Panzerkampfwagen V "Panther"

Pussy cat

"What was the best tank of WW2?" is a dangerous question. "Sherman!" - well, maybe, in practical terms yes, certainly, but not as a fighter. "T-34!" - yeah right, there were a lot of them but that's about it, especially the earlier versions. No, I think that most people will agree that as a combat vehice, Pather wins hands down. It was the first true main battle tank, capable of filling all the jobs it was given. Having said that, it also sucked quite a bit. The engine and transmission were too weak, it was way too expensive and it would catch fire all the time.

However, it was pretty, tough and had arguably the best gun of the war, that could knock the socks off any enemy tank at quite a distance, earning it the nickname "Der Langschießer". It was a formidable tank, maybe a bit of a maintenance headache, but one of the best looking to ever rumble across a battlefield.

VK30.02(M) / PzKpfw V Ausf. D(1)

The German army had a major scare when first met the T-34: none of their guns could reliably defeat the Soviet vehicle. Daimler-Benz and MAN were told to DO SOMETHING!!!. Both came up with proposals: Daimler had sort of copied the T-34, while MAN's plan was far more ambitious. And being Germans, they chose the difficult option. Strangely enough, the prototype version was designated D (for Dachbodenfrosch), followed by the A (Achselhaarfrisör) and improved G (Gartenzwerg) versions.

RAL 7016
7,5cm KwK 42 L/70
Maybach HL 210 P30

PzKpfw V Ausf. D

After Stalingrad, the Wehrmacht felt somewhat emasculated. Something had to improve their manhood! Someone had the bright idea to straighten out the lines at Kursk a bit, and Adolf decided that he'd like to see the new Panther tanks there. Those were still in the prototype stage and hardly ready for combat. But if your dicator tells you he wants this tank, you slap some camo on it and call it a day, or you'll find yourself in a frozen trench somewhere. It was so not ready yet that on first use, most of the Panthers broke down before even meeting the enemy.

There is a surviving D model near my house, in Breda. One is allowed to climb all over the vehicle, which is exactly what my kids and me do when we go shopping there.

RAL 7028 DGnM '43
Slightly different cupola
Front MG mounted in a square port
Turret has pistol port + loader's hatch
16 bolt wheels
Circular engine fan covers

PzKpfw V Ausf. A

The first "real" production model of the Panther, the early end of the production run still had much in common with the D version, like the cupola and letterbox MG mount. Later vehicles have the ball mount . This is a wider card with supporting text below as a natural lead-in to additional content. This content is a little bit longer.

Late version:
New dome cupola
Ball MG mount
No more pistol port + loader's hatch on the turret
24 bolt steel wheels

PzKpfw II Ausf. G

The final Panther model, with a redesigned hull and a bunch of upgrades. The engine and tranny were still too weak, the interleaved wheels were a nightmare to swap, but this thing was the pinnacle of armoured WW2 warfare.

RAL 7028 DG-I '44
New hull design
New gun mantlet (with shot deflector)
Flammvernichter exhaust system (to hide the pipes' red glow at night)
Less complicated exhaust hatches
No rear shock absorber
Overpressure system against poison gas
F.G.1250 Ziel und Kommandanten-Optik on a few vehicles