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==Sejarah==
===Development historyAsal-muasal===
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-139-1112-17, Russland-Mitte, Heinz Guderian.jpg|miniatur|[[Heinz Guderian|Guderian]] Jenderal [[Heinz Guderian]] di Front Timur.]]
Pada Awal 1934, sesuai dari spesifikasi [[Heinz Guderian]], Departemen Persenjataan Angkatan Darat Wehrmacht menggambar Cetak Biru untuk Tank Medium Dengan Berat 24000.kg maksimal dan kecepatan 35 Km/jam. Yang mana bertujuan untuk menjadi Tank Pokok Angkatan Darat Jerman Pada waktu itu dan untuk mendukung [[Blitzkrieg|Taktik Perang Kilat]] yang tengah di gagas.
pada January 11, 1934, following specifications laid down by [[Heinz Guderian]], the Army Weapons Department drew up plans for a medium tank with a maximum weight of {{convert|24000|kg|lb|abbr=on}} and a top speed of {{convert|35|km/h|mph|abbr=on}}. It was intended as the main tank of the German [[Panzer division]]s, capable of engaging and destroying opposing tank forces.
Pada waktu itu Tank ini akan di gunakan dengan dua cara. Pertama adalah, dengan cara biasa pertempuran tank standar yang melibatkan Tank dengan Tank menembakkan masing-masing senjata nya. Cara kedua untuk menghancurkan unit Anti-Tank dan untuk Menggilas Infanteri. Tank ini juga di kembangkan menjadi Assault Gun seperti Sturmgeschütz III bahkan di kembangan menjadi Panzer Kelas Menengah Generasi ke-4 [[Panzer IV]].
At the time, it was widely held that tanks would be used in two ways. The first use was, of course, direct combat against other tanks and other armoured vehicles, requiring the tank to fire armour piercing (AP) shells. The second use was protecting other tanks against [[anti-tank gun]]s and infantry, firing high explosive shells at such soft targets. It was the infantry, in prepared defences and equipped with anti-tank guns, that was thought to present the biggest threat to armour. Tanks designed to operate with friendly infantry against the enemy generally carried more armour and were heavier. A separate class, known as [[cruiser tank|cruisers]] or [[medium tank|mediums]], were intended to exploit gaps in the enemy lines where opposition had been removed, moving through and attacking the enemy's unprotected [[lines of communication]] and the [[Rear (military)|rear areas]]. These designs were lighter and faster. The Panzer III was built to this lighter standard, and was intended to be paired with the [[Panzer IV]]. The infantry-support role was provided by the turretless ''[[Sturmgeschütz]]'' assault gun, mounting a howitzer on a Panzer III chassis.
Pasca [[Invasi Polandia]] tank ini banyak di perjual-belikan di lingkup Blok Poros karena ketenaran tank ini melawan tank-tank sekutu yang kewalahan di Front Barat. Seperti Angkatan Darat [[Kekaisaran Jepang]] membelinya untuk melakukan rekayasa terbalik. Beberapa Negara Boneka Jerman juga memiliki nya seperti [[Negara Independen Kroasia]] yang langsung diberi secara cuma-cuma oleh Wehrmacht untuk mempertahankan Front Timur.
[[Daimler-Benz]], [[Krupp]], [[MAN SE|MAN]], and [[Rheinmetall]] all produced prototypes. Testing of these took place in 1936 and 1937, leading to the Daimler-Benz design being chosen for production. The first model of the Panzer III, the ''Ausführung A.'' (Ausf. A), came off the assembly line in May 1937; ten, two of which were unarmed, were produced in that year. Mass production of the Ausf. F version began in 1939. Between 1937 and 1940, attempts were made to standardize parts between [[Krupp]]'s Panzer IV and Daimler-Benz's Panzer III.
Much of the early development work on the Panzer III was a quest for a suitable suspension. Several varieties of [[leaf-spring suspension]]s were tried on Ausf. A through Ausf. D, usually using eight relatively small-diameter road wheels before the [[torsion-bar suspension]] of the Ausf. E was standardized, using the six road wheel design that became standard. The Panzer III, along with the Soviet [[Kliment Voroshilov tank|KV heavy tank]], was one of the first tanks to use this suspension design.
A distinct feature of the Panzer III, influenced by [[Tanks in the British Army|British]] [[Vickers Medium Mark I|Vickers tanks]] (1924), was the three-man turret. This meant that the [[Tank commander|commander]] was not distracted with another role in the tank (e.g. as gunner or loader) and could fully concentrate on maintaining awareness of the situation and directing the tank. Most tanks of the time did not have this capability,<ref>{{cite web|title=AFV Development During World War II|url=http://www.onwar.com/articles/9810.htm|author=Ralph Zuljan |quote=Originally published in "World War II" at Suite101.com on October 1, 1998. |edition=revised |date= July 1, 2003}}</ref> providing the Panzer III with a combat advantage versus such tanks. For example, the French [[Somua S-35]] only had a one-man turret crew, and the [[Tanks in the Soviet Union|Soviet]] [[T-34]] originally had a two-man turret crew. The practical importance of this feature is signified by the fact that not only all the further German tank designs inherited it, but also later into the war, most Allied tank designs either quickly switched to the three-man turret, or they were abandoned as obsolete.{{cn|date=April 2015}}
The Panzer III, as opposed to the Panzer IV, had no turret basket, merely a foot rest platform for the gunner.<ref>Some authors say that basket was added in Ausf. H, some object that: {{cite web|title=German Panzerkampwagen III, Ausf.J, Part 1|url=http://www.kithobbyist.com/AFVInteriors/pz3/pz3a.html|accessdate=16 January 2011|author=Mike Kendall|archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20001204220400/http://www.kithobbyist.com/AFVInteriors/pz3/pz3a.html|archivedate=4 December 2000}}</ref>
The Panzer III was intended as the primary battle tank of the German forces. However, when it initially met the [[KV-1]] and T-34 tanks it proved to be inferior in both armour and gun power. To meet the growing need to counter these tanks, the Panzer III was up-gunned with a longer, more powerful {{convert|50|mm|in|2|adj=on}} gun and received more armour although this failed to effectively address the problem caused by the KV tank designs. As a result, production of self-propelled guns, as well as the up-gunning of the Panzer IV was initiated.
In 1942, the final version of the Panzer III, the Ausf. N, was created with a {{convert|75|mm|in|2|adj=on}} KwK 37 L/24 cannon, the same short-barreled howitzer-like gun used for [[Panzer IV#Ausf. A to Ausf. F1|the initial models]] of the [[Panzer IV]], a low-velocity gun designed for anti-infantry and close-support work. For defensive purposes, the Ausf. N was equipped with rounds of [[High-explosive anti-tank warhead|HEAT]] ammunition which could penetrate {{convert|70|to|100|mm|in|2}} of armour depending on the round's variant, but these were strictly used for self-defense.
The Japanese government bought two Panzer IIIs from their German allies during the war (one 50 mm and one 75 mm). Purportedly this was for [[reverse engineering]] purposes, since [[Empire of Japan|Japan]] put more emphasis on the development of new military aircraft and naval technology and had been dependent on European influence in designing new tanks. By the time the vehicles were delivered the Panzer III's technology was obsolete.<ref>Zaloga (2007), p.17</ref>
===Armour===
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