Panzerkampfwagen IV

The Panzerkampfwagen IV (Pz.Kpfw. IV) commonly known as the Panzer IV was a medium tank developed in Nazi Germany in the late 1930s and used extensively during the Second World War. Its ordnance inventory designation was Sd.Kfz. 161.

Designed as an infantry-support tank, the Panzer IV was not originally intended to engage enemy armor—that function was performed by the lighter Panzer III. However, with the flaws of pre-war doctrine becoming apparent and in the face of Soviet T-34 tanks, the Panzer IV soon assumed the tank-fighting role of its increasingly obsolete cousin. The most widely manufactured and deployed German tank of the Second World War, the Panzer IV was used as the base for many other fighting vehicles, including the Sturmgeschütz IV assault gun, Jagdpanzer IV tank destroyer, the Wirbelwind self-propelled anti-aircraft weapon, and the Brummbär self-propelled gun. And also a non-standard variant the Munitionspanzer IV which acts as an transport, ammo supply or can tow certain guns.

Robust and reliable, it saw service in all combat theaters involving Germany and has the distinction of being the only German tank to remain in continuous production throughout the war, with over 8,800 produced between 1936 and 1945. Upgrades and design modifications, often made in response to the appearance of new Allied tanks, extended its service life. Generally these involved increasing the Panzer IV's armor protection or upgrading its weapons, although during the last months of the war with Germany's pressing need for rapid replacement of losses, design changes also included retrograde measures to simplify and speed manufacture.

Pzkpfw IV variants in Forgotten Hope Secret Weapon

Ausf. D	Ausf. F1	Ausf. F2	Ausf. H	Ausf. J	Ausf.H mit 7,5 cm Rfk. 43 & 3cm MK 103

Ausf. D

Pzkpfw IV Ausf. D Sd.Kfz. 161
General Historical Information
Place of origin	Germany
Manufacturer	Krupp-Gruson
Produced In	October 1939 - May 1941
Category	Medium tank
Debut in FHSW	Debut in FH v0.7 New model
Retired in FHSW	???
Speed	42 km/h
Armour	File:PzIVCarmour.jpg
Main armament	7.5 cm KwK 37 L/24 122 shells
Coaxial weapon	7.92 mm MG 34 17 x 150 rounds
General Ingame Information
Used by	Germany
Crew in‑game	2
Seat 2	7.92 mm MG 34 8 x 250 rounds
Seat 3	Passenger Seat
Seat 4	Passenger Seat
Historical Picture

The Ausf. D is the earliest example of the Panzer IV in the mod. With its short 75 mm gun and thin armor it is more of a infantry support vehicle. There is also a uparmored variant with spaced armour.

After assembling 40 Ausf. Cs, the engine was replaced with the improved HL 120TRM. The last of the 140 Ausf. Cs was produced in August 1939, and production changed to the Ausf. D. This version, of which 248 vehicles were produced, reintroduced the hull machine gun and changed the turret's internal gun mantlet to an external one. The protection was upgraded by increasing side armor to 20 mm.

Some Ausf. D have Vorpanzer installed. This additional armor on the front of the hull and over the gun mantlet was mounted so there would be a gap between it and the main armor the theory was the gap would make even thin 5 or 10 mm plates more effective which would save weight compared to using even thicker plates directly on the armor. Vorpanzer would not be used on later iterations of the Panzer IV but the Panzer III Ausf. L and Ausf. M had a similar design.

In response to the difficulty of penetrating British Matilda Infantry tanks during the Battle of France, the Germans had tested a 50 mm gun—based on the 5 cm Pak 38 L/60 anti-tank gun on a Panzer IV Ausf. D. However, with the rapid German victory in Fance, the original order of 80 tanks was canceled before they entered production.

Ausf. F1

Pzkpfw IV Ausf. F Pzkpfw IV Ausf F1 Sd.Kfz. 161
General Historical Information
Place of origin	Germany
Manufacturer	Krupp-Gruson Vomag Nibelungenwerke A.G.
Produced In	April 1941 - March 1942
Category	Medium tank
Debut in FHSW	Debut in Forgotten Hope
Speed	42 km/h
Armour
Main armament	7.5 cm KwK 37 L/24 122 shells
Coaxial weapon	7.92 mm MG 34 17 x 150 rounds
General Ingame Information
Used by	Germany
Crew in‑game	2
Ammunition
Seat 2	7.92 mm MG 34 8 x 250 rounds
Seat 3	Passenger Seat
Seat 4	Passenger Seat
Historical Picture

In April 1941 production of the Panzer IV Ausf. F started. It featured 50 mm single-plate armor on the turret and hull, as opposed to the appliqué armor added to the Ausf. E, and a further increase in side armor to 30 mm. The weight of the vehicle was now 22.3 tonnes, which required a corresponding modification of track width from 380 to 400 mm to reduce ground pressure. The wider tracks also facilitated the fitting of ice sprags, and the rear idler wheel and front sprocket were modified. The designation Ausf. F was changed in the meantime to Ausf.F1, after the distinct new model, the Ausf. F2, appeared. A total of 464 Ausf. F (later F1) tanks were produced from April 1941 to March 1942, of which 25 were converted to the F2 on the production line.

Later in the war they may come with HEAT rounds. The HL/C is quite effective but the Klw (Klappleitwerk) is even more so. This HEAT-FS is stablilized by fins which increases it's accuracy.

Ausf. F1 Pillbox

Ausf. F1 Pillbox
General Historical Information
Place of origin	Germany
Category	Turret Bunker
Debut in FHSW	Debut in FHSW
Main armament	7.5 cm KwK 37 L/24 122 shells
Coaxial weapon	7.92 mm MG 34 17 x 150 rounds
General Ingame Information
Used by	Germany
Crew in‑game	2
Ammunition
Seat 2	Commander Seat
Historical Picture

The short 75 mm gun was obsolete but could still be used in some ways, it could be mounted on the smaller Panzerkampfwagen III but cheapest move with preexisting tanks would be to use the turret or the entire tank with the engine removed as a bunker. In FHSW the effectiveness is highly dependent on which ammunition is available, from high explosive to several variants of HEAT rounds which at its best it may be HEAT-FS that can penetrate up to 160 mm of armour.

Photos of Panzer IV turret pillboxes are often actually Panzer III Ausf. N or VK 3001 (H) turrets which all have a similar shape and the short 75 mm gun. The VK 30001 (H) was a potential succesor to the Panzer IV which was rejected.

Ausf. F2

Pzkpfw IV Ausf. F2 Sd.Kfz. 161/1
General Historical Information
Place of origin	Germany
Manufacturer	Krupp-Gruson Vomag Nibelungenwerke A.G.
Produced In	March 1942 - May 1942
Category	Medium tank
Debut in FHSW	Debut in FH
Speed	40 km/h
Armour
Main armament	7.5 cm KwK 40 L/43 87 shells
Coaxial weapon	7.92 mm MG 34 17 x 150 rounds
General Ingame Information
Used by	Germany Hungary Italy
Crew in‑game	4
Ammunition
Seat 2	Commander Seat
Seat 3	7.92 mm MG 34 8 x 250 rounds
Seat 4	Passenger Seat
Seat 5	Passenger Seat
Historical Picture

On May 26, 1941, mere weeks before Operation Barbarossa, during a conference with Hitler, it was decided to improve the Panzer IV's main armament. Krupp was awarded the contract to integrate again the same 50 mm Pak 38 L/60 gun into the turret. The first prototype was to be delivered by November 15, 1941. Within months, the shock of encountering the Soviet t-34 medium and KV-1 heavy tanks necessitated a new, much more powerful tank gun. In November 1941, the decision to up-gun the Panzer IV to the 50mm gun was dropped, and instead Krupp was contracted in a joint development to modify Rheinmetall's pending 75 mm anti-tank gun design, the 75 mm Pak 40. Because the recoil length was too long for the tank's turret, the recoil mechanism and chamber were shortened. This resulted in the75 mm KwK 40 L/43 and it was the only Panzer IV with this gun with the ball shaped muzzle break. When firing an armor-piercing shot, the gun's muzzle velocity was increased from 430 m/s to 990 m/s. Initially, the gun was mounted with a single-chamber, ball-shaped muzzle brake, which provided just under 50% of the recoil system's braking ability. Firing the Panzergranate 39, the KwK 40 L/43 could penetrate 77 mm (3.03 in) of steel armor at a range of 1,830 m (6,000 ft). The Ausf. F2 is the only version using the ball-shaped muzzle brake! The tank increased in weight to 23.6 tonnes. One 175 Ausf. F2s were produced from March 1942 to July 1942. Three months after beginning production, the Panzer IV Ausf. F2 was renamed Ausf. G.

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Ausf. H

Pzkpfw Ausf. H Sd.Kfz. 161/2
General Historical Information
Place of origin	Germany
Designer	Krupp
Manufacturer	Krupp-Gruson Vomag Nibelungenwerke
Produced In	April 1943 - July 1944
Category	Medium tank
Debut in FHSW	Debut in FH (Without Night Vision) 0.51 (With Night Vision)
Speed	38 km/h
Armour
Main armament	7.5 cm KwK 40 L/48 (87 rounds)
Coaxial weapon	7.92 mm MG 34 (150 rounds)
General Ingame Information
Used by	Germany
Crew in‑game	3
Ammunition
Special abilities	Night Vision available
Seat 2	7.92 mm MG 34 (250 rounds)
Seat 3	7.92 mm MG 34 (250 rounds)
Seat 4	Passenger Seat
Seat 5	Passenger Seat
Historical Picture

The next version, the Ausf. H, began production in April 1943 and received the designation Sd. Kfz. 161/2. This variant saw the integrity of the glacis armor improved by manufacturing it as a single 80-millimetre plate. To prevent adhesion of magnetic anti-tank mines, which the Germans feared would be used in large numbers by the Allies, Zimmerit paste was added to all the vertical surfaces of the tank's armor. The vehicle's side and turret were further protected by the addition of 5 mm side-skirts and 8 mm turret skirts. During the Ausf. H's production run its rubber-tired return rollers were replaced with cast steel; the hull was fitted with triangular supports for the easily-damaged side-skirts. A hole in the roof, designed for the Nahverteidigungswaffe, was plugged by a circular armored plate due to shortages of this weapon. These modifications meant that the tank's weight jumped to 25 tonnes, reducing its speed, a situation not improved by the decision to adopt the Panzer III's six-speed SSG 77 transmission, which was inferior to that of earlier-model Panzer IVs.

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Ausf. J

Pzkpfw IV Ausf. J Sd.Kfz. 161/2
General Historical Information
Place of origin	Germany
Manufacturer	Nibelungenwerke Vomag
Produced In	June 1944 - March 1945
Category	Medium tank
Debut in FHSW	v0.42
Speed	38 km/h
Main armament	7.5 cm KwK 40 L/48 (48 rounds)
Coaxial weapon	7.92 mm MG 34 (150 rounds)
General Ingame Information
Used by	Germany
Crew in‑game	4
Ammunition
Special abilities	Night Vision available
Seat 2	7.92 mm MG 34 (250 rounds)
Seat 3	7.92 mm MG 42 {50 rounds)
Seat 4	Nahverteidigungswaffe 10 x HE grenade
Seat 5	Passenger Seat
Seat 6	Passenger Seat
Historical Picture

The final version of the Panzer IV tank was the Ausf. J. Despite addressing the mobility problems introduced by the previous model, the final production version of the Panzer IV - the Ausf. J — was a retrograde from the Ausf. H in some aspects. Born of German necessity to replace heavy losses, the Ausf H was simplified to speed the production. It had same Ausf H fuselage but some details and parts were changed. The electric turret drive with auxiliary generator set was removed from the design and from July 1944 a extra 200 litre fuel tank was put in its place which increased the fuel capacity to 680 litres. By removing the electric turret drive, the crew had to traverse the turret by hand which made it the turret slower to turn. However, the fuels tanks had mechanical problems that had to be fixed and which happened in September 1944 with new fuel tanks. Further modifications were made during the production. Such as deleting of the turret visor and pistol ports, installation of Pilze 2-ton crane mount sockets, introduction of Flammentoeter mufflers, conversion from plate Schürzen to Thoma type wire-mesh, reduction to 3 return rollers per side, installation of Nahverteidigungswaffe close defence system and ceasing application of Zimmerit paste. In addition to new modifications, numerous changes made to Ausf G and H were also applied to Ausf J. Unfortunately this was not applied to the model in FHSW!

In FHSW the Ausf. J is a straight upgrade from the Ausf. H, the Schürzen have been replaced, the rear exhaust has been upgraded with the Flammentoeter mufflers, and Nahverteidigungswaffe has been installed in the turret. The front armour has also been reinforced with spare track links. To further increase performance against armour the Ausf J fires HEAT-FS, it can penetrate 160 mm of armor at any range. These were a prototype project and were not actually produced.

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Custom Map Content

Ausf. A

Pzkpfw IV Ausf. A Sd.Kfz. 161
General Historical Information
Place of origin	Germany
Manufacturer	Krupp-Gruson
Produced In	October 1937 - 1938
Category	Medium tank
Debut in FHSW	Battle of Ilza
Speed	32.4 km/h
Armour	15mm
Main armament	7.5 cm KwK 37 L/24 122 shells
Coaxial weapon	7.92 mm MG 34 22 x 75 rounds
General Ingame Information
Used by	Germany
Crew in‑game	2
Seat 2	7.92 mm MG 34 22 x 75 rounds
Seat 3	Passenger Seat
Seat 4	Passenger Seat
Historical Picture

Note! This a custom vehicle made for the custom map Battle of Ilza which is part of the Gloria Victis map pack for FH that was ported to FHSW in the FHSW Europe map pack.

This was the first production model and 35 of the Ausf. A were produced. The cupola design and its wider superstructure distinguishes it from later versions. The Panzer IV was first intended as a infantry support vehicle like the Sturmgeschütz III. Ausf. A didn't have much armour for anti-tank guns & rifles. The engine of the Ausf. A & B, the Maybach HL 108TR has 20% less horsepower than later versions of the tank.

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External links

• Wikipedia entry