Mikhail Baryatinsky - Panzer IV medium tank. Medium tank T-IV Panzerkampfwagen IV (PzKpfw IV, also Pz

Average Panzer tank IV

Medium Panzer IV

“We froze when we saw ugly, monstrous cars of bright yellow tiger color appearing from the gardens of Sitno. They slowly rolled towards us, flashing with tongues of shots.
“I’ve never seen anything like this before,” says Nikitin.
The Germans are moving in a line. I peer at the nearest left-flank tank, which has rushed far ahead. Its outline reminds me of something. But what?
- "Rheinmetall"! - I shouted, remembering the photograph of a German heavy tank that I had seen in the school album, and quickly blurted out: - Heavy, seventy-five, direct shot eight hundred, armor forty..."
So in his book “Notes of a Soviet Officer” he recalls his first meeting with the German Panzer IV tank in June days 1941 tanker G. Penezhko.
However, under this name this combat was almost unknown to the soldiers and commanders of the Red Army. And even now, half a century after the end of the Great Patriotic War, the combination of the German words “Panzer Fir” causes bewilderment among many readers of the Armored Collection. Both then and now, this tank is better known under the “Russified” name T-IV, which is not used anywhere outside our country.
Panzer IV is the only German tank that was in mass production throughout World War II and became the most popular tank of the Wehrmacht. His popularity among German tank crews was comparable to the popularity of the T-34 among ours and the Sherman among the Americans. Well-designed and extremely reliable in operation, this combat vehicle was, in the full sense of the word, the “workhorse” of the Panzerwaffe.
HISTORY OF CREATION
Already in the early 30s, a doctrine for the construction of tank forces was developed in Germany, and views were formed on the tactical use of various types of tanks. And if light vehicles (Pz.l and Pz.ll) were considered primarily as combat training vehicles, then their heavier “brothers” - Pz.lll and Pz.lV - as full-fledged combat vehicles. At the same time, the Pz.lll was supposed to serve as a medium tank, and the Pz.lV as a support tank.
The latter's project was developed within the framework of the requirements for an 18-ton class vehicle intended for tank battalion commanders. Hence its original name Bataillonsfuh-rerwagen - BW. In its design, it was very close to the ZW tank - the future Pz.lll, but, having almost the same tanks, the BW was distinguished by a wider hull and a larger turret ring diameter, which initially laid down a certain reserve for its modernization. New tank supposed to arm large-caliber gun and two machine guns. The layout was classic - single-turret, with a front-mounted transmission, traditional for German tank building. The booked volume ensured the normal operation of the crew of 5 people and the placement of equipment.
The BW was designed by Rheinmetall-Borsig AG in Düsseldorf and Friedrich Krupp AG in Essen. However, Daimler-Benz and MAN also presented their projects. It is interesting to note that all variants, with the exception of Rheinmetall's, had a chassis with a staggered arrangement of large-diameter road wheels, developed by engineer E. Kniepkamp. The only prototype built in metal - VK 2001 (Rh) - was equipped with a chassis almost entirely borrowed from the heavy multi-turret tank Nb.Fz., several samples of which were manufactured in 1934 - 1935. This chassis design was preferred. The order for the production of the 7.5-cm Geschutz-Panzerwagen (Vs.Kfz.618) tank - “an armored vehicle with a 75-mm cannon (experimental model 618)” - was received by Krupp in 1935. In April 1936, the name was changed to Panzerkampfwagen IV (abbreviated as Pz.Kpfw.lV, often referred to as Panzer IV, and very briefly - Pz.lV). According to the end-to-end designation system for Wehrmacht vehicles, the tank had the index Sd.Kfz.161.
Several zero-series vehicles were manufactured in the workshops of the Krupp plant in Essen, but already in October 1937, production was transferred to the Krupp-Gruson AG plant in Magdeburg, where production of modification A combat vehicles began.
Pz.IV Ausf.A
The armor protection of the Ausf.A hull ranged from 15 (sides and rear) to 20 (forehead) mm. The frontal armor of the turret reached 30, the sides - 20, and the rear - 10 mm. The tank's combat weight was 17.3 tons. Armament was a 75-mm KwK 37 cannon with a barrel length of 24 calibers (L/24); it contained 120 shots. Two MG 34 machine guns of 7.92 mm caliber (one coaxial with a cannon, the other course-mounted) had an ammunition capacity of 3,000 rounds. The tank was equipped with a 12-cylinder V-shaped carburetor liquid-cooled Maybach HL 108TR engine with a power of 250 hp. at 3000 rpm and a five-speed manual transmission type Zahnradfabrik ZF SFG75. The engine was located asymmetrically, closer to the starboard side of the hull. The chassis consisted of eight twin small-diameter road wheels, interlocked in pairs into four bogies suspended on quarter-elliptical leaf springs, four support rollers, a front drive wheel and a idler wheel with a track tensioning mechanism. Subsequently, with numerous modernizations of the Pz.IV, its chassis did not undergo any serious design changes.
The characteristic features of modification A vehicles were a cylindrical commander's cupola with six viewing slots and a machine gun in a ball mount in a broken frontal hull. The tank's turret was shifted to the left of its longitudinal axis by 51.7 mm, which was explained by the internal layout of the turret rotation mechanism, which included a two-stroke gasoline engine, a generator and an electric motor.
By March 1938, 35 tanks of modification A had left the factory floors. This was practically an installation batch.
Pz.IV Ausf.B
Cars of modification B were somewhat different from the previous ones. The broken front plate of the hull was replaced with a straight one, the frontal machine gun was eliminated (in its place a radio operator's observation window appeared, and to the right of it there was a loophole for firing from personal weapons), a new commander's cupola and a periscope observation device were introduced, the armor design of almost all observation devices was changed, instead of The double-leaf covers for the driver's and radio operator's landing hatches were replaced with single-leaf ones. Ausf.B were equipped with a Maybach HL120TR engine with 300 hp. at 3000 rpm and a six-speed ZF SSG76 gearbox. reduced to 80 shots and 2700 rounds. The armor protection practically remained the same, only the thickness of the frontal armor of the hull and turret was increased to 30 mm.
From April to September 1938, 45 Pz.IV Ausf.B were manufactured.
Pz.IV Ausf.C
From September 1938 to August 1939, C series tanks were produced - 140 units (according to other sources, 134 tanks and six for the engineering troops). From the 40th car of the series (serial number - 80341) they began to install the Maybach HL120TRM engine - later it was used on all subsequent modifications. Other improvements include a special bumper under the gun barrel to bend the antenna when turning the turret and an armored casing for the coaxial machine gun. Two Ausf.C vehicles were converted into bridge tanks.
Pz.IV Ausf.D
From October 1939 to May 1940, 229 modification D vehicles were produced, which again featured a broken front hull plate and a front-mounted machine gun with additional rectangular armor. The design of the mantlet for the coaxial installation of a cannon and a machine gun has changed. The thickness of the side armor of the hull and turret increased to 20 mm. In 1940 - 1941, the frontal armor of the hull was reinforced with 20 mm sheets. Ausf.D tanks of late production had additional ventilation holes in the engine compartment (Option Tr. - tropen - tropical). In April 1940, 10 D-series vehicles were converted into bridge laying machines.
In 1941, one Ausf.D tank was experimentally armed with a 50-mm KwK 39 cannon with a barrel length of 60 calibers. It was planned to rearm all vehicles of this modification in this way, but in the winter of 1942, preference was given to the F2 variant with a 75-mm long-barreled gun. In 1942-1943, a number of Pz.IV Ausf.D tanks received such guns during a major overhaul. In February 1942, two tanks were converted into self-propelled guns armed with 105 mm K18 howitzers.
Pz.IV Ausf.E
The main difference between the Ausf.E modification and its predecessors was the significant increase in armor thickness. The frontal armor of the hull was increased to 30 mm and, in addition, reinforced with a 30 mm screen. The turret forehead was also increased to 30 mm, and the mantlet to 35...37 mm. The sides of the hull and turret had 20 mm armor, and the rear had 15 mm armor. A new type of commander's cupola with armor reinforced to a thickness of 50...95 mm, a turret, an improved driver's viewing device, a ball mount for the Kugelblende 30 machine gun appeared (the number 30 means that the mount's apple was adapted for mounting in 30 mm armor) , simplified drive and guide wheels, an equipment box mounted on the rear of the turret, and other smaller changes. The design of the turret's rear plate has also undergone changes. The combat weight of the tank reached 21 tons. From September 1940 to April 1941, 223 E version vehicles left the factory floors.
Pz.IV Ausf.F
Pz.IV Ausf.F appeared as a result of analysis combat use cars of previous versions in Poland and France. The thickness of the armor increased again: the front of the hull and turret - up to 50 mm, the sides - up to 30. The single-leaf doors on the sides of the turret were replaced with double-leaf ones, the frontal plate of the hull again became straight. The machine gun was preserved, but now it was placed in a Kugelblende 50 ball mount. Since the mass of the tank hull increased by 48% compared to the Ausf.E, the vehicle received a new 400 mm track instead of the previously used 360 mm. Additional ventilation holes were made in the roof of the engine compartment and in the transmission hatch covers. The placement and design of the engine mufflers and the turret rotation gas motor have changed.
In addition to Krupp-Gruson, Vomag and Nibelungenwerke were involved in the production of the tank, which lasted from April 1941 to March 1942.
All of the above modifications of the Pz.IV tank were armed with a short-barreled 75-mm cannon with an initial armor-piercing projectile speed of 385 m/s, which was powerless against both the English Matilda and the Soviet T-34 and KV. After the production of 462 vehicles of the F variant, their production was stopped for one month. During this time, very significant changes were made to the design of the tank: the main one was the installation of a 75-mm KwK 40 cannon with a 43-caliber barrel length and an initial armor-piercing projectile speed of 770 m/s, developed by designers from Krupp and Rheinmetall. Production of these guns began in March 1942. On April 4, the tank with the new gun was shown to Hitler, and after this its production resumed. Vehicles with short guns were designated F1, and those with a new gun - F2. The latter's ammunition consisted of 87 rounds, 32 of which were placed in the turret. The vehicles received a new mask installation and a new TZF 5f sight. The combat weight reached 23.6 tons. Until July 1942, 175 Pz.lV Ausf.F2 were produced, another 25 vehicles were converted from F1.
Pz.IV Ausf.G
The Pz.IV Ausf.G variant (1,687 units produced), production of which began in May 1942 and continued until April 1943, had no fundamental differences from the F modification. The only immediately noticeable new feature was the dual-chamber cannon. In addition, most of the vehicles produced did not have surveillance devices in the frontal plate of the turret to the right of the gun and on the right side of the turret. However, judging by the photographs, these devices are not present on many machines of the F2 variant. The last 412 Ausf.G tanks received a 75 mm KwK 40 cannon with a barrel length of 48 calibers. Later production vehicles were equipped with 1,450 kg "eastern tracks" - Ostketten, additional 30 mm frontal armor (about 700 tanks received it) and side screens, which made them almost indistinguishable from the next modification - Ausf.H. One of the production tanks was converted into a prototype self-propelled gun Hummel.
Pz.IV Ausf.H
Tanks of modification N received 80-mm frontal armor, the radio station was moved to the rear of the hull, 5-mm side screens appeared on the hull and turret, protecting against cumulative (or, as we called them then, armor-burning) shells, the design of the drive wheels changed. Some tanks had non-rubber support rollers. The Ausf.H was equipped with a Zahnradfabrik ZF SSG77, similar to that used in the Pz.lll tank. An anti-aircraft machine gun MG 34 - Fliegerbeschussgerat41 or 42 was mounted on the commander's cupola. On the latest production vehicles, the rear hull plate became vertical (previously it was located at an angle of 30° to the vertical). The armor protection of the turret roof has increased to 18 mm. Finally, all external surfaces of the tank were coated with zimmerit. This version of the Pz.IV became the most widespread: from April 1943 to May 1944, the factory floors of three manufacturing companies - Krupp-Gruson AG in Magdeburg, Vogtiandische Maschinenfabrik AG (VOMAG) in Plausen and Nibelungenwerke in S. Valentin - left 3960 combat vehicles. At the same time, 121 tanks were converted into self-propelled and assault guns.
According to other sources, 3935 chassis were manufactured, 3774 of which were used to assemble tanks. Based on 30 chassis, 30 StuG IV assault guns and 130 Brummbar self-propelled guns were produced.
Pz.IV Ausf.J
The latest version of the Pz.IV was the Ausf.J. From June 1944 to March 1945, the Nibelungenwerke plant produced 1,758 vehicles of this model. In general, the Ausf.J tanks, similar to the previous version, have undergone changes associated with technological simplifications. For example, the power unit of the electric drive for turning the turret was eliminated and only the manual drive was preserved! The design of the tower hatches was simplified, the driver's on-board observation device was dismantled (in the presence of on-board screens, it became useless), the support rollers, the number of which on later production vehicles was reduced to three, lost rubber bands, and the design of the idler wheel was changed. The tank was equipped with high-capacity fuel tanks, as a result of which the highway range increased to 320 km. Metal mesh has become widely used for side screens. Some of the tanks had vertical exhaust pipes, similar to those used on the Panther tank.
During the period from 1937 to 1945, attempts were made repeatedly to carry out deep technical modernization of the Pz.IV. Thus, one of the Ausf.G tanks was equipped with a hydraulic transmission in July 1944. From April 1945, they planned to equip the Pz.IV with 12-cylinder Tatra 103 diesel engines.
The most extensive plans were for rearmament and rearmament. In 1943-1944, it was planned to install a “Panther” turret with a 75-mm KwK 42 gun with a barrel length of 70 calibers or a so-called “tight turret” (Schmalturm) with a 75-mm KwK 44/1 gun on tanks of the H modification. They also built a wooden tank with this gun, located in the standard turret of the Pz.IV Ausf.H tank. Krupp has developed a new turret with a 75/55 mm KwK 41 cannon with a 58-caliber conical barrel.
Attempts were made to equip the Pz.IV with missile weapons. A prototype tank was built with a 280 mm rocket launcher instead of a turret. The combat vehicle, equipped with two 75-mm Rucklauflos Kanone 43 recoilless cannons placed on the sides of the turret, and a 30-mm MK 103 in place of the standard KwK 40, did not make it out of the wooden model stage.
From March to September 1944, 97 Ausf.H tanks were converted into command tanks - Panzerbefehlswagen IV (Sd.Kfz.267). These vehicles received an additional FuG 7 radio station, which was serviced by a loader.
For self-propelled artillery units, from July 1944 to March 1945, in the workshops of the Nibelungenwerke plant, 90 Ausf.J tanks were converted into advanced artillery observer vehicles - Panzerbeobachtungswagen IV. The main weapons on them have been preserved. Additionally, these vehicles were equipped with a FuG 7 radio station, the antenna of which is easily recognized by the characteristic “broom” at the end, and a TSF 1 rangefinder. Instead of the standard one, the tanks received a commander’s cupola from the StuG 40 assault gun.
In 1940, 20 tanks of modifications C and D were converted into Bruckenleger IV bridge layers. The work was carried out in the workshops of the Friedrich Krupp AG factories in Essen and Magirus in Ulm, while the machines of both companies were somewhat different from each other in design. Four bridgelayers each became part of the sapper companies of the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th and 10th tank divisions.
In February 1940, two Ausf.C tanks were converted by Magirus into assault bridges (Infanterie Sturm-steg), designed for infantry to overcome various fortification obstacles. In place of the tower, a sliding ladder was installed, structurally similar to a fire assault ladder.
In preparation for the invasion of the British Isles (Operation Sea Lion), 42 Ausf.D tanks were equipped with underwater equipment. Then these vehicles entered the 3rd and 18th tank divisions of the Wehrmacht. Since the crossing of the English Channel did not take place, they received a baptism of fire on the Eastern Front.
In 1939, during testing of the 600mm Karl mortar, the need for an ammunition carrier arose. In October of the same year, one Pz.lV Ausf.D tank was converted on a trial basis for this purpose. Four 600-mm shells were transported in a special box mounted on the roof of the engine compartment, for loading and unloading of which a crane located on the roof of the front part of the hull served. In 1941, 13 Ausf.FI vehicles were converted into ammunition carriers (Munitionsschlepper).
In October-December 1944, 36 Pz.lV tanks were converted into ARVs.
The given production data for Pz.lV, unfortunately, cannot be considered absolutely accurate. In different sources, data on the number of cars produced differ, and sometimes noticeably. So, for example, I.P. Shmelev in his book “Armor of the Third Reich” gives the following figures: Pz.lV with KwK 37 - 1125, and with KwK 40 - 7394. Just look at the table to see the discrepancies. In the first case, insignificant - by 8 units, and in the second, significant - by 169! Moreover, if we sum up the production data by modification, we get the number of 8714 tanks, which again does not coincide with the total of the table, although the error in this case is only 18 vehicles.
Pz.lV was exported in much larger quantities than other German tanks. Judging by German statistics, Germany's allies, as well as Turkey and Spain, received 490 combat vehicles between 1942 and 1944.
The first Pz.lV was received by the most faithful ally of Nazi Germany, Hungary. In May 1942, 22 Ausf.F1 tanks arrived there, and in September, 10 F2 tanks. The largest batch was delivered in the fall of 1944 and spring of 1945; According to various sources, from 42 to 72 vehicles of the H and J modifications. The discrepancy occurred because some sources question the fact that the tanks were delivered in 1945.
In October 1942, the first 11 Pz.lV Ausf.Gs arrived in Romania. Subsequently, in 1943-1944, the Romanians received another 131 tanks of this type. They were used in combat operations both against the Red Army and against the Wehrmacht, after Romania switched to the side of the anti-Hitler coalition.
A batch of 97 Ausf.G and H tanks was sent to Bulgaria between September 1943 and February 1944. Since September 1944, they took an active part in battles with German troops, being the main striking force of the only Bulgarian tank brigade. In 1950, the Bulgarian army still had 11 combat vehicles of this type.
In 1943, Croatia received several Ausf.F1 and G tanks; in 1944 14 Ausf.J - Finland, where they were used until the early 60s. At the same time, the standard MG 34 machine guns were removed from the tanks, and Soviet diesel engines were installed instead.

DESIGN DESCRIPTION
The layout of the tank is classic, with a front-mounted transmission.
The control compartment was located in front of the combat vehicle. It housed the main clutch, gearbox, turning gear, control instruments, a forward machine gun (with the exception of modifications B and C), a radio station and workplaces for two crew members - the driver and the gunner-radio operator.
The fighting compartment was located in the middle part of the tank. Here (in the turret) there was a cannon and a machine gun, observation and aiming devices, vertical and horizontal aiming mechanisms and seats for the tank commander, gunner and loader. The ammunition was placed partly in the turret and partly in the hull.
In the engine compartment, at the rear of the tank, there was an engine and all its systems, as well as auxiliary engine turret rotation mechanism.
FRAME The tank was welded from rolled armor plates with surface cementation, generally located at right angles to each other.
In the front part of the roof of the turret box there were manholes for the driver and gunner-radio operator, which were closed with rectangular covers that hinged. Modification A has double-leaf lids, while the others have single-leaf lids. Each cover had a hatch for launching signal flares (with the exception of options H and J).
In the frontal plate of the hull on the left there was a driver's viewing device, which included a triplex glass block, closed by a massive armored sliding or folding flap Sehklappe 30 or 50 (depending on the thickness of the frontal armor), and a binocular periscope observation device KFF 2 (for Ausf. A - KFF 1). The latter, when there was no need for it, moved to the right, and the driver could observe through the glass block. Modifications B, C, D, H and J did not have a periscope device.
On the sides of the control compartment, to the left of the driver and to the right of the gunner-radio operator, there were triplex viewing devices, covered with hinged armored covers.
There was a partition between the rear of the hull and the fighting compartment. There were two hatches in the roof of the engine compartment, closed with hinged covers. Starting with Ausf.F1, the covers were equipped with blinds. In the reverse bevel of the left side there was an air inlet window to the radiator, and in the reverse bevel of the right side there was an air outflow window from the fans.
TOWER- welded, hexagonal, mounted on a ball bearing on the turret plate of the hull. In its front part, in the mask, there was a cannon, a coaxial machine gun and a sight. To the left and right of the mask there were observation hatches with triplex glass. The hatches were closed with external armored flaps from inside the turret. Starting with modification G, the hatch to the right of the gun was missing.
The tower was rotated by an electromechanical turning mechanism with a maximum speed of 14 degrees/s. A full revolution of the tower was carried out in 26 s. The flywheels of the turret's manual drive were located at the gunner's and loader's workstations.
At the rear of the tower roof there was a commander's cupola with five viewing slits with triplex glass. From the outside, the viewing slots were closed with sliding armored flaps, and in the roof of the turret, intended for the entrance and exit of the tank commander, with a double-leaf lid (later - single-leaf). The turret had a dial-hour type device for determining the target location. A second similar device was at the gunner’s disposal and, having received an order, he could quickly turn the turret towards the target. At the driver's seat there was a turret position indicator with two lights (except for Ausf.J tanks), thanks to which he knew what position the gun was in (this is especially important when driving through wooded areas and populated areas).
For boarding and disembarking crew members, there were hatches on the sides of the turret with single-leaf and double-leaf (starting with version F1) covers. Inspection devices were installed in the hatch covers and sides of the tower. The rear plate of the turret was equipped with two hatches for firing personal weapons. On some vehicles of modifications H and J, due to the installation of screens, inspection devices and hatches were missing.
WEAPONS. The main armament of tanks of modifications A - F1 is a 7.5 cm KwK 37 cannon of 75 mm caliber from Rheinmetall-Borsig. The length of the gun barrel is 24 caliber (1765.3 mm). Gun weight - 490 kg. Vertical aiming - ranging from - 10° to +20°. The gun had a vertical wedge breech and an electric trigger. Its ammunition included shots with smoke (weight 6.21 kg, initial speed 455 m/s), high-explosive fragmentation (5.73 kg, 450 m/s), armor-piercing (6.8 kg, 385 m/s) and cumulative (4.44 kg, 450...485 m/s) projectiles.
Ausf.F2 tanks and some Ausf.G tanks were armed with a 7.5 cm KwK 40 cannon with a barrel length of 43 calibers (3473 mm), weighing 670 kg. Some Ausf.G tanks and Ausf.H and J vehicles were equipped with a 7.5 cm KwK 40 cannon with a barrel length of 48 calibers (3855 mm) and a weight of 750 kg. Vertical aiming -8°...+20°. The maximum rollback length is 520 mm. During the march, the gun was fixed at an elevation angle of +16°.
A 7.92-mm MG 34 machine gun was paired with the cannon. The forward machine gun was placed in the front plate of the turret box in a ball mount (except for modifications B and C). On the commander's cupola of the later type, an MG 34 anti-aircraft machine gun could be mounted on a special device Fliegerbeschutzgerat 41 or 42.
Pz.lV tanks were initially equipped with the TZF 5b monocular telescopic sight, and starting with the Ausf.E-TZF 5f or TZF 5f/1. These scopes had 2.5x magnification. The MG 34 course machine gun was equipped with a 1.8x KZF 2 telescopic sight.
Depending on the modification of the tank, the gun's ammunition ranged from 80 to 122 rounds. For command tanks and forward artillery observer vehicles it was 64 rounds. Machine gun ammunition - 2700...3150 rounds.
ENGINE AND TRANSMISSION. The tank was equipped with Maybach HL 108TR, HL 120TR and HL 120TRM engines, 12-cylinder, V-shaped (cylinder camber - 60°), carburetor, four-stroke, with a power of 250 hp. (HL 108) and 300 e.c. (HL 120) at 3000 rpm. Cylinder diameters are 100 and 105 mm. Piston stroke 115 mm. Compression ratio 6.5. Displacement volume 10,838 cm3 and 11,867 cm3. It should be emphasized that both engines were of a similar design.
Leaded fuel with an octane rating of at least 74. The capacity of three gas tanks is 420 l (140+110+170). Ausf.J tanks had a fourth tank with a capacity of 189 liters. per 100 km when driving on the highway - 330 liters, off-road - 500 liters. Forced fuel supply using two Solex fuel pumps. There are two carburetors, Solex 40 JFF II.
The cooling system is liquid, with one radiator located obliquely on the left side of the engine. There were two fans on the right side of the engine.
On the right side of the engine, a DKW PZW 600 (Ausf.A - E) or ZW 500 (Ausf.E - H) engine for the turret rotation mechanism with a power of 11 hp was installed. and a working volume of 585 cm3. The fuel was a mixture of gasoline and oil, the fuel tank capacity was 18 liters.
The transmission consisted of a cardan drive, a three-disc main dry friction clutch, a gearbox, a planetary rotation mechanism, final drives and brakes.
Five-speed gearbox Zahnradfabrik SFG75 (Ausf.A) and six-speed SSG76 (Ausf.B - G) and SSG77 (Ausf.H and J) - three-shaft, with coaxial drive and driven shafts, with spring disk synchronizers.
CHASSIS The tank, applied to one side, consisted of eight double rubber-coated road wheels with a diameter of 470 mm, interlocked in pairs into four balancing bogies, suspended on quarter-elliptical leaf springs; four (for part of Ausf.J - three) dual rubber-coated (except for Ausf.J and part of Ausf.H) support rollers.
The front drive wheels had two removable ring gears of 20 teeth each. Pin engagement.
The caterpillars are steel, fine-linked, made of 101 (starting from variant F1 - 99) single-ridge tracks each. The track width is 360 mm (up to option E), and then 400 mm.
ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT was performed using a single-wire circuit. Voltage 12V. Sources: Bosch GTLN 600/12-1500 generator with a power of 0.6 kW (Ausf.A has two Bosch GQL300/12 generators with a power of 300 kW each), four Bosch batteries with a capacity of 105. Consumers: electric starter Bosch BPD 4/24 with a power of 2.9 kW (Ausf.A has two starters), ignition system, tower fan, control instruments, sight illumination, sound and light signaling devices, internal and external lighting equipment, sound, triggers cannons and machine guns.
COMMUNICATIONS. All Pz.lV tanks were equipped with a Fu 5 radio station, with a range of 6.4 km for telephone and 9.4 km for telegraph.
COMBAT USE
The first three Panzer IV tanks entered service with the Wehrmacht in January 1938. The total order for combat vehicles of this type included 709 units. The plan for 1938 included the delivery of 116 tanks, and the Krupp-Gruson company almost fulfilled it, delivering 113 vehicles to the troops. The first "combat" operations involving the Pz.lV were the Anschluss of Austria and the capture of the Sudetenland of Czechoslovakia in 1938. In March 1939 they walked through the streets of Prague.
On the eve of the invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939, the Wehrmacht had 211 Pz.lV tanks of modifications A, B and C. According to the then-current staff, a tank division should have consisted of 24 Pz.lV tanks, 12 vehicles in each regiment. However, only the 1st and 2nd tank regiments of the 1st Panzer Division (1. Panzer Division) were fully staffed. The Tank Training Battalion (Panzer Lehr Abteilung), attached to the 3rd Panzer Division, also had a full staff. The remaining formations included only a few Pz.lVs, which were superior in armament and armor protection to all types of those opposing them Polish tanks. However, the 37-mm tank and anti-tank guns of the Poles posed a serious danger to the Germans. For example, during the battle near Glowachuv, Polish 7TPs knocked out two Pz.lVs. In total, during the Polish campaign, the Germans lost 76 tanks of this type, 19 of them irretrievably.
By the beginning of the French campaign - May 10, 1940 - the Panzerwaffe already had 290 Pz.lVs and 20 bridgelayers at their base. They were mainly concentrated in divisions operating in the directions of the main attacks. In General Rommel's 7th Panzer Division, for example, there were 36 Pz.lVs. Their equal opponents were the French Somua S35 medium tanks and the British Matilda II. Not without a chance of victory, the French B Ibis and 02 could engage in battle with the Pz.lV. During the battles, the French and British managed to knock out 97 Pz.lV tanks. The irretrievable losses of the Germans amounted to only 30 combat vehicles of this type.
In 1940, the share of Pz.lV tanks in Wehrmacht tank formations increased slightly. On the one hand, due to increased production, and on the other, due to a decrease in the number of tanks in the division to 258 units. However, the majority of them were still light Pz.l and Pz.ll.
During the short-lived operation in the Balkans in the spring of 1941, the Pz.lV, which took part in battles with Yugoslav, Greek and British troops, suffered no losses. It was planned to use the Pz.lV in the operation to capture Crete, but paratroopers were used there.
By the beginning of Operation Barbarossa, out of 3,582 combat-ready German tanks, 439 were Pz.lV. It should be emphasized that according to the then accepted Wehrmacht classification of tanks by gun caliber, these vehicles belonged to the heavy class. On our side, the modern heavy tank was the KB - there were 504 of them in the army. In addition to numbers, the Soviet heavy tank had absolute superiority in combat qualities. The medium T-34 also had an advantage over the German vehicle. They penetrated the armor of the Pz.lV and the 45-mm cannons of the T-26 and BT light tanks. The short-barreled German tank gun could only effectively fight the latter. All this immediately affected combat losses: during 1941, 348 Pz.lV were destroyed on the Eastern Front.
The Germans faced a similar situation in North Africa, where the short Pz.lV gun turned out to be powerless against the powerfully armored Matildas. The first “fours” were unloaded in Tripoli on March 11, 1941, and there were not many of them at all, which is clearly seen in the example of the 2nd battalion of the 5th tank regiment of the 5th light division. As of April 30, 1941, the battalion included 9 Pz.l, 26 Pz.ll, 36 Pz.lll and only 8 Pz.lV (mainly vehicles of modifications D and E). Together with the 5th Light, the 15th Panzer Division of the Wehrmacht, which had 24 Pz.lV, fought in Africa. These tanks achieved their greatest success in the fight against the British cruiser tanks A.9 and A. 10 - mobile but lightly armored. The main means of fighting the Matildas were 88-mm guns, and the main German tank in this theater in 1941 was the Pz.lll. As for the Pz.lV, in November there were only 35 of them left in Africa: 20 in the 15th Tank Division and 15 in the 21st (transformed from the 5th Light).
The Germans themselves then had a low opinion of the fighting qualities of the Pz.lV. Here is what Major General von Mellenthin writes about this in his memoirs (in 1941, with the rank of major, he served on Rommel’s headquarters): “The T-IV tank gained a reputation among the British as a formidable enemy mainly because it was armed with a 75-mm cannon However, this gun had a low muzzle velocity and poor penetration, and although we used T-IVs in tank battles, they were much more useful as infantry fire support." The Pz.lV began to play a more significant role in all theaters of war only after acquiring the “long arm” - the 75-mm KwK 40 cannon.
The first F2 modification vehicles were delivered to North Africa in the summer of 1942. At the end of July, Rommel's Afrika Korps had only 13 Pz.lV tanks, of which 9 were F2. In English documents of that period they were called Panzer IV Special. On the eve of the offensive, which Rommel planned for the end of August, there were about 450 tanks in the German and Italian units entrusted to him: including 27 Pz.lV Ausf.F2 and 74 Pz.lll with long-barreled 50-mm guns. Only this equipment posed a danger to the American Grant and Sherman tanks, the number of which in the troops of the 8th British Army of General Montgomery on the eve of the battle at El Alamein reached 40%. During this battle, a turning point in all respects for the African campaign, the Germans lost almost all their tanks. They managed to partially compensate for the losses by the winter of 1943, after retreating to Tunisia.
Despite the obvious defeat, the Germans began to reorganize their forces in Africa. On December 9, 1942, the 5th Tank Army was formed in Tunisia, which included the replenished 15th and 21st Tank Divisions, as well as the 10th Tank Division transferred from France, which was armed with Pz.lV Ausf.G tanks. The “tigers” of the 501st heavy tank battalion also arrived here, who, together with the “fours” of the 10th tank, took part in the defeat of the American troops at Kasserine on February 14, 1943. However, this was the last successful operation of the Germans on the African continent - already on February 23 they were forced to go on the defensive, their forces were quickly dwindling. On May 1, 1943, Rommel’s troops had only 58 tanks - 17 of them Pz.lV. On May 12, the German army in North Africa capitulated.
On the Eastern Front, Pz.lV Ausf.F2 also appeared in the summer of 1942 and took part in the attack on Stalingrad and the North Caucasus. After production of the Pz.lll "four" ceased in 1943, it gradually became the main German tank in all theaters of combat. However, in connection with the start of production of the Panther, it was planned to stop production of the Pz.lV, however, thanks to the tough position of the Panzerwaffe Inspector General, General G. Guderian, this did not happen. Subsequent events showed that he was right...


The presence of tanks in German tank and motorized divisions on the eve of Operation Citadel
By the summer of 1943, the German tank division included a two-battalion tank regiment. In the first battalion, two companies were armed with Pz.lV, and one with Pz.lll. In the second, only one company was armed with Pz.lV. In total, the division had 51 Pz.lV and 66 Pz.lll in combat battalions. However, judging by the available data, the number of combat vehicles in certain tank divisions sometimes differed greatly from the staff.
In the formations listed in the table, which made up 70% of the tank and 30% of the motorized divisions of the Wehrmacht and SS troops, in addition, they were in service with 119 commander and 41 different types. The motorized division "Das Reich" had 25 T-34 tanks, three heavy tank battalions - 90 "tigers" and the "Panther Brigade" - 200 "Panthers". Thus, the "fours" made up almost 60% of all German tanks involved in Operation Citadel. These were mainly combat vehicles of modifications G and H, equipped with armored screens (Schurzen), which changed appearance Pz.lV beyond recognition. Apparently for this reason, and also because of the long-barreled gun, in Soviet documents they were often called “Tiger Type 4”.
It is quite obvious that it was not the “tigers” and “panthers”, but the Pz.lV and partly the Pz.lll that made up the majority in the Wehrmacht tank units during Operation Citadel. This statement can be well illustrated by the example of the 48th German Tank Corps. It consisted of the 3rd and 11th tank divisions and the motorized division "Grossdeutschland" (Grobdeutschland). In total, there were 144 Pz.lll, 117 Pz.lV and only 15 “tigers” in the corps. The 48th tank attacked in the Oboyan direction in the zone of our 6th Guards Army and by the end of July 5 he managed to break into its defenses. On the night of July 6, the Soviet command decided to strengthen the 6th Guards. And two corps of the 1st Tank Army of General Katukov - the 6th Tank and the 3rd Mechanized. In the next two days, the main blow of the German 48th Tank Corps fell on our 3rd Mechanized Corps. Judging by the memoirs of M.E. Katukov and F.V. von Mellenthin, who was then the chief of staff of the 48th Corps, the fighting was extremely fierce. This is what the German general writes about this.
“On July 7, on the fourth day of Operation Citadel, we finally achieved some success. The Grossdeutschland division managed to break through on both sides of the Syrtsev farm, and the Russians retreated to Gremuchy and the village of Syrtsevo. The retreating masses of the enemy came under German artillery fire and suffered very heavy losses. Our tanks, increasing their attack, began to advance to the north-west, but on the same day they were stopped by heavy fire near Syrtsevo, and then counterattacked by Russian tanks. But on the right flank, it seemed that we were about to win a major victory: A message was received that the grenadier regiment of the Grossdeutschland division had reached the village of Verkhopenye. A battle group was created on the right flank of this division to develop the success achieved.
On July 8, a combat group consisting of a reconnaissance detachment and an assault gun battalion of the "Great Germany" division reached the highway (Belgorod - Oboyan highway - Author's note) and reached a height of 260.8; this group then turned west in order to support the division's tank regiment and motorized rifle regiment, which had bypassed Verkhopenye from the east. However, the village was still held by significant enemy forces, so the motorized rifle regiment attacked it from the south. At an altitude of 243.0 north of the village there were Russian tanks that had excellent visibility and fire, and before this height the attack of tanks and motorized infantry foundered. Russian tanks seemed to be everywhere, delivering continuous attacks on the advanced units of the Grossdeutschland division.
During the day, the battle group operating on the right flank of this division repelled seven Russian tank counterattacks and destroyed twenty-one T-34 tanks. The commander of the 48th Panzer Corps ordered the Grossdeutschland Division to advance westward in order to provide assistance to the 3rd Panzer Division, on the left flank of which a very difficult situation had arisen. Neither height 243.0 nor the western outskirts of Verkhopenye were taken that day - there was no longer any doubt that the offensive impulse of the German troops had dried up and the offensive had failed."
And here is what these events look like in the description of M.E. Katukov: “Dawn had barely broken (July 7 - Author’s note) when the enemy again attempted to break through to Oboyan. He delivered the main blow to the positions of the 3rd mechanized and 31st 1st tank corps A.L. Getman (commander of the 6th Tank Corps - Author's note) reported that the enemy was not active in his sector, but S.M. Krivoshey (commander of the 3rd MK - Author's note) did not. hid his worries:
- Something incredible, Comrade Commander! Today the enemy threw up to seven hundred tanks and self-propelled guns onto our site. Two hundred tanks advance against the first and third mechanized brigades alone.
We have never had to deal with such numbers before. It subsequently turned out that on this day the Nazi command threw the entire 48th Panzer Corps and the SS Panzer Division Adolf Hitler against the 3rd Mechanized Corps. Having concentrated such huge forces in a narrow 10-kilometer area, the German command hoped that it would be able to break through our defenses with a powerful tank ram.
Each tank brigade, each unit increased its combat score on the Kursk Bulge. Thus, in the first day of fighting alone, the 49th Tank Brigade, interacting on the first defensive line with units of the 6th Army, destroyed 65 tanks, including 10 "tigers", 5 armored personnel carriers, 10 guns, 2 self-propelled guns, 6 vehicles and more than 1000 soldiers and officers.
The enemy failed to break through our defenses. It only pushed back the 3rd Mechanized Corps by 5-6 kilometers."
It would be fair to admit that both of the above passages are characterized by a certain bias in the coverage of events. From memories Soviet military leader It follows that our 49th tank brigade knocked out 10 “tigers” in one day, but the Germans had only 15 of them in the 48th tank corps! Taking into account the 13 "tigers" of the motorized division "Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler", which was also advancing in the zone of the 3rd Mechanized Corps, we get only 28! If you try to add up all the “tigers” that were “destroyed” on the pages of Katukov’s memoirs dedicated to the Kursk Bulge, you will get much more. However, the point here, apparently, is not only the desire of various units and subunits to add more “tigers” to their combat account, but also the fact that in the heat of battle “tigers of type 4” - medium tanks - were mistaken for real “tigers” Pz.lV.
According to German data, 570 “fours” were lost during July and August 1943. For comparison, during the same time, 73 Tiger units were lost, which indicates both the stability of this or that tank on the battlefield and the intensity of their use. In total, in 1943, losses amounted to 2,402 Pz.lV units, of which only 161 vehicles were repaired and returned to service.
In 1944, the organization of the German tank division underwent significant changes. The first battalion of the tank regiment received Pz.V "Panther" tanks, the second was equipped with Pz.lV. In fact, the Panthers did not enter service with all Wehrmacht tank divisions. In a number of formations, both battalions had only Pz.lV.
This is, say, the situation in the 21st Panzer Division, stationed in France. Soon after receiving a message on the morning of June 6, 1944 about the beginning of the landing of allied forces in Normandy, the division, which had 127 Pz.lV tanks and 40 assault guns, began moving north, hastening to strike the enemy. This advance was prevented by the capture by the British of the only bridge across the Orne River north of Caen. It was already about 16.30 when German troops prepared for the first major tank counter-attack since the Allied invasion against the British 3rd Division, which had landed in Operation Overlord.
From the bridgehead of the British troops they reported that several enemy tank columns were moving towards their position at once. Having encountered an organized and dense wall of fire, the Germans began to roll back to the west. In the area of ​​Hill 61, they met with a battalion of the 27th British Armored Brigade, which was armed with Sherman Firefly tanks with 17-pounder guns. For the Germans, this meeting turned out to be catastrophic: in a few minutes, 13 combat vehicles were destroyed. Only a small number of tanks and motorized infantry of the 21st Division managed to advance to the strongholds of the 716th German Infantry Division that survived in the Lyon-sur-Mer area. At this moment, the British 6th Airborne Division began landing in 250 gliders in the area near Saint-Aubin near the bridge over the Orne. Justifying itself by the fact that the English landing created a threat of encirclement, the 21st Division retreated to the heights located on the outskirts of Caen. By nightfall, a powerful defensive ring was created around the city, reinforced by 24 88-mm guns. During the day, the 21st Panzer Division lost 70 tanks and its offensive potential was exhausted. The 12th SS Panzer Division “Hitlerjugend”, which arrived a little later and was staffed half by Panthers and half by Pz.lV, also failed to influence the situation.
In the summer of 1944, German troops suffered defeat after defeat in both the West and the East. The losses were also corresponding: in just two months - August and September - 1,139 Pz.lV tanks were knocked out. Nevertheless, their number in the troops continued to remain significant.


It is easy to calculate that in November 1944, Pz.lV made up 40% of German tanks on the Eastern Front, 52% on the Western Front and 57% in Italy.
The last major operations of German troops with the participation of Pz.lV were the counter-offensive in the Ardennes in December 1944 and the counter-attack of the 6th SS Panzer Army in the area of ​​Lake Balaton in January-March 1945, which ended in failure. During January 1945 alone, 287 Pz.lVs were knocked out, of which 53 combat vehicles were recovered and returned to service.
German statistics for the last year of the war end on April 28 and provide summary information on the Pz.lV tank and the Jagdpanzer IV tank destroyer. As of this day, the troops had them: in the East - 254, in the West - 11, in Italy - 119. Moreover, we are talking here only about combat-ready vehicles. As for the tank divisions, the number of “fours” in them varied: in the elite Training Tank Division (Panzer-Lehrdivision), which fought on the Western Front, only 11 Pz.lV remained; 26th Panzer Division in Northern Italy had 87 machines of this type; The 10th SS Panzer Division "Frundsberg" on the Eastern Front remained more or less combat-ready - it had, among other tanks, 30 Pz.lV.
The Fours took part in hostilities until the last days of the war, including street battles in Berlin. On the territory of Czechoslovakia, battles involving tanks of this type continued until May 12, 1945. According to German data, from the beginning of World War II to April 10, 1945, the irretrievable losses of Pz.lV tanks amounted to 7,636 units.
Thus, taking into account tanks supplied by Germany to other countries and estimated losses for those not included in statistical reporting last month During the war, about 400 Pz.lV tanks ended up in the hands of the winners, which is quite likely. Of course, the Red Army and our Western allies had captured these combat vehicles before, actively using them in battles against the Germans.
After the surrender of Germany, a large batch of 165 Pz.lV was transferred to Czechoslovakia. Having passed, they were in service with the Czechoslovak army until the beginning of the 50s. In addition to Czechoslovakia, in the post-war years, Pz.lVs were used in the armies of Spain, Turkey, France, Finland, Bulgaria and Syria.
The "fours" entered the Syrian army in the late 40s from France, which then provided this country with the main military assistance. An important role, apparently, was played by the fact that most of the instructors who trained the Syrian tank crews were former Panzerwaffe officers. It is not possible to provide exact data on the number of Pz.lV tanks in the Syrian army. It is only known that Syria purchased 17 Pz.lV Ausf.H vehicles from Spain in the early 50s, and another batch of tanks of the H and J modifications arrived from Czechoslovakia in 1953.
The Quartet's baptism of fire in the Middle Eastern theater took place in November 1964 during the so-called “water war” that broke out over the Jordan River. Syrian Pz.lV Ausf.H, occupying positions on the Golan Heights, fired at Israeli troops.
Then the return fire of the “centurions” did not cause any harm to the Syrians. During the next conflict in August 1965, "" tanks armed with 105 mm cannons fired more accurately. They managed to destroy two Syrian companies of Pz.lV and T-34-85, being out of range of their guns.
The remaining Pz.lVs were captured by the Israelis during the Six Day War of 1967. Ironically, the last serviceable Syrian Pz.lV was shot down by fire from its “ancient enemy” - the Israeli Super Sherman.
Captured Syrian "fours" Ausf.H and J are in several military museums in Israel. In addition, combat vehicles of this type are preserved in almost all major tank museums in the world, including the Armor Museum tank weapons and equipment in Kubinka near Moscow (Ausf.G). By the way, it is this modification that is most widely represented in museum exhibitions. Of greatest interest are the Pz.lV Ausf.D, Ausf.F2 and the experimental Pz.lV with hydraulic transmission, located in the Aberdeen Proving Ground Museum in the USA. A tank captured by the British in Africa is on display in Bovington (Great Britain). This vehicle, apparently, became a “victim of a major overhaul” - it has an Ausf.D hull, an E or F turret with screens, and a long-barreled 75 mm cannon. A well-preserved modification tower can be seen in the Military History Museum in Dresden. It was discovered in August 1993 during excavation work on the territory of one of the former training grounds of the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany.
MACHINE ASSESSMENT
Apparently, we should start with a rather unexpected statement that with the creation of the Pz.IV tank in 1937, the Germans determined a promising path for the development of world tank building. This thesis is quite capable of shocking our reader, since we are accustomed to believe that this place in history is reserved for the Soviet T-34 tank. Nothing can be done, you will have to make room and share laurels with the enemy, albeit a defeated one. Well, so that this statement does not look unfounded, we will provide some evidence.
For this purpose, we will try to compare the “quartet” with those who opposed it in different periods World War II Soviet, British and American tanks. Let's start with the first period - 1940-1941; At the same time, we will not focus on the then German classification of tanks by gun caliber, which classified the medium Pz.IV as heavy. Since the British did not have a medium tank as such, they would have to consider two vehicles at once: one infantry, the other cruising. In this case, only “pure” declared characteristics are compared, without taking into account the quality of workmanship, operational reliability, level of crew training, etc.
As can be seen from Table 1, in 1940 - 1941 in Europe there were only two full-fledged medium tanks - T-34 and Pz.IV. The British Matilda was superior to the German and Soviet tanks in armor protection to the same extent that the Mk IV was inferior to them. The French S35 was a tank brought to perfection that met the requirements of the First World War. As for the T-34, while inferior to the German vehicle in a number of important positions (separation of functions of crew members, quantity and quality of surveillance devices), it had armor equivalent to the Pz.IV, slightly better mobility and significantly more powerful weapons. This lag of the German vehicle is easily explained - the Pz.IV was conceived and created as an assault tank, designed to fight enemy firing points, but not his tanks. In this regard, the T-34 was more versatile and, as a result, according to its stated characteristics, the best medium tank in the world for 1941. After just six months, the situation changed, as can be judged by the characteristics of tanks from 1942 - 1943.
Table 1


Table 2


Table 3


Table 2 shows how sharply the combat characteristics of the Pz.IV increased after the installation of a long-barreled gun. Not inferior to enemy tanks in all other respects, the “four” turned out to be capable of hitting Soviet and American tanks beyond the range of their guns. We are not talking about English cars - for four years of the war the British were marking time. Until the end of 1943, the combat characteristics of the T-34 remained virtually unchanged, with the Pz.IV taking first place among medium tanks. The answer - both Soviet and American - was not long in coming.
Comparing tables 2 and 3, one can see that since 1942 performance characteristics Pz.IV did not change (except for the thickness of the armor) and during two wars they remained unsurpassed by anyone! Only in 1944, having installed a 76-mm long-barreled gun on the Sherman, did the Americans catch up with the Pz.IV, and we, having launched the T-34-85 into production, overtook it. The Germans no longer had the time or opportunity to give a worthy answer.
Analyzing the data from all three tables, we can conclude that the Germans, earlier than others, began to consider the tank as the main and most effective anti-tank weapon, and this is the main trend in post-war tank building.
In general, it can be argued that of all the German tanks of the Second World War, the Pz.IV was the most balanced and versatile. In this car, various characteristics were harmoniously combined and complemented each other. The "Tiger" and "Panther", for example, had a clear bias towards protection, which led to their overweight and deterioration in dynamic characteristics. The Pz.III, with many other characteristics being equal to the Pz.IV, was not up to par with it in terms of armament and, having no reserves for modernization, left the stage.
The Pz.IV, with a similar Pz.III, but slightly more thoughtful layout, had such reserves to the fullest. This is the only wartime tank with a 75 mm cannon, whose main armament was significantly strengthened without changing the turret. The turret of the T-34-85 and Sherman had to be replaced, and, by and large, these were almost new vehicles. The British went their own way and, like a fashionista, changed not the towers, but the tanks! But “Cromwell,” which appeared in 1944, never reached the “four,” as did “Comet,” released in 1945. Only the post-war Centurion was able to bypass the German tank, created in 1937.
From the above, of course, it does not follow that the Pz.IV was an ideal tank. Let's say it had an insufficient and rather rigid and outdated suspension, which negatively affected its maneuverability. To some extent, the latter was compensated for by the lowest L/B ratio of 1.43 among all medium tanks.
Equipping the Pz.lV (as well as other tanks) with anti-cumulative screens cannot be considered a successful move by German designers. Cumulative ones were rarely used en masse, but the screens increased the dimensions of the vehicle, making it difficult to move in narrow passages, blocked most surveillance devices, and made it difficult for the crew to board and disembark. However, an even more pointless and rather expensive measure was coating the tanks with Zimmerit.
Specific power values ​​for medium tanks


But perhaps the biggest mistake the Germans made was trying to switch to a new type of medium tank - the Panther. As the latter, it did not take place (for more details, see “Armor Collection” No. 2, 1997), joining the “Tiger” in the class of heavy vehicles, but it played a fatal role in the fate of the Pz.lV.
Having concentrated all their efforts on creating new tanks in 1942, the Germans stopped seriously modernizing the old ones. Let's try to imagine what would have happened if not for the Panther? The project of installing a “Panther” turret on the Pz.lV is well known, both standard and “close” (Schmall-turm). The project is quite realistic in size - the clear diameter of the turret ring for the Panther is 1650 mm, for the Pz.lV it is 1600 mm. The tower stood up without expanding the turret box. The situation with the weight characteristics was somewhat worse - due to the long reach of the gun barrel, the center of gravity shifted forward and the load on the front road wheels increased by 1.5 tons. However, it could be compensated for by strengthening their suspension. In addition, it must be taken into account that the KwK 42 cannon was created for the Panther, and not for the Pz.IV. For the "four" it was possible to limit ourselves to a gun with smaller weight and dimensions, with a barrel length of, say, not 70, but 55 or 60 calibers. Even if such a weapon would require replacing the turret, it would still make it possible to get by with a lighter design than the Panther one.
The inevitably increasing (by the way, without such a hypothetical rearmament) weight of the tank required replacing the Engine. For comparison: the dimensions of the HL 120TKRM engine installed on the Pz.IV were 1220x680x830 mm, and the Panther HL 230P30 - 1280x960x1090 mm. The clear dimensions of the engine compartments were almost identical for these two tanks. The Panther's was 480 mm longer, mainly due to the inclination of the rear hull plate. Consequently, equipping the Pz.lV with a higher power engine was not an insurmountable design task.
The results of this, of course, far from complete, list of possible modernization measures would be very sad, since they would nullify the work on creating the T-34-85 for us and the Sherman with a 76-mm cannon for the Americans. In 1943-1945, the industry of the Third Reich produced about 6 thousand “Panthers” and almost 7 thousand Pz.IV. If we take into account that the labor intensity of manufacturing the "Panther" was almost twice that of the Pz.lV, then we can assume that during the same time German factories could produce an additional 10-12 thousand modernized "fours", which would be delivered to the soldiers of the anti-Hitler coalition much more trouble than the Panthers.
Wikipedia Encyclopedia of technology e-book

Pz.Kpfw. IV Ausf. F2

Main Features

Briefly

Details

3.3 / 3.3 / 3.7 BR

5 people Crew

Mobility

22.7 tons Weight

6 forward
1 ago checkpoint

Armament

87 rounds of ammunition

10° / 20° UVN

3,000 rounds of ammunition

150 shells clip size

900 rounds/min rate of fire

Economy

Description

Panzerkampfwagen IV (7.5 cm) Ausführung F2 or Pz.Kpfw. IV Ausf. F2 - medium tank of the armed forces of the Third Reich. Unlike previous modifications, it was armed with a long-barreled 75-mm KwK 40 gun with a barrel length of 43 calibers and improved armor protection. It became the first German tank capable of standing up to Soviet T-34 and KV-1 tanks on equal terms, but this only concerned weapons; in terms of armor protection it was still inferior to its rivals and could easily be destroyed by Soviet 76-mm tank guns. For this reason, the vehicle’s armor was often strengthened by the crew themselves by attaching spare tracks and other improvised means.

Release of Pz.Kpfw. IV Ausf. F2 lasted from April to July 1942. During this period, 175 units were built and another 25 cars were converted from the F1 modification. The tank was used mainly on the Eastern Front; some of the vehicles of this modification were sent to the Afrika Korps, where they were used to suppress allied fire points and manpower due to a shortage of armor-piercing shells. The tank played a significant role in the war, countering the tanks and armored vehicles of the Allies, which the rest of the German tanks, which had weaker weapons, could not cope with. After production of the F2 modification ceased, the vehicle gave way to more advanced modifications of the Pz.Kpfw medium tank. IV.

Main Features

Armor protection and survivability

Location of the crew and modules inside the Pz.Kpfw. IV Ausf. F2

Pz.Kpfw. IV Ausf. The F2 does not have the best armor protection among similar tanks in its combat rating (BR). The entire frontal armor of the tank has a thickness of 50 mm, except for the section of armor under the driver's gap, which has a thickness of 20 mm, but is located at an angle of 73 degrees, which gives the reduced armor thickness the same 50 mm. In addition, having studied the "Applied Armor" modification, the frontal armor is reinforced with additional tracks 15 mm thick. The side and rear armor of the turret and hull is 30 mm and is easily hit even by heavy machine guns. The tank's survivability is negatively affected by the dense layout of the crew and modules. The downside is the high commander's turret, which can protrude from behind cover, even if the tank is completely hidden from the eyes of enemies.

Mobility

Pz.Kpfw. IV Ausf. F2 has high speed and mobility. The maximum speed of the car is 48 km/h, it picks up quickly and is almost not lost from small obstacles. The rear speed is 8 km/h and it is quite enough to roll back after a shot or back up to drive behind cover. The maneuverability of the car is good both from a standstill and while driving. From a standstill, the tank turns vigorously, while moving even better and faster, but noticeably loses speed. Cross-country ability of Pz.Kpfw. IV Ausf. F2 high.

Armament

Main weapon

The most important advantage of the Pz.Kpfw. IV Ausf. F2 is its long-barreled 75 mm KwK40 L43 gun with 87 rounds of ammunition. The gun has simply amazing armor penetration. Due to the length of the barrel, unlike previous modifications with short-barreled guns, the KwK40 L43 has good projectile flight ballistics. According to the armor effect, Pz.Kpfw. IV Ausf. F2 is inferior to T-34 and KV-1 shells, but it is quite enough to destroy most of the enemy with one precise hit. The gun reloads quickly. Vertical aiming angles range from -10 to +20 degrees, which allows you to fire from behind hills and obstacles while hiding the body behind them. The turret rotates at an average speed, so sometimes you will have to turn your body towards a suddenly appearing enemy.

There are five types of shells available for the tank:

• PzGr 39- an armor-piercing projectile with an armor-piercing tip and a ballistic cap. It has excellent armor penetration and good armor protection. Recommended as the main projectile for this tank.

• Hl.Gr 38B- cumulative projectile. It has less armor penetration than the PzGr 39, but retains it at all distances. Recommended for shooting at enemies at particularly long distances.

• PzGr 40- armor-piercing sub-caliber projectile. It has the highest armor penetration, but much less armor penetration than the PzGr 39, and also significantly loses its armor penetration at long distances. In addition, the projectile is not very effective against opponents with sloped armor. Recommended for use at close range against well-armored opponents.

• Sprgr. 34 - high-explosive fragmentation projectile. It has the lowest armor penetration of all the presented shells. Can be effective against unarmored vehicles, for example against anti-aircraft guns self-propelled units(ZSU) based on trucks.

• K.Gr.Rot Nb.- smoke shell. It does not have armor penetration and can only cause damage by hitting the enemy crew directly. Temporarily releases a large cloud of smoke, through which the enemy will be unable to see the player's actions and movements.

Machine gun weapons

Pz.Kpfw. IV Ausf. The F2 is armed with a 7.92 mm MG34 machine gun with 3,000 rounds of ammunition, coaxial with a 75 mm gun. It can incapacitate the crew on vehicles that do not have armor, for example, a self-propelled gun based on trucks.

Use in combat

To protect the vulnerable hull of the Pz.Kpfw. IV Ausf. F2, it is better to choose positions that would completely cover the body from enemy shells

Playing on Pz.Kpfw. IV Ausf. F2, you should always remember about its weak armor and high vulnerability. Thanks to its high speed, the Pz.Kpfw. IV, you can be one of the first to arrive at the capture point, but if there is no cover at the point, then you can be easy prey for enemy tanks. The same applies to attacks, you need to avoid open areas of the terrain where the vehicle will be easily destroyed and move only from cover to cover, destroying enemy tanks because of them. The car is also well suited for the role of a sniper. The car is also good for flanking, its fast speed will allow you to easily enter the enemy’s flank or rear, and the effect of surprise and a good weapon will allow you to inflict significant damage on the enemy team.

Advantages and disadvantages

The armor does not have rational angles, so you need to turn the hull a little, but not too much, so as not to expose even weaker sides, good dynamics and mobility will allow you to take important positions quickly, and the UVN will shoot in most situations.

Advantages:

• Excellent armor penetration
• High flatness
• Good armor protection effect of shells
• Remarkable speed and maneuverability
• Good maneuverability
• Fast recharge

Flaws:

• Weak armor
• Dense layout

Historical background

In January 1934, the Armament Directorate of the German War Department held a competition for designs for a new medium tank. Krupp, MAN, Daimler-Benz and Rheinmetall took part in the competition. The competition was won by the project of the Krupp company, under the designation VK 2001 (K). The new tank was conceived by the German command as a support tank for attacking forces, its main task was to suppress enemy firing points, mainly such as machine gun nests and crews of anti-tank guns, as well as fight against lightly armored enemy vehicles. In its design and layout, the tank was made in the classic German style - with the control and transmission compartment located in the front part, the fighting compartment in the middle and the engine compartment in the rear part of the hull. The tank was armed with a short-barreled 75 mm gun. Initially, observing secrecy from the prohibitions of the Versailles Treaty, the new vehicle was designated as Bataillonsführerwagen or B.W., which translated meant “battalion commander’s vehicle”; later the tank received its final designation - Pz.Kpfw. IV (Panzerkampfwagen IV) or Sd.Kfz. 161, in Soviet and domestic sources T-4 or T-IV.

The first modification of the Pz.Kpfw tank. IV Ausf. A

The first pre-production samples of Pz.Kpfw. IV, designated Ausf.A, they were released in late 1936 - early 1937. At the time of the outbreak of hostilities by Germany, on September 1, 1939, there were only 211 Pz.Kpfw tanks in the Wehrmacht tank fleet. IV of all modifications. Although these vehicles did not meet worthy opponents in the Polish campaign, the small-caliber anti-tank artillery of the Polish troops inflicted serious losses on German tanks. For this reason, urgent measures were taken to strengthen the armor protection of tanks. The French campaign, where German tank forces clashed with French and British armored vehicles, only confirmed that the Pz.Kpfw. IV still did not have sufficient armor, in addition, it also showed that short-barreled 75-mm guns were powerless against the heavy British Matilda tanks. But the final end to the production of Pz.Kpfw. IV with short-barreled guns was installed in the campaign against the USSR, which began on June 22, 1941. Already in July of the same year, faced with heavy KV-1 and medium T-34 tanks, the Germans realized that short guns could not do anything to the new Soviet tanks, even at point-blank range.

Pz.Kpfw. IV Ausf. F1 with short-barreled gun

For this reason, at the end of the autumn of 1941, the hasty development of a new, long-barreled 75-mm tank gun began, which could successfully resist the Soviet T-34 and KV-1. Previously, the idea of ​​​​installing a 50-mm gun with a barrel length of 42 calibers was put forward, but the experience of the war on the Eastern Front showed that Soviet 76-mm guns are superior to German 50-mm guns in all respects. To install the new gun, a modification of the Pz.Kpfw was taken. IV Ausf. F, which was produced from April 1941 and was the result of an analysis of the course of hostilities in Poland and France. Unlike all previous modifications, the Ausf. F the thickness of the armor of the turret and hull forehead increased to 50 mm, the sides to 30 mm, the hull front plate became straight, single-leaf hatch doors on the sides of the turret were replaced with double-leaf ones. Due to the increased mass of the tank and specific ground pressure, the vehicle received new tracks with a width of 400 mm, instead of 360 mm, as on all previous modifications.

With the installation of a 75-mm long-barreled KwK 40 gun with a barrel length of 43 calibers on the tank, the designation of the tank Pz.Kpfw. IV Ausf. F, at the end, the numbers 1 and 2 were added, where the number 1 meant that the vehicle had a short-barreled gun, and 2 - with a long-barreled gun. The combat weight of the tank reached 23.6 tons. Production of Pz.Kpfw. IV Ausf. F2 began in March 1942 and ended in July of the same year, giving way to other, more advanced modifications. During this period, 175 Ausf vehicles were produced. F2 and 25 others were converted from F1. With the advent of long-barreled guns, Pz.Kpfw. IV was able to compete on equal terms with Soviet heavy and medium tanks, but this only concerned weapons; in terms of armor protection, the vehicle was still inferior to the Soviet T-34 and, even more so, the KV-1. In addition, the increased weight of the vehicle reduced its speed and maneuverability, and the installation of a long-barreled gun increased the weight on the front part of the hull, which led to rapid wear of the front rollers and led to strong rocking of the tank during a sudden stop and after a shot.

Media

Pz.Kpfw. IV Ausf. F2



Pz.Kpfw. IV Ausf. F2 before being sent to the front



Pz.Kpfw. IV Ausf. F2 in the open air armored vehicles museum

PzKpfw IV ausf F2 review from BlackCross

PzKpfw IV ausf F2 review by Ezida

PzKpfw IV ausf F2 review from Omero

See also

• link to the family of equipment;
• links to approximate analogues in other nations and branches.

• topic at the office game forum;
• Wikipedia page;
• page on Aviarmor.net;
• other literature.

On January 11, 1934, at a meeting of the Wehrmacht Armament Directorate, the basic principles of arming tank divisions were approved. Soon after this, a prototype of the future PzKpfw IV tank was born, which for conspiracy purposes was called the already familiar definition of “medium tractor” - Mittleren Tractor. When the need for secrecy disappeared and the combat vehicle began to be openly called the tank of the battalion commander - Batail-lonfuhrerswagen (BW).

This name lasted until the introduction of a unified designation system for German tanks, when the BW finally became the PzKpfw IV medium tank. Medium tanks were supposed to serve as infantry support. The weight of the vehicle was not supposed to exceed 24 tons, and it was supposed to be armed with a short-barreled 75-mm cannon. It was decided to borrow the general layout, the thickness of the armor plates, the principle of crew placement and other characteristics from the previous tank, the PzKpfw III. Work on creating a new tank began in 1934. Rheinmetall-Borsig was the first to present a plywood model future car, and the following year a real prototype appeared, designated VK 2001/Rh.

The prototype was made of mild welded steel and weighed approximately 18 tons. No sooner had he left the walls of the manufacturing plant than he was immediately sent for testing to Kummersdorf. (It was in Kummersdorf that Adolf Hitler first became acquainted with Wehrmacht tanks. During this familiarization trip, Hitler showed great interest in the issues of motorization of the army and the creation of armored forces. Chief of Staff of the Armored Forces Guderian arranged demonstration tests of motorized mechanized forces for the Reich Chancellor. Hitler was shown motorcycle and anti-tank platoons , as well as platoons of light and heavy armored vehicles, according to Guderian, the Fuhrer was very pleased with the visit.)

PzKpfw IV and PzKpfw III tanks at Tankfest in Bovington

Daimler-Benz, Krupp and MAN also built their prototypes of the new tank. Krupp presented a combat vehicle, almost similar to the prototype of the platoon commander’s vehicle they had previously proposed and rejected. After the tests, the technical department of the tank forces chose the VK 2001/K version, proposed by Krupp, for mass production, making minor changes to its design. In 1936, the first prototype of the 7.5 cm Geschiitz-Panzerwagen tank (VsKfz 618) was built, an armored vehicle with a 75 mm cannon (experimental model 618).

The initial order was for 35 vehicles, which were produced by the Friedrich Krupp AG factories in Essen between October 1936 and March 1937. Thus began the production of the most massive German tank, which remained in service with the armored forces of the Third Reich until the very end of the war. The PzKpfw IV medium tank owes its high combat characteristics entirely to the designers, who brilliantly coped with the task of enhancing the armor and firepower of the tank without making significant changes to the basic design.

MODIFICATIONS OF THE PzKpfw IV TANK

Tank PzKpfw IV Ausf A became the model for the creation of all subsequent modifications. The armament of the new tank consisted of a 75mm KwK 37 L/24 cannon, coaxial with a turret machine gun, and a front-mounted machine gun located in the hull. The power plant was a 12-cylinder carburetor liquid-cooled Maybach HL 108TR engine, which developed a power of 250 hp. The hull also housed an additional engine that drove an electric generator, which provided power to the electric drive for rotating the turret. The combat weight of the tank was 17.3 tons, the thickness of the frontal armor reached 20 mm.

A characteristic feature of the Pz IV Ausf A tank was the cylindrical commander's cupola with eight viewing slots covered with armored glass blocks.

German medium tank PzKpfw IV Ausf A

The chassis, applied to one side, consisted of eight road wheels, interlocked in pairs into four bogies, suspended on quarter-elliptical leaf springs. There were four small road wheels on top. The drive wheel is front-mounted. The guide wheel (sloth) had a mechanism for tensioning the tracks. It should be noted that this design of the chassis of the PzKpfw IV Ausf A tank was practically not subject to significant changes in the future. The PzKpfw IV Ausf A tank is the first production tank of this type.

Tactical and technical characteristics of the medium tank PzKpfw IV Ausf A (SdKfz 161)

Date of creation......................... 1935 (the first tank appeared in 1937)
Combat weight (t) ........................... 18.4
Dimensions (m):
length........................5.0
width........................2.9
height........................2.65
Armament: ............ main 1 x 75 mm KwK 37 L/24 cannon secondary 2 x 7.92 mm MG 13 machine guns
Ammunition - main...................122 rounds
Armor (mm): ....................maximum 15 minimum 5
Engine type...................Maybach HL 108 TR (3000 rpm)
Maximum power (hp) .................250
Crew...................5 people
Maximum speed (km/h) ..................32
Cruising range (km)....................150

The following tank modification: PzKpfw IV Ausf B- featured an improved Maybach HL 120TRM engine with a power of 300 hp. at 3000 rpm and a new six-speed ZFSSG 76 gearbox instead of the five-speed SSG 75. The main difference between the PzKpfw FV Ausf B was the use of a straight body plate instead of the broken one of its predecessor. At the same time, the front-mounted machine gun was dismantled. In its place was a radio operator’s viewing device, which could fire personal weapons through the loophole. Frontal armor increased to 30 mm, due to which the combat weight increased to 17.7 tons. The commander's cupola also underwent changes, whose viewing slots were covered with removable covers. The order for the new “four” (still called 2/BW) was 45 vehicles, however, due to a lack of necessary parts and materials, the Krupp company was able to produce only 42.

German medium tank PzKpfw IV Ausf B

Tanks PzKpfw IV version Ausf C appeared in 1938 and differed very little from the Ausf B vehicles. Externally, these tanks are so similar that it can be very difficult to distinguish them. An additional similarity with the previous version is given by the straight front plate without the MG machine gun, which was replaced by an additional viewing device. Minor changes affected the introduction of an armored casing for the barrel of the MG-34 machine gun, as well as the installation of a special bumper under the gun, which bent the antenna when turning the turret, preventing it from breaking. In total, approximately 140 units of 19-ton Ausf C tanks were produced.

German medium tank PzKpfw IV Ausf C

Tanks of the next model - PzKpfw IV D- received an improved design of the gun mantlet. The practice of using tanks forced a return to the original design of a broken front plate (as on the PzKpfw IV Ausf A tanks). The front machine gun mount was protected by a square armor casing, and the side and rear armor increased from 15 to 20 mm. After the new tanks were tested, the following entry appeared in the military circular (No. 685 dated September 27, 1939): “PzKpfw IV (with a 75-mm cannon) SdKfz 161 is from now on declared suitable for successful use in military formations.” .

German medium tank PzKpfw IV Ausf D

A total of 222 Ausf D tanks were produced, with which Germany entered World War II. During the Polish campaign, several “fours” ingloriously returned from the battlefields to their homeland for repairs and modifications. It turned out that the thickness of the armor of the new tanks was insufficient to ensure their safety, so additional armor plates were urgently required to protect the most important components. It is curious that the reports of British military intelligence of that time suggest that the strengthening of the combat armor of tanks often took place “illegally”, without corresponding orders from above, and sometimes even in spite of it. Thus, an order from the German military command intercepted by the British strictly prohibited the unauthorized welding of additional armor plates onto the hulls of German tanks. The order explained that “makeshift* fastening of armor plates does not increase, but reduces the protection of the tank, therefore the Wehrmacht command ordered commanders to strictly follow the instructions regulating the work to enhance the armor protection of combat vehicles.

German medium tank PzKpfw IV Ausf E

Soon the long-awaited “quartet” was born PzKpfw IV Ausf E, the design of which took into account all the previously identified shortcomings of the PzKpfw IV Ausf D. First of all, this related to increased armor protection. Now the 30-mm frontal armor of the hull was protected by additional 30-mm plates, and the sides were covered with 20-mm sheets. All these changes led to the fact that the combat weight increased to 21 tons. In addition, the Pz-4 Ausf E tanks had a new commander's cupola, which now almost did not extend beyond the turret. The course machine gun received a Kugelblende 30 ball mount. A box for spare parts and equipment was mounted on the rear wall of the turret. The chassis used new simplified drive wheels and wider tracks of a new type with a width of 400 mm instead of the old ones with a width of 360 mm.

German medium tank PzKpfw IV Ausf F1

The next option was a tank PzKpfw IV Ausf F1. These tanks had a solid front plate 50 mm thick and 30 mm sides. The forehead of the turret also received 50 mm armor. This tank was the last model armed with a short-barreled 75 mm cannon with a low muzzle velocity.

German medium tank PzKpfw IV Ausf F2

Soon, Hitler personally ordered the replacement of this ineffective gun with a long-barreled 75 mm KwK 40 L/43 - this is how the medium tank was born PzKpfw IV F2. The new weapon required changes to the design of the turret's fighting compartment in order to accommodate the increased ammunition load. 32 shots out of 87 were now placed in the turret. The initial speed of a conventional armor-piercing projectile has now increased to 740 m/s (versus 385 m/s for the previous gun), and armor penetration has increased by 48 mm and amounted to 89 mm versus the previous 41 mm (with an armor-piercing projectile at a range of 460 meters at an impact angle of 30°) . The new powerful weapon immediately and forever changed the role and place of the new tank in the German armored forces. In addition, the PzKpfw IV received a new Turmzielfernrohr TZF Sf sight and a gun mantlet of a different shape. From now on, the PzKpfw III medium tank fades into the background, content with the role of an infantry support and escort tank, and the PzKpfw IV for a long time becomes the main “assault” tank of the Wehrmacht. In addition to Krupp-Gruson AG, two more enterprises joined the production of PzKpfw IV tanks: VOMAG and Nibelungenwerke. The appearance on the stage of the theater of operations of the modernized Pz IV “fours” significantly complicated the position of the allies, since the new gun allowed German tank successfully fight against most of the armored vehicles of the USSR and coalition member countries. In total, 1,300 early Ausf fours (from A to F2) were produced during the period until March 1942.

PzKpfw IV is called the main tank of the Wehrmacht. More than 8,500 “fours” formed the basis of the Wehrmacht’s tank forces, its main striking force.

The next large-scale version was the tank PzKpfw IV Ausf G. From May 1942 to June 1943, much more of them were created than vehicles of previous modifications, more than 1,600 units.

German medium tank PzKpfw IV Ausf G

The very first Pz IV Ausf Gs were practically no different from the PzKpfw IV F2, but during the production process numerous changes were made to the basic design. First of all, this concerns the installation of a 75-mm KwK 40 L/48 cannon with a two-chamber muzzle brake. The upgraded version of the KwK 40 tank gun had an initial projectile speed of 750 m/s. The new model of the Quartet tank was equipped with additional 5-mm protective screens to protect the turret and sides of the hull, which received the humorous nickname “apron” among the troops. The Pz Kpfw IV Aufs G tank, produced since March 1943, was armed with a 75-mm cannon with a barrel length of L/48 instead of the previous one with a barrel length of 43 calibers. A total of 1,700 vehicles of this modification were produced. Despite the increased armament, the PZ-4 still could not compete with the Russian T-34.
Weak armor protection made them too vulnerable. In this photo you can see how the Pz Kpfw IV Ausf G tank uses sandbags as additional protection. Of course, such measures could not significantly improve the situation.

The most popular series was the tank PzKpfw IV Ausf N, more than 4,000 of them were produced, including various self-propelled guns created on the T-4 (“four”) chassis.

German medium tank PzKpfw IV Ausf H

This tank was distinguished by the most powerful frontal armor (up to 80 mm), the introduction of 5-mm side screens of the hull and turret, the MG-34 -Fliegerbeschussgerat 41/42 anti-aircraft machine gun mount mounted on the commander's turret, a new, improved ZF SSG 77 gearbox and minor changes in the transmission. The combat weight of this modification of the Pz IV reached 25 tons. The latest version of the Quartet was the tank PzKpfw IV J, which continued to be produced until March 1945. From June 1944 to March 1945, more than 1,700 of these vehicles were produced. Tanks of this type were equipped with high-capacity fuel tanks, which increased the cruising range to 320 km. However, in general, the latest “fours” have been significantly simplified compared to previous models.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PzKpfw IV TANK DESIGN

TURRET AND HULL OF TANK Pz IV

The hull and turret of the Pz-4 tank were welded. There were evacuation hatches on each side of the tower for boarding and disembarking crew members.

Tank Pz IV with installed protection against cumulative shells

The tower was equipped with a commander's cupola with five viewing slots equipped with armored glass blocks - triplex and protective armor covers, which were lowered and raised using a small lever located under each slot.

Inside the Pz IV Ausf G tank. The photo was taken from the side of the right hatch (loader).

The tower's pole rotated with her. The armament consisted of a 75-mm (short-barreled KwK 37 or long-barreled KwK 40) cannon and a coaxial turret machine gun, as well as an MG course machine gun mounted in the frontal armor of the hull in a ball mount and intended for the radio operator. This armament scheme is typical for all modifications of the “fours” with the exception of version C tanks.

Inside the Pz IV Ausf G tank. Photo taken from the left hatch (gunner).

Layout of the PzKpfw IV tank- classic, with front transmission. Inside, the tank hull was divided into three compartments by two bulkheads. The rear compartment contained the engine compartment.

As in other German tanks, a cardan shaft was thrown from the engine to the gearbox and drive wheels, running under the turret floor. Next to the engine was an auxiliary engine for the turret rotation mechanism. Because of this, the turret was shifted to the left along the axis of symmetry of the tank by 52 mm. Three fuel tanks with a total capacity of 477 liters were installed on the floor of the central fighting compartment, under the floor of the turret. The fighting compartment turret housed the remaining three crew members (commander, gunner and loader), weapons (a cannon and a coaxial machine gun), observation and aiming devices, vertical and horizontal guidance mechanisms. The driver and radio operator firing from a machine gun mounted in a ball joint were located in the front compartment of the hull, on both sides of the gearbox.

German medium tank PzKpfw IV Ausf A. View of the driver's seat.

Armor thickness of the PzKpfw IV tank was constantly increasing. The frontal armor of the T-4 was welded from rolled armor plates with surface cementation and was usually thicker and stronger than the side armor. Additional protection using armor plates was not used until the creation of the Ausf D tank. To protect the tank from bullets and cumulative shells, zimmerit coating was applied to the lower and side surfaces of the hull and the side surfaces of the turret. Testing of the T-4 Ausf G carried out by the British using the Brinell method gave the following results: front front plate in an inclined plane (outer surface) - 460-490 HB; front vertical plate (outer surface) - 500-520 HB; inner surface -250-260 HB; tower forehead (outer surface) - 490-51 0 HB; hull sides (outer surface) - 500-520 HB; inner surface - 270-280 HB; tower sides (outer surface) -340-360 HB. As mentioned above, on the latest versions of the Quartet, additional armored “screens” were used, made of steel sheets measuring 114 x 99 cm and mounted on the sides of the hull and turret, at a distance of 38 cm from the hull. The turret was protected by 6 mm thick armor plates attached around the rear and sides, and the protective screen had hatches located exactly in front of the turret hatches.

TANK ARMAMENT.

The PzKpfw IV Ausf A - F1 tanks were equipped with a short-barreled 75-mm KwK 37 L/24 cannon with a 24-caliber barrel length, a vertical breech and an initial projectile velocity not exceeding 385 m/s. The PzKpfw III Ausf N tanks and StuG III assault guns were equipped with exactly the same guns. The gun's ammunition included almost all types of shells: armor-piercing tracer, armor-piercing tracer sub-caliber, cumulative, high-explosive fragmentation and smoke.

View of the double-leaf escape hatch in the turret of the Pz IV tank

To rotate the gun by the required 32° (from -110 to +21, 15 full revolutions were required. The Pz IV tanks used both an electric drive and a manual drive for turning the turret. The electric drive was powered by a generator driven by a two-cylinder two-stroke water-cooled engine. For rough For target designation, a dial-clock type system was used. For this, the horizontal firing angle of the tank's turret gun, equal to 360°, was divided into twelve divisions, and the division corresponding to the traditional position of the number 12 on the clock dial indicated the direction of movement of the tank. Another gear was driven by a hinge shaft. the gear ring in the commander's cupola was set in motion. This ring was also graduated from 1 to 12 a, in addition, the external scale of the cupola, corresponding to the dial of the main gun, was equipped with a fixed pointer.

View of the rear of the PZ IV tank

Thanks to this device, the commander could determine the approximate location of the target and give appropriate instructions to the gunner. The driver's position was equipped with a turret position indicator (with two lights) on all models of the PzKpfw IV tank (except Ausf J). Thanks to this device, the driver knew the location of the turret and tank gun. This was especially important when moving through the forest and in populated areas. The gun was mounted together with a coaxial machine gun and a TZF 5v telescopic sight (on early modifications of tanks); TZF 5f and TZF 5f/l (on tanks starting with PzKpfw IV Ausf E tanks). The machine gun was powered from a flexible metal strip, and the shooter fired using a special foot pedal. The telescopic 2.5x sight was equipped with scales of three ranges (for the main gun and machine gun).

View of the front part of the turret of the Pz IV tank

The MG-34 course machine gun was equipped with a KZF 2 telescopic sight. The full ammunition load consisted of 80-87 (depending on modification) artillery shots and 2,700 rounds of ammunition for two 7.92 mm machine guns. Starting with the Ausf F2 modification, the short-barreled gun is replaced by a more powerful long-barreled 75-mm KwK 40 L/43 cannon, and the latest modifications (starting with Ausf H) receive an improved L/48 gun with a barrel length of 48 calibers. The short-barreled guns had a single-chamber muzzle brake, while the long-barreled ones had to be equipped with two-chamber ones. Increasing the barrel length required a counterweight. To achieve this, the latest modifications of the Pz-4 were equipped with a heavy compression spring installed in a cylinder attached to the front of the rotating turret floor.

Engine and transmission

The first versions of the PzKpfw IV were equipped with the same engine as the tanks of the PzKpfw III series - the 12-cylinder Maybach HL 108 TR with a power of 250 hp, which required gasoline with an octane rating of 74. Subsequently, they began to use the tank as a power plant. improved Maybach HL 120 TR and HL 120 TRM engines with 300 hp power. The engine as a whole was distinguished by its high reliability and resistance to temperature changes, but this did not apply to the conditions of the African heat and the sultry regions of southern Russia. To avoid the engine boiling, the driver had to drive the tank with all possible caution. In winter conditions, a special installation was used that made it possible to pump heated liquid (ethylene glycol) from a working tank into a tank that needed to be started. Unlike the PzKpfw III tanks, the engine of the T-4 was located asymmetrically, on the right side of the hull. The small-link caterpillars of the T-4 tank consisted of 101 or 99 links (starting from F1) with a width (options) PzKpfw IV Ausf A - E 360 mm, and in Ausf F-J- 400 mm, their total weight was close to 1300 kg. The track tension was adjusted using a rear guide wheel mounted on an eccentric axis. The ratchet mechanism prevented the axle from turning backward and causing the track to sag.

TRACK REPAIR.
Each crew of the Pz IV tank had at its disposal an industrial belt of the same width as the tracks. The edges of the belt were perforated so that the holes coincided with the teeth of the drive wheel. If the track failed, a belt was attached to the damaged area, passed over the support rollers and attached to the teeth of the drive wheel. After this, the engine and transmission were started. The drive wheel turned and pulled the track and belt forward until the track caught on the wheel. Anyone who has ever pulled off a heavy long caterpillar the “old-fashioned way” - using a piece of rope or fingers, will appreciate what a salvation this simple scheme was for the crew.

BATTLE RECORD OF Pz IV TANK

The “four” began their combat journey in Poland, where, despite their small numbers, they immediately became a noticeable strike force. On the eve of the invasion of Poland, there were almost twice as many “fours” in the Wehrmacht troops as “threes” - 211 versus 98. The fighting qualities of the “fours” immediately attracted the attention of Heinz Guderian, who from that moment on would constantly insist on increasing their production. Of the 217 tanks lost by Germany during the 30-day war with Poland, there were only 19 “fours”. In order to better imagine the Polish stage of the PzKpfw IV’s combat path, let’s turn to the documents. Here I want to introduce readers to the history of the 35th Tank Regiment, which took part in the occupation of Warsaw. I present to your attention excerpts from the chapter dedicated to the assault on the Polish capital, written by Hans Schaufler.

“It was the ninth day of the war. I have just joined the brigade headquarters as a liaison officer. We were standing in the small suburb of Ochota, located on the Rawa-Ruska-Warsaw road. Another attack on the Polish capital was coming. The troops are on full alert. The tanks were lined up in a column, with infantry and sappers behind them. We are waiting for the order to advance. I remember the strange calm that reigned among the troops. No rifle shots or machine gun fire were heard. Only occasionally the silence was broken by the rumble of a reconnaissance aircraft flying over the column. I was sitting in the command tank next to General von Hartlieb. To be honest, it was a bit cramped in the tank. The brigade adjutant, Captain von Harling, carefully studied the topographic map showing the situation. Both radio operators clung to their radios. One listened to the message from the division headquarters, the second kept his hand on the key to immediately begin transmitting orders to the units. The engine purred loudly. Suddenly a whistle cut through the silence, the next second drowned out by a loud explosion. First it hit the right, then the left of our car, then from behind. Artillery came into action. The first groans and cries of the wounded were heard. Everything is as usual - the Polish artillerymen send us their traditional “hello”.
Finally the order was received to go on the offensive. The engines roared and the tanks moved towards Warsaw. Quite quickly we reached the suburbs of the Polish capital. Sitting in the tank, I heard the chatter of machine gun fire, the explosions of hand grenades and the clicking of bullets on the armored sides of our vehicle. Our radio operators received one message after another. “Forward to the street barricade*,” was transmitted from the headquarters of the 35th regiment. “Anti-tank gun - five tanks destroyed - there is a mined barricade ahead,” neighbors reported. “Order for the regiment! Turn straight south!" - thundered the general's bass. He had to yell above the hellish noise outside.

“Pass the message to division headquarters,” I ordered the radio operators. -We approached the outskirts of Warsaw. The streets are barricaded and mined. Turn right*. After some time, a short message comes from the regiment headquarters: -The barricades have been taken*.
And again the sound of bullets and loud explosions to the left and right of our tank... I feel like someone is pushing me in the back. “The enemy’s positions are three hundred meters ahead,” the general shouted. - Turn right!* The terrible grinding of caterpillars on the cobblestone street - and we enter a deserted square. -Faster, damn it! Even faster!* - the general shouts furiously. He's right, you can't hesitate - the Poles shoot very accurately. “We came under heavy artillery fire,” reports from the 36th Regiment. *3b regiment! - the general answers immediately. “Demand artillery cover immediately!” You can hear stones and shell fragments hitting the armor. The blows are getting stronger. Suddenly, a monstrous explosion is heard very close by, and I smash my head into the radio. The tank is tossed up and thrown to the side. The engine stalls.
Through the hatch cover I see a dazzling yellow flame.

Tank PzKpfw IV

In the fighting compartment, everything is turned upside down, gas masks, fire extinguishers, camp bowls, and other small things are lying everywhere... A few seconds of eerie numbness. Then everyone shakes themselves, looks at each other anxiously, and quickly feels themselves. Thank God, alive and well! The driver engages third gear, we wait with bated breath for the familiar sound and take a breath of relief when the tank obediently moves away. True, there is a suspicious tapping noise coming from the right track, but we are too happy to take such trifles into account. However, as it turned out, our misfortunes were far from over. Before we had time to drive a few meters, a new strong shock shook the tank and threw it to the right. From every house, from every window, we were showered with furious machine-gun fire. From the roofs and attics, the Poles threw hand grenades and incendiary bottles with condensed gasoline at us. There were probably a hundred times more enemies than there were, but we did not turn back.

We stubbornly continued to move in a southerly direction and neither the barricades of overturned trams, twisted barbed wire and rails dug into the ground could stop us. Every now and then our tanks came under fire from anti-tank guns. “Lord, make sure they don’t knock out our tank!”- we silently prayed, fully aware that any forced stop would be the last in our lives. Meanwhile, the sound of the caterpillar became increasingly loud and threatening. Finally we drove into some kind of orchard and hid behind the trees. By this time, some units of our regiment managed to break through to the outskirts of Warsaw, but further advance became more and more difficult. Disappointing messages came over the radio every now and then: “The offensive was stopped by heavy enemy artillery fire - the tank hit a mine - the tank was hit by an anti-tank gun - artillery support is urgently required”.

We also did not manage to take a proper breath under the shade of the fruit trees. The Polish artillerymen quickly found their bearings and brought down a barrage of fierce fire on us. With every second the situation became more and more frightening. We tried to leave the shelter that had become dangerous, but it turned out that the damaged track had completely failed. Despite all our efforts, we could not even move. The situation seemed hopeless. It was necessary to repair the track on site. Our general could not even temporarily leave command of the operation; he dictated message after message, order after order. We sat idle... When the Polish guns fell silent for a while, we decided to take advantage of this short respite to inspect the damaged chassis. However, as soon as we opened the hatch cover, the fire resumed. The Poles settled somewhere very close and, remaining invisible to us, turned our car into an excellent target. After several unsuccessful attempts, we managed to climb out of the tank and, taking cover in the thorny blackberries, were finally able to inspect the damage. The results of the examination were most disappointing. The inclined frontal plate, bent by the explosion, turned out to be the most insignificant of all the damages. The chassis was in the most deplorable condition. Several sections of the tracks fell apart, with small metal parts getting lost along the way; the rest were kept on their word of honor. Not only the tracks themselves were damaged, but even the road wheels. With great difficulty, we somehow tightened up the loose parts, removed the tracks, fastened the torn tracks with new pins... It was obvious that even with the most favorable outcome, these measures would give us the opportunity to walk another couple of kilometers, but nothing more could be done in such conditions it was impossible. I had to climb back into the tank.

Even more unpleasant news awaited us there. The division headquarters reported that air support was impossible, and the artillery was not able to cope with the superior enemy forces. Therefore, we were ordered to return immediately.

The general led the retreat of his units. Tank after tank, platoon after platoon, ours retreated, and the Poles showered them with ferocious fire from their guns. In some areas, progress was so difficult that for some time we forgot about the deplorable condition of our tank. Finally, when last tank got out of the suburbs that had become hell, it was time to think about myself. After consulting, we decided to retreat along the same route we came in. At first everything went calmly, but in this calmness we felt some kind of hidden danger. The ominous silence got on the nerves much more than the sounds of cannonade that had become familiar. None of us doubted that it was no accident that the Poles were hiding, that they were waiting for the right moment to end our lives. Slowly moving forward, we felt with our skin the hateful gaze of an invisible enemy directed at us... Finally we got to the place where we received the first damage. A few hundred meters away lay the highway leading to the division's location. But the path to the highway was blocked by another barricade - abandoned and silent, like the rest of the surrounding area. We carefully overcame the last obstacle, entered the highway and crossed ourselves.

And then terrible blow fell on the poorly protected stern of our tank. It was followed by another and another... Four blows in total. The worst thing happened - we came under targeted fire from an anti-tank gun. The engine roared and the tank made a desperate attempt to escape from the shelling, but in the next second we were thrown to the side by a strong explosion. The engine stalled.
The first thought was - it’s all over, the Poles will destroy us with their next shot. What to do? They jumped out of the tank and rushed to the ground. We are waiting for what will happen... A minute passes, then another... But for some reason there is no shot. What's the matter? And suddenly we look - there is a column of black smoke above the stern of the tank. The first thought is that the engine is on fire. But where does this strange whistling sound come from? We took a closer look and couldn’t believe our eyes - it turns out that a shell fired from the barricade hit smoke bombs located at the rear of our vehicle, and the breeze blew the smoke to the skies. What saved us was that a black cloud of smoke hung just above the barricade and the Poles decided that the tank was on fire.

Revived PzKpfw IV tank

*Brigade headquarters - division headquarters* - the general tried to get in touch, but the radio was silent. Our tank looked terrible - black, dented, with a mangled rear. The completely fallen caterpillar was lying nearby... No matter how hard it was, I had to face the truth - I had to abandon the car and try to get to my people on foot. We pulled out machine guns, took walkie-talkies and folders with documents and last time looked at the mutilated tank. My heart sank with pain... According to the instructions, the damaged tank was supposed to be blown up so that it would not fall to the enemy, but none of us could decide to do this... Instead, we disguised the vehicle as best we could with branches. In our hearts, everyone hoped that if circumstances were favorable, we would soon return and tow the car to our people...
To this day I remember with horror the way back... Covering each other with fire, in short dashes, we moved from house to house, from garden to garden... When we finally got to ours in the evening, we immediately collapsed and fell asleep .
However, I never managed to get enough sleep. After some time, I opened my eyes in horror and went cold, remembering that we had abandoned our tank... I could see it standing, defenseless, with an open turret, right opposite the Polish barricade... When I woke up again from sleep, then I heard the hoarse voice of the driver above me: “Are you with us?” I didn’t understand, half asleep, and asked: “Where?” “I found a repair car,” he explained briefly. I immediately jumped to my feet, and we went to rescue our tank. It would take a long time to tell how we got there, how we labored over the resuscitation of our mangled car. The main thing is that that night we still managed to put our command “four” into action (The author of the memoirs is most likely mistaken in calling his tank “four”. The fact is that the Pz. Kpfw. IV tanks began to re-equip command vehicles only since 1944. Most likely, we are talking about a command tank based on the Pz. III version D.)
When the awakened Poles tried to stop us with fire, we had already finished our work, so we quickly climbed into the tower and left. We were happy in our souls... Even though our tank was knocked out and badly damaged, we still could not abandon it to the joy of the triumphant enemy! A month-long campaign in conditions of poor Polish roads and loose, swampy soil had the most unfavorable effect on the condition of German tanks. The cars were in urgent need of repair and restoration. This circumstance, among others, influenced the postponement of the Hitler invasion to Western Europe. The Wehrmacht command was able to learn lessons from the experience of the war in Poland and made significant changes to the previously existing scheme for organizing the repair and maintenance of combat vehicles. The effectiveness of the new system for repairing and restoring Wehrmacht tanks can be judged by a newspaper article published in one of the German newspapers and reprinted in England in May 1941. The article was called “The Secret of the Combat Power of German Tanks” and contained a detailed list of measures to organize the uninterrupted operation of the repair service and restoration, which was part of each tank division.
“The secret of the success of German tanks is largely determined by the impeccably organized system of evacuation and repair of damaged tanks, which allows all necessary operations to be carried out in the most shortest time. The greater the distances that tanks have to cover during the march, the greater the importance of a flawlessly adjusted mechanism for repairing and maintaining failed vehicles.
1. Each tank battalion has at its disposal a special repair and restoration platoon for emergency assistance in case of minor damage. This platoon, being the smallest repair unit, is located in close proximity to the front line. The platoon includes engine repair mechanics, radio mechanics and other specialists. The platoon has at its disposal light trucks for transporting the necessary spare parts and tools, as well as a special armored repair and recovery vehicle, converted from a tank, for transporting these parts to the disabled tank. The platoon is commanded by an officer who, if necessary, can call for help from several such platoons and send them all together to the area where emergency assistance is required.

It should be especially emphasized that the efficiency of the repair and restoration platoon directly depends on the availability of the necessary spare parts, tools and appropriate transport. Since in combat conditions time is worth its weight in gold, the chief mechanic of a repair platoon always has at his disposal a supply of basic components, assemblies and parts. This allows him, without wasting a second, to be the first to go to the damaged tank and begin work, while the remaining supply of necessary materials is carried on the truck. If the damage sustained by the tank is so serious that it cannot be repaired on site, or repairs require for a long time, the car is sent back to the manufacturer.
2. Each tank regiment has at its disposal a repair and restoration company, which has all the necessary equipment and tools. In the mobile workshops of the repair company, experienced craftsmen charged batteries, welding work and complex engine repairs. The workshops are equipped with special cranes, milling, drilling and grinding machines, as well as special tools for plumbing, carpentry, painting and tinsmithing. Each repair and restoration company includes two repair platoons, one of which can be assigned to a specific battalion of the regiment. In practice, both platoons are constantly moving around the regiment, ensuring the continuity of the recovery work cycle. Each platoon had its own truck for transporting spare parts. In addition, the repair and restoration company necessarily included a platoon of emergency repair and recovery vehicles, which deliver failed tanks to a repair shop or collection point, where the tank repair platoon or the entire company was then sent. In addition, the company also includes a weapons repair platoon and radio repair shops.
In practice, both platoons are constantly moving around the regiment, ensuring the continuity of the cycle of restoration work. Each platoon had its own truck for transporting spare parts. In addition, the repair and restoration company necessarily included a platoon of emergency repair and recovery vehicles, which deliver failed tanks to a repair shop or collection point, where the tank repair platoon or the entire company was then sent. In addition, the company also includes a weapons repair platoon and radio repair shops.

3. If there are well-equipped repair shops behind the front line or in territory occupied by us, troops often use them to save transport and reduce the volume of railway traffic. In such cases, all necessary spare parts and equipment are ordered from Germany, and a staff of highly qualified craftsmen and mechanics is also assigned.
It can be said with all certainty that without a thoroughly thought-out and clearly functioning scheme for the work of repair units, our valiant tankers would not have been able to cover such vast distances and win such brilliant victories in a real war*.

Before the invasion of Western Europe, the Fours still constituted an absolute minority of Panzerwaffe tanks - only 278 out of 2,574 combat vehicles. The Germans were opposed by more than 3,000 Allied vehicles, most of which were French. Moreover, many French tanks at that time were significantly superior to even the “four” so beloved by Guderian, both in terms of armor protection and weapon efficiency. However, the Germans had an undeniable advantage in strategy. In my opinion, the essence of “blitzkrieg” is best expressed in a short phrase by Heinz Guderian: “Do not touch with your fingers, but punch with your fist!” Thanks to the brilliant implementation of the "blitzkrieg" strategy, Germany easily won the French campaign, in which the PzKpfw IV was very successful. It was at this time that German tanks managed to create a formidable reputation for themselves, many times exceeding the real capabilities of these weakly armed and insufficiently armored vehicles. There were especially many PzKpfw IV tanks in Rommel's Afrika Korps, but in Africa they were assigned an auxiliary role of infantry support for too long.
In February 1941, in a review of the German press, regularly published in the British press, a special selection was published dedicated to the new PzKpfw IV tanks. The articles indicate that each Wehrmacht tank battalion has at its disposal a company of ten PzKpfw IV tanks, which are used, firstly , as an assault artillery gun, and secondly, as an essential element of rapidly advancing tank columns. The first purpose of the PzKpfw IV tanks was explained simply. Since field artillery is not able to instantly provide support to armored forces in one direction or another, the PzKpfw IV took on its role with its powerful 75 mm cannon. Other advantages of using the Quartet stemmed from the fact that its 75 mm gun, with a maximum firing range of more than 8,100 m, could dictate the time and place of battle, and the speed and maneuverability of the gun made it an extremely dangerous weapon.
The articles, in particular, contain examples of how six PzKpfw IV tanks were used as an artillery formation against the advancing Allied column, and how they were also used as weapons for counter-battery warfare, and also acted from an ambush, into which British tanks were lured by several German armored vehicles. In addition, PzKpfw IVs were also used in defensive operations, an example of which is the following episode of the African campaign. On June 16, 1941, the Germans surrounded British troops in the Capuzzo area. This was preceded unsuccessful attempt the British to make their way to Tobruk and recapture the fortress besieged by Rommel’s troops. On June 15, they rounded the mountain range southeast of the Halfaya pass and advanced northward through Ridot ta Capuzzo almost to Bardia. This is how a direct participant in the events from the British side recalls it:

“Armored vehicles stretched out along a wide front. They moved in twos or threes, and if they met serious resistance, they immediately turned back. The vehicles were followed by infantry in trucks. This was the start of a full-scale attack. Tank crews fired to kill, the fire accuracy was 80-90%. They positioned their tanks so that their front and sides faced our positions. This allowed the Germans to effectively hit our guns while remaining motionless. They rarely fired while moving. In some cases, PzKpfw IV tanks suddenly opened fire from their guns, and they did not shoot at any specific target, but simply creating a wall of fire as they moved at ranges of 2000-3600 m. All this was done in order to terrify the our defenders. To be honest, they quite succeeded.”

The first clash between American and German troops in Tunisia occurred on November 26, 1942, when troops of the 190th Tank Battalion of the Afrika Korps in the Mateur area came into contact with the 2nd Battalion of the 13th Regiment of the 1st Tank Division. The Germans in this area had approximately three PzKpfw III tanks and at least six new PzKpfw IV tanks with long-barreled 75-mm KwK 40 guns. This is how this episode is described in the book “Old Ironsides”.
“While enemy forces were gathering from the north, Waters’ battalion wasted no time. Having dug deep lines of defense, camouflaged their tanks and made another necessary work, they not only managed to prepare for the meeting with the enemy, but even carved out an extra day of respite for themselves. The next day the head of a German column appeared. Siglin's company prepared to rush towards the enemy. An assault gun platoon under the command of Lieutenant Ray Wasker moved forward to intercept and destroy the enemy. Three 75-mm howitzers on the chassis of half-track armored personnel carriers, located on the edge of a dense olive grove, allowed the Germans to approach approximately 900 m and opened rapid fire. However, hitting enemy tanks was not such an easy task. The Germans quickly retreated and, almost completely hidden by clouds of sand and dust, responded with volleys of their powerful guns. The shells exploded very close to our positions, but for the time being did not cause any serious damage.

Soon Wasker received an order from the battalion commander to set fire to smoke bombs and withdraw his self-propelled guns. artillery installations to a safe distance. At this time, Siglin's company, consisting of 12 M3 General Stewart light tanks, attacked the enemy's western flank. The first platoon managed to break through closest to the enemy positions, but the Italo-German troops were not at a loss, quickly found the target and brought down the full power of their guns on it. In a matter of minutes, Company A lost six of its tanks, but despite this, it still managed to push back the enemy vehicles, turning them with their rear towards the positions of Company B. This played a decisive role in the battle. Company B brought down the fire of its guns on the most vulnerable spots of the German tanks and, without allowing the enemy to come to their senses, disabled six PzKpfw IVs and one PzKpfw III. The remaining tanks retreated in disarray (In order for the reader to feel the severity of the situation in which the Americans found themselves, it makes sense for comparison to cite the main performance characteristics of the M 3 Stuart light tank: combat weight - 12.4 tons; crew - 4 people; reservation - from 10 to 45 mm; armament - 1 x 37-mm tank gun; 5 x 7.62-mm machine guns; Continental W 670-9A engine, 7-cylinder, 250 HP; ; power reserve (on the highway) - 113 km.).
To be fair, it should be noted that the Americans did not always emerge victorious from fights with German tank forces. Much more often, circumstances turned out exactly the opposite, and the Americans had to suffer serious losses in military equipment and people. However, in this case they actually won a convincing victory.

Despite the fact that on the eve of the invasion of Russia, Germany significantly increased the production of PzKpfw IV tanks, they still accounted for no more than one sixth of all Wehrmacht combat vehicles (439 out of 3332). True, by that time the number of obsolete light tanks PzKpfw I and PzKpfw II had decreased significantly (thanks to the actions of the Red Army), and the majority of the Panzerwaffe began to be made up of Czech LT-38 (PzKpfw 38 (1) and German “troikas”. With such forces, the Germans began to implement plan "Barbarossa". Some superiority of the Soviet Union in military equipment did not confuse the strategists from the OKW; they had no doubt that German vehicles would quickly cope with this gigantic fleet of outdated Russian tanks. At first it turned out that way, but the appearance of a new one on the theater of operations. The Soviet medium tank T-34 and the heavy KV-1 radically changed the situation. Before the creation of the Panthers and Tigers, not a single German tank could compete with these magnificent tanks. At close ranges, they literally shot down weakly armored German vehicles. changed somewhat with the appearance in 1942 of a new “four”, armed with a long-barreled 75-mm KwK 40 cannon. Now I want to introduce you to an excerpt from the memoirs of a former tankman of the 24th Tank Regiment,” which describes the duel of the new “four” with a Soviet tank in the summer of 1942 near Voronezh.
“There were bloody street battles for Voronezh. Even by the evening of the second day, the valiant defenders of the city did not lay down their arms. Unexpectedly, Soviet tanks, which were the main force of defense, attempted to break through the ring of troops closed around the city. A fierce tank battle ensued." The author then quotes in detail
Sergeant Freyer's report: “On July 7, 1942, on my PzKpfw IV, armed with a long-barreled cannon, I took a position at a strategically important crossroads in Voronezh. Well disguised, we hid in a dense garden near one of the houses. A wooden fence hid our tank from the street. We received orders to support the advance of our light combat vehicles with fire, protecting them from enemy tanks and anti-tank guns. At first everything was relatively calm, except for a few clashes with scattered groups of Russians, but nevertheless the battle in the city kept us in constant suspense.

It was a hot day, but after sunset it seemed to get even hotter. At about eight o'clock in the evening a Russian T-34 medium tank appeared to our left, clearly intending to cross the intersection we were guarding. Since the T-34 was followed by at least 30 other tanks, we could not allow such a maneuver. I had to open fire. At first, luck was on our side; with the first shots we managed to knock out three Russian tanks. But then our gunner, non-commissioned officer Fischer, radioed: “The gun is jammed!” Here it is necessary to explain that our front sight was completely new, and there were often problems with it, namely that after firing every second or third shell, the empty cartridge case got stuck in the breech. At this time, another Russian tank was fiercely pouring fire on the entire space around itself. Our loader, Corporal Groll, was seriously wounded in the head. We pulled him out of the tank and laid him on the ground, and the radio operator took the vacated loader’s place. The gunner extracted the spent cartridge case and resumed firing... Several more times, NCO Schmidt and I had to feverishly pick at the barrel with an artillery banner under enemy fire in order to pull out the stuck cartridges. The fire from Russian tanks smashed the wooden fence to pieces, but our tank still did not receive a single damage.

In total, we knocked out 11 enemy vehicles, and the Russians managed to break through only once, at the moment when our gun jammed again. Almost 20 minutes passed from the start of the battle before the enemy was able to open targeted fire on us from their guns. In the falling twilight, shell explosions and roaring flames gave the landscape some kind of eerie supernatural look... Apparently, it was through this flame that our people found us. They helped us get to the location of the regiment, stationed on the southern outskirts of Voronezh. I remember that, despite being tired, I could not sleep because of the sweltering heat and stuffiness... The next day, Colonel Rigel noted our merits in the order for the regiment:
"The Fuhrer and the Supreme High Command award Sergeant Freyer of the 4th platoon with the Knight's Cross. In the battle of Voronezh, Sergeant Freyer, commander of the PzKpfw IV tank, destroyed 9 medium Russian T-34 tanks and two light T-60 tanks. This happened at the moment when A column of 30 Russian tanks tried to break through to the city center. Despite the overwhelming majority of the enemy, Sergeant Freyer remained faithful to his military duty and did not leave his post. He allowed the enemy to approach and opened fire on him from his tank. As a result, the Russian tank column was scattered. partially destroyed. Meanwhile, our infantry, after heavy bloody battles, managed to occupy the city.
In front of the entire regiment, I want to be the first to congratulate Sergeant Freyer on his high award. The entire 24th Tank Regiment is proud of our Knight's Cross and wishes him continued success in future battles. I would also like to take this opportunity to express special gratitude to the other members of the brave tank crew:
To gunner non-commissioned officer Fischer
Driver-mechanic non-commissioned officer Schmidt
Loading Corporal Groll
Radio operator Corporal Muller

and convey your admiration for their actions on July 7, 1942. Your feat will go down in the golden chronicle of the glory of our valiant regiment.”

According to the provisions of the Treaty of Versailles, Germany was prohibited from building tanks and creating armored forces. However, the Germans did not at all strive to thoroughly implement the points of the agreement, which they considered humiliating for themselves. Therefore, long before the Nazis came to power, the German military began to actively develop a doctrine for the use of tank units in modern warfare. It was more difficult to implement theoretical developments in practice, but the Germans succeeded in this too: it is widely known that during exercises and maneuvers, mock-ups built on cars or even bicycles were used as tanks. And the tanks themselves were developed under the guise of agricultural tractors and tested abroad.

After power passed to the Nazis, Germany refused to comply with the terms of the Treaty of Versailles. By this time, the country’s armored doctrine had already taken shape quite clearly, and it was, figuratively speaking, a matter of translating the Panzerwaffe into metal.

The first German production tanks: Pz.Kpfw I and Pz.Kpfw II were vehicles that even the Germans themselves perceived as more of a transition to “real” tanks. The Pz.Kpfw I was generally considered a training vehicle, even though it took part in hostilities in Spain, Poland, France, North Africa and the USSR.

In 1936, the first copies of the Pz.Kpfw medium tank entered service with the troops. III, armed with a 37-mm anti-tank gun and protected in the frontal and side projections by 15 mm thick armor. This combat vehicle was already a fully-fledged tank that met the requirements of the time. At the same time, due to the small caliber of the gun, it could not fight against fortified enemy firing points and engineering structures.

In 1934, the army issued a task to industry to develop a fire support tank, which was to be armed with a 75-mm cannon containing high-explosive shells. This tank was originally developed as a battalion commander's vehicle, which is where its first designation came from - BW (Batallionführerwagen). Work on the tank was carried out by three competing companies: Rheinmetall-Borsig, MAN and Krupp AG. The Krupp project VK 20.01 was recognized as the best, but it was not allowed into mass production due to the fact that the design of the tank used a chassis with spring suspension. The military demanded the use of a torsion bar suspension, which provided smoother movement and better maneuverability of the combat vehicle. Krupp engineers managed to reach a compromise with the Armament Directorate, proposing to use a version of the spring suspension with eight dual road wheels, almost completely borrowed from the experimental multi-turreted Nb.Fz tank.

An order for the production of a new tank, designated Vs.Kfz. 618, received by Krupp in 1935. In April 1936, the vehicle was renamed Pz.Kpfw IV. The first samples of the “zero” series were produced at Krupp factories in Essen, and in the fall of 1937 production was moved to Magdeburg, where production of the Ausf modification began. A.

Pz.Kpfw. IV was a classically designed vehicle with an engine compartment at the rear of the hull. The transmission was located in front, between the driver’s and radio operator’s workstations. Due to the design of the rotating mechanism, the tank's turret was shifted slightly to the left relative to the longitudinal axis. The chassis on each side consisted of four sprung bogies with four rollers on each of them. The drive wheel was at the front. Note that throughout the entire history of the Pz.Kpfw IV, no significant changes were made to the design of the chassis.

The first modification of the vehicle, Pz.Kpfw. IV Ausf.A, was equipped with a Maybach HL108TR carburetor engine with a power of 250 hp. s., located closer to the right side of the body.

The hull armor of modification “A” was 20 mm in the frontal projection and 15 mm in the side and rear projections. The thickness of the turret armor was 30 mm at the front, 20 mm at the side and 10 mm at the rear. The commander's cupola of a characteristic cylindrical shape was located in the rear of the tower in the middle. For observation, it was equipped with six viewing slits covered with armored glass.

Pz.Kpfw. IV Ausf.A was armed with a 75-mm short-barreled KwK 37 L|24 cannon and two MG34 machine guns of 7.92 mm caliber: coaxial with the cannon and a course gun, located in a ball mount in the frontal armor plate of the hull. The armor plate itself had a broken shape. The presence of this machine gun, along with the cylindrical commander's cupola, is a distinctive feature of the first modification of the Pz.Kpfw. IV. In total, until June 1938, 35 A-series vehicles were produced.

Pz.Kpfw. IV was destined to become the main vehicle of the German armored forces. Its last modification was produced from June 1944 to March 1945. The scope of the article does not allow us to dwell in detail on each change in the design of this tank, so we will briefly consider the main modernizations and improvements that were carried out by German engineers over the course of long journey"fours".

In May 1938, production of the Pz.Kpfw version began. IV Ausf.B. Its main difference from the previous version was the use of a direct armor plate in the frontal part of the hull and the elimination of the forward machine gun. Instead, an additional viewing slot for the radio operator and an embrasure through which he could fire from personal weapons appeared in the body. The viewing slots of the commander's cupola received armored shutters. Instead of a 5-speed gearbox, a 6-speed one was used. The engine has also changed: now on the Pz.Kpfw. IV began installing a Maybach HL120TR engine with a power of 300 hp. With. The hull armor was strengthened, and now the “four” was protected by 30 millimeters of steel in the frontal projection of the hull and turret. The frontal armor of the turret was somewhat thinner, its thickness was 25 mm. By October 1938, 42 vehicles of this modification had been built.

Pz.Kpfw series. IV Ausf.C received a new Maybach HL120TRM engine. This engine, like the previous one, had a power of 300 hp. With. and was installed on all subsequent modifications of the Pz IV. Modification “C” was produced from April 1938 to August 1939. Following it, the “D” series entered the production lines, on which they again began to use a broken-shaped frontal armor plate with a frontal machine gun. Since 1940, the Ausf.D's frontal armor has been reinforced with an additional 30 mm plate. In 1941, some vehicles of this series were equipped with a 50 mm cannon. Pz.Kpfw. IV Ausf.D was also built in a tropical modification.

In the E series tanks, produced from April 1940 to April 1941, the designers continued to increase the armor. The 30-mm frontal armor of the hull was additionally reinforced with a plate of the same thickness. The course machine gun was now mounted in a ball mount. The shape of the tower also underwent minor changes.

The latest modification of the “four” with a short-barreled 75-mm cannon was the “F” version. Now the frontal armor of the vehicle reached 50 mm on the hull and 30 mm on the turret. Since 1942, tanks of the Ausf.F series began to be equipped with a long-barreled KwK 40 L/43 cannon of 75 mm caliber. In this version the vehicle received the designation Pz.Kpfw. IV Ausf.F2.

In March 1942, production of the Pz.Kpfw modification began. IV Ausf.G. It did not differ much from the previous version of the tank. Later vehicles in this series used wider “eastern” tracks, additional frontal armor and side screens. About 400 of the last "fours" of the "G" series were armed with a 75 mm KwK 40 L/43 cannon, and from February 1943 they began to be equipped with a 75 mm KwK 40 L/48 cannon. Based on Pz.Kpfw. IV Ausf.G prototype of the Hummel self-propelled gun was developed.

In June 1942, work began on the Pz.Kpfw. IV Ausf.H. The frontal armor of this tank reached 80 mm. Armored screens 5 mm thick were installed on the sides. The commander's cupola housed an anti-aircraft turret for a 7.92 mm machine gun. The tank was coated with zimmerit, a material that made it difficult to attach magnetic mines to the hull. As the main weapon on the Pz.Kpfw. IV Ausf.H used a 75 mm KwK 40 L/48 gun.

In February 1944, production began of the latest modification of the “four” - Pz.Kpfw. IV Ausf.J. This tank did not have a turret rotation motor, and the turning mechanism was operated manually. The design of the support and support rollers has been simplified. Due to the installation of screens, the side viewing slots were removed, rendering them useless. Cars of different series had minor differences in internal equipment.

In general, researchers deservedly consider the Pz.Kpfw. IV was the most versatile German tank of World War II. The designers included in it a modernization potential sufficient for the tank to remain a full-fledged combat unit throughout the entire period of its existence. This is evidenced, among other things, by the fact that this tank was in service with a number of countries until the 60s of the 20th century.

The German army entered World War II with a rather strange situation in the tank weapons system. The Pz.Kpfw.III medium tank, which was created as the main tank, actually turned out to be the smallest in the Wehrmacht at that time. As for the other medium tank, the Pz.Kpfw.IV, it was designed as a support vehicle, but at the same time there were almost four times more such vehicles in the army than the Pz.Kpfw.III. German industry was able to equalize the number of tanks of these two types in the army only at the very end of 1939. By this time, a new version of the support tank, the Pz.Kpfw.IV Ausf.D, had already entered production, and in a sense it was a return to the original concept.

Return of the machine gun

The spring of 1938 turned out to be decisive for the future fate of the PzIV. The fact is that the 6th Department of the Armament Directorate is seriously thinking about removing the brainchild of the Krupp concern from the production program. Instead of the Pz.Kpfw.IV, it was planned to create a support tank based on the Pz.Kpfw.III, thus unifying both medium tanks in their main components and assemblies.

On the one hand, the idea was sound. However, it should be taken into account that the PzIII was not going through the best of times at that time. But the production of the Pz.Kpfw.IV was not without problems, but it still went on, and Krupp designers got into the weight category specified by the customers the first time.

Thus, when Erich Wolfert, Krupp's leading engineer, sharply criticized the idea of ​​combining two tanks on one platform on May 2, 1938, victory was on his side. The 6th Department of the Armament Directorate was forced to give in, because Wolfert had not only an industrial giant behind him, but also common sense.

The lesson, however, did not work out well, and the 6th Department of the Armament Directorate continued to struggle with the idea of ​​a single chassis for two types of tanks throughout the war. This impulse, one of the initiators of which was Heinrich Ernst Kniepkamp, ​​with enviable consistency turned into a rake race, and each time the proper conclusions were not drawn from what had happened earlier.

Pz.Kpfw.IV Ausf.D in its original configuration. In metal the car looked a little different

Meanwhile, the requirements for a support tank continued to grow. At the beginning of January 1938, discussions began on the characteristics of the fourth modification of the tank, designated 4.Serie/B.W.

One of the first items on the agenda was the return of the machine gun to its place. Someone at the top finally realized that you couldn't even shoot much from the pistol port, let alone hit anything. It was decided to use the Kugelblende 30 installation, developed for the Z.W.38 (future Pz.Kpfw.III Ausf.E). It had much better protection than the PzIV Ausf.A ball mount. In connection with the return of the course machine gun, the front plate of the turret box again received a characteristic step.

A diagram clearly demonstrating the internal structure of the tank

On March 10, 1938, a meeting was held in Berlin, where employees of the Krupp concern and the 6th Department of the Armament Directorate discussed the possibility of strengthening the armor of the tank. The thickness of the side armor of the hull, turret box and turret, amounting to 14.5 mm, was considered insufficient. It was necessary to increase it to 20 mm so that at long distances the tank would not be hit by fire from 20 mm automatic cannons. In addition, the military asked to increase the thickness of the bottom from 8 to 10 mm.

The response to the new demands came on April 12. According to engineers' calculations, increasing the thickness of the armor increased the tank's combat weight by 1256 kg, to almost 20 tons. This led to changes in individual elements of the body. The hatches in the area of ​​the support rollers received a different shape, and the air intakes of the engine compartment were changed. At the end of April, tracks with larger teeth were developed, and the number of suspension travel limiters was increased to five per side (one each for the three front bogies and two for the rear).

Serial Pz.Kpfw.IV Ausf.D, spring 1940

Certain changes were also made to the design of the tower. First of all, the armor of the gun system was redesigned. The fact is that the previously used design turned out to be very vulnerable to enemy fire. A bullet or shell fragment falling into the gap between the armor elements could easily jam the gun in a vertical plane. At the end of May 1938, development of a new protection for the gun began. The new system armor was located on the outside of the tower and did its job much better. The thickness of the armor was increased to 35 mm.

In addition, the viewing devices on the side hatches and sides of the turret were replaced.

Hanging up a large number of spare tracks was a very common occurrence.

When, on July 4, 1938, a contract was finally signed with the Krupp concern for the production of tanks of the 4.Serie/B.W. modification, the vehicle was quite transformed. According to the contract, the Grusonwerk factories, one of the Krupp divisions, were to produce 200 tanks of this series. In October the contract was extended. The SS troops ordered 48 tanks, which were designated 5.Serie/B.W.. In fact, they were no different from 4.Serie/B.W. By the way, in the end these vehicles never made it to the SS unit, since it was decided to order assault rifles instead. Self-propelled gun StuG III.

Tanks of the 4th and 5th series were designated Pz.Kpfw.IV Ausf.D. The vehicles were assigned serial numbers in the range 80501–80748.

Based on the experience of the first two campaigns

Serial production of the Pz.Kpfw.IV Ausf.D began in October 1939. Unlike the Pz.Kpfw.III, the production of which was forced by manufacturers, there were no special breakthroughs in the production of support tanks. By the end of 1939, 45 tanks had been assembled; subsequently, volumes averaged 20–25 vehicles per month. In total, by May 1, 1940, 129 vehicles of this modification were manufactured.

Torn turrets were a fairly common occurrence for PzIV Ausf.D. France, May 1940

Meanwhile, back in March 1939, it was decided that in the future the Wehrmacht would continue to order these tanks, and the 6th series (6.Serie/B.W.) vehicles would henceforth be designated as Pz.Kpfw.IV Ausf.E. A new contract for the production of 223 tanks of this type was signed in July 1939. In general, this tank was supposed to repeat its predecessor, but already in May some changes began to appear.

To begin with, it was decided to change the driver's viewing device, which had not changed from the Pz.Kpfw.IV Ausf.B, to the Fahrersehklappe 30. This device was distinguished by the fact that instead of massive parts going up and down, it used a thick “eyelash” 30 mm. It covered the viewing slot covered with glass block much more reliably, and its design turned out to be much simpler.

The rather large ventilation hatch from the roof of the tower also disappeared, and a fan appeared in its place. The hatch for signal flags was moved to the place of the periscope device. The shape of the commander's cupola has also changed.

Pz.Kpfw.IV Ausf.D produced in April 1940, having shielding of the turret box, and at the same time - additional armor of the front hull plate

The fact that the Ausf.E in its planned form will definitely not go into production, and that the Ausf.D will face certain changes, became clear after the Polish campaign of September 1939. The point is that Polish troops Armata przeciwpancerna 37 mm wz. 37-mm anti-tank guns were widely used against German tanks. 36 Bofors. Even though the Polish shells were not of the best quality, they confidently penetrated German vehicles in all projections. Strengthening the frontal part to 30 mm didn’t really help here either.

In the fall of 1939, research began to be carried out to identify the possibility of additionally loading the Pz.Kpfw.IV with another one and a half tons of armor and increasing its combat weight to 21.4 tons. Tests have shown that the tank can easily tolerate such an increase in mass.

On December 18, 1939, the 6th Department of the Armament Directorate adjusted the assignment for 4.Serie/B.W. and 5.Serie/B.W. The last 68 tanks were to receive hulls with frontal plates reinforced to 50 mm. But by the start of the campaign in France, which began on May 10, 1940, the PzIV Ausf.D was still in production with a 30 mm thick front plate.

Pz.Kpfw.IV Ausf.E from the 20th Panzer Division, summer 1941

The very first battles showed that such slowness was extremely reckless. Of course, the 37 mm short-barreled guns that were installed on a number of French tanks, including the FCM 36 and Renault R 35, could not penetrate 30 mm thick frontal armor. But they were not at all the main opponents of German tanks. The French were doing well with anti-tank artillery, and for it, armor 30 mm thick was by no means something prohibitive. Even worse for the Germans was that a number of French tanks had 47 mm guns as their main armament.

PzIV losses in France were even higher than in September 1939 in Poland. Of the 279 Pz.Kpfw.IVs available in units on May 10, 1939, 97, that is, more than a third, were irretrievably lost. The battles of May-June 1940 also showed that the 75-mm short-barreled gun was almost powerless against tanks with shell-proof armor.

It became clear that the problem had to be solved, and solved quickly. Back on May 15, the Krupp concern reported that shielding for the hull and turret box had been manufactured and tested. The forehead of the turret box received additional sheets 30 mm thick, due to which their total thickness increased to 60 mm. The sides were reinforced with 20 mm thick screens. Later, in addition to these screens, reinforcement was made for the frontal sheet of the hull, and corners were added at the top and bottom for additional reinforcement.

However, until the end of the French campaign, the troops did not receive a single set of shielding. Deliveries began only on June 25, when they were, in general, not really needed. Since July 1940, tanks began to be equipped with screens as standard. At the same time, the thickness of the frontal plate of the hull, turret and gun mantlet armor increased to 50 mm.

As you can see, not all Pz.Kpfw.IV Ausf.E received screens

Another serious metamorphosis with the PzIV Ausf.D occurred in August 1940. According to the decision made on June 3 of the same year, the last 68 tanks 4.Serie/B.W. and 5.Serie/B.W. were manufactured with turrets and turret boxes 6.Serie/B.W. The last such vehicles were delivered to the troops in October 1940, after which tanks of the Pz.Kpfw.IV Ausf.E modification went into production.

Cars in this series received serial numbers 80801–81006. They can be distinguished from the last 68 Pz.Kpfw.IV Ausf.Ds only if the serial number of the vehicle is known. Additional confusion into what is happening is brought by the fact that not all Pz.Kpfw.IV Ausf.E, not to mention the Ausf.D, received screens on the frontal part of the turret box.

Pz.Kpfw.IV Ausf.D with additional Vorpanzer armor, 1942

At the beginning of 1941, some tank units tried to do shielding themselves, but an order came from above to stop this activity. However, another modification was born, also known as the Vorpanzer. It differed in that quite massive screens were attached to the front of the tower. They were installed on tanks of modifications Ausf.D, E and F. Apparently, Vorpanzers were used exclusively by the Greater Germany (Großdeutschland) tank division. It is believed that the division used them only for exercises, but there are also front-line photographs that refute such claims.

For crossings and other purposes

Orders for Pz.Kpfw.IV tanks of the 4th, 5th and 6th series were not fulfilled in full. Some of total number ordered Pz.Kpfw.IV Ausf.D went to other purposes. 16 chassis produced in March-April 1940 were used for the production of bridge tanks Brückenleger IV b. These vehicles were included in the engineering battalions assigned to tank divisions. They were used by units that fought during the May-June 1940 campaign in France.

Brückenleger IV b, a series of 16 such vehicles were produced in the spring of 1940

Meanwhile, in the summer of 1940, Krupp produced 16 sets of turret boxes and towers. Later, three bridge tanks with numbers 80685, 80686 and 80687 were converted into regular PzIV Ausf.D. According to a report from May 1941, of the 29 PzIVs produced, 13 were 4.Serie/B.W. Thus, 247 vehicles of the Ausf.D modification still went to the troops as regular tanks. The last, 248th car with serial number 80625 was used as a test chassis.

Brückenleger IV c from the 39th Tank Engineer Battalion, 1941

The situation was slightly different with the PzIV Ausf.E. Instead of the 223 tanks that were originally planned to be built, 206 vehicles were produced in one form or another, of which 200 were as regular tanks. In January 1941, 4 chassis 6.Serie/B.W. was sent to Magirus, where they were used to build the Brückenleger IV c. Like the vehicles of the previous series, they went to the 39th Tank Engineering Battalion, attached to the 3rd Tank Division. In this form they took part in battles on the Eastern Front in the summer of 1941.

This is what Pz.Kpfw.IV Ausf.E 81005 and 81006 looked like with a new chassis

The fate of the last two tanks of the 6th series, numbers 81005 and 81006, turned out to be even more interesting. On December 14, 1940, the 6th Department of the Armament Directorate gave the green light to the Krupp concern to develop a new chassis. Its main difference was that the diameter of the road wheels increased to 700 mm, and in order for them all to fit, they had to be placed in a checkerboard pattern. The width of the tracks increased to 422 mm. During 1941–42, these vehicles were actively tested, and then tank 81005 ended up in training center Wünsdorf. Also, at least one tank was converted into an ammunition carrier for the heavy self-propelled mortar Gerät 040 (“Karl”).

Tauchpanzer IV from the 18th Panzer Division

Finally, some of the production tanks were converted into very specific special vehicles. In August-July 1940, 48 Pz.Kpfw.IV Ausf.D were converted into Tauchpanzer IV, a tank for crossing rivers along the bottom. Mounts for special sealed covers were installed on the tank, and covers were also placed on the air intakes. In addition, a special hose with a float was used, through which air was supplied to the machine. A number of Pz.Kpfw.IV Ausf.Es produced in January-March 1940 were similarly converted. Similar vehicles were used in June 1941 as part of the 18th Panzer Division.

Blitzkrieg support vehicle

In April 1941, production began of the 7.Serie/B.W., also known as the Pz.Kpfw.IV Ausf.F. This tank was created taking into account the experience of the campaigns of the first two years of the war. But the main support tank German army it became available only in the fall of 1941. Of the 441 PzIVs that had concentrated on the border with the USSR by June 22, 1941, they were a minority. The basis was the Pz.Kpfw.IV Ausf.D and Ausf.E.

By that time, the tanks of these modifications had changed somewhat. On February 14, 1941, the first German tanks arrived in Tripoli, and on the 16th the Afrika Korps was formed. In this regard, at the beginning of February, a “tropical” set for the ventilation system was developed.

Since March, tanks have been equipped with a turret box for personal belongings. Because it was originally developed for the Afrika Korps, it was nicknamed the "Rommel Box". It was not installed on all tanks. On many tanks, boxes on the turrets were not installed at all, and instead, an analogue was placed on the side of the hull. And in some units they developed their own “Rommel Box”, which differed in shape from the standard one.

And this was just the beginning of all sorts of alterations that were introduced at the level of tank divisions, and sometimes even at the battalion level. The “body kit” itself, which the Pz.Kpfw.IV received only in 1941, is a topic for a separate large article.

The PzIVs that arrived in Africa found themselves, figuratively speaking, in hothouse conditions. In February 1941, 20 tanks were sent there, 3 of which were lost on the way; another 20 arrived in April. The only truly dangerous enemy for them was the Matildas, which was primarily due to the thick armor of these British tanks. The 2-pounder (40 mm) guns mounted on British vehicles could only penetrate the shielded forehead of a PzIV at point-blank range, and such cases were rare.

Result of the meeting between PzIV and KV-2, summer 1941

Quite different conditions turned out to be on the Eastern Front. During the battles at the end of June 1941, only 15 Pz.Kpfw.IV were irretrievably lost. This is largely due to the fact that their opponents were T-26 and BT, which competed in a completely different weight category. The atmosphere of complete confusion in the first weeks of the Great Patriotic War also contributed. However, already in July, 109 tanks, that is, a quarter of the original number, were scrapped. In August, another 68 vehicles were added to them. In total, in 1941, the Germans lost 348 Pz.Kpfw.IV on the Eastern Front, that is, more than 3/4 of their original number.

The German tank crews could quite rightly blame the 6th Department of the Armament Directorate for such significant losses, which approached the issue of strengthening the armor very frivolously. In fact, the shielding installed on the tanks corresponded to the experience of the September 1939 campaign. At the same time, attention was paid to the fact that the French already had 47-mm tank and anti-tank guns. And this was done completely in vain: even the 47-mm SA 35 tank gun with a 32-caliber barrel, as tests in the USSR showed, easily penetrated the 50 mm armor of German tanks at a distance of 400 meters.

The characteristics of the 47-mm Canon de 47 Mle.1937 anti-tank gun, which had a barrel length of 50 calibers, looked even more depressing for the Germans. At a distance of a kilometer, it penetrated armor 57 mm thick. The Germans could quite reasonably assume that the French were not the only ones who had more powerful anti-tank artillery and tank guns than the Poles.

Captured Pz.Kpfw.IV Ausf.E from the 20th Tank Division, NIIBT Test Site, August 1941

Ultimately, the Wehrmacht had to pay for the miscalculations of the military leadership in assessing the enemy’s weapons with tanks and their crews. While the main opponents of the Pz.Kpfw.IV were the T-26 and BT, everything turned out relatively well for the German tankers. Later, more and more often they had to deal with T-34 and KV-1, armed with 76-mm cannons. In addition, some of the tanks turned out to have only partially thickened armor, which significantly reduced the chances of surviving even under fire from 45-mm tank and anti-tank guns.

They also made a certain contribution heavy tanks KV-2. The hit of his 152-mm shell on a German tank turned it into a pile of scrap metal. However, penetration by other shells did not bring anything good. Cases of ammunition explosions were quite common for Pz.Kpfw.IV. It is worth noting that German tanks were almost powerless against the T-34 and KV-1. Standard armor-piercing shells had almost no effect against new Soviet tanks, and the 7.5 cm Gr.Patr.38 Kw.K cumulative shells, developed and in service back in April 1941. Hitler allowed its use only in February 1942.

The same car in front. Impacts and a broken screen are visible in the area of ​​the driver's viewing device

Already in August 1941, the captured Pz.Kpfw.IV Ausf.E from the 20th Tank Division was delivered to the training ground of the Scientific Research Testing Institute of Armored Vehicles (NIIBT Polygon) in Kubinka. The car was quite badly damaged: there were several hits in the frontal part of the hull, and the shielding in the area of ​​the driver's viewing device was partially knocked down. The Polygon staff compiled brief description, according to which the combat weight of the tank, designated as “Medium tank T-IV produced in 1939–40,” was estimated at 24 tons, and the maximum speed at 50 km/h. After preliminary calculations, the following conclusions were made:

.“The armor protection of the T-IV tank is hit by artillery of all calibers.

The tank turret, inspection hatches, and the ball mount of the radio operator’s machine gun are hit by large-caliber small arms.”

Captured Pz.Kpfw.IVs have become quite common since the end of 1941. However, the Polygon was not involved in bringing the tank captured in the summer of 1941 back into working condition or trying to get the NIIBT running trophy.

This is largely due to the fact that the Soviet military did not show much interest in the tank. It seems that they considered it as an addition to the PzIII, despite the fact that the combat weight and engine of the two medium tanks were similar. For approximately the same reasons, the StuG III Ausf.B was not restored to running condition. Studying the performance characteristics of captured Pz.Kpfw.III and Pz.Kpfw.38(t) was considered a more important task, and wasting time on secondary vehicles was considered a pointless exercise.

Unlike the StuG III, the frontal armor of the captured Pz.Kpfw.IV Ausf.E 45-mm projectile was quite tough

In September 1942, tests took place, during which fire from various weapons was fired at the captured tank. First of all, he was fired upon from DShK machine gun. It turned out that the side of the DShK turret cannot be penetrated even from a distance of 50 meters, but at a distance of 100 meters it was possible to penetrate the side and stern of the hull.

Much more interesting were the tests fired from a 45-mm cannon installed in the T-70 tank. At a distance of 50 meters, the frontal hull sheet, 50 mm thick, was pierced. It is worth noting that the same gun did not penetrate the captured StuG III self-propelled gun. The 40 mm thick sides (20+20 mm) were penetrated at a distance of 400 meters.

The final verdict on the German tank was shelling from the 76-mm F-34 cannon installed in the T-34 medium tank. The frontal plate was pierced at a distance of 500 meters (the entrance diameter of the through hole was 90 mm, the exit diameter was 100 mm). The next shot, fired from a distance of 800 meters, split the sheet into two parts. When fired from a distance of 800 meters into the side of the hull, the shell penetrated 40 mm armor on the right side, exploded inside and came out on the left side. When firing a high-explosive shell into the side, the first hit tore off the side turret hatch, the second shell tore off the commander's cupola, and the hit on the side of the engine compartment (20 mm thick) led to the appearance of a hole measuring 130x350 mm. It was decided not to fire from long distances - and so everything was clear.

In addition to the shelling, NII-48 specialists studied the design of the hull and turret.

One of the Pz.Kpfw.IV Ausf.Ds, rearmed with a 7.5 cm KwK 40 cannon and equipped with side screens

In July 1942, the few Ausf.D and Ausf.E tanks remaining in service were modernized. Instead of a standard gun, they were equipped with a long-barreled 7.5 cm KwK 40 gun. In addition, from May 1943, side screens began to be installed on the hull and turret. By that time, these vehicles had been withdrawn from the first line and transferred to training units, including NSKK (National Socialist Mechanized Corps) institutions.

Such tanks were also available in tank units stationed in France. One of them (Pz.Kpfw.IV Ausf.D, serial number 80732, released in July 1940) was captured by the British in the summer of 1944. It is now on display at the Bovington Tank Museum.