Difference between revisions of "Pz.III J1 TD"
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| + | {{About | ||
| + | | about = German medium tank '''{{PAGENAME}}''' | ||
| + | | usage = other versions | ||
| + | | link = Panzer III (Family) | ||
| + | }} | ||
{{Specs-Card | {{Specs-Card | ||
|code=germ_pzkpfw_III_ausf_J_td | |code=germ_pzkpfw_III_ausf_J_td | ||
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== Description == | == Description == | ||
<!-- ''In the description, the first part should be about the history of the creation and combat usage of the vehicle, as well as its key features. In the second part, tell the reader about the ground vehicle in the game. Insert a screenshot of the vehicle, so that if the novice player does not remember the vehicle by name, he will immediately understand what kind of vehicle the article is talking about.'' --> | <!-- ''In the description, the first part should be about the history of the creation and combat usage of the vehicle, as well as its key features. In the second part, tell the reader about the ground vehicle in the game. Insert a screenshot of the vehicle, so that if the novice player does not remember the vehicle by name, he will immediately understand what kind of vehicle the article is talking about.'' --> | ||
| − | The '''{{Specs|name}}''' is a gift rank {{Specs|rank}} German medium tank {{Battle-rating}}. It was introduced during [[Update "New Power"]] as a [[wt:en/news/ | + | The '''{{Specs|name}}''' is a gift rank {{Specs|rank}} German medium tank {{Battle-rating}}. It was introduced during [[Update "New Power"]] as a [[wt:en/news/6961-twitch-drops-are-back-en|reward for watching War Thunder streams on Twitch.tv]] along with a unique skin for the vehicle. |
The Pz.III J1, compared to its predecessor - [[Pz.III J]], features only few, but very important upgrades. | The Pz.III J1, compared to its predecessor - [[Pz.III J]], features only few, but very important upgrades. | ||
| − | Most importantly, the J1 variant is the first Panzer III to have the long barreled KwK 39 L/60 | + | Most importantly, the J1 variant is the first Panzer III to have the long barreled KwK 39 L/60 50 mm tank gun. This gun offers 102 mm of armour penetration at a range of 100 m and 85 mm at 500 m. In a practical sense, it is just enough to deal with most tanks at this BR, although targeting weak spots or side/rear armour is often necessary, especially against well-armoured heavy tanks like the KV-1 but that is why you have APCR ammunition. APCR comes in two sets, PzGr 40 and PzGr 40/1. PzGr 40 has the highest penetration - 137 mm at close range, but it loses penetration quite rapidly when shooting far targets and is also a higher tier modification. ''(->More info can be found below in the [[#Ammunition|"Ammunition"]] section.)'' |
The second important upgrade is the electric turret drive - greatly improving the turret traverse speed, and removing the long present weakness of all older Panzer III variants. | The second important upgrade is the electric turret drive - greatly improving the turret traverse speed, and removing the long present weakness of all older Panzer III variants. | ||
| − | Optimal combat distance for this vehicle is somewhere between medium to close range. But don't be mistaken, the Panzer III J1 is not an frontline tank. You should be always on the move and harass the enemy without rest as any return fire will be lethal. Don't trust your armour and instead rely on your mobility. Flanking is the best option for J1 as you can use the high | + | Optimal combat distance for this vehicle is somewhere between medium to close range. But don't be mistaken, the Panzer III J1 is not an frontline tank. You should be always on the move and harass the enemy without rest as any return fire will be lethal. Don't trust your armour and instead rely on your mobility. Flanking is the best option for J1 as you can use the high rate of fire for good effect and hopefully avoid the incoming retribution. You don't have the best mobility for a medium tank, but you definitely remain competitive against most enemy tanks you may encounter. Always try to find some good firing positions, with available cover, and if necessary, pull back and relocate. Always avoid direct close range confrontations with main enemy force; never try to fight more than 1 enemy at the time. However - playing purely as support/sniper tank isn't optimal either, because of your lower armour penetration. |
== General info == | == General info == | ||
| Line 72: | Line 77: | ||
==== Ammunition ==== | ==== Ammunition ==== | ||
| − | {| class="wikitable | + | {{:KwK39 (50 mm)/Ammunition|PzGr 39, PzGr 40/1, PzGr 40, Sprgr. 38}} |
| − | + | ||
| + | ==== [[Ammo racks]] ==== | ||
| + | [[File:Ammoracks_Pz.III_J1.png|right|thumb|x250px|[[Ammo racks]] of the {{PAGENAME}}]] | ||
| + | <!-- '''Last updated:''' --> | ||
| + | {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" | ||
|- | |- | ||
| − | ! | + | ! Full<br>ammo |
| − | ! | + | ! 1st<br>rack empty |
| − | ! | + | ! 2nd<br>rack empty |
| + | ! 3rd<br>rack empty | ||
| + | ! 4th<br>rack empty | ||
| + | ! Visual<br>discrepancy | ||
|- | |- | ||
| − | + | | '''84''' || 70 ''(+14)'' || 62 ''(+22)'' || 34 ''(+50)'' || 1 ''(+83)'' || No | |
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When on the defense, you have a number of advantages and some severe disadvantages - being able to hunker down and hammer in shots with the long 5 cm cannon away from the immediate frontlines mean that most tanks that you will face will likely be more focused on more offensive-oriented players in your team, which may cause them to unintentionally show their hull sides towards the Panzer III J1's position. This scenario, combined with your excellent rate of fire and penetration statistics, means you can make quick work of an unsuspecting light or medium tank, assuming you can find cover in a location the enemy will not be looking at. | When on the defense, you have a number of advantages and some severe disadvantages - being able to hunker down and hammer in shots with the long 5 cm cannon away from the immediate frontlines mean that most tanks that you will face will likely be more focused on more offensive-oriented players in your team, which may cause them to unintentionally show their hull sides towards the Panzer III J1's position. This scenario, combined with your excellent rate of fire and penetration statistics, means you can make quick work of an unsuspecting light or medium tank, assuming you can find cover in a location the enemy will not be looking at. | ||
| − | If detected or ranged by a tank or tank destroyer (assuming they have an angle that negates your cover's protection), your armour will not protect you from very much, as even | + | If detected or ranged by a tank or tank destroyer (assuming they have an angle that negates your cover's protection), your armour will not protect you from very much, as even 20 mm AP rounds can penetrate the armour plates if close enough. If you simply find yourself stuck behind cover because the enemy has your position, it is advised to pop smoke (as you have multiple use smoke-grenade launchers) and use the smoke to full effect, making it as difficult as possible for enemy tanks to get an exact bearing on your position as you try to move to better or another cover in general. |
=== Pros and cons === | === Pros and cons === | ||
| − | <!-- ''Summarise and briefly evaluate the vehicle in terms of its characteristics and combat effectiveness. Mark its pros and cons in a bulleted list. Try not to use more than 6 points for each of the characteristics. Avoid using categorical definitions such as "bad", "good" and the like - use substitutions with softer forms such as "inadequate" and "effective".'' -->'''Pros:''' | + | <!-- ''Summarise and briefly evaluate the vehicle in terms of its characteristics and combat effectiveness. Mark its pros and cons in a bulleted list. Try not to use more than 6 points for each of the characteristics. Avoid using categorical definitions such as "bad", "good" and the like - use substitutions with softer forms such as "inadequate" and "effective".'' --> |
| + | |||
| + | '''Pros:''' | ||
* High rate of fire | * High rate of fire | ||
| Line 183: | Line 142: | ||
* Overall weak armour | * Overall weak armour | ||
* Modules are sensitive to damage | * Modules are sensitive to damage | ||
| − | * APCR is | + | * APCR is weak at long ranges and deals very little damage upon penetration |
== History == | == History == | ||
| − | <!-- ''Describe the history of the creation and combat usage of the vehicle in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too long, take it to a separate article, taking a link to the article about the vehicle and adding a block "/History" (example: <nowiki>https://wiki.warthunder.com/(Vehicle-name)/History</nowiki>) and add a link to it here using the <code>main</code> template. Be sure to reference text and sources by using <code><nowiki><ref></ref></nowiki></code>, as well as adding them at the end of the article with <code><nowiki><references /></nowiki></code>. This section may also include the vehicle's dev blog entry (if applicable) and the in-game encyclopedia description (under <code><nowiki>=== In-game description ===</nowiki></code>, also if applicable).'' -->===Development=== | + | <!-- ''Describe the history of the creation and combat usage of the vehicle in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too long, take it to a separate article, taking a link to the article about the vehicle and adding a block "/History" (example: <nowiki>https://wiki.warthunder.com/(Vehicle-name)/History</nowiki>) and add a link to it here using the <code>main</code> template. Be sure to reference text and sources by using <code><nowiki><ref></ref></nowiki></code>, as well as adding them at the end of the article with <code><nowiki><references /></nowiki></code>. This section may also include the vehicle's dev blog entry (if applicable) and the in-game encyclopedia description (under <code><nowiki>=== In-game description ===</nowiki></code>, also if applicable).'' --> |
| − | The '''Panzerkampfwagen III''' medium tank, or the '''Panzer III''' was developed in the 1930s. Starting in early 1934, Heinz Guderian set down some specifications for a new tank, which the Army Weapons Department took up to design the tank to weigh no more than 24,000 | + | ===Development=== |
| + | The '''Panzerkampfwagen III''' medium tank, or the '''Panzer III''' was developed in the 1930s. Starting in early 1934, Heinz Guderian set down some specifications for a new tank, which the Army Weapons Department took up to design the tank to weigh no more than 24,000 kg with a top speed of 35 km per hour. This tank's role was to be the main tank of the German army and was expected to destroy opposing tanks, as opposed to a tank made to destroy anti-tank guns and opposing infantrymen, which the [[Pz.IV C|Panzer IV]] served as. | ||
Daimler-Benz, Krupp, MAN, and Rheinmetall produced prototypes meeting the specifications and the Daimler-Benz model was chosen after testing in 1936-1937. The Panzer III model used a leaf-spring suspension in its early models (Ausf. A - Ausf. D) before utilizing a six-wheeled torsion-bar suspension in the [[Pz.III E|Ausf. E]] and beyond. The Panzer III had a crew of five men, the commander, gunner, loader, driver, and assistant driver. The best feature of the Panzer III during its introduction that is the most overlooked was the three-man turret, which was not as common at the time. This frees the commander to be able to effectively command the tank while maintaining situational awareness, rather than be burdened by the role of a loader or gunner, improving combat effectiveness of the tank. The 37 mm (later 50 mm) anti-tank gun was also very effective against contemporary tanks. Despite this rather advanced design, the turret did not have a turret basket for the crew. It was a proven design and production began in May 1937. The total number of Panzer III tanks constructed in its production life was 5,774 units (excluding the far more produced [[StuG III F|StuG III]] variant). | Daimler-Benz, Krupp, MAN, and Rheinmetall produced prototypes meeting the specifications and the Daimler-Benz model was chosen after testing in 1936-1937. The Panzer III model used a leaf-spring suspension in its early models (Ausf. A - Ausf. D) before utilizing a six-wheeled torsion-bar suspension in the [[Pz.III E|Ausf. E]] and beyond. The Panzer III had a crew of five men, the commander, gunner, loader, driver, and assistant driver. The best feature of the Panzer III during its introduction that is the most overlooked was the three-man turret, which was not as common at the time. This frees the commander to be able to effectively command the tank while maintaining situational awareness, rather than be burdened by the role of a loader or gunner, improving combat effectiveness of the tank. The 37 mm (later 50 mm) anti-tank gun was also very effective against contemporary tanks. Despite this rather advanced design, the turret did not have a turret basket for the crew. It was a proven design and production began in May 1937. The total number of Panzer III tanks constructed in its production life was 5,774 units (excluding the far more produced [[StuG III F|StuG III]] variant). | ||
| + | |||
===Design=== | ===Design=== | ||
The '''Panzer III Ausf. J1''' features a much better 50 mm gun compared to its predecessors, the 50 mm KwK 39, which is an improvement over the 50 mm KwK 38 by its longer barrel that provided additonal accuracy. Longer cartridges with more propellant charge were used, providing extra velocity and penetration. This new 50 mm gun gives the Panzer III a fighting edge against [[T-34 (1941)|T-34]]s and [[M4|M4 Shermans]], which the older 50 mm KwK 38 had trouble fighting against. The Panzer III Ausf. J1 still featured the 50 mm armour thickness on the front and rear originally from the [[Pz.III J|Ausf. J]] variant, but later models had new offset armour on the front of the hull and turret that provide 20 mm of effective protection These armour also apply as spaced armour due to not being attached to the hull or turret mantlet. The spaced armour on the front helped defend the tank against Soviet anti-tank rounds or HEAT rounds fired at it on those plates, as it dissipates the penetration power before striking the hull. | The '''Panzer III Ausf. J1''' features a much better 50 mm gun compared to its predecessors, the 50 mm KwK 39, which is an improvement over the 50 mm KwK 38 by its longer barrel that provided additonal accuracy. Longer cartridges with more propellant charge were used, providing extra velocity and penetration. This new 50 mm gun gives the Panzer III a fighting edge against [[T-34 (1941)|T-34]]s and [[M4|M4 Shermans]], which the older 50 mm KwK 38 had trouble fighting against. The Panzer III Ausf. J1 still featured the 50 mm armour thickness on the front and rear originally from the [[Pz.III J|Ausf. J]] variant, but later models had new offset armour on the front of the hull and turret that provide 20 mm of effective protection These armour also apply as spaced armour due to not being attached to the hull or turret mantlet. The spaced armour on the front helped defend the tank against Soviet anti-tank rounds or HEAT rounds fired at it on those plates, as it dissipates the penetration power before striking the hull. | ||
| + | |||
===Combat usage=== | ===Combat usage=== | ||
The Panzer III J1 was only a stopgap design to integrate the 50 mm KwK 39 into service as fast as possible. The final designs in its later models were later redesignated the [[Pz.III L|Panzer III Ausf. L]] and [[Pz.III M|Panzer III Ausf. M]]. It saw service on the eastern front, where it performed poorly against superior [[T-34 (Family)|T-34]] and [[KV-1 (Family)|KV-1]] tanks. However, it also saw service in North Africa, where it would easily defeat allied light tanks such as the [[M3 Stuart]] and the [[Crusader Mk III|Crusader]], even when outnumbered. However, the introduction of more medium tanks by the allies in the African theater would prove to be problematic for the Panzer III. Those that survived the defeat in Africa would try to defend Sicily from the allied invasion of Italy. | The Panzer III J1 was only a stopgap design to integrate the 50 mm KwK 39 into service as fast as possible. The final designs in its later models were later redesignated the [[Pz.III L|Panzer III Ausf. L]] and [[Pz.III M|Panzer III Ausf. M]]. It saw service on the eastern front, where it performed poorly against superior [[T-34 (Family)|T-34]] and [[KV-1 (Family)|KV-1]] tanks. However, it also saw service in North Africa, where it would easily defeat allied light tanks such as the [[M3 Stuart]] and the [[Crusader Mk III|Crusader]], even when outnumbered. However, the introduction of more medium tanks by the allies in the African theater would prove to be problematic for the Panzer III. Those that survived the defeat in Africa would try to defend Sicily from the allied invasion of Italy. | ||
| − | |||
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| − | |||
== Media == | == Media == | ||
<!-- ''Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.'' --> | <!-- ''Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.'' --> | ||
| − | + | ||
| + | ;Skins | ||
| + | * [https://live.warthunder.com/feed/camouflages/?vehicle=germ_pzkpfw_III_ausf_J_td Skins and camouflages for the {{PAGENAME}} from live.warthunder.com.] | ||
| + | |||
| + | ;Videos | ||
| + | {{Youtube-gallery|llQYBrYCAog|'''Twitch Drop tank Pz III J1 TD''' - ''8Bit Dane''}} | ||
== See also == | == See also == | ||
| Line 206: | Line 170: | ||
* ''reference to the series of the vehicles;'' | * ''reference to the series of the vehicles;'' | ||
* ''links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.'' --> | * ''links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.'' --> | ||
| − | |||
| − | * | + | * [[Panzer III (Family)]] |
| − | |||
== External links == | == External links == | ||
| Line 220: | Line 182: | ||
* ''other literature.'' | * ''other literature.'' | ||
| + | {{Twitch Drops}} | ||
{{Germany medium tanks}} | {{Germany medium tanks}} | ||
Latest revision as of 22:49, 2 February 2023
| This page is about the German medium tank Pz.III J1 TD. For other versions, see Panzer III (Family). |
Contents
Description
The Pz.III J1 TD is a gift rank II German medium tank with a battle rating of 2.7 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced during Update "New Power" as a reward for watching War Thunder streams on Twitch.tv along with a unique skin for the vehicle.
The Pz.III J1, compared to its predecessor - Pz.III J, features only few, but very important upgrades.
Most importantly, the J1 variant is the first Panzer III to have the long barreled KwK 39 L/60 50 mm tank gun. This gun offers 102 mm of armour penetration at a range of 100 m and 85 mm at 500 m. In a practical sense, it is just enough to deal with most tanks at this BR, although targeting weak spots or side/rear armour is often necessary, especially against well-armoured heavy tanks like the KV-1 but that is why you have APCR ammunition. APCR comes in two sets, PzGr 40 and PzGr 40/1. PzGr 40 has the highest penetration - 137 mm at close range, but it loses penetration quite rapidly when shooting far targets and is also a higher tier modification. (->More info can be found below in the "Ammunition" section.)
The second important upgrade is the electric turret drive - greatly improving the turret traverse speed, and removing the long present weakness of all older Panzer III variants.
Optimal combat distance for this vehicle is somewhere between medium to close range. But don't be mistaken, the Panzer III J1 is not an frontline tank. You should be always on the move and harass the enemy without rest as any return fire will be lethal. Don't trust your armour and instead rely on your mobility. Flanking is the best option for J1 as you can use the high rate of fire for good effect and hopefully avoid the incoming retribution. You don't have the best mobility for a medium tank, but you definitely remain competitive against most enemy tanks you may encounter. Always try to find some good firing positions, with available cover, and if necessary, pull back and relocate. Always avoid direct close range confrontations with main enemy force; never try to fight more than 1 enemy at the time. However - playing purely as support/sniper tank isn't optimal either, because of your lower armour penetration.
General info
Survivability and armour
Armour type:
- Rolled homogeneous armour
- Cast homogeneous armour (Barrel shroud, Cupola)
| Armour | Front | Sides | Rear | Roof |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hull | 50 mm (12°) Front plate 25 mm (86°), 50 mm (53°) Front glacis 50 mm (23-69°) Lower glacis |
30 mm | 50 mm (15-41°) Top 50 mm (11-66°) Bottom |
15 mm |
| Turret | 50 mm (12-25°) Turret front 50 mm (12-46°) Gun mantlet |
30 mm (22-25°) | 30 mm (13-16°) | 10 mm |
| Cupola | 50 mm | 10 mm |
Notes:
- Suspension wheels are 15 mm thick while tracks are 20 mm thick.
Mobility
| Game Mode | Max Speed (km/h) | Weight (tons) | Engine power (horsepower) | Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | Reverse | Stock | Upgraded | Stock | Upgraded | ||
| Arcade | 60 | 12 | 21.8 | 465 | 572 | 21.33 | 26.24 |
| Realistic | 54 | 10 | 265 | 300 | 12.16 | 13.76 | |
Modifications and economy
| Mobility | Protection | Firepower | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
Armaments
Main armament
| 50 mm KwK39 | Turret rotation speed (°/s) | Reloading rate (seconds) | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mode | Capacity | Vertical | Horizontal | Stabilizer | Stock | Upgraded | Full | Expert | Aced | Stock | Full | Expert | Aced |
| Arcade | 84 | -10°/+20° | ±180° | N/A | 13.3 | 18.4 | 22.4 | 24.8 | 26.4 | 4.81 | 4.26 | 3.92 | 3.70 |
| Realistic | 8.3 | 9.8 | 11.9 | 13.2 | 14.0 | ||||||||
Ammunition
| Penetration statistics | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ammunition | Type of warhead |
Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm) | |||||
| 10 m | 100 m | 500 m | 1,000 m | 1,500 m | 2,000 m | ||
| PzGr 39 | APC | 106 | 101 | 83 | 65 | 50 | 39 |
| PzGr 40/1 | APCR | 130 | 121 | 90 | 62 | 43 | 29 |
| PzGr 40 | APCR | 137 | 126 | 88 | 56 | 36 | 23 |
| Sprgr. 38 | HE | 12 | 11 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 5 |
| Shell details | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ammunition | Type of warhead |
Velocity (m/s) |
Projectile mass (kg) |
Fuse delay (m) |
Fuse sensitivity (mm) |
Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (g) |
Ricochet | |||||
| 0% | 50% | 100% | ||||||||||
| PzGr 39 | APC | 835 | 2.05 | 1.2 | 9 | 28.9 | 48° | 63° | 71° | |||
| PzGr 40/1 | APCR | 1,130 | 1.07 | - | - | - | 66° | 70° | 72° | |||
| PzGr 40 | APCR | 1,180 | 0.9 | - | - | - | 66° | 70° | 72° | |||
| Sprgr. 38 | HE | 870 | 1.82 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 217.6 | 79° | 80° | 81° | |||
Ammo racks
| Full ammo |
1st rack empty |
2nd rack empty |
3rd rack empty |
4th rack empty |
Visual discrepancy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 84 | 70 (+14) | 62 (+22) | 34 (+50) | 1 (+83) | No |
Machine guns
| 7.92 mm MG34 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mount | Capacity (Belt) | Fire rate | Vertical | Horizontal |
| Coaxial | 3,750 (150) | 900 | N/A | N/A |
Usage in battles
Offensive
With this tank, you have essentially a "jack of all trades, somewhat good at all of them" kind of options set. You can stick with friendly tanks, and use the cannon's high rate-of-fire and excellent stats with APCR to nab scores from either destroying the enemy or getting team assists. Another way to go on the offensive is to go for a flanking move since at practical distances (400-1000m) the gun's penetration statistics are far less than the maximum advertised. However, the cannon still has enough power at those ranges to at least immobilize particularly important enemy tanks like a KV-1 or Churchill with a drivetrain shot. You can attempt multiple shots to destroy enemies, but by that point, you will begin receiving "responsive fire", and your tank's armour is not good enough to withstand more than 1-2 hits before being taken out.
A possible solution is to use "shoot and scoot" manoeuvres, popping out to fire and then scurrying to a different spot, but this poses issues if the terrain won't allow you to have a consistent cover (which may result in a downed tank between cover) or if there simply isn't much of any cover (like on the Kursk map's outer capture points).
Defensive
When on the defense, you have a number of advantages and some severe disadvantages - being able to hunker down and hammer in shots with the long 5 cm cannon away from the immediate frontlines mean that most tanks that you will face will likely be more focused on more offensive-oriented players in your team, which may cause them to unintentionally show their hull sides towards the Panzer III J1's position. This scenario, combined with your excellent rate of fire and penetration statistics, means you can make quick work of an unsuspecting light or medium tank, assuming you can find cover in a location the enemy will not be looking at.
If detected or ranged by a tank or tank destroyer (assuming they have an angle that negates your cover's protection), your armour will not protect you from very much, as even 20 mm AP rounds can penetrate the armour plates if close enough. If you simply find yourself stuck behind cover because the enemy has your position, it is advised to pop smoke (as you have multiple use smoke-grenade launchers) and use the smoke to full effect, making it as difficult as possible for enemy tanks to get an exact bearing on your position as you try to move to better or another cover in general.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- High rate of fire
- High shell velocity
- Mobile and fast
- Excellent gun depression
- APCR ammo is great against moving targets
- Can be very durable at times when you angle the armour
Cons:
- Poor damage against modules and crew
- Gun lacks penetration at the range, is likely to bounce on armour slopes
- Overall weak armour
- Modules are sensitive to damage
- APCR is weak at long ranges and deals very little damage upon penetration
History
Development
The Panzerkampfwagen III medium tank, or the Panzer III was developed in the 1930s. Starting in early 1934, Heinz Guderian set down some specifications for a new tank, which the Army Weapons Department took up to design the tank to weigh no more than 24,000 kg with a top speed of 35 km per hour. This tank's role was to be the main tank of the German army and was expected to destroy opposing tanks, as opposed to a tank made to destroy anti-tank guns and opposing infantrymen, which the Panzer IV served as.
Daimler-Benz, Krupp, MAN, and Rheinmetall produced prototypes meeting the specifications and the Daimler-Benz model was chosen after testing in 1936-1937. The Panzer III model used a leaf-spring suspension in its early models (Ausf. A - Ausf. D) before utilizing a six-wheeled torsion-bar suspension in the Ausf. E and beyond. The Panzer III had a crew of five men, the commander, gunner, loader, driver, and assistant driver. The best feature of the Panzer III during its introduction that is the most overlooked was the three-man turret, which was not as common at the time. This frees the commander to be able to effectively command the tank while maintaining situational awareness, rather than be burdened by the role of a loader or gunner, improving combat effectiveness of the tank. The 37 mm (later 50 mm) anti-tank gun was also very effective against contemporary tanks. Despite this rather advanced design, the turret did not have a turret basket for the crew. It was a proven design and production began in May 1937. The total number of Panzer III tanks constructed in its production life was 5,774 units (excluding the far more produced StuG III variant).
Design
The Panzer III Ausf. J1 features a much better 50 mm gun compared to its predecessors, the 50 mm KwK 39, which is an improvement over the 50 mm KwK 38 by its longer barrel that provided additonal accuracy. Longer cartridges with more propellant charge were used, providing extra velocity and penetration. This new 50 mm gun gives the Panzer III a fighting edge against T-34s and M4 Shermans, which the older 50 mm KwK 38 had trouble fighting against. The Panzer III Ausf. J1 still featured the 50 mm armour thickness on the front and rear originally from the Ausf. J variant, but later models had new offset armour on the front of the hull and turret that provide 20 mm of effective protection These armour also apply as spaced armour due to not being attached to the hull or turret mantlet. The spaced armour on the front helped defend the tank against Soviet anti-tank rounds or HEAT rounds fired at it on those plates, as it dissipates the penetration power before striking the hull.
Combat usage
The Panzer III J1 was only a stopgap design to integrate the 50 mm KwK 39 into service as fast as possible. The final designs in its later models were later redesignated the Panzer III Ausf. L and Panzer III Ausf. M. It saw service on the eastern front, where it performed poorly against superior T-34 and KV-1 tanks. However, it also saw service in North Africa, where it would easily defeat allied light tanks such as the M3 Stuart and the Crusader, even when outnumbered. However, the introduction of more medium tanks by the allies in the African theater would prove to be problematic for the Panzer III. Those that survived the defeat in Africa would try to defend Sicily from the allied invasion of Italy.
Media
- Skins
- Videos
See also
External links
Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:
- topic on the official game forum;
- other literature.
| Twitch Drop vehicles | |
|---|---|
| Ground vehicles | M5A1 TD · Pz.II C TD · Pz.III J1 TD · Sd.Kfz.234/2 TD · BT-7 TD · Chi-Ha Kai TD · Strv m/39 TD |
| Aviation | P-40E-1 TD |
| Fleet | Dark Aggressor TD |
| Germany medium tanks | |
|---|---|
| Pz.III | Pz.III B · Pz.III E · Pz.III F · Pz.III J · Pz.III J1 · Pz.III J1 TD · Pz.III L · Pz.III M · Pz.III N |
| Pz.IV | Pz.IV C · Pz.IV E · Pz.IV F1 · Pz.IV F2 · Pz.IV G · Pz.IV H · Pz.IV J · Pz.Bef.Wg.IV J |
| Pz.V | VK 3002 (M) · Panther A · Panther D · Panther F · Panther G · Ersatz M10 · Panther II |
| M48 upgrades | M48A2 G A2 · M48 Super |
| Leopard 1 | Leopard I · Leopard A1A1 · Leopard A1A1 (L/44) · Leopard 1A5 · C2A1 · Turm III |
| Leopard 2 | PT-16/T14 mod. · Leopard 2K · Leopard 2AV |
| Leopard 2A4 · Leopard 2 (PzBtl 123) · Leopard 2A4M · Leopard 2 PL · Leopard 2A5 · Leopard 2 PSO · Leopard 2A6 · Leopard 2A7V | |
| Trophies | ▀M4 748 (a) · ▀T 34 747 (r) |
| Other | Nb.Fz. · KPz-70 |
| USA | mKPz M47 G · M48A2 C |
| USSR | ◊T-72M1 |
