Panther "Dauphiné"
Contents
Description
The Panther "Dauphiné" is a premium rank IV French medium tank with a battle rating of 6.0 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update 1.91 "Night Vision". It is a French-captured example of the Panther G found in the German tree with a few cosmetic differences like missing side skirts and new French markings.
General info
Survivability and armour
Armour type:
- Rolled homogeneous armour
- Cast homogeneous armour (Gun mantlet, Cupola)
| Armour | Front (Slope angle) | Sides | Rear | Roof |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hull | 80 mm (55°) Front glacis 50 mm (56°) Lower glacis |
50 mm (30°) Top 41.5 mm Bottom |
40 mm (24°) | 17 mm |
| Turret | 110 mm Turret front 100 mm Gun mantlet |
45 mm | 45 mm | 15 mm |
| Cupola | 80 mm | 16 mm | ||
Notes:
- Belly armour front part is 18 mm thick while the back part is 15 mm thick.
- Turret right side is covered in tracks, providing 20 mm extra thickness.
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 | 51 | 4 | 44.8 | 930 | 1,145 | 20.76 | 25.56 |
| Realistic | 46 | 4 | 531 | 600 | 11.85 | 13.39 | |
Modifications and economy
2 × 120 / 180 / 220 % 2 × 178 / 178 / 178 % | Mobility | Protection | Firepower | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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|
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Armaments
Main armament
| 75 mm KwK42 | Turret rotation speed (°/s) | Reloading rate (seconds) | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mode | Capacity | Vertical | Horizontal | Stabilizer | Stock | Upgraded | Full | Expert | Aced | Stock | Full | Expert | Aced |
| Arcade | 82 | -8°/+20° | ±180° | N/A | 19.0 | 26.3 | 32.0 | 35.4 | 37.6 | 9.6 | 8.5 | 7.9 | 7.4 |
| Realistic | 11.9 | 14.0 | 17.0 | 18.8 | 20.0 | ||||||||
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 39/42 | APCBC | 192 | 188 | 173 | 156 | 140 | 126 |
| Sprgr. 42 | HE | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 |
| 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 39/42 | APCBC | 935 | 6.8 | 1.2 | 14 | 28.9 | 48° | 63° | 71° |
| Sprgr. 42 | HE | 700 | 5.74 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 725 | 79° | 80° | 81° |
Ammo racks
| Full ammo |
1st rack empty |
2nd rack empty |
3rd rack empty |
4th rack empty |
5th rack empty |
6th rack empty |
7th rack empty |
8th rack empty |
9th rack empty |
10th rack empty |
Visual discrepancy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 82 | 80 (+2) | 74 (+8) | 62 (+20) | 50 (+32) | 38 (+44) | 26 (+56) | 22 (+60) | 12 (+70) | 4 (+78) | 1 (+81) | No |
Notes:
- As they are modeled by sets of 2, shells disappear from the rack only after you fire both shells in the set.
- Right side empty: 50 (+32) or both sides empty: 22 (+60)
Machine guns
| 7.92 mm MG34 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mount | Capacity (Belt) | Fire rate | Vertical | Horizontal |
| Coaxial | 2,700 (150) | 900 | N/A | N/A |
The small calibre of the MG34 machine gun makes it largely ineffective against all armoured vehicles but the ones with an open compartment. It still can be used to ping targets as a rangefinding help or to mow down minor obstacles blocking your line of sight.
Usage in battles
As with all other Panther-series medium tanks, it is best played in a supporting role or as a front-line offensive tank due to its agility. The cannon is more than forgiving and powerful enough to destroy any potential target, so use it to an advantage; long-range shooting is effective as the muzzle velocity is extremely high, owing to the long-barreled 75 mm, the penetration values are more than capable of punching through any opposing armour, and the shell weight will, if the shell penetrates, consistently deal decent amounts of crew and module damage, if not immediately make the target on combat ineffective.
This tank, however, owing to its "mailbox" gun mantlet design, is not a good combatant frontally, especially at its BR; many enemy tanks will find the gun mantlet a juicy target. Never engage in extended frontal skirmishes with enemy tanks; instead, use the high mobility as much as possible. Don't stay in one place as much as possible, shoot and scoot before the enemy can react shoot through the mantlet.
Another thing to note: the only difference between this and the German Panther G is the absence of side skirts and the thicker lower part of the mantlet, as well as the French markings on the side of the gun mantlet and the tank's name at the hull rear. This is useful in Simulator battles because if you were to put German markings over the French ones you may just pass as a German tank. Take that as you will and warn the people on your team not to shoot you.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Excellent cannon with great stock AP for common targets (eg. Tiger H1, Pz.IV H and M4A3E2) and HE for light vehicles. Great accuracy and velocity allows easy long-range sniping. Plenty of ammo capacity means flexible ammo setups.
- Heavily armoured frontal hull is immune to most guns like the 75 mm Kwk 40, 88 mm L/56 and 76 mm M1.
- Fast top speed and good hull traverse. Can get to positions in time.
- Adequate gun depression of -8° adapts most terrains well.
- Has RP and SL bonus due to it being premium
- Does not face threatening opponents (eg. IS-2) as much as the German one would, increasing survivability
Cons:
- Gun mantlet is only 100 mm, a huge and well-known weakspot to shoot at. 76mm Sherman, Pz.IV G / H / J, Tiger H1 can easily penetrate it.
- Side ammo racks are prone to detonation when hit.
- Terrible reverse speed of only -4 km/h, can get the player killed.
- No access to APCR meaning it struggles to deal with tanks encountered in a uptier like Ho-Ri, Tiger II(H) and Ferdinand.
- Very identical appearance to the German Panthers, and can get hit by friendly fire a lot in simulator mode
- Weak side armour gets penetrated easily by Russian APHEBC (mixed battle). Cannot angle too much.
- Lower glacis often catches fire or brakes transmission when penetrated, leaving the tank immobile and vulnerable.
- High profile for a medium tank makes it harder to hide.
- Weak roof armour is vulnerable to strafers like IL-2 (Germany) or Hs-129 B3
- Although heavily armoured, it can still get frontally penetrated by common British tanks like the Sherman Firefly.
History
The Panther "Dauphiné" was part of a large French program of rehabilitation of Panzers left by the Wehrmacht after D-Day. This program was led by the Captain Besnier who succeeded to form a little tank brigade of almost 20 old panzers: mostly Panzer IVs but also 2 Panthers and even 2 Tigers. The "Commando Besnier" fought during the encirclement of Saint-Nazaire, the last city still under German control on the 11 of May 1945 and then took part in the French Occupation of Germany at the end of the war. Some of the tanks have been attributed to the 3rd Armored Division at the end of 1945 and were kept mobilized for some months before being replaced. Some of the models have been given to museum (the Tiger can be seen in the museum of Saumur in France).
Nicknames after French regions have been given to every Besnier's tanks: Tiger "Colmar", Tiger "Bretagne", Panther "Dauphiné".
Media
- Skins
- Videos
See also
- Vehicles equipped with the same chassis
External links
Bibliography
- Braeuer, Luc. L'incroyable histoire de la poche Saint-Nazaire, 2000 (French)
| France medium tanks | |
|---|---|
| M4 Derivatives | M4A1 (FL10) · M4A4 (SA50) |
| AMX-50 | AMX M4 · AMX-50 (TOA100) · AMX-50 (TO90/930) |
| AMX-30 | AMX-30 · AMX-30 (1972) · AMX-30B2 · AMX-30B2 BRENUS · AMX-30 ACRA · AMX-30 Super |
| AMX-32/40 | AMX-32 · AMX-32 (105) · AMX-40 |
| Leclerc | Leclerc · Leclerc S2 · Leclerc SXXI · Leclerc AZUR |
| Other | D2 · S.35 · Lorraine 40t |
| Germany | Panther "Dauphiné" |
| USA | ▄M4A1 · ▄M4A3 (105) · ▄M4A4 · ▄M26 |
| France premium ground vehicles | |
|---|---|
| Light tanks | AMD.35 (SA35) · H.39 "Cambronne" · LVT-4/40 · AMX-13 (SS.11) · AMX-13-M24 · E.B.R. (1954) · E.B.R. (1963) · VBCI-2 (MCT30) |
| Medium tanks | M4A1 (FL10) · Panther "Dauphiné" · AMX-30 · AMX-30 Super · AMX-50 (TO90/930) |
| Heavy tanks | B1 ter · 2C bis · Somua SM |
| Tank destroyers | Lorraine 155 Mle.50 |
