The Panther - German The Panther was a medium tank with decent speed, satisfactory reliability, heavy 80mm sloped armour, and good firepower. View attachment 27
When the faults which emerged in the early models were rectified she beacme one of the best tanks to emerge from WW2 , a better all round tank than the Tiger 1 or Tiger 2. Varients of the Panther - the Hunting panther one of the most potent tank destroyers fielded by any nation. In terms of a tank which suited Germanys needs this was better VFM than the Tiger , the long 75 was more than up for the job , her fighting weight was better and she represented a better design than the Tiger in terms of an armour , speed , hitting power mix. She did bring with her some problems - she was a complicated machine , the road wheel issue which came with the Tiger co existed in the Panther. Her deck armour was too weak and the mantlet produced a trap for shells , a hit there on the lower section of the gun mantlet could result in the round being deflrvted through the weaker deck armour - some Allied gunners aimed there with this in mind. (This was later corrected by a redesign of the mantlet.) In common with German tanks she was underpowewred , from design to service she exceeded the weight set and she needed a more powerful engine. Below one of the "runners" from the French Tank Museum at Sameur.
Andy , not quite sure they have at least one day a year in which they run , presently some clips of them runing on U-Tube.
Panther tanks were good for open field engagement because of their capability of knocking out allies' tanks from long range while having enough frontal armor to bounce the shots from the enemy tanks at the same distance. However, Panther tanks have very thin side and rear armor. It makes them vulnerable in close quarter fighting. In complex terrain and in the cities, faster tanks such as T-34 and Sherman can easily sneak up from the side or rear from close enough range to penetrate the Panther's side or rear armor. The Panther's long main gun is also a problem for its fighting on narrow streets with buildings on both sides, it can easily block the turret from turning. I have seen a (real WWII) video of a Panther fighting in a city, destroyed two Sherman in a row before being ambushed by a Pershing. Good tank, but not as powerful as a Tiger.
