Panther In Action (squadron/signal Publications Armor 2011)
by Bruce Culver /
2017 / English / PDF
41.3 MB Download
Development of an improved replacement for the PzKpfw IV medium tank had proceeded at a slow pace, since the IV had proven to be a reliable and versatile design. Despite fairly high losses during certain stages of the Polish and French campaigns, the Germans were relatively satisfied with the PzKpfw II, III, and IV. Though certain pre-war incidents should have warned them that the Soviet Union was preparing a new and heavy armored force, the German military leaders disregarded these warnings. One such incident took place during the spring of 1941 when Hitler specifically ordered that a Russian military commission be shown the latest developments in tank designs. After viewing the Panzer IV the Russians refused to believe this was the latest and heaviest German tank and were so insistent that the German Ordnance Office concluded that the Russians must already possess better and heavier tanks.
