And it so happened that in 1937, several German firms were entrusted with the design of a new, heavier model of the tank, which was supposed to replace the Pz Kpfw III and Pz Kpfw IV that had just been adopted. So far, they have satisfied the military, but they understood that sooner or later, they will become outdated and therefore worried about this in advance, but could not formulate a technical assignment for a new machine. Only a few single prototypes were made with a 7.5-cm short-barreled gun, but they were more suited to the classification of heavy tanks than medium ones.
Pz Kpfw V Ausf A "Panther"
Everything changed immediately after the attack of Nazi Germany on the USSR, when in battles German tanks had to fight the T-34 and KV. At the suggestion of G. Guderian, a special commission was created, which took up the study of captured Soviet armored vehicles and came to conclusions that were disappointing for German designers. Already on November 20, 1941, in her report, she examined in detail all the design features of the T-34, which should have been immediately implemented in German tanks of the near future: these are armor plates located with a large slope, rollers with a large diameter, and much more. Almost immediately after that (which suggests that the Germans did not waste time!), The Ministry of Armaments instructed the Daimler-Benz and MAN firms to develop a prototype of the VK3002 medium tank, similar in many of its characteristics to the T-34: combat weight - 35 t, speed -55 km / h, power density - 22 hp. s./t, armor - 60 mm, long-barreled armament 7, 5-cm tank gun. The project received the code name "Panther".
Daimler-Benz Panther
With a ready-made sample in front of their eyes, the firms worked very quickly and already in May 1942 presented two ready-made projects to the selection committee (the so-called "Panther Commission"). It is interesting that the sample of the Daimler-Benz tank was even outwardly similar to the T-34 - this is how strong an impression it made on the German designers.
Nothing hesitating, he copied almost everything: the placement of the engine-transmission units and the rear arrangement of the driving wheels. Rollers, however, in the amount of eight pieces were staggered, but had a large diameter and were interlocked in two, and the suspension was made of leaf springs. The turret, as on the T-34, turned out to be moved forward, and the armor plates of the hull were installed with a very large slope. The company offered to put a diesel engine and a hydraulic control system on the tank.
The MAN tank was more traditional, but also had a "checkerboard" arrangement of rollers. As with previous German vehicles, the turret had to be placed in the middle of the hull. At the same time, a 7, 5-cm cannon with a very long (L / 70 525-cm) barrel was mounted in it - a kind of masterpiece of the German artillerymen.
The Daimler-Benz project looked very attractive, and the suspension design - springs instead of torsion bars - was both cheaper and easier to manufacture and also to maintain. Hitler preferred this particular car, but … a project by a competitor went into production. Why? First, the Panzerkomissia, which traditionally preferred the German engine and transmission system, came out for it. Secondly, the turret moved forward made it difficult to install a 70-caliber cannon in it. Thirdly, the turret required improvements, and the tank was needed immediately. And, finally, there was one more important circumstance, namely the external similarity of the T-34 and the Daimler-Benz tank. From a distance, the muzzle brake at the end of the barrel of his gun was completely invisible, as was the chassis. But the general silhouettes are so similar that it could cause serious losses and "friendly fire". And Hitler agreed with all these arguments!
The prototype of the new tank was prepared in September 1942 and began to be tested. Already in November, tanks of the installation series appeared, which received the designation Pz Kpfw V. As always in a hurry, numerous "childhood diseases" were found in the tank, and its weight was exceeded by 8 tons (well, the Germans did not have such good alloy steel, here and the thickness of the armor had to be added to its durability!). Then successive improvements began (modification D): the thickness of the frontal armor was increased from 60 to 80 mm, a machine gun was installed in the frontal armor plate, and, nevertheless, the first "Panthers" failed more often from breakages than from combat damage. And, by the way, it was very difficult to change the torsion bars on them. Modifications A and G appeared (the latter was produced until the end of the war), on which they installed a unified commander's cupola, again strengthened the armor, increased the slope of the frontal armor (mod. G), but most importantly, they managed to increase their reliability! The program for the production of "Panthers" enjoyed the highest priority, but it was necessary to produce 600 cars a month, and this was not possible even once, although in July 1944 the German industry mastered 400 units a month! But what was that in comparison with the T-34, which more than a thousand a month were produced already in 1942 ?! A total of 5976 tanks of this type were assembled, including command and recovery vehicles.
Yes, the cannon was powerful, the gases from the spent cartridges were sucked out, there was a rotating turret floor (unimaginable comfort for Soviet tankers!), But … the problem of dirt accumulating between the rollers was not solved that way, the torsion bars still often broke, but they had to be changed it is still difficult, well, and, finally, the main thing: the Germans calculated that in order to defeat the enemy, the Panther, before being killed, had to knock out 8-10 enemy tanks on average. Not less! And this indicator has never been maintained! It was not possible to knock out more than 6 (maximum!)! Yes, and this was a terrible indicator of excellent German quality and superiority over the same Sherman tanks, but in general the statistics were against the Nazis.
Experienced "Leopard" F. Porsche - another angular design with a frontal armor plate, into which most of the projectile at a certain distance will hit at an angle of 90 degrees, that is, optimal for hitting armor. A good designer should not leave such "loopholes" for the enemy!
They tried to improve it. The cannons were placed on the mask at the bottom of the tide - a "beard" that prevented shells from ricocheting into the roof of the hull. But after all, it was too late when they started complaining about the death of tanks because of such ricochets! There is a photo: the Panther's mask was pierced by a Soviet 45-mm projectile (!) When it was hit at an angle of 90 degrees. It is clear that the projectile was with a tungsten core, but it was. Why didn't they make a mask with an upward slope, after all, it's obvious? Or, say, such as on the Panther-F tank, produced in just one copy. By the way, the muzzle brake was removed on it. And why? But because it turned out that a two-chamber muzzle brake on a long barrel causes strong vibrations when fired. And then what's the use of a good armor-piercing gun at long distances and excellent Zeiss optics, if … you can't get it? The muzzle brake was removed, the shooting accuracy increased immediately, but there was only one tank, and what could he do? Developed "Panther-2" with an even more powerful 88-mm gun. Well, this tank remained on paper at all, because it was not built.
Thus, "Panther", like many other samples of German military equipment, is, first of all, a monument … to technical and political and military adventurism. "Perhaps it will succeed!" - and immediately to fight, meanwhile, as if the same Hitler trusted statistics more, he would understand that to fight with Russia, England and the United States is generally madness, and any madness is expensive both for the madman himself and for his country.
The total production volumes of German tanks and self-propelled guns in the pre-war years and during the Second World War. *
Tanks 1933-
1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 Total
Pz. I 1000 ** 500 - - - - - 1500
Pz. II 800 700 200 200 100 - - - 2000
Pz. III 100 200 1400 1600 1800 400 - - 5500
Pz. IV 200 200 1000 1200 2000 2000 1700 300 8600
Pz. V - - - - - 2000 4500 300 6800
Pz. VI - - - - - 650 630 1280
Pz. VI (B) - - - - - - 377 107 484
Total 2100 1600 1500 3200 4000 6000 7100 707 26164
SPG 1933-
1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 Total
PzJagI - 100 100 - - - - 200
StugHI / IV - - 40 500 1000 3000 5000 700 10.240
Ferdinand/
Elephant "" - - - 90 “90
Marder II - - - - 200 350 - - 550
Marder III - - - - - 400 500 - 1180
Elephant - -, - - - 88 - - 88
Hezer - - - - - - 2000 500 2500
PzJaglV - - - - - 200 300 - 500
Nashorn - - - - - 700 1000 300 2000
Jagdpanther - - - - - - 350 32 382
Jagdtiger - - - - - - 50 30 80
Brummbar - - - - - 200 100 - 300
Sturmtiger - - - - - - 20 - 20
Vespe - - - - - 400 270 - 670
Hummel - - - - - - 560 100 660
Total 0 0 140 600 1480 5428 10.150 1662 19.460
* Data from the book "German tanks in war". Bob Carruthers, Cassel & Co, London, 2000.
** Please note that many of the figures shown are rounded.
By the way, it is worth mentioning the training of the crews. The well-coordinated, technically trained and tactically competent crew of the T-34 had every opportunity to defeat the Panther, even in a deadly one-on-one duel! An example of this is well known, a movie was even made on the subject (disgusting in terms of the requisite, where the T-34/85 operate, and instead of "Panthers" … PT-76). Yes, on the Kursk Bulge there was a rare case of an organized tank duel, when our Soviet T-34 tank fought one-on-one with the fascist Panther and won. The hero of this fight was Alexander Milyukov, who was born in 1923 in the village of Narovchat in the Penza region in a peasant family, and ended up at the front in 1942, where he asked to be a tank driver as a driver-mechanic. The story of this feat of his went around the pages of many publications, but this is how it was published by one of the Penza newspapers …
T-34: for all its shortcomings, this is a wonderful design and good manufacturability, that is, exactly what was required for tanks of total war!
“The height of the fighting at the Kursk Bulge. July 1943.
- Hey, Russian, are you still alive?
The commander of the thirty-four, petty officer Alexander Milyukov, was taken aback. What the hell is this? And the radio continued to mock:
- On your collective farm tractor only to the grave. Well, will you take it one-on-one, chivalrously, against my "Panther"?
Sergeant Major Milyukov understood who he was dealing with. His wave was found by a fascist. Yes, not simple, but "cunning", as he was called in the carriage.
- I'm ready, the enemy is not finished.
- Come out to a duel now. Just write your will, otherwise they won't find you, Russia is a big country …
“You’ll worry about the will yourself,” Milyukov, the mother of the German, did not say, but shouted, what is called, what the light stands on.
The Nazi was in more favorable conditions: the 76-mm T-34 cannon did not take the Panther's frontal armor, and the latter, on the contrary, could burn ours from almost two kilometers, and certainly from a thousand meters.
Miliukov was nervous, realizing that he would survive only on one condition - if he won the duel brilliantly. Otherwise, either death by a fascist, or a tribunal, because the T-34 fell from a combat position without an order from the battalion commander. It was comforting that the area offered a chance for success: it was treeless, but dotted with gullies and ravines. And the T-34 is speed, maneuverability, where is the "Panther" before it!
Success in a knightly duel depended on the skill of the two crews. From the one who is the first to detect the enemy, who will be the first to strike an aimed shot, who will be able to dodge in time, and much more!
The main thing is to approach the "Panther" at a distance of 300-400 meters, then the fire duel can be conducted on equal terms. In the meantime, you have to go under aimed fire.
The Nazi fired immediately, as soon as the crews saw each other. The shell pierced nearby. Increase speed? But a tank on a rocky area gave no more than 30 kilometers, and could only add a little bit. If you do not fly these 700 meters, the German will have time to fatally hit. And Miliukov immediately hit the brakes, slowing down. I decided to let the German take aim. Alexander "saw" him behind the armor, felt how he stuck into the sight … "Thirty-four" exploded a little earlier, maybe for a second, before the flame splashed out of the "Panther" barrel. The German was late, the shell passed by.
That's it, Fritz, the long-range cannon - that's not all! shouted Milyukov. The confidence came to him that now in the open area he would be able to dodge the German shell. And then Nikolai Lukyansky shouted with delight:
- 12 seconds, commander, I spotted!
“Clever,” Miliukov praised. Now he knew that between the first and second shot of the German: - 12 seconds.
The Russian tank suddenly slowed down, then rushed to the side, and the German shells fell past. The crew skillfully used every hollow and mound for their protection. The Soviet combat vehicle was inexorably approaching the Panther. The German ace sent round after round, but the thirty-four was invulnerable and grew unnaturally fast in the scope. The German's nerves could not stand it, and the Panther began to retreat.
- I chickened out, you bastard! shouted Milyukov.
The "cunning beast" has never substituted the side or stern. And only once, when a descent appeared in front of the retreating Panther, she lifted the cannon and showed the bottom for a second. This second was enough for Semyon Bragin to slam the armor-piercing into the most vulnerable spot. Milyukov's crew was choking with delight, the tankers shouted, laughed, swore.
All of them were sobered by the commander's voice over the radio:
- Milyukov! Fucking duelist, you will go to court!
After the battle, the brave four will be told how closely the Soviet and German sides watched the duel. Nobody got involved in the fight. They watched with alarm and curiosity - the rarest case of a knight's duel in the 20th century!
Then Miliukov appreciated the endurance of the battalion commander, his experience. At the moment of the fight, he did not utter a word, he understood that it was impossible to hold the arm. He expressed his dissatisfaction when the fight was won, and once. Maybe because in my heart I was pleased, or maybe because at the end of the duel the battle broke out between the subunits, and Milyukov's crew again celebrated a victory, but what a victory! "Thirty-four" met three "Tigers", burned them, and then crushed several artillery pieces together with the crews …"
In June 1945, Alexander Milyukov became a Hero of the Soviet Union, and after the war he began working at the Odessa Film Studio. It was then that he, as a direct participant in those events, was able to show them on the movie screen: in 1983, according to his script, the exciting film "The Crew of a Fighting Vehicle" was shot. Famous actors, including Sergei Makovetsky, starred in this film, which tells about a knightly duel on the Kursk Bulge. It is interesting that on the tower of the legendary T-34, which won this unparalleled duel, it was written "Penza takes revenge".
Rice. A. Shepsa
