Panzer III

Panzer III adalah nama Tank kelas Medium yang didesain dan dikembangan oleh Nazi Jerman dengan nama Panzerkampfwagen III / Proywk Sd Kfz. 141 (dalam bahasa Jerman Panzerkampfwagen artinya: Kendaraan Lapis Baja untuk Bertempur). Tank ini sangat populer pada saat era Perang Dunia ke-2. Awalnya Tank ini menjadi Tank Pokok untuk keseluruhan Angkatan Bersenjata Jerman seperti saat Penyerangan Jerman ke Polandia (1939), Operasi Weserubung, Fall Gelb banyak yang di pakai untuk menembus masuk ke garis pertahanan musuh di barat maupun timur. Namun saat mulai diproduksi-nya Panzerkampfwagen IV posisi Panzer III mulai di ganti karena Panzer IV lebih Efektif dalam hal berperang.

Panzerkampfwagen III
PzKpfw III Ausf J dengan Pelindung Ekstra saat Persiapan Pertempuran Kursk.
Jenis	Tank Kelas Medium
Negara asal	Jerman Nazi
Sejarah pemakaian
Masa penggunaan	1936–1945
Digunakan oleh	Jerman Nazi Kerajaan Rumania Republik Slovakia (1939-1945) Kerajaan Hungaria Negara Independen Kroasia Turki Norwegia
Pada perang	Perang Dunia II
Sejarah produksi
Tahun	1934
Diproduksi	1935–1943
Jumlah produksi	1,856
Spesifikasi
Berat	8,9 ton (Ausf. A-C)
Panjang	481 m (1.578 ft 1 in)
Lebar	222 m (728 ft 4 in)
Tinggi	199 m (652 ft 11 in)
Awak	5 (komandan, penembak senjata utama, supir, pengisi peluru, operator radio)
Senjata utama	1 × 2 cm KwK 30 Ausf. a–F 1 × 2 cm KwK 38 Ausf. J–L
Senjata pelengkap	1 × 7.92 mm Maschinengewehr 34
Jenis Mesin	6-cyl Maybach HL 62TRM bensin 140 PS ( 138 hp, 103 kW)
Daya kuda/ton	15.7 PS/ton
Suspensi	Pegas daun
Daya jelajah	200 km (120 mi)
Kecepatan	40 km/h (25 mph)

Sejarah

Asal-muasal

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 Taktik Perang Kilat yang tengah di gagas.

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.

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.

Lapis Baja

Panzer III versi Awal Ausf A memiliki baja dengan ketebalan 15 mm di depan dan samping kecuali di belakang yang di belakang hanya kurang lebih 10 mm di kurangi agar tidak berat. Dalam Perjalananya Lapis Baja Panzer III ini di pasang berdasarkan kebutuhan perang dan rata-rata setiap kali peningkatan harus berganti versi terlebih dulu. Puncak ketebalan lapis baja Panzer III adalah saat di pasangkan Ekstra Pelindung atau orang Jerman sering bilang Schürzen dan ketebalam paling tinggi adalah 45mm tetapi mempengaruhi fleksibelitas tank ini yang terkenal lincah di berbagai medan. Selain kebutuhan perang juga dengan medan terkadang di sesuaikan, seperti di Afrika Utara pasukan Jendral Rommel yang rata-rata ber-armor tipis karena cuaca yang panas di afrika.

Armament

Panzerbefehlswagen (Tank Komandan) III ausf E or F di Yunani (1941).

Panzer III dilengkapi oleh Persenjataan utama standart kembangan Departemen Persenjataan Angkatan Darat Wehrmacht dan juga dilengkapi oleh Senjata Mesin MG34 dan dua senjata mesin kecil. Persenjataan juga di kembangkan berdasarkan medan di front.

Mobility

The Panzer III Ausf. A through C were powered by a 250 PS (184 kW), 12-cylinder Maybach HL 108 TR engine, giving a top speed of 32 km/h (20 mph) and a range of 150 km (93 mi). All later models were powered by the 300 PS (221 kW), 12-cylinder Maybach HL 120 TRM engine. Top speed varied, depending on the transmission and weight, but was around 40 km/h (25 mph). The range was generally around 155 km (96 mi).

Combat history

The Panzer III was used in the campaigns against Poland, France, the Soviet Union and in North Africa. A handful were still in use in Normandy, Anzio, Norway, Finland and in Operation Market Garden in 1944.

A Panzerkampfwagen III Ausf L formerly on display at the US Army Ordnance Museum in Aberdeen, Maryland and currently housed at the National Armor and Cavalry Restoration Shop at Fort Benning, Georgia.

In the Polish and French campaigns, the Panzer III formed a small part of the German armoured forces. Only a few hundred Ausf. A through F were available in these campaigns, most armed with the 37-milimeter (1,46 in) gun. They were the best medium tank available to the Germans and outclassed, in both firepower and armour, most of their opponents, such as the Polish 7TP, French R-35 and H-35 light tanks and the Soviet T-26 light tank and BT cavalry tanks.

Around the time of Operation Barbarossa, the Panzer III was numerically the most important German tank. At this time, the majority of the available tanks (including re-armed Ausf. E and F, plus new Ausf. G and H models) had the 50-milimeter (1,97 in) KwK 38 L/42 cannon, which also equipped the majority of the tanks in North Africa. Initially, the Panzer IIIs were outclassed by Soviet T-34 and KV tanks. However, the most numerous Soviet tanks were the T-26 and BT tanks. This, along with superior German tactical skill, crew training, and the good ergonomics of the Panzer III all contributed to a rough 6:1 favourable kill ratio for German tanks of all types in 1941.

The crew of a Panzer III of the 2nd SS Panzer Division Das Reich rest during the Battle of Kursk.

With the appearance of the T-34 and KV tanks, rearming the Panzer III with a longer, more powerful 50-milimeter (1,97 in) gun was prioritised. The T-34 was generally invulnerable in frontal engagements with the Panzer III until the 50 mm KwK 39 L/60 gun was introduced on the Panzer III Ausf. J¹ in the spring of 1942 (the gun was based on infantry's 50 mm Pak 38 L/60). This could penetrate the T-34 frontally at ranges under 500 meter (1.600 ft). Against the KV tanks, it was a threat if armed with special high velocity tungsten rounds. In addition, to counter anti-tank rifles, in 1943 the Ausf. L version began the use of spaced armour skirts (Schürzen) around the turret and on the hull sides. However, due to the introduction of the upgunned and uparmoured Panzer IV, the Panzer III was, after the Battle of Kursk, relegated to secondary roles, such as training, and it was replaced as the main German medium tank by the Panzer IV and the Panther.

The Panzer III chassis was the basis for the turretless Sturmgeschütz III assault gun, one of the most successful self-propelled guns of the war, and the single most-produced German armoured fighting vehicle design of World War II.

By the end of the war, the Panzer III saw almost no frontline use and many vehicles had been returned to the factories for conversion into StuG assault guns, which were in high demand due to the defensive warfare style adopted by the German Army by then.

Variants and production

Panzerkampfwagen III production - Medium tanks

Ausführung	A	B	C	D	E	F	G	H	J	L	M	N
Year	1936	1937	1937/38	1938,1940	1939/40	1940	1940/41	1940/41	1941/42	1941/42	1942/43	1942/43
Produced	10	10	15	25 + 5	96	450	594	286	1521	1470	517	614

	Command tanks					Flame tank
Ausführung	D	E	H	J	K	Flamm
Year	1938/39	1939/40	1940/41	1941/42	1942/43	1943
Produced	30	45	175	81	50	100

• Panzer III Ausf. A - Prototype; only 8 armed and saw service in Poland. Armed with 3.7 cm KwK 36 L/46.5 main gun, 250 PS HL 108 engine.
• Panzer III Ausf. B - Prototype; some saw service in Poland.
• Panzer III Ausf. C - Prototype; some saw service in Poland.
• Panzer III Ausf. D - Prototype; some saw service in Poland and Norway.
• Panzer III Ausf. E - Suspension redesigned, switching from leaf-springs to torsion-bars, now using 6 larger roadwheels per side. 300 PS HL 120 engine.
• Panzer III Ausf. F - improved Ausf. E, first mass-production version, late production armed with 5 cm KwK 38 L/42 main gun.
• Panzer III Ausf. G - More armour on gun mantlet. Armed with 3.7 cm KwK 36 L/46.5 (later 5 cm KwK 38 L/42) gun.
• Panzer III Ausf. H - 5 cm KwK 38 L/42 as standard gun. Bolt-on armour added to front and rear hull (30 mm base + 30 mm plates).
• Panzer III Ausf. I - Variant mentioned in Allied intelligence reports but not an actual existing vehicle. Possible confusion with Ausf. J.
• Panzer III Ausf. J - Hull and turret front armour increased to solid 50 mm plate. Some were produced with 5 cm KwK 39 L/60 gun and later redesignated Ausf. L.
• Panzer III Ausf. K - Panzerbefehlswagen command tank variant with a modified turret. Carried actual main armament rather than a dummy gun as found on other Panzer III command versions.
• Panzer III Ausf. L - Redesignated Aus. J equipped with long 5 cm gun, 20 mm stand-off armour plates on hull and turret front
• Panzer III Ausf. M - Minor modifications of the ausf. L such as deep-wading exhaust and Schürzen side-armour panels.
• Panzer III Ausf. N - Infantry support tank, armed with a short barrelled 7.5 cm KwK 37 L/24 gun.

• 
  Ausf. D, Poland (1939)
• 
  Ausf.G, captured by the British in North Africa (1941).
• 
  Ausf. H in the Musée des Blindés, Saumur.
• 
  Ausf. J, USSR (1942).
• 
  Ausf. L, US Army Ordnance Museum (2007) and currently at the National Armor and Cavalry Restoration Shop at Fort Benning, Georgia (2011).
• 
  Ausf. M, Deutsches Panzermuseum (2005)
• 
  Ausf. M with side skirts in southern USSR (1943)

Designs based on chassis

• Panzerbeobachtungswagen III - Forward artillery observer tank. 262 converted from older Panzer III Ausf. E to H.
• Bergepanzer III - In 1944, 176 Panzer IIIs were converted to armoured recovery vehicles. Mostly issued to formations with Tiger I tanks.
• Flammpanzer III Ausf. M / Panzer III (Fl) - Flamethrower tank. 100 built on new Ausf. M chassis.
• Minenräumer III - Mineclearing vehicle based on a Panzer III chassis with a very highly raised suspension. (Prototype only.)
• Panzerbefehlswagen III - Command tank with long-range radios. Ausf. D, E and H: dummy main gun; Ausf. J and K: armed with 5 cm gun.
• Sturm-Infanteriegeschütz 33B - A close-support assault gun. Armed with a 15 cm sIG 33, 24 built. 12 used and lost in Stalingrad.
• Sturmgeschütz III - Assault gun/tank destroyer armed with a 75-milimeter (2,95 in) StuK.

Su-76i displayed in the Museum of the Great Patriotic War, Moscow, Poklonnaya Hill Victory Park

• The Soviet SU-76i self-propelled gun was based on the chassis of captured German Panzer III and StuG III. About 201 of these vehicles, many captured in the battle of Stalingrad, were converted at Factory No. 37 in 1943 for Red Army service by removing the turret, constructing a fixed casemate, and installing a 762-milimeter (30,00 in) S-1 gun (cheaper version of the F-34) in a limited-traverse mount. The armour was 35 milimeter (1,38 in) thick on the casemate front, 50 milimeter (1,97 in) in the hull front, and 30 milimeter (1,18 in) on the hull side. It was issued to tank and self-propelled gun units starting in autumn 1943, and withdrawn to training use in early 1944. Two SU-76i survive: one on a monument in the Ukrainian town of Sarny and a second on display in a museum on Poklonnaya Hill in Moscow. It should not be confused with the Soviet SU-76 series.
• Tauchpanzer III - Some tanks were converted to amphibious tanks for Operation Sea Lion. Unusually, they were designed to be able to stay underwater rather than to float. The idea was that they would be launched near to the invasion shore and then drive to dry land on the sea bottom. The tank was waterproofed, the exhaust was fitted with a one-way valve and air intake was through a hose.

• 
  Tauchpanzer III under test.
• 
  Panzerbefehlswagen, Balkans, 1941.
• 
  Finnish army Sturmgeschütz III
• 
  Flammpanzer III

See also

• Comparison of early World War II tanks
• Panzer III/IV

Tanks of comparable role, performance and era

• Matilda II : British equivalent
• M3 Lee : American equivalent
• T-28 : Soviet equivalent
• Type 1 Chi-He : Japanese equivalent
• Type 97 Chi-Ha : Japanese equivalent

References

Citations

Bibliography

• "Germany's Panzerkampfwagen III, SdKfz 141". World War II Vehicles. Diakses tanggal June 10, 2004. 
• "PzKpfw III". Achtung Panzer!. Diakses tanggal June 12, 2007. 
• "Pz. Kpfw.III". Panzerworld. Diakses tanggal April 19, 2005. 
• Gander, Terry J. Tanks in Detail; PzKpfw III Ausf A to N ISBN 0-7110-3015-4.
• Zaloga, Steven J. (2007). Japanese Tanks 1939–45. Oxford: Osprey. hlm. 48. ISBN 1-84603-091-9. 
• Zaloga, Steven J. (1994). T-34/76 Medium Tank 1941–1945. Oxford: Osprey. hlm. 48. ISBN 1-85532-382-6. 
• Zaloga, Steven J., James Grandsen (1984). Soviet Tanks and Combat Vehicles of World War Two, London: Arms and Armour Press. ISBN 0-85368-606-8.

External links

• AFV Database
• Surviving Panzer III tanks - A PDF file presenting the Panzer III tanks (PzKpfw. III, Flammpanzer III, StuIG33B, SU-76i, Panzerbeobachtungswagen III tanks) still existing in the world