Tanks, German, World War II-era by the terms of the 1919
Treaty of VersaillesGermany was prohibited from developing armored forces. Nevertheless, tank development continued in Germany, and after
Adolf Hitler became Chancellor in 1933, the Germans developed a series of armored fighting vehicles (Panzerkampfwagen [PzKpfw], or Panzer) or tanks. Production of the
Panzer I was started in 1935 and over 1,500 were built before production ceased in 1941. The Panzer I was intended as a training vehicle although it saw combat in the Spanish Civil War and the
World War II campaigns in Poland, France, and Russia. The
Panzerkampfwagen IA (Sd. Kfz. 101) weighed 5.3 tons and had 15 mm. of armor, a top speed of 24 MPH, a maximum range of 90 miles, two 7.92 mm machine guns, and a crew of two. The
Panzer II was introduced in 1939 and some 647 were built by 1945. The
Panzerkampfwagen IIC (Sd. Kfz. 121) weighed 10 tons and had 15 mm. of armor, a top speed of 30 MPH, a maximum range of 124 miles, a 20 mm main gun and a 7.92 mm machine gun, and a crew of three. The
Panzer III was introduced in September 1939 and some 5,644 were manufactured by the end of the war. The
Panzer IIIJ (Sd. Kfz 141/1) weighed 22 tons and had 50 mm. of armor, a top speed of 25 MPH, a maximum range of 124 miles, a 50 mm main gun and two 7.92 mm machine guns, and a crew of five. The
Panzer IV, introduced in 1936, was the backbone of the German armored forces in World War II, and some 8,281 of all versions of the Panzer IV were built by the end of the war. The
Panzerkampfwagen IVH (Sd. Kfz. 161/2) weighed 25 tons and had a top speed of 24 MPH, a maximum range of 124 miles, a 75 mm main gun and two 7.92 mm machine guns, and a crew of five. Production of the
Panzer V “Panther” began in November 1942, and some 5,805 were manufactured by the end of the war. The
Panzerkampfwagen VG “Panther” (Sd. Kfz. 171) weighed 44.1 tons and had 120 mm. of turret armor, a top speed of 28 MPH, a maximum range of 110 miles, a 75 mm main gun and three 7.92 mm machine guns, and a crew of five. Development of the
Panzer VI, which appeared in two main versions, the “Tiger I” and the “Tiger II,” began in late 1941. Some 1.350
Panzerkampfwagen VI,
”Tiger I” (Sd. Kfz. 181) were built. It weighed just over 54 tons and had 110 mm. of turret armor, a top speed of 24 MPH, a maximum range of 62 miles, a 88 mm main gun and two 7.92 mm machine guns, and a crew of five. The improved Panzerkampfwagen VI
”Tiger II” (Sd. Kfz. 182), of which 485 were built, weighed 68.6 tons and had 185 mm. of turret armor, a top speed of 24 MPH, a maximum range of 68 miles, a 88 mm main gun and two 7.92 mm machine guns, and a crew of five. In the spring of 1942, the Germans began development of a super-heavy tank which came to be called the
Maus (”Mouse”). At 185 tons, the
Panzer VIII “Maus” (Porsche Type 205) was too heavy for most bridges and was thus designed to ford rivers to a depth of about 24 feet. It had 240 mm of turret armor, a top speed of 12 MPH, a maximum range of 118 miles, a 150 mm or 128 mm main gun as well as a 75 mm second gun with a coaxial 7.92 mm machine gun, and a crew of six. The Maus never reached the production stage, and only about five prototypes were built. The Germans also produced a number of assault guns, tank destroyers, and armored recovery vehicles which used the Panzer chassis.
