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Ausf D
The first full production model of the Panther was the Ausf D. A number of improvements had been suggested from trials with the pre-production models and these were incorporated in vehicles from January 1943. The glacis plate thickness was increased from 60mm to 80mm. This increased the overall weight of the vehicle so a more powerful Maybach HL 230 P30 engine was installed, along with an improved ZF AK 7-200 seven-speed syncromesh gearbox. The cupola was moved so that the bulge in the turret side could be eliminated, a double-baffle muzzle brake was fitted to the main armament, and solid six-spoke sprockets were fitted as standard.
Mid-production Ausf Ds showed a number of detail changes. The main change was the replacement of the smoke grenade dischargers on the turret sides by a Nahverteidigungswaffe installed in the turret roof. Also, some Ausf Ds could be seen fitted with a machine-gun rail, for anti-aircraft defence, around the top of the ‘dustbin’ cupola. From May 1943 5mm Schürzen armour plates were fitted to the hull sides, and Zimmerit anti-magnetic mine paste was applied to the hull and turret sides from September 1943 to September 1944.
Ausf Ds were originally fitted with roadwheels with sixteen bolts around their rim. These were found to fail with excessive use, and during production were replaced with ones drilled for twenty-four bolts. However, some vehicles were fitted with roadwheels with thirty-two rim bolts. This was a temporary solution, these roadwheels being made from sixteen-bolt roadwheels by drilling extra holes between the original ones. The different types of roadwheel were sometimes seen fitted to the same vehicle.
Late production Ausf Ds incorporated a number of improvements. They were fitted with a new cupola that had seven episcopes, and a machine-gun rail as standard. It offered better protection and visibility and was refitted to some earlier vehicles. The hatch in the left turret wall was removed, though the pistol ports were retained. Also, while earlier vehicles were fitted with a headlamp on each front mud flap, these vehicles had just one, on the left hand side.
The few Ausf As built had been classed with the Ausf D for record purposes by the Germans. Early in 1943 the early models of the Panther were redesignated to distinguish between them again. The original Ausf A became the Ausf D1, while the Ausf D proper became the Ausf D2. This system, at least, reduces confusion with the later Ausf A model.
Ausf A
The model that followed the Ausf D should logically have been the Ausf E, but was actually designated the Ausf A. The reason for this has never been explained but was probably due to an administrative or clerical error.
The Ausf A differed from the late production Ausf D mainly in having an armoured ball-mount for the machine-gun in the front glacis plate. This was for the radio operator, in place of the original armoured ‘vertical letterbox’ flap. Since the new mount incorporated a telescopic sight the forward facing operator’s periscope was no longer required and was deleted.
A number of other detail changes were made. The binocular sight for the gunner was replaced by a monocular one so there was now only one aperture in the left side of the mantlet. The pistol ports in the turret sides were deleted.
Early Ausf As had twin exhaust pipes leading out of the exhaust outlets on the hull back plate and had the wheel jack stored horizontally beneath them, in the same manner as the Ausf D. Later ones had the jack stored vertically between the exhaust outlets. This allowed quicker access to the starter dog clutch for manual starting of the engine. Later vehicles again had two extra, smaller, exhaust pipes leading out of the left hand exhaust outlet. This was an attempt to cure overheating problems with the engine installation. The outer two pipes drew in cold air over the exhaust pipe and kept the heat away from the oil cooler and petrol pumps.
| Model Id: | 240 | | Manufacture: | Maschinenfabrik Augsburg-Nürnberg (MAN) AG, Nürnberg, Bavaria, Middle Franconia, Germany (Primary manufacturer)
Daimler-Benz AG, Marienfelde, Berlin, Germany (Additional manufacturer)
Maschinenfabrik Niedersachsen-Hannover (MNH) GmbH, Linden, Hannover, Lower Saxony, Germany (Additional manufacturer)
Deutsche Maschinenfabrik AG (Demag), Staaken, Berlin, Germany (Minor manufacturer)
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1) War & Peace Collection, Ash, Britain
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Unique ID: |
33
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The War and Peace Collection was previously known as the Tired Iron Collection.
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2) Royal Tank Museum, Aqaba, Jordan
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36
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“201” painted on turret sides. Painted overall in a German ‘ambush’ style green, sand and brown camouflage scheme.
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This tank was previously part of the Saumur Tank Museum collection, and was missing its engine. It was exchanged in 2010 with an EBR armoured car for a Challenger 1 tank and a Saladin armoured car. It was transported via the air base at Evreux in December 2010. (Source: L’Express, Marianne2).
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3) Musée Août 1944, Falaise, France
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Unique ID: |
39
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Additional photograph(s) available.
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4) Canadian War Museum, LeBreton Flats, Canada
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43
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This tank, after its capture, was shipped to Canada. It participated in V-E Day celebrations on Sparks Street in Ottawa on 8 May 1945. This means that it had been transported from Europe before the end of the war, but whether as a war trophy or for testing and experimentation by the military remains unknown. It was displayed at Canadian Forces Base Borden from the late 1940s until the Department of National Defence’s Directorate of History and Heritage, CFB Borden, and the Base Borden Military Museum donated it to the Canadian War Museum in February 2005. There it underwent restoration. All major mechanical components were removed and treated in order to preserve them. The interior and engine bay components were removed and refurbished and then re-installed. The exterior surfaces were cleaned and stabilized and re-treated with a “Zimmerit” paste created from a period recipe. Zimmerit had been applied in wartime to this Panther; residue of the original coating can be seen on the sections between the track and the upper hull. The restoration team reproduced many of the damaged or missing components in order to present the tank as it would likely have appeared on operations in 1944. After two years of labour by a dedicated team of volunteers it was unveiled to the public on 10 Januay 2008. (Source: CWM).
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5) Wheatcroft Collection, Leicester, Britain
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Unique ID: |
44
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Chassis number “158134”.
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This Panther was previously identified as an Ausf G.
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Ausf G
The Ausf G was the final production model of the Panther to be built. It saw two significant changes compared to the Ausf A. Firstly, the driver’s vision port was eliminated from the glacis plate and the driver’s two episcopes were replaced by a single rotating periscope. At the same time new hinged hatches with spring-assistance replaced the original hatches in the hull roof for the driver and operator. This was done because the earlier pivoted ones had been found to jam easily.
Secondly, the superstructure sides were altered. During development of the Jagdpanther tank destroyer it was found that by setting the hull sides of the Panther chassis at a more vertical angle it was possible to significantly increase the available interior space. This feature was adopted for the Ausf G, with the angle of the side plates increased from 30 to 40 degrees. It was also then possible to eliminate the separate pieces for the fuel tank compartments, so simplifying production. This produced the one-piece side plates, with the straight edge along the bottom of the sponsons, that is distinctive of the Ausf G. In order to improve ballistic protection the thickness of these side plates was increased from 40mm to 50mm.
A number of other detail changes were made, including the provision of armoured ammunition bins inside the sponsons, fitted with sliding armoured doors, to reduce the risk of fire. The ammunition stowage was increased from 79 to 82 rounds and a stronger method of attaching the Schürzen armour was used. The exhaust system of the Ausf G was the same as that of the Ausf D in appearance, but with the jack mounted vertically as on the Ausf A. From June 1944 the twin exhaust pipes were fitted with curved covers to conceal their glow at night, and the rear damper was dispensed with.
During production of the Ausf G a number of other changes were incorporated. From June 1944 three threaded Pilzen (Mushroom) sockets were welded to the turret roof. These held the base of a 2 tonne Befehlskran, a lifting frame for changing the engine and transmission. The engine deck air intake grills, previously a complicated waffle-pattern design, were replaced with simpler square grills. A raised housing for the crew heater replaced the low cover over the left air intake fan from October 1944. Some Ausf Gs, therefore, had just the grills changed while many featured both changes to the engine deck. Flame-trap exhausts were also introduced as developed for the Ausf F. An order of 9 September 1944 stated that the application of Zimmerit was to be stopped.
From the middle of 1944 onwards a new design of mantlet was introduced. The original curved one formed a shot trap and rounds were often deflected off it into the turret ring or through the roof of the driver’s compartment. The new design had a solid ‘chin’ with a vertical face cast into it along its lower half in order to prevent this occurring. In very late production vehicles it became standard practice to mount the cylindrical stowage container for the gun pull-through cleaning gear along the rear of the engine deck. It had previously been carried along the left side of the superstructure but had proved vulnerable to damage in that position. At least some early production Ausf Gs, however, appear to have carried the container in this new position. From April 1945 there was also a change of tool stowage, with the pioneer tools such as axe and shovel moved from the right superstructure side to the hull rear and engine deck. Other changes included the elimination of the AA machine-gun ring on the commander’s cupola from January 1945, and the addition of a new AA mount, and five small camouflage rings welded to each side of the turret, from March 1945 (source: L. Archer).
| Model Id: | 245 | | Manufacture: | Maschinenfabrik Augsburg-Nürnberg (MAN) AG, Nürnberg, Bavaria, Middle Franconia, Germany (Primary manufacturer)
Daimler-Benz AG, Marienfelde, Berlin, Germany (Additional manufacturer)
Maschinenfabrik Niedersachsen-Hannover (MNH) GmbH, Linden, Hannover, Lower Saxony, Germany (Additional manufacturer)
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6) The Tank Museum - Public Areas, Bovington, Britain
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Unique ID: |
45
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Serial Number: |
129113.
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Plaque fixed to glacis. German crosses painted on turret sides. Painted overall in a late-war brown and cream striped camouflage scheme (previously a green, brown and sand scheme, before that overall green).
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(Correction: The Fighting Vehicle Research and Development Establishment (FVRDE), previously the Directorate of Tank Design, was located at Chertsey (Chobham Lane), not Chatham).
This Panther was put on the museum books in 1949. It is painted in a camouflage scheme is similar to that used on Panthers leaving the factory in the last months of the war – a basic undercoat of red with other colours rapidly applied. It was seen on Panthers of 5th Battalion, 25th Panzer Grenadier Division on the Eastern Front in February 1945.
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7) BWB Wehrtechnische Studiensammlung, Koblenz, Germany
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Unique ID: |
47
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The vehicle name was mis-spelled in the original edition, it should be "Ulrike" (source: R. Besecke).
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8) Private Collection (K. Flick), Solingen, Germany
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Unique ID: |
48
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The scrapyard was in Cox Lane, Ewell.
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9) Solitary Vehicle, Grandmenil, Belgium
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Unique ID: |
51
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Turret number “407”.
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This Panther is displayed on a plinth surrounded by a low chain fence on the roundabout at the edge of Grandmenil, in the direction of Manhay. This roundabout is at the intersection of the main road Rue d’Erezée (N807, previously referred to as the N494) and the Rue Alphonse Poncelet. It has been repainted in a three colour camouflage scheme. A label in front of the tank reads “PANTHER AUSF. G, 26/12/1944” commemorating the action in which it was lost.
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10) Solitary Vehicle, Celles, Belgium
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Unique ID: |
52
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Correct spelling for nearby town is Conjoux; the German concentration area was between Conjoux and Celles.
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11) Liberty Park Oorlogsmuseum, Overloon, The Netherlands
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Unique ID: |
53
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128427, chassis number.
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This Panther has Fgst Number 128427 and is presumed to have been produced by MNH in July 1944 (source: Panther1944.de). Its engine is missing; it was used to restore the SdKfz Associations’s Jagdpanther (source: P.-O. Buan/SPTR). This vehicle was previously displayed outside in the Overloon Museumpark but is now housed in an annexe of the main building. It underwent restoration during 1999.
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12) National Armor and Cavalry Museum, Fort Benning, USA
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Unique ID: |
55
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This Panther is gutted inside; the interior deck plates are missing and only the torsion bars and gun remain (source: G. Redmon). In October 2010 it was transported from Fort Knox, Kentucky, to Fort Benning, Georgia.
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13) Muzeum Orla Bialego, Skarżysko-Kamienna, Poland
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Unique ID: |
456
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Wreck.
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New entry. These are the remains of a Panther hull. The turret and most of the superstructure are missing, and may indicate it suffered from a catastrophic internal explosion.
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