History and detailed description. Medium German tank Tiger Panzerkampfwagen IV. History and detailed description of the PzKpfw IV tank. History of creation

Medium tank Pz Kpfw IV
and its modifications

The most widespread tank III Reich. Produced from October 1937 until the end of the war. A total of 8,519 tanks were produced Pz Kpfw IV Ausf A, B, C, D, E, F1, F2, G, H, J, of which - 1100 with a short-barreled 7.5cm KwK37 L/24 gun, 7,419 tanks with a long-barreled 7.5cm KwK40 L/43 or L/48 gun).

Pz IV Ausf A Pz IV Ausf B Pz IV Ausf C

Pz IV Ausf D Pz IV Ausf E

Pz IV Ausf F1 Pz IV Ausf F2

Pz IV Ausf G Pz IV Ausf H

Pz IV Ausf J

Crew - 5 people.
Engine - Maybach HL 120TR or TRM (Ausf A - HL 108TR).

The Maybach HL 120TR 12-cylinder carburetor engine (3000 rpm) had a power of 300 hp. With. and allowed the tank to reach a maximum speed on the highway of up to 40 - 42 km/h.

All Pz Kpfw IV tanks had a 75 mm caliber tank gun (7.5 cm in German terminology). In the series from modification A to F1, short-barreled 7.5cm KwK37 L/24 guns with an initial armor-piercing projectile speed of 385 m/s were installed, which were powerless against the armor of Soviet T-34 and KV tanks, as well as against most British and American tanks. Since March 1942, the last vehicles of modification F (175 vehicles designated F2), as well as all tanks of modifications G, H and J, began to be armed with long-barreled 7.5cm KwK40 L/43 or L/48 guns. (The KwK 40 L/48 gun was installed on parts of the G series vehicles, and then on modifications H and J.) Pz Kpfw IV tanks armed with KwK40 guns with initial speed armor-piercing projectile 770 m/s, gained fire superiority over the T-34 for some time (2nd half of 1942 - 1943)

Tanks Pz Kpfw IV were also armed with two MG 34 machine guns. In modifications B and C there was no radio operator's machine gun; instead there is a viewing slot and a pistol embrasure.

All tanks have FuG 5 radios.

Medium support tank Pz Kpfw IV Ausf A(Sd Kfz 161)

35 tanks were produced from October 1937 to March 1938 by Krupp-Guzon.

Combat weight- 18.4 tons. Length - 5.6 m. Width - 2.9 m. Height - 2.65 m.
Armor 15 mm.
Engine - Maybach HL 108TR. Speed ​​- 31 km/h. Power reserve - 150 km.

Combat use: they fought in Poland, Norway, France; were withdrawn from service in the spring of 1941.

Medium support tank Pz Kpfw IV Ausf B, Ausf C(Sd Kfz 161)

42 Pz Kpfw IV Ausf B tanks were produced (from April to September 1938) and 134 Pz Kpfw IV Ausf C tanks (from September 1938 to August 1939).

Pz Kpfw IV Ausf B

Pz Kpfw IV Ausf C

A different engine and a new 6-speed gearbox were installed. The speed increased to 40 km/h. The thickness of the frontal armor has been increased to 30 mm. A new commander's cupola has been installed. In the Ausf C modification, the motor installation was changed and the turret rotating ring was improved.

Combat weight - 18.8 tons (Ausf B) and 19 tons (Ausf C). Length - 5.92 m. Width - 2.83 m. Height - 2.68 m.
Armor: front of the hull and turret - 30 mm, side and rear - 15 mm.

In modifications B and C there was no radio operator's machine gun; instead there is a viewing slot and a pistol embrasure.

Combat use: Pz Kpfw IV Ausf B and Ausf C tanks fought in Poland, France, the Balkans and on the Eastern Front. Pz Kpfw IV Ausf C remained in service until 1943. Pz Kpfw IV Ausf B gradually fell out of service by the end of 1944.

Medium support tank Pz Kpfw IV Ausf D(Sd Kfz 161)

229 tanks were produced from October 1939 to May 1941.

The main difference of the Ausf D modification was the increase in the thickness of the armor on the sides and stern to 20 mm.

Combat weight - 20 tons. Length - 5.92 m. Width - 2.84 m. Height - 2.68 m.
Armor: hull and turret front - 30 mm, side and rear - 20 mm.
Speed ​​- 40 km/h. Power reserve - 200 km.

Combat use: fought in France, the Balkans, North Africa and on the Eastern Front until early 1944.

Medium support tank Pz Kpfw IV Ausf E(Sd Kfz 161)

223 tanks were produced from September 1940 to April 1941.

On Ausf E increased the thickness of the frontal armor of the hull to 50 mm; A new type of commander's cupola appeared. Armor linings were used on the forehead of the superstructure (30 mm) and on the sides of the hull and superstructure (20 mm).

Combat weight - 21 tons. Length - 5.92 m. Width - 2.84 m. Height - 2.68 m.
Armor: hull front - 50 mm, superstructure and turret front - 30 mm, side and rear - 20 mm.

Combat use: Pz Kpfw IV Ausf E tanks took part in battles in the Balkans, North Africa and on the Eastern Front.

Medium support tank Pz Kpfw IV Ausf F1(Sd Kfz 161)

462 tanks were produced from April 1941 to March 1942, of which 25 were converted into Ausf F2.

On Pz Kpfw IV Ausf F's armor was again increased: the front of the hull and turret was up to 50 mm, the sides of the turret and hull were up to 30 mm. The single-leaf doors on the sides of the turret were replaced with double-leaf ones, and the track width increased from 360 to 400 mm. Tanks of modifications Pz Kpfw IV Ausf F, G, H were produced at the factories of three companies: Krupp-Gruson, Fomag and Nibelungenwerke.

Combat weight - 22.3 tons. Length - 5.92 m. Width - 2.84 m. Height - 2.68 m.

Speed ​​- 42 km/h. Power reserve - 200 km.

Combat use: Pz Kpfw IV Ausf F1 tanks fought on all sectors of the Eastern Front in 1941-44 and participated in . Entered service in and.

Medium tank Pz Kpfw IV Ausf F2(Sd Kfz 161/1)

Produced from March to July 1942, 175 tanks and 25 vehicles converted from Pz Kpfw IV Ausf F1.

Starting with this model, all subsequent ones were equipped with a long-barreled 7.5cm KwK 40 L/43 (48) gun. The gun's ammunition load was increased from 80 to 87 rounds.

Combat weight - 23 tons. Length - 5.92 m. Width - 2.84 m. Height - 2.68 m.
Armor: hull front, superstructure and turret - 50 mm, side - 30 mm, rear - 20 mm.
Speed ​​- 40 km/h. Power reserve - 200 km.

They entered service with new tank regiments and motorized divisions, as well as to make up for losses. In the summer of 1942, Pz Kpfw IV Ausf F2 tanks could withstand the Soviet T-34 and KV, equaling the latter in firepower, and surpassing the British and American tanks that period.

Medium tank Pz Kpfw IV Ausf G(Sd Kfz 161/2)

1,687 vehicles were produced from May 1942 to July 1943.

New introduced muzzle brake guns. Smoke grenade launchers were installed on the sides of the tower. The number of viewing slots in the tower has been reduced. About 700 Pz Kpfw IV Ausf G tanks received additional 30 mm frontal armor. On the latest vehicles, armor screens made of thin steel (5 mm) were installed along the sides of the hull and around the turret. Tanks of modifications Pz Kpfw IV Ausf F, G, H were produced at the factories of three companies: Krupp-Gruson, Fomag and Nibelungenwerke.

Combat weight - 23.5 tons. Length - 6.62 m. Width - 2.88 m. Height - 2.68 m.
Armor: hull front, superstructure and turret - 50 mm, side - 30 mm, rear - 20 mm.
Speed ​​- 40 km/h. Power reserve - 210 km.

Medium tank Pz Kpfw IV Ausf N(Sd Kfz 161/2)

3,774 vehicles were produced from April 1943 to July 1944.

The Ausf H modification series - the most widespread - received 80 mm frontal hull armor (the thickness of the turret armor remained the same - 50 mm); armor protection of the turret roof increased from 10 to 15 mm. An external air filter was installed. The radio antenna was moved to the rear of the hull. A mount for anti-aircraft machine gun. 5-mm side screens were installed on the hull and turret, protecting against cumulative shells. Some tanks had non-rubber-coated (steel) support rollers. Tanks of the Ausf H modification were produced at the factories of three companies: Nibelungenwerke, Krupp-Gruson (Magdeburg) and Fomag in Plauen. A total of 3,774 Pz Kpfw IV Ausf H and another 121 chassis for self-propelled and assault guns.

Combat weight - 25 tons. Length - 7.02 m. Width - 2.88 m. Height - 2.68 m.

Speed ​​– 38 km/h. Power reserve - 210 km.

Medium tank Pz Kpfw IV Ausf J(Sd Kfz 161/2)

1,758 vehicles were produced from June 1944 to March 1945 at the Nibelungenwerke plant.

The electrical horizontal aiming system of the turret has been replaced by a dual mechanical manual aiming system. An additional fuel tank. The power reserve has been increased to 320 km. For close combat, a mortar was installed in the roof of the tower, firing fragmentation or smoke grenades to defeat enemy soldiers who had climbed onto the tank. The viewing slots and pistol embrasures in the side doors and rear of the turret have been removed.

Combat weight - 25 tons. Length - 7.02 m. Width - 2.88 m. Height - 2.68 m.
Armor: front of the hull and superstructure - 80 mm, front of the turret - 50 mm, side - 30 mm, rear - 20 mm.
Speed ​​– 38 km/h. Power reserve - 320 km.

Combat use of medium tanks Pz Kpfw IV

Before the invasion of France, the troops had 280 Pz Kpfw IV Ausf A, B, C, D tanks.

Before the beginning Operation Barbarossa Germany had 3,582 combat-ready tanks. Consisting of 17 tank divisions deployed against Soviet Union, there were 438 tanks Pz IV Ausf B, C, D, E, F. Soviet KV and T-34 tanks had an advantage over the German Pz Kpfw IV. Shells from KV and T-34 tanks penetrated the armor of the Pz Kpfw IV at considerable distances. The armor of the Pz Kpfw IV was also penetrated by 45 mm Soviet anti-tank guns and 45 mm guns of the T-26 and BT light tanks. And the short-barreled German tank gun could only effectively deal with light tanks. Therefore, during 1941, 348 Pz Kpfw IVs were destroyed on the Eastern Front.

Tank Pz Kpfw IV Ausf F1 of the 5th Panzer Division in November 1941 near Moscow

In June 1942 years there were 208 tanks on the Eastern Front Pz Kpfw IV Ausf B, C, D, E, F1 and about 170 Pz Kpfw IV Ausf F2 and Ausf G tanks with a long-barreled gun.

In 1942 tank battalion Pz Kpfw IV was to consist of four tank companies of 22 Pz Kpfw IV plus eight tanks in the regiment's headquarters company.

Tank Pz Kpfw IV Ausf C and panzergrenadiers

Spring 1943

The first PzIV tanks entered service with German troops in January 1938 and managed to take part in Wehrmacht operations to annex Austria and occupy the Sudetenland of Czechoslovakia. Enough for a long time This twenty-ton tank was considered heavy by the Wehrmacht, although in terms of mass it was clearly classified as medium. At the beginning of World War II, the four were armed with 75mm short-barreled guns. The experience of battles in Europe has shown that this weapon has a lot of shortcomings, the main one of which is weak penetrating ability. And yet, already in 1940 - 1941, this tank, despite its small number in the Wehrmacht, was considered a good fighting vehicle. Later it was he who would become the basis of the German tank forces.

Description

The development of the tank began in the mid-30s. It was designed by well-known companies Rheinmetal, Krupp, Daimler-Benz and MAN. The design was externally similar to the previously created PzIII tank, but differed primarily in the width of the hull and the diameter of the turret ring, which opened up prospects for further modernization for the tank. Of the four companies that presented their projects, the military preferred the tank designed by Krupp. In 1935, production of the first model of the new tank began, and in the spring of the following year it received its name - Panzerkampfwagen IV (Pz.IV). In October 1937, Krupp began mass release Pz.IV tanks, modification A. The first Pz.IV tanks were distinguished by rather weak armor - 15-20mm. The tank was armed with a 75 mm gun, powerful enough for the mid and late 30s. It was most effective against infantry and lightly armored targets. It was not so effective against vehicles with good projectile protection, since it had a low initial projectile speed. The tank took part in the Polish and French campaigns that ended in triumph German weapons. 211 Pz.IV tanks took part in the battles with the Poles, and 278 “fours” took part in the war in the West against the Anglo-French troops. In June 1941, as part of German army 439 Pz.IV tanks had already invaded the USSR. By the time of the attack on the USSR, the frontal armor of the Pz.IV had been increased to 50mm. A big surprise awaited the German tankers - for the first time they encountered new Soviet tanks, the existence of which they did not even suspect - the Soviet T-34 tanks and heavy KV tanks. The Germans did not immediately realize the degree of superiority of the enemy tanks, but soon the Panzerwaffe tankers began to experience certain difficulties. The armor of the Pz.IV in 1941 could theoretically be penetrated even by the 45mm guns of the BT-7 and T-26 light tanks. At the same time, the Soviet “babies” had a chance to destroy a German tank in open battle, and even more so from an ambush at close range. And yet, the “four” could fight quite effectively with light Soviet tanks and armored vehicles, but when confronted with the new Russian tanks “T-34” and “KV” the Germans were shocked. The fire from the short-barreled 75mm Pz.IV cannon on these tanks was woefully ineffective, while the Soviet tanks easily hit the four at medium and long ranges. Low starting speed flight of a 75mm cannon projectile, which is why the T-34 and KV were practically invulnerable to German tank fire in 1941. It was obvious that the tank needed modernization and, above all, the installation of a more powerful gun. Only in April 1942 was the Pz.IV equipped with a more powerful long-barreled gun, which ensured successful combat against the T-34 and KV. In general, the Panzer IV had a number of shortcomings. High pressure on the ground made it difficult to move along Russian off-road conditions, and in the spring thaw conditions the tank was uncontrollable. All this slowed down the advance of German tank spearheads in 1941 and prevented rapid movement along the front in subsequent stages of the war. "Pz.IV" was the most produced German tank in World War II. During the war, its armor was constantly strengthened, and equipping it with more powerful guns made it possible to fight on equal terms with its opponents in 1942 - 1945. The main and decisive trump card of the Pz.IV tank ultimately became its modernization potential, which allowed German designers to constantly strengthen the armor and firepower of this tank. The tank became the main combat vehicle of the Wehrmacht until the very end of the war, and even the appearance of Tigers and Panthers in the German army did not detract from the role of the Panzer IV in the operations of the German army on the eastern front. During the war, German industry was able to produce more than 8 thousand. such tanks.

Attempts to improve the tank's protection led to the appearance of the "Ausfuhrung G" modification at the end of 1942. The designers knew that the weight limit that the chassis could withstand had already been chosen, so they had to make a compromise solution - dismantling the 20-mm side screens that were installed on all “fours”, starting with the “E” model, while simultaneously increasing the base armor of the hull to 30 mm, and due to the saved weight, install 30 mm thick overhead screens in the frontal part.

Another measure to increase the tank's security was the installation of removable anti-cumulative screens ("schurzen") 5 mm thick on the sides of the hull and turret; adding screens increased the weight of the vehicle by about 500 kg. In addition, the gun's single-chamber muzzle brake was replaced with a more effective two-chamber one. Appearance The vehicle also underwent a number of other changes: instead of a rear smoke launcher, built-in blocks of smoke grenade launchers began to be mounted in the corners of the turret, and the holes for launching signal flares in the driver and gunner hatches were eliminated.

By the end serial production tanks PzKpfw IV "Ausfuhrung G" their standard main weapon became a 75-mm gun with a barrel length of 48 calibers, the commander's cupola hatch became single-leaf. The PzKpfw IV Ausf.G tanks of later production are almost identical in appearance to the early vehicles of the Ausf.N modification. From May 1942 to June 1943, 1687 tanks of the Ausf.G model were manufactured, an impressive figure considering that in five years, from the end of 1937 to the summer of 1942, 1300 PzKpfw IV of all modifications were built (Ausf.A -F2), chassis No. - 82701-84400.

In 1944 it was manufactured tank PzKpfw IV Ausf.G with hydrostatic drive of the drive wheels. The drive design was developed by specialists from the Tsanradfabrik company in Augsburg. The main Maybach engine drove two oil pumps, which in turn activated two hydraulic motors connected by output shafts to the drive wheels. The entire power plant was located in the rear of the hull; accordingly, the drive wheels had a rear location, rather than the front one, which is usual for the PzKpfw IV. The speed of the tank was controlled by the driver, controlling the oil pressure created by the pumps.

After the war, the experimental machine came to the USA and was tested by specialists from the Vickers company from Detroit, this company at that time was engaged in work in the field of hydrostatic drives. The tests had to be interrupted due to material failures and a lack of spare parts. Currently, the PzKpfw IV Ausf.G tank with hydrostatic drive wheels is on display in the US Army Tank Museum, Aberdeen, USA. Maryland.

Tank PzKpfw IV Ausf.H (Sd.Kfz. 161/2)

The installation of a long-barreled 75 mm gun turned out to be a rather controversial measure. The gun led to excessive overload of the front part of the tank, the front springs were under constant pressure, and the tank acquired a tendency to sway even when moving on a flat surface. It was possible to get rid of the unpleasant effect with the “Ausfuhrung H” modification, which was put into production in March 1943.

On tanks of this model, the integral armor of the frontal part of the hull, superstructure and turret was strengthened to 80 mm. Tank PzKpfw IV Ausf.H weighed 26 tons and even despite the use of the new SSG-77 transmission, its characteristics turned out to be lower than those of the “fours” of previous models, so the speed over rough terrain decreased by no less than 15 km, the specific pressure increased soil, the acceleration characteristics of the car have dropped. On experimental tank The PzKpfw IV Ausf.H was tested with a hydrostatic transmission, but tanks with such a transmission did not go into mass production.

During the production process, many minor modifications were introduced to the Ausf.H model tanks, in particular, they began to install all-steel rollers without rubber, the shape of the drive wheels and idlers changed, a turret for the MG-34 anti-aircraft machine gun appeared on the commander's cupola ("Fligerbeschussgerat 42" - installation of an anti-aircraft machine gun), the tower embrasures for firing pistols and the hole in the roof of the tower for launching signal flares were eliminated.

Ausf.H tanks were the first "fours" to use Zimmerit antimagnetic coating; Only the vertical surfaces of the tank were supposed to be covered with zimmerit, but in practice the coating was applied to all surfaces that could be reached by an infantryman standing on the ground; on the other hand, there were also tanks on which only the forehead of the hull and superstructure were covered with zimmerit. Zimmerit was applied both in factories and in the field.

Tanks of the Ausf.H modification became the most popular among all PzKpfw IV models, 3,774 of them were built, production ceased in the summer of 1944. Factory chassis numbers - 84401-89600, some of these chassis served as the basis for the construction of assault guns.

Tank PzKpfw IV Ausf.J (Sd.Kfz.161/2)

The last model launched into the series was the modification "Ausfuhrung J". Vehicles of this variant began to enter service in June 1944. From a design point of view, the PzKpfw IV Ausf.J represented a step back.

Instead of an electric drive for turning the turret, a manual one was installed, but it became possible to install an additional fuel tank with a capacity of 200 liters. The increase in the cruising range on the highway from 220 km to 300 km (on the off-road - from 130 km to 180 km) due to the placement of additional fuel seemed extremely important decision, since panzer divisions increasingly played the role of “fire brigades”, which were transferred from one sector of the Eastern Front to another.

An attempt to somewhat reduce the weight of the tank was the installation of welded wire anti-cumulative screens; such screens were called “Tom screens”, after the surname of General Tom). Such screens were installed only on the sides of the hull, and remained on the towers old screens made of sheet steel. On tanks of late production, three rollers were installed instead of four, and vehicles were also produced with steel road wheels without rubber.

Almost all modifications were aimed at reducing the labor intensity of manufacturing tanks, including: the elimination of all embrasures on the tank for firing pistols and extra viewing slots (only the driver's, in the commander's cupola and in the frontal armor plate of the tower remained), installation of simplified towing loops , replacing the muffler with an exhaust system with two simple pipes. Another attempt to improve the vehicle's security was to increase the armor of the turret roof by 18 mm and the rear armor by 26 mm.

Production of PzKpfw IV Ausf.J tanks ceased in March 1945; a total of 1,758 vehicles were built.

By 1944, it became clear that the design of the tank had exhausted all reserves for modernization; a revolutionary attempt to increase the combat effectiveness of the PzKpfw IV by installing a turret from the Panther tank, armed with a 75-mm gun with a barrel length of 70 calibers, was not crowned with success - the chassis turned out to be too overloaded. Before installing the Panther turret, the designers tried to squeeze the Panther cannon into the turret of the PzKpfw IV tank. Installation wooden model The gun showed the complete impossibility of crew members working in the turret due to the tightness created by the breech of the gun. As a consequence of this failure, the idea was born to mount the entire turret from the Panther on the Pz.IV hull.

Due to the constant modernization of tanks during factory repairs, it is not possible to accurately determine how many tanks of one modification or another were built. Very often there were various hybrid options, for example, turrets from Ausf.G were installed on the hulls of the Ausf.D model.

“Panzerkampfwagen IV” (“PzKpfw IV”, also “Pz. IV”; in the USSR it was also known as “T‑IV”) - medium tank armored forces of the Wehrmacht during the Second World War. There is a version that the Pz IV was originally classified by the Germans as a heavy tank, but it is not documented.

Most mass tank Wehrmacht: 8,686 vehicles produced; It was mass-produced from 1937 to 1945 in several modifications. The constantly increasing armament and armor of the tank in most cases allowed the PzKpfw IV to effectively resist tanks of a similar class. French tanker Pierre Danois wrote about the PzKpfw IV (in modification, at that time, with a short-barreled 75-mm cannon): “This medium tank was superior to our B1 and B1 bis in all respects, including armament and, to some extent, armor "

History of creation

According to the terms of the Treaty of Versailles, defeated In World War I, Germany was prohibited from having armored forces, with the exception of a small number of armored vehicles for police use. But despite this, already since 1925, the Reichswehr Armament Directorate had been secretly working on the creation of tanks. Until the early 1930s, these developments did not go beyond the construction of prototypes, both because of the insufficient characteristics of the latter and because of the weakness of German industry of that period. However, by mid-1933, German designers managed to create their first serial tank- Pz.Kpfw.I and begin its mass production during 1933-1934. The Pz.Kpfw.I, with its machine gun armament and two-man crew, was considered only as a transitional model on the way to the construction of more advanced tanks. The development of two of them began back in 1933 - a more powerful “transitional” tank, the future Pz.Kpfw.II, and a full-fledged battle tank, the future Pz.Kpfw.III, armed with a 37-mm cannon, intended mainly to combat other armored vehicles.

Due to the initial limitations of the Pz.Kpfw.III's armament, it was decided to create a fire support tank in addition to it, with a longer-range gun with a powerful fragmentation projectile, capable of hitting anti-tank defenses beyond the range of other tanks. In January 1934, the Armament Directorate organized a competition of projects to create a vehicle of this class, whose mass would not exceed 24 tons. Since work on armored vehicles in Germany at that time was still carried out in secret, the new project, like the others, was given the code name “support vehicle” (German: Begleitwagen, usually shortened to B.W.; a number of sources give incorrect names in German: Bataillonwagen and German: Bataillonfuehrerwagen). From the very beginning, the companies Rheinmetall and Krupp began developing projects for the competition, later joined by Daimler-Benz and M.A.N. Over the next 18 months, all companies presented their developments, and the Rheinmetall project under the designation VK 2001 (Rh) was even manufactured in metal as a prototype in 1934-1935.

Tank Pz.Kpfw. IV Ausf. J (Armored Vehicle Museum - Latrun, Israel)

All presented projects had chassis with staggered track rollers large diameter and the absence of support rollers, with the exception of the same VK 2001(Rh), which generally inherited the chassis with small-diameter support rollers interlocked in pairs and side screens from the experienced heavy tank Nb.Fz. The best of them was eventually recognized as the Krupp project - VK 2001 (K), but the Armament Directorate was not satisfied with its leaf spring suspension, which they demanded to replace with a more advanced torsion bar. However, Krupp insisted on using a chassis with medium-diameter rollers interlocked in pairs on a spring suspension, borrowed from the rejected Pz.Kpfw.III prototype of its own design. In order to avoid the inevitable delays in reworking the project for torsion bar suspension in the start of production of the tank, which was urgently needed by the army, the Armament Directorate was forced to agree to Krupp’s proposal. After further refinement of the project, Krupp received an order for the production of a pre-production batch of a new tank, which by that time had received the designation “ armored vehicle with a 75-mm cannon" (German: 7.5 cm Geschütz-Panzerwagen) or, according to the end-to-end designation system adopted at that time, "experimental sample 618" (German: Versuchskraftfahrzeug 618 or Vs.Kfz.618). Since April 1936, the tank acquired its final designation - Panzerkampfwagen IV or Pz.Kpfw.IV. In addition, it was assigned the index Vs.Kfz.222, which previously belonged to the Pz.Kpfw.II.

Tank PzKpfw IV Ausf G. Armored Museum in Kubinka.

Mass production

Panzerkampfwagen IV Ausf.A - Ausf.F1

The first few Pz.Kpfw.IV "zero" series were manufactured in 1936-1937 at the Krupp plant in Essen. Serial production of the first series, 1.Serie/B.W., began in October 1937 at the Krupp-Gruson plant in Magdeburg. A total of 35 tanks of this modification, designated Panzerkampfwagen IV Ausführung A (Ausf.A - “model A”), were produced until March 1938. By unified system designation of German armored vehicles, the tank received the index Sd.Kfz.161. Ausf.A tanks were in many ways still pre-production vehicles and carried bulletproof armor that did not exceed 15-20 mm and poorly protected surveillance devices, especially in the commander's cupola. At the same time, Ausf.A has already identified the main design features Pz.Kpfw.IV, and although the tank was subsequently modernized many times, the changes mainly boiled down to the installation of more powerful armor and weapons, or to unprincipled alterations of individual components.

Immediately after the end of production of the first series, Krupp began production of an improved one - 2.Serie/B.W. or Ausf.B. The most noticeable external difference between the tanks of this modification was the straight upper frontal plate, without a prominent “cabinet” for the driver and with the elimination of the course machine gun, which was replaced by a viewing device and a hatch for firing from personal weapons. The design of the viewing devices was also improved, primarily the commander's cupola, which received armored flaps, and the driver's viewing device. According to other sources, the new commander's cupola was introduced already during the production process, so that some Ausf.B tanks carried the old type commander's cupola. Minor changes affected the landing hatches and various hatches. The frontal armor on the new modification was increased to 30 mm. The tank also received a more powerful engine and a new 6-speed gearbox, which made it possible to significantly raise its maximum speed, and its power reserve has also increased. At the same time, the Ausf.B's ammunition load was reduced to 80 gun rounds and 2,700 machine-gun rounds, instead of 120 and 3,000, respectively, on the Ausf.A. Krupp was given an order for the production of 45 Ausf.B tanks, but due to a shortage of components, only 42 vehicles of this modification were actually produced from April to September 1938.

Tank Pz.Kpfw.IV Ausf.A on parade, 1938.

The first relatively widespread modification was 3.Serie/B.W. or Ausf.C. Compared to the Ausf.B, the changes in it were minor - outwardly, both modifications are distinguishable only by the presence of an armored casing for the barrel of the coaxial machine gun. The remaining changes consisted of replacing the HL 120TR engine with an HL 120TRM of the same power, as well as installing a bumper under the gun barrel on some of the tanks to bend the antenna located on the hull when the turret is rotated. A total of 300 tanks of this modification were ordered, but already in March 1938 the order was reduced to 140 units, as a result of which from September 1938 to August 1939, according to various sources, 140 or 134 tanks were produced, while 6 chassis were transferred for conversion into bridge laying machines.

Museum Pz.Kpfw.IV Ausf.D with additional armor

The next modification, Ausf.D, was produced in two series - 4.Serie/B.W. and 5.Serie/B.W. Most notable external change there was a return to the broken upper frontal plate of the hull and the forward machine gun, which received enhanced protection. The internal mantlet of the gun, which proved vulnerable to lead splashes from bullet hits, was replaced with an external one. The thickness of the side and rear armor of the hull and turret was increased to 20 mm. In January 1938, Krupp received an order for the production of 200 4.Serie/B.W. and 48 5.Serie/B.W., but during production, from October 1939 to May 1941, only 229 of them were completed as tanks, while the remaining 19 were allocated for the construction of specialized variants. Some of the later Ausf.D tanks were produced in a “tropical” version (German tropen or Tp.), with additional ventilation holes in the engine compartment. A number of sources speak of reinforcement of armor carried out in units or during repairs in 1940-1941, which was carried out by bolting additional 20-mm sheets onto the upper side and front plates of the tank. According to other sources, later production vehicles were standardly equipped with additional 20 mm side and 30 mm frontal armor plates of the Ausf.E type. Several Ausf.Ds were re-equipped with long-barreled KwK 40 L/48 guns in 1943, but these converted tanks were used only as training tanks.

Tank Pz.Kpfw.IV Ausf.B or Ausf.C during exercises. November 1943.

The appearance of a new modification, 6.Serie/B.W. or Ausf.E, was caused primarily by the insufficient armor protection of early series vehicles, demonstrated during the Polish campaign. On Ausf.E, the thickness of the lower frontal plate was increased to 50 mm, in addition it became standard installation additional 30 mm plates above the upper frontal plate and 20 mm above the side plates, although a small number of early production tanks did not have additional 30 mm plates installed. The armor protection of the turret, however, remained the same - 30 mm for the front plate, 20 mm for the side and rear plates and 35 mm for the gun mantlet. A new commander's cupola was introduced, with vertical armor thickness from 50 to 95 mm. The slope of the rear wall of the turret was also reduced, which was now made of a single sheet, without a “swell” for the turret, and on late-production vehicles an unarmored box for equipment began to be attached to the rear of the turret. In addition, the Ausf.E tanks were distinguished by a number of less noticeable changes - a new driver's viewing device, simplified drive and guide wheels, an improved design of various hatches and inspection hatches, and the introduction of a turret fan. The order for the sixth series of Pz.Kpfw.IV amounted to 225 units and was completed in full between September 1940 and April 1941, in parallel with the production of Ausf.D tanks.

Pz.Kpfw.IV Ausf.F. Finland, 1941.

Shielding with additional armor (on average 10-12 mm), used on previous modifications, was irrational and was considered only as a temporary solution, which was the reason for the appearance of the next modification, 7.Serie/B.W. or Ausf.F. Instead of using mounted armor, the thickness of the frontal upper plate of the hull, the frontal plate of the turret and the gun mantlet was increased to 50 mm, and the thickness of the sides of the hull and the sides and rear of the turret was increased to 30 mm. The broken upper front plate of the hull was again replaced with a straight one, but this time with the preservation of the forward-facing machine gun, and the side hatches of the turret received double doors. Due to the fact that the mass of the tank after the changes increased by 22.5% compared to the Ausf.A, wider tracks were introduced to reduce the specific ground pressure. Other, less noticeable changes included the introduction of ventilation air intakes in the middle frontal plate to cool the brakes, a different location of mufflers and slightly modified viewing devices due to the thickening of the armor and the installation of a directional machine gun. With the Ausf.F modification, companies other than Krupp joined the production of the Pz.Kpfw.IV for the first time. The latter received the first order for 500 vehicles of the seventh series; later orders for 100 and 25 units were received by Womag and Nibelungenwerke. Of this quantity, from April 1941 to March 1942, before production switched to the Ausf.F2 modification, 462 Ausf.F tanks were produced, 25 of which were converted to Ausf.F2 at the factory.

Tank Pz.Kpfw.IV Ausf.E. Yugoslavia, 1941.

Panzerkampfwagen IV Ausf.F2 - Ausf.J

Although the main purpose of the 75-mm Pz.Kpfw.IV cannon was to destroy unarmored or lightly armored targets, the presence of an armor-piercing projectile in its ammunition allowed the tank to successfully fight armored vehicles protected by bulletproof or light anti-ballistic armor. But against tanks with powerful anti-ballistic armor, such as the British Matilda or the Soviet KV and T-34, it turned out to be completely ineffective. Back in 1940 - early 1941, the successful combat use of the Matilda intensified work to re-equip the PzIV with a weapon with better anti-tank capabilities. On February 19, 1941, by personal order of A. Hitler, work began on arming the tank with a 50-mm Kw.K.38 L/42 cannon, which was also installed on the Pz.Kpfw.III, and subsequently work began on strengthening the Pz.Kpfw's armament. IV also advanced under his control. In April, one Pz.Kpfw.IV Ausf.D was re-equipped with the newer, more powerful, 50 mm Kw.K.39 L/60 cannon for demonstration to Hitler for his birthday, April 20. It was even planned to produce a series of 80 tanks with such weapons from August 1941, but by that time the interest of the Armament Directorate (Heereswaffenamt) had shifted to the 75 mm long-barreled gun and these plans were abandoned.

Since the Kw.K.39 had already been approved as armament for the Pz.Kpfw.III, it was decided to choose an even more powerful gun for the Pz.Kpfw.IV, which could not be installed on the Pz.Kpfw.III with its smaller turret ring diameter . Since March 1941, Krupp, as an alternative to the 50-mm cannon, has been considering a new 75-mm cannon with a barrel length of 40 calibers, intended for re-equipping the StuG.III assault guns. At a distance of 400 meters, it penetrated 70 mm armor at an angle of 60°, but since the Armament Directorate required that the gun barrel not protrude beyond the dimensions of the tank hull, its length was reduced to 33 calibers, which resulted in a decrease in armor penetration to 59 mm under the same conditions. It was also planned to develop a sub-caliber armor-piercing projectile with a separating pan, which would penetrate 86 mm armor under the same conditions. Work to re-equip the Pz.Kpfw.IV with a new gun progressed successfully, and in December 1941 the first prototype with a 7.5 cm Kw.K gun was built. L/34.5.

Tank Pz.Kpfw.IV Ausf.F2. France, July 1942.

Meanwhile, the invasion of the USSR began, during which German troops encountered T-34 and KV tanks, which were low-vulnerable to the main tank and anti-tank guns of the Wehrmacht and at the same time carried a 76-mm cannon that pierced the frontal armor of German tanks, which were then practically in service with the Panzerwaffe. at any real combat distances. The Special Tank Commission, sent to the front in November 1941 to study this issue, recommended the rearmament of German tanks with a weapon that would allow them to hit soviet cars from long distances, remaining outside the radius of effective fire from the latter. On November 18, 1941, the development of a tank gun was initiated, similar in its capabilities to the new 75-mm anti-tank gun Pak gun 40. Such a weapon, initially designated Kw.K.44, was developed jointly by Krupp and Rheinmetall. The trunk passed to him from anti-tank gun no changes, but since the latter's shots were too long for use in a tank, for tank gun a shorter and thicker cartridge case was developed, which entailed reworking the breech of the gun and reducing the total barrel length to 43 calibers. Kw.K.44 also received a different anti-tank gun single-chamber spherical muzzle brake. In this form, the gun was adopted as the 7.5 cm Kw.K.40 L/43.

Pz.Kpfw.IVs with the new gun were initially designated as "converted" (German: 7.Serie/B.W.-Umbau or Ausf.F-Umbau), but soon received the designation Ausf.F2, while the Ausf.F vehicles with the old ones The guns began to be called Ausf.F1 to avoid confusion. The designation of the tank according to the unified system changed to Sd.Kfz.161/1. With the exception of a different gun and associated minor changes, such as the installation of a new sight, new firing positions and slightly modified armor for the gun's recoil devices, the early Ausf.F2s were identical to the Ausf.F1 tanks. After a month's break associated with the transition to a new modification, production of the Ausf.F2 began in March 1942 and continued until July of the same year. A total of 175 tanks of this variant were produced and another 25 were converted from Ausf.F1.

Tank Pz.Kpfw. IV Ausf. G (tail number 727) of the 1st Panzergrenadier Division "Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler". The vehicle was hit by artillerymen of the 4th battery of the 595th anti-tank fighter artillery regiment in the area of ​​the street Sumskaya in Kharkov, on the night of March 11-12, 1943. On the frontal armor plate, almost in the center, two entrance holes from 76-mm shells are visible.

The appearance of the next modification of the Pz.Kpfw.IV was not initially caused by any changes in the design of the tank. In June - July 1942, by orders of the Armament Directorate, the designation of Pz.Kpfw.IV with long-barreled guns was changed to 8.Serie/B.W. or Ausf.G, and in October the designation Ausf.F2 was finally abolished for previously produced tanks of this modification. The first tanks, released as Ausf.G, were thus identical to their predecessors, but as production continued, more and more changes were made to the tank's design. Ausf.G of early releases still carried the index Sd.Kfz.161/1 according to the end-to-end designation system, which was replaced by Sd.Kfz.161/2 on vehicles of later releases. The first changes made already in the summer of 1942 included a new two-chamber pear-shaped muzzle brake, the elimination of viewing devices in the front side plates of the turret and the loader's inspection hatch in its frontal plate, the transfer of smoke grenade launchers from the rear of the hull to the sides of the turret, and a system for facilitating launch in winter conditions. .

Since the 50 mm frontal armor of the Pz.Kpfw.IV was still insufficient, not providing adequate protection against 57 mm and 76 mm guns, it was again reinforced by welding or, on later production vehicles, bolting additional 30-mm mm of plates above the upper and lower frontal plates of the hull. The thickness of the front plate of the turret and gun mantlet, however, was still 50 mm and did not increase during further modernization of the tank. The introduction of additional armor began with the Ausf.F2, when 8 tanks with increased armor thickness were produced in May 1942, but progress was slow. By November, only about half of the vehicles were produced with reinforced armor, and only from January 1943 did it become standard for all new tanks. Another significant change introduced to the Ausf.G from the spring of 1943 was the replacement of the Kw.K.40 L/43 gun with the Kw.K.40 L/48 with a 48-caliber barrel length, which had slightly higher armor penetration. Production of the Ausf.G continued until June 1943; a total of 1,687 tanks of this modification were produced. Of this number, about 700 tanks received reinforced armor and 412 received the Kw.K.40 L/48 gun.

Pz.Kpfw.IV Ausf.H with side screens and zimmerit coating. USSR, July 1944.

The next modification, Ausf.H, became the most widespread. The first tanks under this designation, which rolled off the assembly line in April 1943, differed from the last Ausf.G only in the thickening of the front turret roof sheet to 16 mm and the rear one to 25 mm, as well as reinforced final drives with cast drive wheels, but the first 30 tanks Ausf.H, due to delays in the supply of new components, only received a thicker roof. Since the summer of the same year, instead of additional 30 mm hull armor, solid-rolled 80 mm plates were introduced to simplify production. In addition, hinged anti-cumulative screens made of 5 mm sheets were introduced, installed on most Ausf.H. In this regard, viewing devices on the sides of the hull and turret were eliminated as unnecessary. Since September, tanks have been coated with vertical armor with Zimmerit to protect them from magnetic mines.

Ausf.H tanks of later production received a turret mount for the MG-42 machine gun at the commander's cupola hatch, as well as a vertical rear plate instead of the inclined one that was present on all previous modifications of the tanks. During production, various changes were also introduced to make production cheaper and easier, such as the introduction of non-rubber support rollers and the elimination of the driver's periscopic viewing device. From December 1943, the frontal hull plates began to be connected to the side joints in a “tenon” manner to enhance resistance to shell hits. Production of the Ausf.H continued until July 1944. Data on the number of tanks of this modification produced, given in various sources, vary somewhat, from 3935 chassis, of which 3774 were completed as tanks, to 3960 chassis and 3839 tanks.

The German medium tank Pz.Kpfw destroyed on the Eastern Front. IV lying upside down on the side of the road. Part of the caterpillar in contact with the ground is missing, in the same place there are no rollers with a fragment of the lower part of the hull, a bottom sheet is torn off, and the second caterpillar is torn off. Top part the machine, as far as can be judged, does not have such fatal destruction. A typical picture of a landmine explosion.

The appearance of the Ausf.J modification on assembly lines in June 1944 was associated with the desire to reduce the cost and simplify the production of the tank as much as possible in the conditions of Germany's deteriorating strategic position. The only, but significant, change that distinguished the first Ausf.J from the last Ausf.H was the elimination of the electric drive for turning the turret and the associated auxiliary carburetor engine with a generator. Soon after the start of production of the new modification, the pistol ports in the stern and sides of the turret, which were useless due to the screens, were eliminated, and the design of other hatches was simplified. Since July, on the site of the liquidated auxiliary engine They began to install an additional fuel tank with a capacity of 200 liters, but the fight against its leakage dragged on until September 1944. In addition, the 12-mm hull roof began to be reinforced by welding additional 16-mm sheets. All subsequent changes were aimed at further simplifying the design, the most notable among them being the abandonment of the Zimmerit coating in September and the reduction in the number of support rollers to three per side in December 1944. Production of tanks of the Ausf.J modification continued almost until the very end of the war, until March 1945, but a decrease in production rates associated with the weakening of German industry and difficulties with the supply of raw materials led to the fact that only 1,758 tanks of this modification were produced.

Production volumes of the T-4 tank

Design

The Pz.Kpfw.IV had a layout with a combined transmission compartment and control compartment located in the front, an engine compartment in the stern, and fighting compartment- in the middle part of the car. The tank's crew consisted of five people: a driver and gunner-radio operator, located in the control compartment, and a gunner, loader and tank commander, located in a three-man turret.

Armored hull and turret

The turret of the PzKpfw IV tank made it possible to modernize the tank's gun. Inside the turret there was a commander, gunner and loader. The commander's position was located directly under the commander's cupola, the gunner was located to the left of the breech of the gun, and the loader was located to the right. Additional protection was provided by anti-cumulative screens, which were also installed on the sides. The commander's cupola at the rear of the turret gave the tank good visibility. The tower had an electric drive for rotation.

Soviet soldiers examine a broken German Pz.Kpfw tank. IV Ausf. H (single-leaf hatch and absence of three-barrel grenade launchers on the turret). The tank is painted in three-color camouflage. Oryol-Kursk direction.

Surveillance and communications equipment

In non-combat conditions, the tank commander, as a rule, conducted observation while standing in the hatch of the commander's cupola. In battle, to view the area, he had five wide viewing slits around the perimeter of the commander's cupola, giving him an all-round view. The commander's viewing slits, like those of all other crew members, were equipped with a protective triplex glass block with inside. On the Pz.Kpfw.IV Ausf.A the viewing slots did not have any additional cover, but on the Ausf.B the slots were equipped with sliding armor flaps; in this form, the commander’s viewing devices remained unchanged on all subsequent modifications. In addition, on tanks of early modifications, the commander's cupola had a mechanical device for determining the target's heading angle, with the help of which the commander could carry out precise target designation to the gunner, who had a similar device. However, due to excessive complexity, this system was eliminated, starting with the Ausf.F2 modification. The gunner's and loader's viewing devices on Ausf.A - Ausf.F consisted of, for each of them: a viewing hatch with an armored cover without viewing slots, in the front plate of the turret on the sides of the gun mantlet; an inspection hatch with a slot in the front side sheets and an inspection slot in the turret side hatch cover. Starting with the Ausf.G, as well as on some of the Ausf.F2 of late production, the inspection devices in the front side plates and the loader's inspection hatch in the front plate were eliminated. On some tanks of the Ausf.H and Ausf.J modifications, due to the installation of anti-cumulative screens, the viewing devices on the sides of the turret were completely eliminated.

The main means of observation for the driver of the Pz.Kpfw.IV was a wide viewing slot in the front hull plate. On the inside, the gap was protected by a triplex glass block; on the outside, on the Ausf.A it could be closed with a simple folding armor flap; on the Ausf.B and subsequent modifications, it could be closed with a Sehklappe 30 or 50 sliding flap, which was also used on the Pz.Kpfw.III. A periscope binocular viewing device K.F.F.1 was located above the viewing slit on Ausf.A, but it was eliminated on Ausf.B - Ausf.D. On Ausf.E - Ausf.G the viewing device appeared in the form of an improved K.F.F.2, but starting with Ausf.H it was abandoned again. The device was brought out into two holes in the front plate of the body and, if there was no need for it, was moved to the right. The radio operator-gunner on most modifications did not have any means of viewing the frontal sector, in addition to the sight of the forward machine gun, but on Ausf.B, Ausf.C and parts of Ausf.D, in place of the machine gun there was a hatch with a viewing slot in it. Similar hatches were located in the side plates on most Pz.Kpfw.IVs, being eliminated only on Ausf.Js due to the installation of anti-cumulative shields. In addition, the driver had a turret position indicator, one of two lights warned about the turret turning to one side or another in order to avoid damage to the gun when driving in cramped conditions.

For external communications, Pz.Kpfw.IV platoon commanders and above were equipped with a VHF radio station model Fu 5 and a Fu 2 receiver. Linear tanks were equipped only with a Fu 2 receiver. FuG5 had a transmitter power of 10 W and provided a communication range of 9.4 km in telegraph mode and 6.4 km in telephone mode. For internal communications, all Pz.Kpfw.IVs were equipped with a tank intercom for four crew members, with the exception of the loader.

Tank T-4 (Pz.4) was developed within the framework of the requirements for weapons 18-ton class, conditionally before- assigned to commanders tank ba - BW (Bataillonsfuhrerwagen) bags. Sa- the largest mass tank of the Wehrmacht and the only German tank , which was in mass production throughoutWorld War II.(see photo )

Tank T-4 Pz .4 - the most mass weapons German army of World War II

DESIGN AND MODIFICATIONS

Pz.4A - installation batch. Combat weight 17.3 tons. Engine Maybach HL 108 TR power 250 hp, five-speed co- shy of gears Dimensions 5920x2830x2680 mm. Armament: 75 mm cannon KwK 37 with a 24 caliber barrel length and two machine guns MG 34. Armor thickness 8 - 20 mm. Outcast- 35 weapons were shipped.

Pz.4B - straight front hull plate. The course machine gun was confiscated. A new commander's cupola and periscope observation device were introduced. Engine Maybach HL 120 TR power 300 HP, six-speed gearbox. Lobo thickness- howl of turret and hull armor - 30 mm. From- 42 (or 45) units prepared.

Pz.4C - a special bumper under the gun barrel for bending the antenna when turning the turret, armored casing spa- rented machine gun. Starting from the 40th car- we series engine installed Maybach HL 120 TRM. 140 units produced.

Pz.4 D - frontal part of the hull like Pz. lVA, including a front-mounted machine gun. Izme- Nena gun mask. The thickness of the side armor of the hull and turret was increased to 20 mm. In 1940 - 1941, the frontal armor of the hull and turret was reinforced with 20 mm armor- mi sheets. 229 units produced.

Pz.4 E - frontal hull armor 30 mm plus additional 30 mm armor plate. Frontal armor of the turret - 30 mm, mass- ka guns - 35... 37 mm. Installed but- high commander's cupola with reinforced armor and ball mount for chickens- Kugelblende 30 owl machine gun, simplified - new drive and guide wheels, ba- worn box for equipment, etc.- weight 21 tons. 223 units manufactured.

Pz .4 F (F 1 ) - the latest modification with a short-barreled gun. Direct lobo- a hull plate with a forward-facing machine gun. New design commander's cupola- tions. Single-leaf hatches in the sides of the towers- nor replaced by double-leaf ones. Frontal armor 50 mm thick. The track is 400 mm wide. 462 units produced.

PZ .4 F 2 - 75 mm KwK gun 40 with a 43 caliber barrel length and a pear-shaped muzzle- brake. New gun mask installation and new sight TZF 5f. Combat mas - ca 23.6 tons. 175 units manufactured.

Pz .4 G (Sd . Kfz . 161/1) - two-chamber gun muzzle brake. Late production tanks were armed with a 75 mm cannon KwK 40 with a barrel length of 48 calibers, they are- were equipped with additional armor plates- that in the frontal part of the hull with a thickness of 30 mm, 1450 kg "eastern tracks" and

side screens. 1687 units were produced.

Pz. 4N (Sd. Kfz. 161/2) - 75 mm KwK gun 40 with a barrel length of 48 calibers. 80 mm frontal armor. The radio antenna was moved from the side of the hull to its stern. Anti-cumulative 5 mm screens are installed. New type commander's cupola with anti-aircraft installation machine gun MG 34. Vertical stern plate of the hull. Six-speed gearbox ZF SSG 77. 3960 (or 3935) units produced.

Pz. lVJ (Sd. Kfz. 161/2) - technologically and structurally simplified version Pz. lVH. Manual drive for turning the turret. Support rollers without rubber bands. Increased fuel capacity- nyh tanks. 1758 units were produced.

The first Pz tanks. 4 entered the Wehrmacht in January 1938. General order for combat vehicles this type included 709 tank units weapons.

The plan for 1938 provided for the village- 116 tanks, and the company Krupp almost you - completed it by transferring 113 vehicles to the troops. The first "combat" operations involving- eat Pz. IV became the Anschluss of Austria and the seizure of the Sudetenland of Czechoslovakia in 1938. In March 1939, they marched through the streets of Prague.

On the eve of the invasion of Poland 1 September- In 1939, the Wehrmacht had 211 tanks Pz. 4 modifications A, B and C. According to the then existing staff, a tank division should have consisted of 24 tanks Pz. IV, 12 vehicles in each regiment. One- but only the 1st and 2nd tank regiments of the 1st tank were fully staffed- howl division (1. Panzer Division). The Training Tank Battalion also had a full staff(Panzer Lehr Abteilung), attached 3rd tan- war division. In the remaining formations there were only a few Pz. IV, which - These were superior in armament and armor protection to all types of Polish tanks opposing them. However, over time- During the Polish campaign, the Germans lost 76 tanks of this type, 19 of them irretrievably.

To the beginning of the French Pan campaign- cervaffe already had 290 Pz. IV and 20 bridge laying machines at their base. Like Pz. lll they were concentrated in divisions operating in the directions of the main attacks. General Rommel's 7th Panzer Division, for example, had 36 Pz. IV. During the battles, the French and English- we managed to knock out 97 tanks Pz. IV. Without - The return losses of the Germans amounted to only 30 combat vehicles of this type.

In 1940 specific gravity tanks Pz. IV in Wehrmacht tank formations increased slightly. On the one hand, thanks to the growth of production, and on the other, due to the decrease- reducing the number of tanks in the division to 258 units. During a short-lived operation in the Balkans in the spring of 1941. Pz. IV, participation - who fought in battles with the Yugoslav, Greek- mi and British troops, no losses- carried

T PERFORMANCE AND TECHNICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE TANK Pz. lVFI

COMBAT WEIGHT, t; 22.3, CREW, people; 5.

OVERALL DIMENSIONS mm: length - 5920, width - 2880, height - 2680, ground clearance - 400.

WEAPONS: 1 cannon KwK 37 caliber 75 mm and 2 machine guns MG 34 caliber 7.92 mm.

AMMUNITION: 80 - 87 artillery rounds and 2700 rounds of ammunition. AIMING DEVICES* telescopic sight TZF 5b. RESERVATION, mm: hull front - 50; board - 20+20; feed - 20; roof -11; bottom - 10; tower - 30 - 50.

ENGINE: Maybach HL 120 TRM, 12-cylinder carburetor, V -shaped, liquid cooling; working volume 11,867 cm 3 ; power 300 hp (221 kW) at 3000 rpm. TRANSMISSION - three-disc dry friction main clutch, six-speed synchronized gearbox ZF SSG 76, planetary rotation mechanism, final drives. RUNNING GEAR: eight small rubber-coated road wheels- meter on board, interlocked in pairs into four trolleys, suspended- mounted on quarter-elliptic leaf springs; leading to- front mounted forestry with removable gear rims (behind- lantern clutch); four rubberized support rollers; each caterpillar has 99 tracks with a width of 400 mm. MAXIMUM SPEED, km/h: 42. POWER RESERVE, km: 200.

OBSTACLES TO OVERCOME: ascent angle, degrees - 30; width- on the ditch, m - 2.3; wall height, m ​​- 0.6; ford depth, m - 1. COMMUNICATIONS: radio station Fu 5.

To the beginning of Operation Barbarossa Ver- Macht had 439 tanks Pz. IV, by the end of 1941, 348 of them were lost without recovery- military. Pz. IV, armed short-barreled- guns, could not effectively- rummage with Soviet medium and heavy- mi tanks. Only with the advent of the long-barreled modification did the situation level out. By mid-1943 Pz. IV became the main German tank on Vos- exact front. The staff of the German tank division included a two-battalion tank regiment. In the first battalion, two companies armed themselves Pz. IV, in the second, only one company. Overall, the race division- I thought there were 51 tanks Pz. IV combat battalions - nah. In Operation Citadel they made up- or almost 60% of the tanks that took part- ity in combat.

In North Africa, up to the capital- lation of German troops, Pz. IV successfully resisted all types of Union tanks- nicknames Best of luck these tanks achieved in the fight against the British- Ser tanks A.9 and A. 10 - mobile- new, but lightly armored. First modification cars F 2 was delivered to

North Africa in the summer of 1942. At the end of July, Rommel's Afrika Korps raced- I thought there were only 13 tanks Pz. IV, of which 9 were F 2. In English documents of that period they were called Panzer IV Special.

Despite the defeat at El Alamein, the Germans began to reorganize- tion of their forces in Africa. On December 9, 1942, the 5th Tank Army was formed in Tunisia, which included- sneeze entered transferred from France

The 10th Panzer Division, which had- weapons of tanks Pz. IV Ausf. G. These tanks took part in the defeat American troops at Kasserine on February 14, 1943, however, this was the last successful operation- German radio on the African continent- those - already on February 23 they were forced- We went on the defensive, their forces were quickly melting away. On May 1, 1943 in German troops- kakh in Tunisia there were only 58 tanks - of which 17 Pz. IV.

In 1944, the organization of the German tank- howl division has undergone significant changes. The first battalion of the tank regiment received tanks Pz. V "Panther", second - the swarm was complete Pz. IV. In fact, the "panthers" entered military service- not everyone's life tank divisions Wehrmach- ta. In a number of formations, both battalions had only Pz. IV.

In the summer of 1944, German troops- whether defeat after defeat, as in Za- pada, and in the East. I comply- There were also significant losses: in only two months- Syatsa - August and September - 1139 tanks were destroyed Pz. IV. However, me - no, their number in the troops continued to increase- to be significant. In November 1944 Pz. IV accounted for 40% of German tanks on the Eastern Front, 52% in the West- nom and 57% in Italy.

The last major operations of the German army involving Pz. IV began a counteroffensive in the Ardennes in December 1944 and a counterattack by the 6th SS Panzer Army in the area of ​​Lake Balaton in January - March 1945, which ended in failure- scrap. During January 1945 alone, 287 were shot down. Pz. IV, from them rose - refurbished and returned to service 53 ma- tires.

Pz. IV took part in hostilities until the last days of the war, including street battles in Berlin. On the territory of Czechoslovakia, battles with fate- The production of tanks of this type continued until May 12, 1945.

major tank losses Pz. IV amounted to 7636 units.

Pz. IV in significantly larger quantities- wow, than other German tanks, having delivered- was intended for export. Judging by the German hundred- tistics, Germany's allies, as well as Turkey and Spain arrived in 1942 - 1944. 490 combat vehicles. Besides Ger- Pz mania. IV were in service in Hungary (74, according to other sources - 104), Romania (142), Bulgaria (97), Fin- Land (14) and Croatia.

Based on Pz. IV were produced self-propelled artillery installations, commander- such tanks, advanced artillery vehicles- Riy observers, evacuation tractors and bridge tanks.

After the surrender of Germany, a large batch of 165 Pz. IV was handed over to Che- Khoslovakia. Having undergone repairs, they are- was in service with the Czechoslovak army until the early 1950s. Except for Czechoslovakia in the post-war years Pz. IV were used in the armies of Spain, Turkey, France, Finland, Bulgaria and Syria.