Know Your Panzer III Tank!

The Panzerkampfwagen III (Pz.Kpfw. III), commonly known as the Panzer III, was a medium tank developed in the 1930s by Germany, and was used extensively in World War II. The official German ordnance designation was Sd.Kfz. 141. It was intended to fight other armoured fighting vehicles and serve alongside and support the similar Panzer IV, which was originally designed for infantry support.

Initially the Panzer III had the same 3.7 cm gun as the infantry used for anti-tank work but later models were given 5 cm gun. This was the largest gun that could be fitted within the limitations of the turret ring but was insufficient against Soviet T-34 and KV-1 tanks. The Panzer IV, which had a larger turret ring, was redesigned to mount the long-barrelled 7.5 cm KwK 40 gun and became the main German tank instead. From 1942 the last version of the Panzer III (Panzer III N) mounted the short barrelled 7.5 cm KwK 37 L/24 which was used on the first Panzer IVs, meaning the Panzer III and the Panzer IV had effectively swapped roles.