23 tonnes	Weight	25 tonnes
Max Hull Armor	3-5 cm	Max Hull Armor	5-8 cm	Max Hull Armor	8 cm
Max Turret Armor	3-5 cm	Max Turret Armor	5-8 cm	Max Turret Armor	8 cm
Fuel	Gasoline	Fuel	Gasoline	Fuel	Gasoline
Horsepower	250-300hp	Horsepower	300hp	Horsepower	300hp
Top Speed	42 kph	Top Speed	38 kph	Top Speed	38 kph
Crew	5	Crew	5	Crew	5