Pz.III E

Pz.III E

Pz.III B

Pz.III E

Pz.III B

Germany

I Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
1.0	1.0	1.0

Class:

Medium tank

Research:Free

Purchase:Free

Show in game

Description

The Pz.Kpfw. III Ausf. E is a rank I German medium tank with a battle rating of 1.0 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced during the Closed Beta Test for Ground Forces before Update 1.41. The successor of the Panzer III B and the predecessor of the Panzer III F on the German tree line, the Panzer III Ausf. E has an improved armour layout with 30 mm thick front and side armour while retaining the 37 mm gun.

General info

Survivability and armour

The Pz.III E, distinguished from the B by the more traditional cupola, and the square MG mounting.

Armour types:

• Rolled homogeneous armour
• Cast homogeneous armour (Cupola)

Armour	Front (Slope angle)	Sides	Rear	Roof
Hull	30 mm	30 mm	20 mm	15 mm
Turret	35 mm Turret front 30 mm Gun mantlet	30 mm	30 mm	10 mm
Cupola	30 mm	30 mm	30 mm	8 mm

The Panzer III E has improved protection over the Ausf. B. The armour values on the hull sides and front are similar, so the Panzer III E is an excellent tank to use the tactic of angling in. With angling, the hull has a chance to bounce some enemy fire. The turret face protection is rather thin, but in some areas the turret armour overlaps which may help to stop some shells. Overall, the Panzer III E is not very survivable, being reliably protected only against .50 calibre ammunition. Additionally, the thin roof armour means that enemy planes may penetrate the top of the tank if they are using .50 calibre guns or cannons.

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	79	14	19.5	465	572	23.85	29.33
Realistic	71	12		265	300	13.59	15.38

The Pz.III E does have improved mobility over the B model, the top speed is listed as 71 km/h in RB mode, and 79 km/h in AB mode. However, the Pz.III E can only reach these speeds if travelling down a hill or a decline in the terrain, in RB mode it will struggle to pass 40 km/h off road, and in AB it will rarely pass the early 50 km/h. So the mobility is upgraded, but it's not really enough of an upgrade to be considered a huge advantage. A big positive though is that the Pz.III E can reverse a lot faster, meaning that if it gets into trouble, it can quickly retreat.

Armaments

Main armament

The Pz.III E is equipped with the 37 mm KwK36, which is a fairly underwhelming weapon performance-wise. It can penetrate most lower rank vehicles at close range, but at further ranges the gun really does start to struggle. It's also fairly inaccurate, which makes aiming for certain weak spots quite difficult. It comes with two available rounds-

• APHE- Max 47 mm penetration- Low penetration but higher damage potential.
• APCR- Max 86 mm penetration- High penetration but lower damage potential.

It's best to consider taking a mix of both types of ammunition, the APHE has the potential to one-shot some enemy tanks, but will be completely ineffective against the more heavily armoured vehicle you'll likely meet when uptiered, for these tanks it's best to use APCR and aim for flat surfaces. The APCR does very little damage internally, so try to aim for crew members if possible. As this vehicle is at 1.7, the likelihood of encountering vehicles completely immune from the APHE round is fairly likely, so taking some APCR is a must.

37 mm KwK36					Turret rotation speed (°/s)					Reloading rate (seconds)
Mode	Capacity	Vertical	Horizontal	Stabilizer	Stock	Upgraded	Full	Expert	Aced	Stock	Full	Expert	Aced
Arcade	131	-10°/+20°	±180°	N/A	5.24	7.25	8.80	9.73	10.35	3.77	3.33	3.07	2.90
Realistic					3.27	3.85	4.67	5.17	5.50

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	APHE	47	44	31	21	14	9
PzGr 40	APCR	86	77	47	26	14	8

Shell details
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Velocity (m/s)	Projectile Mass (kg)	Fuse delay (m)	Fuse sensitivity (mm)	Explosive Mass (TNT equivalent) (g)	Normalisation at 30° from horizontal	Ricochet
								0%	50%	100%
PzGr	APHE	745	0.685	1.2	9.0	22.1	-1.0°	47°	60°	65°
PzGr 40	APCR	1,020	0.368	N/A	N/A	N/A	+1.5°	66°	70°	72°

Ammo racks

Ammo racks of the Pz.III E

Full ammo	1st rack empty	2nd rack empty	3rd rack empty	4th rack empty	5th rack empty	Visual discrepancy
131	114 (+17)	76 (+55)	58 (+73)	20 (+111)	1 (+130)	Yes

Machine guns

Like its predecessor, the Pz. III E is equipped with two coaxial 7.92 mm MG34 machine guns, as there are two of them these machine guns are quite potent against enemy anti-air trucks, and even against the slower biplane aircraft commonly encountered in lower ranked battles; although their viability against aircraft is questionable due to the slow turret traverse. These guns have no functional viability against armoured vehicles however, and only serve as a last ditch effort to kick up dust, or blind an enemy vehicle by firing at their optics.

7.92 mm MG34
Mount	Capacity (Belt)	Fire rate	Vertical	Horizontal
Coaxial	1,800 (150)	900	N/A	N/A
Coaxial	1,800 (150)	900	N/A	N/A

Usage in battles

The Pz.III E, despite its upgrades, functions almost exactly the same as the previous B model, the armour and mobility are improved, but not to the point where these aspects are reliable, or warrant a change in play-style to take advantage of them. Because of the slow turret traverse and unimpressive firepower, consider playing the E in a more passive role. You can't comfortably rush around the map using your extra mobility as if you push to the point where enemies could get on your sides, you'll likely be knocked out very quickly. The largest drawbacks the E model has are its armour, turret traverse and firepower. The firepower can't be buffed in any way, but the negative effects of the armour and traverse can be somewhat negated by playing hull down and covering a narrow sight line. The turret armour can't be completely relied on, but it is the most consistent. Additionally, if you take fire into the turret, you'll likely only lose a couple of crew members. The E model has a fairly effective reverse rate, so you can easily retreat from combat, repair and reengage. You also have access to five rear drop smoke grenades to aid this purpose. Another advantage of covering a narrow sight line is that you don't really need to traverse your gun much to be able to fire on enemy vehicles.

If possible, try to remain somewhat sedentary, because the Pz.III E lacks a short stop stabiliser, if you run into an enemy allied tank on the move, they will likely be able to level off their gun and fire at you first, and as the armour of the E is very inconsistent, you will likely be knocked out. If you stay somewhat still and wait in ambush, you should be able to avoid this drawback. The E model works best at mid ranges, at long range the armour is effective but the gun isn't, whereas at close range the gun is effective but the armour isn't, sp at mid range you have the potential to maximise both. Aim to hide your hull and take a decent mix of APHE and APCR depending on the battle rating you're playing at. The E model isn't the most effective Panzer III, but if played in the right spot it can do a decent job.

Modules

Tier	Mobility		Protection	Firepower
I	Tracks		Parts	Horizontal Drive
II	Suspension	Brake System	FPE	Adjustment of Fire	PzGr 40
III	Filters		Crew Replenishment	Elevation Mechanism	Smoke grenade
IV	Transmission	Engine		Artillery Support

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Very fast reload
• Access to APCR
• Decent overall mobility
• Immune from heavy machine gun fire

Cons:

• Very slow turret traverse
• Lacklustre firepower
• Poor armour protection
• No short stabiliser

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: https://wiki.warthunder.com/(Vehicle-name)/History) and add a link to it here using the main template. Be sure to reference text and sources by using <ref></ref>, as well as adding them at the end of the article with <references />. This section may also include the vehicle's dev blog entry (if applicable) and the in-game encyclopedia description (under === In-game description ===, also if applicable).

In-game description

The Pz.Kpfw. III Ausf. E was the first large-scale variant of this tank. The machine had a new torsion suspension design, and its wheels had a much larger diameter. This greatly simplified its manufacture and servicing. The construction of the hull was modified, slightly shortening the front and rear sections. Some design improvements were made to facilitate the crew's ability to evacuate when needed and to improve their field of view. The construction of the Kugelblende 30 machine gun's mantlet saw improvements, as well, and a small container of smoke bombs was affixed to the aft of the tank's hull. The more powerful Maibach HL120TR engine, with 300 horsepower, was installed, along with a mechanical Variorex SRG 328-145 transmission with ten forward gears and four reverse gears. These changes increased the tank's maximum speed and cross-country ability.

During the tank's single year of production, beginning in October 1938, the companies MAN, Deimler-Benz, Henschel, MIAG, Alket, Krupp, FAMO, Wegmann, and MNH produced about 100 specimens.

The Pz.Kpfw. III Ausf. E tank variant participated in every military operation which took place during the first stage of World War II.

This variant became the basis for all subsequent ones.

The tank's first combat experience was successful, and from 1940 to 1941 some of the tanks were outfitted with a 5cm KwK L/42 gun in a new cannon mantlet. Afterwards, the remaining Pz.Kpfw. III Ausf. E tanks were withdrawn from the front lines and converted into Pz.Beo.Wg. artillery spotters or repair and rescue vehicles.

On the whole, the Pz.Kpfw. III Ausf. E tank was reliable and easy to operate and provided a high level of crew comfort.

This tank's main disadvantage was that its armament was relatively weak for a medium tank.

Media

See also

Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:

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

External links

Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:

• topic on the official game forum;
• encyclopedia page on the tank;
• other literature.