Panther II

Panther II

Panther II

Germany

IV Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
7.0	7.0	7.0

Class:

Medium tank

Purchase:Bundle or Gift

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Description

In the description, the first part needs to 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 the screenshot of the vehicle. If the novice player does not remember the vehicle by name, they will immediately understand what kind of vehicle it is talking about.

General info

Survivability and armour

Describe armour protection. Note the most well protected and key weak areas. Appreciate the layout of modules as well as the number and location of crew members. Is the level of armour protection sufficient, is the placement of modules helpfull for survival in combat?

If necessary use a visual template to indicate the most secure and weak zones of the armour.

Mobility

Write about the mobility of the ground vehicle. Estimate the specific power and maneuverability as well as the maximum speed forward and backward.

Armaments

Main armament

Give the reader information about the characteristics of the main gun. Assess its effectiveness in a battle based on the reloading speed, ballistics and the power of shells. Do not forget about the flexibilty of the fire, that is how quickly the cannon can be aimed at the target, open fire on it and aim at another enemy. Add a link to the main article on the gun: {{main|Name of the weapon}}. Describe in general terms the ammunition available for the main gun. Give advice on how to use them and how to fill the ammunition storage.

Additional armament

Some tanks are armed with several guns in one or more turrets. Evaluate the additional weaponry and give advice on its use. Describe the ammunition available for additional weaponry. Give advice on how to use them and how to fill the ammunition storage. If there is no additional weaponry remove this subsection.

Machine guns

Offensive and anti-aircraft machine guns not only allow you to fight some aircraft, but also are effective against lightly armoured vehicles. Evaluate machine guns and give recommendations on its use.

Usage in the battles

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Pros and cons

Summarize and briefly evaluate the vehicle in terms of its characteristics and combat effectiveness. Mark its pros and cons in a bulleted list. Do not use more than 6 points for each of the characteristics. Avoid using categorical definitions such as "bad", "good" and the like - they have a substitution in the form of softer "inadequate", "effective".

Pros:

Cons:

History

Development

In late 1942, German designers started the development of more powerful and slightly larger version of Panther mounted on a newly designed chassis. In January of 1943, Adolf Hitler agreed on the development of Panther with increased armour protection especially for the needs of the Eastern Front. This project was designated Panther II and its design was planned along with the development of Tiger II. In February of 1943, it was decided that Panther II, in its design would resemble Tiger II and would have many common components such as: tracks, transmission, suspension and road wheels. Both designs had common components in an attempt to standardize the production. Overall dimensions were very similar to those of Panther Ausf. G hull’s design was very similar to that of the late model Panther Ausf G but with many modernizations such as the arrangement of observation equipment and new engine deck. Its armour protection was significantly increased if compared to any other Panther variant produced. Side armour protection was 60mm thick while frontal armour protection was 100mm thick. It was planned to arm Panther II with the latest 75mm KwK 42 L/100 or even 88mm KwK 43 L/71 (without muzzle break) gun mounted in newly designed narrow turret – Schmalturm (designed by Rheinmetall in 1944 and to be produced by Daimler-Benz).

Panther II's Schmalturm (narrow) turret was slightly different than that of Panther Ausf. F. The turret’s armour protection was significantly increased if compared to any other Panther turret. Front was 120-125mm, gun mantlet was 150mm, while sides and rear were 60mm and top was 30mm thick. Schmalturm had special mountings for infra-red device and telescopic range finder. All of those modifications increased Panther II’s weight to 47 tons. Panther II was to be powered by new Maybach HL234 engine with total power of 900hp operated by 8-speed hydraulic transmission. Instead Maybach HL 230 P 30 engine was mounted and Maybach HL234was later on due to be completed in August of 1945, for future Panther series. It was believed that Panther II’s performance would be similar to that of Panther Ausf G, while if ever produced Panther II would most likely suffer from the same problems as Tiger II. Simply because of its great weight and high fuel consumption which made it extremely slow. It is also unknown what other modifications would be made if Panther II would be combat tested.

In March of 1943, plans were laid that the production of first series would start in late 1943 or early 1944 and that by spring of 1944, full scale production of Panther II would start. On May 20th of 1943, Rheinmetall-Borsig proposed special air-defence turret designed for Panther II, mounted with four 20mm MG151/20 guns but it never reached prototype stage.

Production and cancellation

In early 1944, MAN (Maschinenfabrik Augsburg-Nuremberg) was allowed to produce two prototypes but was only able to produce one in early 1945, without newly designed Schmalturm turret. On May 4th of 1944, it was realized that German industry was unable to start Panther II’s production and this project was abandoned in favor of further development of Panther based on lessons learned from Panther II. On June 3rd of 1944, all companies which were to produce Panther II were ordered to start the production on the regular Panther tank. The war ended before the Panther II could be used in any meaningful way to the war effort.

Survivor

The Americans captured the Panther II chassis and it was shipped to the states. Sometimes after 1946, a Panther G turret was added onto the chassis while it was at the Aberdeen Proving Grounds. In the 1960s, the Panther II chassis was transferred to the Smithsonian Institute, whom proceed to give the tank to the Patton Museum at Fort Knox in the 1970s. Following the closure of the Patton museum, the Panther II is currently at the in-construction National Armor and Cavalry Museum at Fort Benning.

The project would go on to be developed into the Panther Ausf. F, which featured the Schmalturm derived from the Panther II.

Media

An excellent addition to the article will be video guides, as well as screenshots from the game and photos.

Read also

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• reference to the series of the vehicles;
• links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.

ETC.

Sources

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• topic on the official game forum;
• other literature.