Panther A
| This page is about the German medium tank Panther A. For other uses, see Panther (Disambiguation). For other vehicles of the family, see Panther tank (Family). |
Contents
Description
The Pz.Kpfw. V Ausf. A (Panther A) is a rank IV German medium tank with a battle rating of 6.0 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced during the Closed Beta Test for Ground Forces before Update 1.41.
Like any Panther, the Panther A features a broad, sloping upper glacis, and the curved gun mantle. Its main distinguishing factors from the Panther D or the Panther G are; A new cupola (compared to the Ausf. D), and the normal, rounded gun mantle (compared to the chinned one on the Ausf. G).
General info
Survivability and armour
Armour type:
- Rolled homogeneous armour
- Cast homogeneous armour (Gun mantlet, Cupola)
| Armour | Front (Slope angle) | Sides (Slope angle) | Rear (Slope angle) | Roof |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hull | 80 mm (55°) Front glacis 60 mm (56°) Lower glacis |
40 mm (40°) Top 40 + 5 mm Lower |
40 mm (29°) | 16 mm |
| Turret | 100 mm Turret front 65 -100 mm Gun mantlet |
45 mm | 45 mm | 16 mm |
| Armour | Sides | Roof | ||
| Cupola | 80 mm | 16 mm |
Notes:
- Tracks and lower side of the hull are covered by 5 mm thick armour plate, protecting them from HEAT and HE shells.
- Rear parts of the upper side hull armour have tracks attached to it, adding additional 20 mm of armour.
Due to its weak side armour (20 mm autocannons can penetrate it), flanking is the best option to deal with any Panther. However, should the Panther be forced to face it frontally, shoot the right turret cheek to take out the gunner. This is one of the weakest places frontally, only ("only") 100 mm thick. Heavier guns such as the 17 pdr can penetrate the lower glacis at short ranges, and any large calibre (100 mm and up) can penetrate the upper glacis.
Any British tank that fires APDS can penetrate the upper glacis. The 17 pounder can sometimes go through the lower glacis at shorter ranges too. Any standard AP or APHE shell of a calibre above the 80-90 mm range (aka 100 mm and above) will penetrate the Panther anywhere frontally.
Mobility
| Game Mode | Max Speed (km/h) | Weight (tons) | Engine power (horsepower) | Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | Reverse | Stock | AoA | Stock | Upgraded | Stock | Upgraded | |
| Arcade | 51 | 4 | 44.8 | 0.45 | 1,085 | 1,145 | 24.19 | 25.28 |
| Realistic | 46 | 4 | 619 | 600 | 13.8 | 13.25 | ||
Modifications and economy
| Mobility | Protection | Firepower | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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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 | 79 | -8°/+20° | ±180° | N/A | 22.8 | 31.6 | 38.4 | 42.5 | 45.2 | 9.62 | 8.51 | 7.84 | 7.40 |
| Realistic | 14.3 | 16.8 | 20.4 | 22.6 | 24.0 | ||||||||
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 |
| PzGr 40/42 | APCR | 228 | 224 | 204 | 182 | 162 | 145 |
| 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° |
| PzGr 40/42 | APCR | 1,120 | 4.75 | N/A | N/A | N/A | 66° | 70° | 72° |
| Sprgr. 42 | HE | 700 | 5.74 | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 79 | 77 (+2) | 71 (+8) | 62 (+17) | 53 (+26) | 44 (+35) | 35 (+44) | 31 (+48) | 16 (+63) | 4 (+75) | 1 (+78) | Yes |
Turret and large sides empty: 31 (+48)
Machine guns
| 7.92 mm MG34 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mount | Capacity (Belt) | Fire rate | Vertical | Horizontal |
| Coaxial | 2,700 (150) | 900 | N/A | N/A |
| Pintle | 2,000 (150) | 900 | -10°/+25° | -60°/+160° |
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 mounted 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 75mm, 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 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.
Against a Panther A:
Light tank/SPAA: lighter vehicles will certainly find the Panther A much easier to kill than the Tiger, thanks to its much thinner sides and rear armour. The relative thickness of no more than 50 mm is very easily penetrated by common light tanks such as the M24, AMX-13, and SPAA like the M42. The side profile of th Panther is tall and long, making it even easier to spot and shoot at. Note that just like many other German tanks, the Panther is able to traverse the hull on the spot, allowing it to angle extremely quickly if they sense someone is aiming at their side armour, so you must be decisive, do not hesitate to open fire. Of course, when it is impossible to flank, you can disable its wide tracks or gun barrel and call an artillery strike on it.
Medium tank: the biggest strengths of the Panther shine at long range engagements as its frontal armour, cannon penetration and trajectory all outmatch medium tanks at similar BR. Thus it is always a good idea to close in the combat distance. This also eliminates the disadvantages of low penetration and poor gunsight magnification of Allied medium tanks. Against a Panther, it is always about targeting the mantlet quick and accurate, or flanking. In a close quarters encounter, target the Panther's gun mantlet as it is only 100 mm thick. It will usually knock out the gunner, cannon breech, commander, or loader. Utilise your advantage, for example M4 Shermans have stabilisers meaning they can perform fire-on-the-move more stable, and T-34-85 are more agile, allowing them to flank better. Sometimes the Panther will peek out of cover to shoot, and because their hull is long and the turret is placed in the middle, they may unintentionally expose a small, front section of the hull side armour out of the cover as they move forward. Do not miss this chance to give it a clean side-shot.
Heavy tank/tank destroyer: an enemy Panther A can be a very tough target to wipe out if the friendly team consists mostly of light/medium vehicles, so heavy tanks or tank destroyers who can frontally penetrate a Panther become very significant. Vehicles with powerful cannons, such as the IS-2 and Ikv 103 can all punch through the upper front plate of a Panther easily. It is better to target the UFP if the Panther is not angling, since the turret is smaller thus harder to hit.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Excellent cannon has a range of ammo for any type of enemy: great stock AP for common targets (eg. T-34-85, M4 Sherman or even the M4A3E2), piercing APCR for early cold war tanks (eg. M26, T-44, early Centurions) and HE for light vehicles. Great accuracy and velocity allows easy long-range sniping. Plenty of ammo capacity allows flexible ammo setups.
- Heavily armoured frontal hull is immune to most guns at 5.7 like the 85 mm D-5T and 76 mm M1.
- Almost 300% faster turret rotation than the previous D model. Is more responsive to flankers.
- Fast top speed, good hull traverse. Can get to positions in time.
- Engine has 50 more horsepower compared to the D variant, acceleration is noticeably faster and is on par, if not slightly faster, than T-34s.
- Adequate gun depression of -8° adapts most terrains well.
- Reasonably cheap repair cost.
- Has a wide range of good-looking camouflage to unlock. Suitable for almost every terrain / map.
Cons:
- Gun mantlet is only 100 mm, a huge and well-known weakspot to shoot at.
- Side ammo racks are prone to detonation when hit.
- Terrible reverse speed of only -4 km/h, can get the player killed.
- Weak side armor gets penetrated easily by Russian APHEBC. Cannot angle too much.
- Lower glacis often catches fire or breaks transmission when penetrated, leaving the tank immobile and vulnerable.
- High profile for a medium tank makes it harder to hide.
- Roof armour of 16 mm is vulnerable to M2 Brownings which are widely seen on American planes.
- Although heavily armoured, it can still get frontally penetrated easily by a rather common heavy tank: IS-2.
History
Development
The Panther development started as far back as 1938 as a replacement to the Panzer IIIs and Panzer IVs. The program was called VK 20 and it called for a 20 ton tracked vehicle design by Krupp, Daimler-Benz, and MAN. Krupp dropped out when the requirements changed to 30 tones in 1941 when the German encounters the Soviet T-34 and KV-1 tanks where the Panzer III and Panzer IV's performance have little effect due to its superior armour, mobility, and armament. The VK 20 was abandoned for the VK 30.02 in April 1942. Daimler-Benz design for this project looks similar to the T-34 with the turret far forward in the hull, plus the use of a diesel engine and external leaf spring suspension. MAN's design had a twin torsion bar, the interleaved suspension system (like the Tiger I) with the turret situated in the middle of the hull, plus had a petrol Maybach engine. Hitler was reported to believe that the DB design was superior to the MAN design, and in a review between January to March 1942, Fritz Todt and Albert Speer also recommended the DB design. Then MAN revised their design, and a special commission by Hitler decided on the MAN design in May 1942, to which Hitler approved after reviewing it. One of the reasons the MAN was approved was that its turret was already in production while the DB used a completely new design. However, despite being built for a 30-ton design, Hitler decided to increase the armour on the MAN design and the weight went from 30 tons to 45 tons.
The MAN design was made into a prototype in September 1942, when it was officially accepted after testing and named the Panzerkampfwagen V Panther. Where it remained so until 1944, where Hitler removed the V in the designation for the name Panther. Production started in December 1942, though the early models suffered from reliability issues. The production plants expanded from MAN to Daimler-Benz, MNH, and Henschel for increased output. Despite that, production was often delayed due to Allied air bombing, which targeted the Maybach engine plant and DB, MAN, and MNH tank factories. Nevertheless, the total number of Panther tanks produced was 6,706, making the Panther the third most produced armoured fighting vehicle in Germany behind the Panzer IV and the StuG III.
Design
The MAN design for the Panther featured a heavily sloped armour design, with the front glacis plate being 80 mm thick (from the original 60 mm before the weight increase) and when sloped at 55 degrees, it was 140 mm effective in thickness. This made the Panther one of the best-armored vehicle in World War II. The side armour of the Panther was way thinner at 40 mm that could be pierced very easily. Additional side armour in the form of Schürzen could be placed on the sides hanging to cover the suspension and hull side from being penetrated by Soviet anti-tank rifle fire. The Panther used the same engine as the Tiger I, the Mayback HL 210 P30 engine, and had a similar suspension system, the Schachtellaufwerk interleaved wheel system, which complicated maintenance issues. The tank used the formidable 7.5 cm Kwk 42 cannon, which could destroy most of the allied tanks in service, only possess a mediocre HE shell.
The Ausf. A variant was the second variant designed for the Panther, The old drum-shaped cupola on the Ausf. D had been replaced by a side-swinging hatch that didn't require the commander to expose himself to open or close the hatch. The Ausf. A introduced the standard ball mount for the assistant driver's machine gun, replacing the "letterbox" flap design on the Ausf. D. The Ausf. A also had the initial turret curved gun mantlet that was introduced to the Panther, though there were faults with the design as explained below. Other small improvements of the Ausf. A over the Ausf. D was improved reliability by ironing out several mechanical issues. 2,192 Panther Ausf. A was produced from August 1943 to June 1944.
The Panther's rushed development and commitment into battle caused the design to have many flaws inhibiting its full potential. The most prominent flaw that lasted throughout the war was the weak final drive due to using a double spur system that made it more prone to failure from the Panther's torque requirements, which is averaged at around 150 km before failing. The curved gun mantlet design had an unfortunate tendency to ricochet deflected rounds into the roof, it was, however, not fixed until a new gun mantlet design with a flat "chin" shape was introduced on the Panther G. The Schachtellaufwerk suspension system, like the Tiger, suffered from over-engineering and complicating maintenance of the tank. Smaller problems in the tank included not having a dedicated periscope for the gunner, maintenance-heavy, fuel-hungry, and deteriorating armour quality as metal alloys in Germany began to run out.
Despite its heavier weight and slightly complex design, the cost of each Panther tank was not very high in relative to tanks with a price at 117,100 Reichmarks, compared to the 103,462 RM of Panzer IVs and 250,800 RM of the Tiger I. This made the tank rather economic for its fighting purposes despite being over-engineered.
Combat usage
The Panther was first issued to the Eastern Front, arming the 51st and 52nd Tank Battalions. Their usage presented mechanical problems of the Panther, forcing many of the early Panthers to be returned for rebuilding. Despite these issues, the Panther was deemed critical in the Battle of Kursk in Operation Citadel, Hitler delayed the operation so more Panthers can reach the front. 200 Panthers were ready in June 1943, but its combat debut was disappointing. The Panthers, which arrived last minute before the operation started, meant that the crew serving the tanks had little time to train with the new tanks. Two tanks were lost to motor fires right after disembarking from the trains at the front lines. 184 were operational at the start of the operation on July 5, this dropped to 40 within two days. According to Heinz Guderian, five days into the offensive, only 10 operation Panthers were available with 25 completely lost, 100 in need of repairs, and 60 per cent of those mechanical breakdowns were easily repaired. Those that did work during the campaign were able to cause heavy casualties on the Soviet tank forces, but the Panther's lethality was mitigated by its low number available. When the operation turned and the Soviet counteroffensive pushed the Germans away from Kursk, the Panther loss rose to 156 on August 11, with many more lost as the Soviet kept gaining ground. Perhaps the Panther's biggest role in Operation Citadel was delaying the start of the operation by two months to allow the Soviet defences to be bolstered beyond the German's expectations, causing the failure of the offensive.
After the failure at Kursk, improvements on the Panther helped its reliability rate. By March 1944, Guderian reported that most of the Panther's flaws were ironed out, but the final drive and other mechanical issues were still a major issue to front-line units. The Panthers served the rest of the war as quick-reaction forces to fight off Allied offensives on both fronts. On the Eastern Front, some 700 Panthers were committed to the battle at all times, though the number of operational vehicles varies depending on the situation. The Panthers were also sent to suppress the Warsaw Uprising in August 1944. Two were captured by the Polish forces, who used them against the German forces. The captured Panthers were used until they became immobilized and were destroyed to prevent recapture by the Germans.
On the Western Front, the Panthers began being present in large numbers after the Invasion of Normandy. 156 Panthers were initially present between two Panzer regiments, but this increased by seven regiments after the Allied invasion, boosting the strength to 432 tanks. The high number of Panther situated in France, mostly around Caen, and their performance against the Allied armour caused many Allied tankers to fear it as much as the Tiger tanks. However, the Panther's reliability problem was still evident as many Panthers were left abandoned by the crew when they broke down. The mechanical breakdown, partly from the flaws in the machine, can also be attributed to the poor crew training given, which showed by crew overburdening the transmission or lacking regular maintenance on the tank. The Allied assessment of the Panther was that its mobility on soft grounds was superior due to its wider tracks giving more flotation over the ground, and armour and firepower value was superior to anything they had, though it was inferior in the bocage terrain of France due to the constrained nature of the environment. The Panther participated in the famed Battle of Arracourt, where a total of 262 German tanks were committed to battle. The battle, against the mostly M4 Sherman, equipped 4th Armored Division, routed the Germans after they suffered heavy casualties, while the Allies only losing 32 armoured fighting vehicles, a testament on how crew training and tactical advantage have a big impact on tank warfare. The highest concentration of Panthers on the Western Front was 471 Panthers (336 operational) in the Ardennes Offensive (Battle of the Bulge), where it showed its prowess in open terrain due to its superior gun. The Panthers also took place in Operation Grief, being disguised as M10 tank destroyers to trick American soldiers. All of these mocked up Panthers were destroyed in battle or scrapped after it. After the Ardennes Offensive, eight Panzer division with 271 Panthers were transferred to the Eastern Front to beat back the Soviet offensive. Only five Panther battalions, 96 Panthers for each battalion, remained on the Western Front to fight the Allies.
After the war, Panther still saw a use for some time in various countries. Bulgaria and Romania received Panthers from the Soviets as aid, which they used until the 1950s. France was the most notable user of the Panther tanks after World War II due to the large quantities of operable vehicles left behind by the Germans during the Normandy invasion. The French raised a regiment of 50 Panthers from 1944 to 1947, when they were replaced by the new ARL 44 tanks. The Panther also influenced the French AMX 50 tank design, and its gun was derived onto the AMX 13 light tank. In 1947, an evaluation was written by the French War Ministry on the Panthers which even made their own assessment of the Panther that pointed out most of the flaws of the Panthers, especially the mechanical failure and the deficiency of the armour later in the war due to alloy shortages.
In-game description
In the fall of 1943, production of the Ausf.A variant of the Pz.Kpfw. V tank began. The Verstandigungsoeffnung hatch, which allowed for communication with infantry and for pistol fire from inside, was removed from the new turret. Vehicles of this variant were given the simpler monocular TZF-12А sight, as well as the commander's cupola used by the Tiger I tank. The hull's front plate was equipped with a traditional ball-mount directional machine gun instead of the inefficient letterbox flap gun used earlier. To strengthen the chassis, the road wheels received an increased number of bolts. The engine and transmission cooling systems were improved. A viewport was installed on the roof of the turret, along with a close-combat device (antipersonnel fragmentation grenade launchers). Tanks released at a later date had a modified exhaust system. Some Panther Ausf. A tanks were equipped with experimental infrared night vision devices. All of the tanks of this variant had their vertical surfaces coated with Zimmerit anti-magnetic paste.
From August 1943 to May 1944, about 2,000 of these tanks were released.
Beginning in 1943, the Red Army captured a small number of Panther tanks (of several variants). These tanks were then used by several of the USSR's armored divisions, including, for example, Lieutenant Sotnikov's division. This tank was known as a dangerous enemy to Soviet tank forces, and captured vehicles were considered a thing of great luck. They were given to the most experienced and effective crews as recognition of their incredible merit. To keep the German tanks in good condition, Soviet tank divisions used captured German mechanics. In 1944, a technical manual for the Panther was published in Russian, for distribution to the crews.
Media
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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:
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- encyclopedia page on the tank;
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|---|---|
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| Pz.V | VK 3002 (M) · Panther A · Panther D · Panther F · Panther G · Ersatz M10 · Panther II |
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