PzKpfw IV, or SdKfz 161

The Panzerkampfwagen IV had the distinction of remaining in production throughout World War II, and formed the backbone of the German armored divisions. In 1934 the Army Weapons Department drew up a requirement for a vehicle under the cover name of the medium tractor (mitteren Traktor) which was to equip the fourth tank company of each German tank battalion.

Rheinmetall Borsig built the VK 2001(Rh) while MAN proposed the VK 2002(MAN) and Krupp the VK 2001(K). In the end Krupp took over total responsibility for the vehicle, which was also known as the Bataillons Führerwagen (battalion commander's vehicle). This entered production at the Krupp Grusonwerke plant at Magdeburg as the PzKpfw IV Ausf A, or SdKfz 161, as by this time all cover names had been dropped.

This model was armed with a short barrelled 75-mm (2.95-in) gun, coaxial 7.92-mm (0.31-in) machine gun and a similar weapon in the bow. Turret traverse was powered and 122 rounds of 75-mm (2.95-in) and 3,000 rounds of machine gun ammunition were carried. Maximum armor thickness was 20 mm (0.79 in) on the turret and 14.5 mm (0.57 in) on the hull, Only a few of these were built in 1936/7. The next model was the PzKpfw IV Ausf B, which had increased armor protection, more powerful engine and other more minor improvements. Through out the PzKpfw IV's long production life the basic chassis remained unchanged, but as the threat by enemy antitank weapons increased so more armor was added and new weapons were installed. (Other chassis often had to be phased out of production as they were incapable of being upgraded to take into account changes on the battlefield.) The final production model was the PzKpfw IV Ausf J, which appeared in March 1944, Total production of the PzKpfw IV amounted to about 9,000 vehicles.

The chassis of the PzKpfw IV was also used for other, more specialized vehicles including the Jagdpanzer IV tank destroyer, self-propelled anti-aircraft gun systems of various types (including one with four 20-mm cannon and another with one 37-mm cannon), self-propelled guns, armored recovery vehicles and bridge layers to name but a few.

A typical PzKpfw IV was the PzKpfw IV Ausf F2, which had a hull and turret of all welded steel armour construction, the former having a maximum thickness of 60 mm (2.36 in) and the latter of 50 mm (1.47 in), The driver was seated at the front of the hull on the left, with the bow machine gunner/ radio operator to his right. The commander, gunner and loader were seated in the turret in the centre of the hull, with an entrance hatch on each side of the turret and a cupola for the tank commander.

The engine was at the rear of the hull and coupled to a manual transmission with six forward and one reverse gears. Main armament comprised a long barrelled 75-mm (2,95- in) KwK gun fitted with a muzzle brake and which could fire a variety of ammunition including HEAT, smoke, APCR, APCBC and high explosive, the last being used in the infantry support role. A 7.92-mm (0.31-in) MG34 machine-gun was mounted coaxial with and to the right of the main armament, while a similar weapon was mounted in the bow. Totals of 87 rounds of 75 mm (2,95-in) and 3,192 rounds of 7.92-mm (0,31-in) machine gun ammunition were carried. Turret traverse was powered through 360°, though manual controls were provided for emergency use.

The additional armor and heavier armament pushed up the weight until in the final production version it reached 25 tonnes, but the PzKpfw IV still had a respectable power to weight ratio and therefore good mobility characteristics.

PzKpfw IV (SdKfz 161) in Normandy

Numerically, the PzKpfw IV was the most important German tank of the war and of the fighting in Normandy, where the latest Ausf Hand Ausf J were the most common. Among the units in Normandy there were two exceptions to the tank's usual allocation to the II. Abteilung of a panzer regiment: in Panzer Regiment 33, where I. Abteilung was equipped with the PzKpfw IV, and in Panzer Regiment 22, where both I. and II. Abteilung were equipped with it.

On paper, seven of the eleven Abteilung were at normal strength, with 22 tanks per Kompanie; but no more than six Abteilung went into action with a full complement of between 17 and 22 tanks per Kompanie.

From 1934 the Armaments Ministry had been thinking of a medium tank with a 7. 5cm gun, and the first design, perfected by Krupp, appeared in 1936 under the codename 'I/BW.' This was the PzKpfw IV Ausf A, which was followed by Ausf B, C and D in small numbers up till 1939.

It was not until after the Polish campaign, at the end of 1939, that the PzKpfw IV made its real debut - with the introduction of the Ausf E. Almost 300 PzKpfw IVs took part in the blitzkrieg of 1940 and 280 came off the assembly lines that year, rising to 480 in 1941. At this time, it was the Germans' heaviest operational tank but, as yet, it had a 7. 5cm gun with a 24-calibre barrel.

The Ausf F of 1941 was produced in collaboration between Krupp and Rheinmetall-Borsig, and possessed a modified suspension and wider tracks. The F2 which followed was, at last, armed with a 43-calibre 7. 5cm gun which, in 1942, when it was given a muzzle brake, became the Ausf G (SdKfz 161/1). The armour-plate had been regularly thickened, and an in- novation was the way in which warm water in the cooling system was transferred from one radiator to another to help in starting the engine.

In June 1942 - when it began to be fitted with a 48-calibre gun and the frontal armour of its hull had been supplemented to 80mm thickness - the PzKpfw IV had almost reached its definitive form.

The exhaust identifies this model as a late-type Ausf J. The main difference between the Ausf H and J was that the former had a small auxiliary engine at the rear serving as a generator for the electric turret traverse. (The turret was manually driven on the Ausf J.) The gun is a 7.5cm KwK40 L/48 - 48 standing for the length which was 48 times the calibre, Le. 48 x 75mm.

Ausf H (SdKfz 161/2)

1943 was a turning point for the PzKpfw IV, when the backbone of the panzer units, the PzKpfw III, ceased production and it was a question of whether the PzKpfw IV should stop as well. The Tiger was beginning to assert itself and deliveries had started of the Panther.

The proposal to stop producing the PzKpfw IV in favour of the new and larger tanks encountered vehement opposition from several generals, among them the Inspector General of Armoured Troops, Guderian, who maintained that only the PzKpfw IV could be turned out in large numbers. The Tiger was at that time being produced at the rate of just twenty-five a month and the Panther was as yet untested in battle.

The outcome was an order for all-out production of the PzKpfw IV. There were further threats to the tank's existence towards the end of the year when Organisation Todt proposed using the turret for fortification points and another suggestion was that a halt should be called to increase the manufacture of assault guns, but nothing came of this and more than 3,000 were completed by the factories during the year - almost as many as were to be built from then till the end of the war.

Whilst the arguments were being pursued, in March 1943 the Ausf H made its appearance. Mechanically, it differed from previous models by the replacement of the ZF SSG 76 gearbox with the ZF SSG 77 which had earlier been fitted in the PzKpfw III. Externally, the main difference between the Ausf H and the G was the presence of Schürzen - or skirts - on the hull sides, late models of the Ausf G having already been given turret skirts. This soft steel, 5mm-thick armour-plate was originally intended to break up Soviet anti-tank rifle projectiles prematurely on the outside of the tank itself - between the skirt and the tank - cancelling out the shell's penetrating power. At first the hull plates were fixed soundly onto lengthwise rails; then this was abandoned for slotting them on brackets welded to the rails. This way the plates came away more easily on impact and with less chance of getting jammed in the tracks and damaging the running wheels.

Observation slits for the loader and gunner at the side of the turret were dispensed with as redundant; the aerial was now fixed on the left at the rear of the hull; a new driving sprocket and idler wheel with 'open' spokes were introduced; 30mm frontal armour-plate was first bolted on but then soon welded on; the driver's and radio-operator's side observation ports soon disappeared in their turn, and the cupola hatch reverted to a single section.

Ausf J (SdKfz 161/2)

The last development of the PzKpfw IV - the Ausf J - came out a year later in March 1944. To increase its operational range, the electric turret travers- ing mechanism was removed and the space saved used for an extra fuel tank. Thereafter the turret was operated by a two-speed handwheel. The external 2- stroke engine that worked the electric generator was also removed - its absence being the clue in identifying the Ausf J.

Possibly some two-thirds of the PzKpfw IV battalions in Normandy were equipped with the Ausf H and the remainder with the Ausf J. There were also around half a dozen ancient Ausf Bs or Cs in II. Abteilung of Panzer Regiment 22 which were most likely used for training or as OP tanks but were nonetheless sent into action. Almost certainly, some units must still have possessed a few Ausf Gs; and some Ausf Hand Ausf J turrets housed the Ausf G 43-calibre gun which was 38cm shorter than the 48-calibre. The PzKpfw IV was mechanically well tried and very reliable; it was available in large numbers and had a good operational range - particularly the Ausf J. By this stage of the war, however, its armour was inadequate and its speed was slow in relation to its weight.

Jagd/Panzer IV

For all the print devoted to the Panthers, the Tigers, and their variants, the backbone of the armored force through 1945 remained the Panzer IV. Its final versions had little enough in common with the “cigar butts” of 1940. The Model H officially became the main production version in March 1942. Its armor protection included side panels and grew to a maximum of 3.2 inches in front, at the price of increased weight (25 tons) that cut the road speed to a bit over 20 miles per hour. A later J version incorporated such minor modifications as wider tracks and wire-mesh side skirts just as effective as armor plate in deflecting infantry-fired antitank rockets.

Designed as an infantry-support tank, the Panzer IV was not intended to engage enemy armor—that role being allocated to the Panzer III. However, with the inadequacy of the Panzer III becoming apparent and in the face of Soviet T-34 tanks, the Panzer IV soon assumed the original role of its increasingly vulnerable cousin. The most widely manufactured and deployed German tank of the Second World War, the Panzer IV was used as the base for many other fighting vehicles, including the Sturmgeschütz IV assault gun, Jagdpanzer IV tank destroyer, the Wirbelwind self-propelled anti-aircraft gun, and the Brummbär self-propelled gun.

Robust and reliable, the Panzer IV saw service in all combat theaters involving Germany and was notable for being the only German tank to remain in continuous production throughout the war, with over 8800 produced between 1936 and 1945. Upgrades and design modifications intended to counter new threats, extended its service life. Generally, these involved increasing the Panzer IV's armor protection or upgrading its weapons, although during the last months of the war, with Germany's pressing need for rapid replacement of losses, design changes also included simplifications to speed up the manufacturing process.

The Panzer IV was generally succeeded by the Panther medium tank introduced to counter the T-34. The Panzer IV was the most widely exported tank in German service, with around 300 sold to Finland, Romania, Spain and Bulgaria. After the war, Syria procured Panzer IVs from France and Czechoslovakia, which were to see combat in the 1967 Six-Day War. Some 8,553 Panzer IVs of all versions were built during World War II, with only the StuG III assault-gun/tank destroyer's production number of 10,086 vehicles exceeding the Panzer IV's production total for Germany's and other Axis armored forces.

Guderian in particular considered the new version of a well-tried system a practical response to the chronic frontline shortfalls in tank strength in the East. The Panzer IV was relatively easy to maintain -and relatively easy to evacuate when damaged. Over 3,000 of them would be produced in 1943, and standard equipment of the army panzer divisions was set at a battalion each of Panthers and Panzer IVs.

The Panzer IV was originally intended to be used only on a limited scale, so initially Krupp was its sole manufacturer. Prior to the Polish campaign, only 217 Panzer IVs were produced: 35 Ausf. A; 42 Ausf. B; and 140 Ausf. C; in 1941 production was extended to Vomag (located in the city of Plauen) and the Nibelungenwerke in the Austrian city of St. Valentin.

In 1941, an average of 39 tanks per month were built; this rose to 83 in 1942, 252 in 1943, and 300 in 1944. However, in December 1943, Krupp's factory was diverted to manufacture the Sturmgeschütz IV and, in the spring of 1944, the Vomag factory began production of the Jagdpanzer IV, leaving the Nibelungenwerke as the only plant still assembling the Panzer IV. With the slow collapse of German industry under pressure from Allied air and ground offensives—in October 1944 the Nibelungenwerke factory was severely damaged during a bombing raid—by March and April 1945, production had fallen to pre-1942 levels, with only around 55 tanks per month coming off the assembly lines.

In January 1945, 287 Panzer IVs were lost on the Eastern Front. It is estimated that combat against Soviet forces accounted for 6,153 Panzer IVs, or about 75% of all Panzer IV losses during the war.

The Jagdpanzer IVs were intended for the panzer divisions and the assault gun battalions, whose number grew to over three dozen during 1943. A slightly heavier version with a 75mm L/70 gun like the Panther’s and the unflattering nickname of “Guderian’s Duck” began entering service in August 1944. It proved first-rate against armor in Russia and the West; almost a thousand were produced during the war. The “Duck’s” long gun made it uncomfortably nose-heavy (the source of its sobriquet), but by then that was among the least of the panzers’ problems.

Panzer IV in Afrika

Panzer IV D, E, F1, F2 and G models [1] were present. As the campaign went on the later models started arriving like the Pz IV specials with long barrels, version F2 and G's.

  Pz.Kpfw.IV Ausf D

  Pz.Kpfw.IV Ausf. D/E Composite Variant

  Pz.Kpfw.IV Ausf. E

  Pz.Kpfw.IV Ausf. F1 Early, Middle, and Late 'Typs'

  Pz.Kpfw.IV Ausf. F2 Early, Middle, and Late 'Typs'

  Pz.Kpfw.IV Ausf. G Early and Middle 'Typs'

The German Afrika Korps only started to receive Panzer IV with the L/48 75mm gun, arriving in front line units (in small numbers) for the battle of Alam Halfa 30 August 1942 (although by 1st Alamein their numbers had increased dramatically).

From early 1941, when the embryonic DAK armoured units first arrived in North Africa, they were equipped with the Panzer IV, Ausf C and D and then later, the Ausf E and F1, which were equipped with the 75mm KwK L/24 gun, which fired exactly the same HE projectile as the Panzer IV, Ausf F2, (referred to as the "special" by the British) which was equipped with the 75mm L/43.

Panzerkampfwagen IVs, which were sent to North Africa (1941-43), were equipped with additional tropical filters (Tp) and improved ventilation system.

Actually there weren't that many Pz IVs with the DAK, short-barrelled or otherwise. The four Panzer Abteilungen with the DAK's two Panzer Regiments were organized along traditional mid-war lines, with one medium company (usually with L24 equipped Pz IVs) and three light companies with Pz III (either L42 or L60) At theoretical max strength - never attained for the DAK as far as I know - and allowing all DAK Pz IVs as F1s, that would still only account for a max of 88 Pz IVs with the DAK.

Chamberlain and Doyle state in their much-maligned book that the majority of Pz IV F1s were used to re-equip the 2nd and 5th Panzer Divisions, units which were never sent to North Africa.

However, additional L24 equipped Pz IVs formed part of the 10th Panzer Division shipped to Tunis as part of 5th Panzer Army. It's more probable that these tanks were F1s because the DAK was in North Africa before the first Pz IV F1s rolled off the production lines. All told, theoretical max Pz IV F1 strength of the 5th Panzer Army comes up to 45 tanks with the 10th PD, Pz. Abt. 190 and s. Pz. Abts. 501 and 504, not counting tanks which ended at the bottom of the Mediterranean.

I can trace 45 PzKpfw IV armed with KwK 7.5cm L/24 in North Africa in 1941. Most of these were Ausf D & E.

10 Pz.IV F2 delivered May 1942 actually 9, one broke down in Italy and came later.

18 More arrived in January 1942, these would have been of a higher proportion of Ausf F than in 1941.
22 Arrived in February 1942.
9 in April, but some would have been Ausf G
10 in May, but some/most/all would have been Ausf G
20 Arrived in Tripoli in August 1942.
12 Arrived in Tripoli in September 1942.

DAK Panzerlage 1941-42

In April 1941 the 5. leichte Division had 25 Pz I, 45 Pz II, 71 Pz III (mostly Ausf G), 20 Pz IV and 7 PzBefWg

The 15. Pz.Div had 45 Pz II, 71 Pz III (mostly Ausf G), 20 Pz IV and 10 PzBefWg

Totally 297 tanks and 17 command tanks.

On May 25, 1942 the 15. Pz.Div had 29 Pz II, 134 Pz III (3 with L/60 gun), 22 Pz IV (L/24) and 4 PzBefWg

At the same date the 21. Pz.Div (former 5. le.Div) had 29 Pz II, 122 Pz III (15 with L/60), 19 Pz IV (L/24) and 4 PzBefWg

Total strength: 355 tanks and 8 command tanks.

LINK

[1]Was there any difference between Pz.Kpfw.IV Ausf. F2 and Ausf. G

The F2 and the G were basically the same - the designation for the 7. Serie Pzkpfw IV with 7.5cm L/43 changed from F2 to G on 5th June 1942. From 1st July 1942, Wa Pruef 6 decreed that the old F1 was to be called the F and the old F2 was to be called the G.

The muzzle brake was just one of many non-diagnostic changes in production, like hull side doors in Pzkpfw III.

The F2 is basically an early G, so to speak. The F2 only existed from March 1942 until July 1942 when all F2's were renamed G's, from then on it was known as a G model. There really is no difference between an F2 and a G, since they are the same tank. The thing is, that there were modifications made during the production run.

The muzzle brakes are NOT how you tell the difference, since the G models had the single chamber muzzle brake until September 1942, when it was replaced by the double chamber muzzle brake. Likewise, the L/43 and L/48 guns are NOT how you tell the difference either, since the G model did not get the L/48 gun until April 1943.

Best way to look at it, is that the F2 and early G's are the same (since the F2 was renamed G anyways), then you have a line of G's with several modifications added, then in May of 1943, the H model comes out.