File:PzKpfwIIIF.Saumur.000a1y8q.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
Key facts
- Type
- Medium tank
- Place of origin
- Nazi Germany
- In service
- 1939 – 1945
- Used by
- Germany , Hungary , Romania , Slovak Republic , Croatia , Norway , Turkey
- Wars
- World War II
- Designer
- Daimler-Benz
- Designed
- 1935 – 1937
- Manufacturer
- Daimler-Benz
- Unit cost
- 103,163 ℛ ︁ ℳ ︁ (Ausf. M)
- Produced
- 1939 – 1943
- Number span no built
- 5,774 (excluding StuG III )
- Mass
- 23.0 tonnes (25.4 short tons)
- Length
- 5.56 m (18 ft 3 in)
- Width
- 2.90 m (9 ft 6 in)
- Height
- 2.5 m (8 ft 2 in)
- Crew
- 5 ( commander , gunner, loader, driver, radio operator/bow machine-gunner)
- Armour
- Ausf A - C: 15 mm all around, Ausf D - G: 30 mm all around, Ausf J+ : 50 mm all around
- Main armament
- 1 × 3.7 cm KwK 36 Ausf. A - G , 1 × 5 cm KwK 38 Ausf. F - J , 1 × 5 cm KwK 39 Ausf. J¹- M , 1 × 7.5 cm KwK 37 Ausf. N
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Subclass of
- medium tank
- Country
- Nazi Germany
- Operator
- Nazi Germany
- Country of origin
- Nazi Germany
- Followed by
- Panzer IV
- Follows
- Panzer II
- Mass
- 23
- Manufacturer
- KNDS Deutschland
- Designed by
- Daimler-Benz AG
- Conflict
- World War II
- Image
- PzKpfwIIIF.Saumur.000a1y8q.jpg
- Height
- 2.50
- Width
- 2.9
- Length
- 5.49
Show 7 more facts
- Commons category
- Panzerkampfwagen III
- service entry
- 1939-01-01
- service retirement
- 1945-01-01
- total produced
- 5774
- Commons gallery
- Panzerkampfwagen III
- native label
- Panzerkampfwagen III
- armament
- MG 34
Sources (8)
via Wikidata · CC0
~26 min read
Encyclopedic overview
The Panzerkampfwagen III (Pz.Kpfw. III), commonly known as the Panzer III, was a medium tank developed in the 1930s by Germany, and was used extensively in World War II. The official German ordnance designation was Sd.Kfz. 141. It was intended to fight other armoured fighting vehicles and serve alongside and support the similar Panzer IV, which was originally designed for infantry support.
Initially, the Panzer III had the same 3.7 cm gun as the infantry used in an anti-tank role, but later models were given the 5 cm KwK 38 gun. This was the largest gun that could be fitted within the physical limitations of the turret ring, but it turned out to be ineffective against Soviet T-34 and KV-1 tanks. The Panzer IV, which had a larger turret ring, was redesigned to mount the long-barrelled 7.5 cm KwK 40 gun and became the main German tank instead. Produced from 1942 onwards, the last version of the Panzer III (Panzer III N) mounted the short barrelled 7.5 cm KwK 37 L/24 which was used on the first Panzer IVs, meaning the Panzer III and the Panzer IV had effectively swapped roles.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Panzer III” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.