Panzer.IV by Italeri

 
STURMPANZER IV BRUMMBAR SD.KFZ.166
The Sturmpanzer Brummbar was based on a variation of the hull of the Panzer IV armoured tank and devised for the infantry to reduce need for bunkers and fortified resistance centres. This vehicle was fitted with a heavy 15 cm howitzer with shortened mine-launching barrel, fully capable of completing its task. 306 models were built from early 1943 when the vehicle was first introduced.

Panzer IV Ausf H

Designed as support tank, the Panzer IV was not originally intended to engage enemy armor. However, with the flaws of pre-war design becoming apparent and in the face of Soviet T-34 and KV-1 tanks, the Panzer IV assumed the tank-fighting role instead of PzIII . The most widely manufactured and deployed German tank of the Second World War, the Panzer IV was the “work horse”of German tank’s regiments, used as the base for many other fighting vehicles, including tank destroyers, self-propelled artillery and self-propelled anti-aircraft guns. Robust and reliable, it saw service in all combat theaters, and has the distinction of being the only German tank to remain in continuous production throughout the war, with over 8,500 produced between 1936 and 1945. 

Upgrades and design modifications, often made in response to the appearance of new Allied tanks, extended its service life. Generally these involved increasing the Panzer IV's armor protection or upgrading its weapons. The Ausf. H version, began production in April 1943 and received the designation Sd. Kfz. 161/2. This variant saw the integrity of the glacis armor improved by manufacturing it as a single 80-millimetre plate The 75mm KwK 40 L/43 gun was replaced by the longer KwK 40 L/48 . The vehicle's side and turret were further protected by the addition of 5-millimetre side-skirts and a turret skirt. During the Ausf. H's production run its rubber-tired return rollers were replaced with cast steel. The Panzer IVH was the most widely produced variant with over 3000 tanks assembled in Nibelungenwerke and Vomag plants.

JAGDPANZER IV AUSF.F SD.KFZ.162
The JAGDPANZER IV self-propelled tank-killer was built on the chassis of the Pz.Kpw. IV, one of the most efficient and widely used German tanks of the Second World War. Characterised by a low profile, the JAGDPANZER IVs were produced in their hundreds, steadily being improved and fitted with better weaponry such as the long-barrelled 7.5 cm gun that made it a match for any Allied tank.

Pz. Kpfw. IV Ausf. F1/F2 early G

The Panzer IV was the most extensively used German tank during the Second World War. It represented the “backbone” of the German Panzer Divisions on all operational theaters. The production of Panzer IV Ausf. F, started in 1941, marked a decisive boost in the evolution of the tank. It featured an improved armor on the turret and hull. The first version of Panzer IV F,  featuring the traditional 7.5 cm. KwK 37 short-barreled cannon,  were not able to fight successfully against the Soviet T-34 and KV-1 heavy armored tank.  The adoption of the anti-tank design KwK 40 long-barreled cannon, on the Ausf. F2 version, has decisively increased the Panzer IV effectiveness against enemy tanks. Thanks to its new high velocity and high penetration gun, the Panzer IV became, once again, “lethal” on the battlefields.

Sd. Kfz. 167 Sturmgeschütz IV
Sturmgeschütz, abbreviated StuG, was the weapon of the Sturmartillerie, the branch of the German artillery tasked with close fire support of infantry. StuGs were very successful in their intended support role and destroyed, among others, many bunkers, pillboxes and other defences. The StuG is not generally considered to be a true tank because it lacks a turret. The gun was mounted directly in a casemate-style fashion, with as low a profile as was possible to reduce vehicle height, and had a limited lateral traverse. Omitting the turret made production simpler and less costly, enabling greater numbers to be built. By late 1943 improved Allied tanks and tank destroyers  with improved guns, rotating turrets, and superior mobility, forced the StuG of being primarily an ambush weapon. 

The StuGs quickly became more of a liability in terms of resource utilization than an asset (the German's had initially increased StuG production to replace standard tank losses), but they continued to be used as the German losses of all types of armored vehicles now exceeded production. Long since not used as originally intended, the Stug's increasingly proved a poor substitute for conventional tanks except in rare war’s envelope. By 1943 Germany was in a downward spiraling arms race with the Allies and the production switched from StuG.III  to StuG.IV. Using the Pz.IV’s chassis, the StuG.IV was the simple combination between Ausf.H and Ausf.J Pz.IV’s versions with StuG.III casemate, in an elongated version. From December of 1943 to March of 1945, 1139 were produced by Krupp at Magdeburg. Stug IV (Sd.Kfz.167) was armed with 75mm StuK 40L/48 gun mounted in cast version of "saukopf" mantlet. Majority was issued in armoured companies to infantry and Panzer Grenadier divisions with few exceptions.