Tankopedia
WW2MediumMedium TankGermany

Panther (Panzer V)

In service 1943 - 1950s (French service)

Germany's direct answer to the T-34 and arguably the best balance of firepower, protection and mobility of the war.

Built byMAN, Daimler-Benz, MNH

Panther (Panzer V)
Panzer V Panther, Bundesarchiv Bild 183-H26258 — Unknown author, via Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0 de

Development history

The Panther took the T-34 lesson of sloped armour and added a long, extremely accurate 75 mm with flat trajectory and excellent penetration. Its debut at Kursk was ruined by mechanical immaturity, but by 1944 a worked-out Panther was a deadly defensive weapon with weak side armour and a persistently fragile final drive. France operated captured Panthers post-war while it rebuilt its own tank industry.

Photo gallery

Period photographs with source and licence details.

2 images

Variants

One canonical record, 4 recorded variants.

  1. Ausf. D

    1943

    First production mark; drum cupola, letterbox hull MG flap, unreliable drivetrain.

  2. Ausf. A

    1943

    Cast cupola, ball-mounted hull machine gun, strengthened turret.

  3. Ausf. G

    1944

    Simplified hull with no driver vision port, thicker side armour, chin mantlet late on.

  4. Jagdpanther

    1944

    Casemate destroyer with the 88 mm PaK 43 on the Panther hull.

Notable actions

  • Battle of Kursk (1943)
  • Anzio (1944)
  • Normandy (1944)
  • Ardennes Offensive (1944-45)