The Germans started the war with the USSR, when the Wehrmacht was not yet armed with a medium-heavy tank "Panther". The production of this combat vehicle was deployed in Germany only by the end of 1941. The Panther tank was produced in a mass series at the Krupp factories in 1942-43. In total, about 6 thousand units were produced. As soon as Panther production reached the planned level, these tanks began to appear on all European fronts. In 1943, two hundred Panther tanks took part in the Battle of Kursk, not counting the evacuation and command vehicles.
In the autumn of 1941, the Germans realized how dangerous the T-34 tank of the Soviet Army was for them, they sounded the alarm and suspended the production of the tank, which was massively rolling off the assembly line. Within four months, the Panther was improved and thus a practically new 35-ton tank with the same name was developed. It was put into series. The Panther tank was created as a counterweight to the T-34 tank. German designers even copied the Soviet T-34, the engine compartment and the main transmission lines in some ways. But the similarity ended there. In addition, German tanks ran on gasoline, while Soviet tanks ran on diesel fuel.
In full combat gear, the Panther tank weighed 45 tons, it was too heavy a vehicle, but it was possible to reduce its weight only due to armor, but they did not dare to do so. All armor plates of the tower were given a slope to better reflect direct hit shells. The length of the tank was 6860 mm, the width was 3280 mm, the height was 2990 and the distance from the ground to the hull, that is, the ground clearance was 565 mm. The gun was almost two meters long. The ammunition load of the gun consisted of 81 armor-piercing projectiles, which made it possible to conduct a fairly long battle. In addition to the cannon, the Panther tank was armed with two machine guns.
The power plant of the tank consisted of a 12-cylinder 700-horsepower gasoline engine, with which the "Panther" walked along the highway at a speed of about sixty km / h. The protection of the machine was composed of shaped rolled armor with surface hardening. The hull of the tank consisted of 40 mm armor, and the frontal part was 60 mm thick. The tower in the sides carried armor with a section of 45 mm, and the forehead of the tower and the mantlet of the gun - 110 mm. The chassis of the Panther could withstand the weight, and the maneuverability of the car was at a fairly good level. However, the crew of 5 had to put up with cramped conditions in the combat compartment.
In early 1943, the Wehrmacht decided to modernize the Panther, taking into account the conditions of the Eastern Front. The tank "Panther 2" appeared, the processing mainly touched on the protection of the tower, for which the armor was significantly strengthened. The frontal armor became 125 mm thick, and the gun mantlet received 150 mm thick armor. "Panther 2" began to weigh 47 tons. The increase in weight was compensated for by a new power plant; a 900 hp Maybach engine was installed on the tank. and an eight-speed transmission with hydraulics.
The gun was also replaced, an 88 mm KVK was installed, which is faster-firing and has high armor-piercing power. Also, the car was equipped with night vision devices and a telescopic rangefinder. Rheinmetall offered to install an air defense system with anti-aircraft support on the tank. But at this stage, the development of the new Panther 2 tank stopped due to the difficult situation for the German command on all fronts. Although the German tank "Panther" in its original form continued to be produced until the end of the war.
