Panzer IV/70(V)

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Panzer IV/70(V)
AB RB SB
5.3 5.7 5.7
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Description

The Panzer IV/70(V) is a rank III German tank destroyer with a battle rating of 5.3 (AB) and 5.7 (RB/SB). It was introduced during the Closed Beta Test for Ground Forces before Update 1.41.

General info

Survivability and armour

Armour Front (slope angle) Sides (slope angle) Rear (slope angle) Roof
Hull 80 mm (47°) Front glacis
50 mm (55°) Lower glacis
40 mm (29°) Top
30 mm (0°) Bottom
5 mm (0°) Skirts
22 mm (5°) Bottom
30 mm (31°) Top
20 mm (0°)
Superstructure 80 mm (50°) Turret Front
75 mm (18-63°) Shrapnel shield
75 mm (50-70°) Mantlet

Befitting of the German casemate destroyer line, the frontal armour on the Panzer IV/70 is one to be feared. It features a mighty frontal plate of 80 mm sloped at 50°, resulting in an awesome 120 mm of protection. The gun mantlet also is very well protected, and has over 150 mm in some areas. The amazing armour is made better when the player unlocks the "add-on armour" modification, applying tracks to the front and sides of the tank, and results in over 185 mm of protection in some areas. Even with this amazing armour, it is best to use the IV/70 at longer ranges, as this allows you to make use of your amazing gun and turns you from a difficult target to a nigh impenetrable one.

However, the side armour is very weak and is able to be penetrated by most things at your BR, so the player should take care to look out for flankers.

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 38 9 25.8 0.4 426 572 16.51 21.83
Realistic 35 8 265 300 10.27 11.45

Being based on the chassis of the Panzer IV, the all-round mobility is very solid. The tank is able to reach 43 km/h (27 mph) and hold itself there over most terrains and has very good hull traverse, allowing for quick turns. However the reverse speed is only 7.5 km/h. Not being able to reverse fast enough will sometimes put the player in a very dangerous situation.

Armaments

Main armament

Main article: PaK42 (75 mm)

The Panzer IV/70(V) bears the 75 mm PaK42 cannon with a medium rate of fire (9 sec reload). With the maximum penetration of 192 mm for the stock AP, this gun can frontally penetrate most opponents it will face. With its 28.9 g TNT filler, it can one shot almost all tanks upon penetration. The 935 m/s muzzle velocity allows easy targeting when aiming at moving targets. The gun traverse is average, but the depression of 7 degrees is very good given its small profile, allowing it to go into hull-down position at some place. The gun also comes with an unlockable APCR round which has a maximum penetration of a whopping 228 mm, and great velocity of over 1,100 m/s. Note that just like every other APCR shot, it is not good at piercing sloped / angled armour, and its damage is inadequate to one-shot the opponent.

Machine guns

Main article: MG42 (7.92 mm)

The tank has a MG42 commander machine gun with a high fire rate. It is able to quickly finish off the exposed crews of some vehicles. However, its traverse angles are very limited meaning a lot of the time the whole tank has to be moved to get the MG on target. Also the maximum penetration of 13 mm makes it useless against those not-so-lightly-armoured vehicles, like the BTR-152A, M18, etc.

Usage in battles

At the start of the match, the Panzer IV/70(V) is best used as a sniper for most of the times. The player can adapt their tactics from the StuG IIIs and the Jgdpz. 38t. A good way to get kills is to find a spot that:

  • provides hard cover
  • overlooks a key street / passage way
  • has bushes to hide in
  • is not too close to the frontline

This way the player can use the bushes to hide the Pz IV/70. If any opponent appears in the sight, the player can kill it easily with the great penetration, velocity and damage of the main cannon. If the enemy notices the player, either go back in cover until they are distracted, or utilise the sturdy frontal armour and be a "heavy tank". It can bounce quite some shells, given that the enemy's guns aren't strong enough.

As the match progresses, the player can use the Pz IV/70 as a medium tank since it has good top speed and traverse. Go cap some points and help the teammates to push. With its low profile, the Pz IV/70 can find a comfortable corner around a point and ambush any point-cappers. Now the situational awareness comes into place, as this vehicle is turretless, meaning it cannot respond quickly to close-quarter sudden encounters. Also note that the side armour is extremely thin, so even if the player thinks they're just angling a little bit, shells like the Russian 85 mm / 122 mm will still penetrate with ease.

Enemies worth noting:

  • IS-2, ISU-122, SU/ISU-152: The Pz IV/70 relies on its frontal armour a lot to survive, so the biggest threats are generally the vehicles with high penetration. These machines with high calibre guns pose the biggest threat, as their APHEBC shells will slice through the Pz IV/70's frontal armour like butter, and their damage is more than enough to kill all the crew inside. Try and finish them off first before they see you. If they do, quickly go to a nearby cover and either call for help, or wait until they fire / are distracted.

Modules

Tier Mobility Protection Firepower
I Tracks Parts Horizontal Drive
II Suspension Brake System FPE Adjustment of Fire
III Filters Crew Replenishment Elevation Mechanism
IV Transmission Engine Add-on Armor PzGr 40/42 Smoke grenade

Pros and cons

Pros:

  • Great penetration and damage, decent rate of fire and good accuracy for the main gun.
  • Low profile provides excellent concealment.
  • Sloped 80 mm frontal armour provides good protection against most of the opponents, and is especially boosted with add-on armour.
  • Decent acceleration and excellent cross country performance
  • Adequate gun depression of 7 degrees for a compact hull.

Cons:

  • Lacks a turret which limits its combat potential and makes it vulnerable to flankers.
  • Closely packed crew meaning a penetration from any angle will likely to destroy the tank.
  • Poor side armour, extremely weak against APBCs like the Russian 85mm.
  • The downward side of the gun mantlet is prone to trapshots (shell ricocheting down into the hull roof) which is lethal.

History

In-game description

This variant of the anti-tank gun was developed in two different versions by the companies Vomag AG and Alkett. Though similar in combat power and armor protection, these machines were significantly different in appearance.

In August 1944, Vomag began producing its own Panzer IV/70 (V) variant with a 75 mm gun. The gun itself was positioned slightly to the right of the tank's longitudinal axis to allow better use of the vehicle's internal space. Due to the great length of the guns, they were held with a special bracket during non-combat movement. The destroyer's weight was increased to 26 tons. The great length of the barrel and the forward-weighted armor (80 mm) made the vehicle unbalanced, giving it low cross-country ability. Because of this, it was nicknamed "Guderian's duck" by the troops. The front pair of road wheels were made entirely of metal. This tank destroyer had Schurzen side skirts which protected the lower sides of the tank from anti-tank and hollow-charge projectiles. Vomag made a total of 930 of these tank destroyers.

The Panzer IV, Panzer IV/70 (A), and Panzer IV/70 (V) also had a commander's version produced, with a crew of five men, reduced ammunition, and an additional radio station.

The powerful armament of these vehicles made them quite popular with the Wehrmacht's anti-tank divisions. These self-propelled guns were widely used in combat operations during the final part of the war.

Media

Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.

See also

  • Panzer IV/70(A) - Substituted version of the IV/70(V) produced by Alkett (hence the "A") with the gun placed atop the standard Panzer IV chassis and hull.

External links

Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:

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


Germany tank destroyers
Pz. I Derivatives  Panzerjäger I
Pz. II Derivatives  15cm sIG 33 B Sfl
Pz. 38(t) Derivatives  Marder III · Marder III H · Jagdpanzer 38(t)
Pz. III Derivatives  StuG III A · StuG III F · StuG III G · StuH 42 G
Pz. IV Derivatives  Jagdpanzer IV · Panzer IV/70(A) · Panzer IV/70(V) · Dicker Max · Nashorn · Brummbär · VFW
Pz. V Derivatives  Jagdpanther G1 · Bfw. Jagdpanther G1
Pz. VI Derivatives  Sturer Emil · Elefant · Ferdinand · 38 cm Sturmmörser · Jagdtiger
Wheeled/Half-track  8,8 cm Flak 37 Sfl. · Sd.Kfz.251/9 · Sd.Kfz.251/10 · Sd.Kfz.251/22 · Sd.Kfz.234/3 · Sd.Kfz.234/4 · 15 cm Pz.W.42
ATGM Carrier  RakJPz 2 · RakJPz 2 (HOT) · Wiesel 1A2
Other  Waffenträger · M109G · JPz 4-5 · Raketenautomat · VT1-2