Panzer IV Medium Tank

Introduction
Combat Record
Standard Variants
Other Variants
Production Figures

Introduction

The Panzer IV is normally described as having been the mainstay of the German tank forces during the Second World War, but that is actually somewhat misleading. While it is true that the Panzer IV was the only German tank to remain in production for the entire duration of the war, for the first three of those years it was a close support weapon produced in relatively small numbers. It was only after the appearance of the long-gun armed Ausf F2 in the summer of 1942 that the Panzer IV became a potent tank killer, and its heyday came during 1943, when for a short period between the gradual disappearance of the Panzer III and the entry into service of the Panther it was indeed the backbone of the Panzer forces.

The original Panzer IV was designed to operate in support of the Panzer III. That tank, initially armed with a 3.7cm KwK L/46.5 gun and firing armour piercing rounds, was expected to act as the German Army’s tank killer. The Panzer IVs would follow behind, and would use their 75mm howitzer firing high explosives to destroy soft skinned targets such as enemy anti-tank guns, which were not particularly vulnerable to armour piercing shells.

Work on the Panzer IV began in 1934 when Rheinmettal-Borsig, Krupp and MAN each produced a design under the codename Bataillonsführerwagen (battalion commander’s vehicle), or BW. The Krupp design (VK2001/K) won the design contest, although the original six-wheeled interleaved suspension was eventually replaced by an eight wheeled leaf-spring double bogie system. The resulting tank closely resembled the Panzer III – the Panzer IV Ausf A was actually shorter than the Panzer III Ausf A, although it was wider and taller. By the time the Panzer III design settled down with the Ausf E the Panzer IV was longer and taller, but the same width. What it did have was a bigger turret ring, which would later allow it to carry heavier guns than the Panzer III.

The Panzer IV shared the same basic design as all other German tanks, with the engine at the rear, the drive wheels at the front and the transmission running up the middle of the tank. Like the Panzer III it featured a three man turret, with the commander in a central position below the cupola, the gunner to the left and the loader to the right. This three man turret allowed the German tanks to fire much more rapidly than the one or two man turrets of French and British designs, and helped to make up for their thin armour and relatively poor guns. The driver was placed to the left of the superstructure, the radio operator to the right.

The biggest change to the design of the Panzer IV came late in 1941, after the German invasion of Russia. None of the German tank guns could easily penetrate the armour of the Soviet KV-1 or T-34 tanks, and a desperate program of upgrades was put in place. The most successful of these saw the development of a long-barrelled 75mm gun, the KwK40 L/43. When the Panzer IV Ausf F2, armed with this gun, entered service in the summer of 1942 the Panzer IV finally became the powerful main battle tank that it is remembered as.

Combat Record

Structure

The Germans had hoped to enter the war with a Panzer force largely made up of Panzer IIIs and Panzer IVs, but the slow rate of production of these tanks and Hitler’s unexpectedly aggressive foreign policy meant that the army had to fight a war four years before it had expected. As a result the vast majority of tanks used in Poland and France were the light Panzer Is and Panzer IIs.

The Panzer IV became part of the standard equipment of the Panzer divisions after a mobilisation decree of October 1938. Each Panzer Regiment was to have four light companies and two light companies (a). The two light companies (a) were to have five Panzer IVs from October 1938 and six from March 1939.

In July 1939 a new organisation chart was issued, in which each Panzer Regiment was to have two medium companies, each of which was to have two Panzer IVs in the HQ company, five Panzer IIs in one company and twelve Panzer IVs in three platoons of four, a total of 14 Panzer IVs per company.

By the start of the Second World War Panzer Regiments 1 and 2 both had 28 Panzer IVs, giving the 1st Panzer Division 56 tanks, while in the 1st Light Division Panzer Regiment 11 also had 28 Panzer IVs, while Pz.Abt.65 had 14, for a total of 42 tanks.

The proportion of Panzer IVs in the Panzer Divisions continued to increase until by early in 1943, as the Panzer III was removed from the front line, every company in every detachment in the Panzer regiments were using the Panzer IV. The same year saw the appearance of the Panzer V Panther, which was expected to completely replace the Panzer IV.

Slow production of the Panther meant that this would never happen, but during 1943 the official organisation of the Panzer Divisions was modified again, so that each division was to contain one Panzer IV detachment and one Panther detachment, and by the end of the war the Panther was more common than the Panzer IV.

Poland

The Panzer IV was the third most numerous German tank during the invasion of Poland, although the 211 available represented only 7% of the total German tank force (1,445 Panzer Is, 1,223 Panzer IIs and only 98 Panzer IIIs). The Poles had very few tanks themselves, and so the poor technical quality of the German tanks was not revealed. Even so the Panzer forces did suffer larger than expected losses, for the thin armour of the existing German tanks was vulnerable to fire from the Polish anti-tank rifles. A total of 76 Panzer IVs were knocked out by 10 October 1939, of which 19 were write-offs. The support role of the Panzer IV meant that it was less vulnerable than the Panzer III and the Panzer 38(t), which led the attacks, but extra armour was soon being installed.

Invasion of the West, May 1940

The Panzer IV played a relatively minor part in the dramatic German victories in the Low Countries and France in May-June 1940. The Germans had around 2,439 (figures vary) tanks available for the attack on 10 May, of which 278-280, or just over 10% of the total, were Panzer IVs. By now production of the Panzer III had caught up and overtaken than of the Panzer IV, which was thus only the fourth most numerous of the German tanks. 

Panzer IV Ausf D in Flanders
Panzer IV Ausf D
in Flanders, 1940

Although the Panzer IV was not designed for anti-tank work, it’s short 75m gun could still penetrate the armour of the French Hotchkiss and the British light tanks. It had a slight advantage over the Renault R 35, but was out-gunned and out-armoured by the Somua S 35, Char B1 bis and the Renault D 2, while the thick armour of the British Matilda infantry tanks caused problems for every German tank.

The German victory in the west was one in spite of the shortcomings of the Panzers, not because of any technological advantage. While the French scattered their large number of technically superior tanks along their entire line, the Germans concentrated their Panzer Divisions in the key areas of the front and punched a hole in the Allied line. The Allied tanks were thrown into the battle in small detachments, and were defeated in detail.

The varying intensity of the fighting is clearly demonstrated in the tank losses. From 10-20 May, during the initial break-out, a total of 127 Panzer IVs were knocked out, of which 14 were judged to be write-offs. From 21-31 May, the period which saw the Allied counterattack at Arras and the fighting around Dunkirk, a total of 63 Panzer IVs were written off. Only nine were write-off between 1-10 June, during the fighting on the Somme, and another 11 were lost in the final advance into France between 11-30 June. A total of 97 Panzer IVs were lost in just under two months of fighting, one third of the total available at the start of the campaign.

North Africa

The short gunned Panzer IV entered combat in North African with the 5th and 8th Panzer Regiments in the spring of 1941, but although 40 of them were present with these two regiments, they had little impact on the fighting. The short 75mm gun was not effective against the Allied armour of 1941, and the British were more concerned by the 50mm armed Panzer III and by Rommel’s 88s, the excellent 88mm multi-purpose anti-aircraft/ anti-tank gun.

The situation changed with the arrival of the first long gunned Panzer IVs. Ten of these reached North Africa in May 1942, in time for Operation Venezia, Rommel’s attack on the Gazala position, but probably didn’t actually take part in the battle (sources disagree on this).

The long gun Panzer IV became known as the Panzer IV “special” in North Africa. On 11 August 1942, after taking part in Rommel’s last successful advance east into Egypt, an Africa Corp report described the Panzer IV “special” as having the best tank gun ever mounted on a Panzer, capable of penetrating the front armour of every Allied tank in North Africa at up to 1,500 meters, and of destroying light tanks at 2,000 meters if the visibility was good enough. The only problem was that the long gun was very distinctive and the new tank became the target of every enemy gun. As a result the Panzer IV “special” needed to be screened by Panzer IIIs and only brought to the front to deal with heavily armoured targets that were holding up the advance.

The Panzer IV “special” took part in the battle of Alam Halfa, Rommel’s last attempt to break through the British lines and reach the Nile. During this battle, which began at the end of August 1942, the Panzer IV “special” proved itself to be superior to any Allied tank, with one small detachment destroying an entire regiment of Grants, but the small number present could not prevent Rommel’s attack from failing.

Between July and October 1942 37 “specials” reached North Africa, but only 30 were present at the start of the second battle of Alamein. The bulk of Rommel’s tanks were Panzer IIIs and Italian M.13s. Despite inflicting heavy losses on the Allied tanks, the Germans and Italians were simply overwhelmed. Rommel was forced to retreat west all the way to Tunisia. During this final phase of the battle in North Africa the Panzer IV “special” and the Tiger made up the bulk of the German tank forces, but once again they were overwhelmed by the vast numbers of Allied tanks and by Allied fighter bombers.

Russia

At the start of Operation Barbarossa the vast majority of the over 20,000 tanks in service with the Red Army were obsolete, but the Germans soon ran into the excellent T-34 and the heavily armoured KV-1. While thousands of Soviet tanks were destroyed or captured in the first victorious German campaigns (as many as 17,000), this was once again due to superior German tactical skill and the then very poor condition of the Red Army.

The short gunned Panzer IV soon faded away on the Eastern Front. There had been 438 in the force that had invaded Russia in June 1941. By June 1942 the number had been reduced to 208, and at the start of the Kursk offensive in July 1943 only 60 short gunned Panzer IVs remained on the Eastern Front.

None of the German tanks had powerful enough guns to deal with the thick armour of the KV-1 or the well designed sloped armour of the T-34. The Germans were forced to make a frantic effort to produce more powerful anti-tank weapons, and one of the most successful results of that effort was the appearance of the long-gunned Panzer IV.

The long-gunned Panzer IV began to appear at the front in the summer of 1942. By June 1942 there were already 170 of them at the front, and they played a major part in the German successes of 1942. The long gun gave the Panzer IV the ability to defeat the T-34/76, and to take on the KV-1 with some chance of success. The only problem was that the extra weight of the gun and the thicker armour needed on the Eastern Front was close to the practical limit that could be carried by the Panzer IV chassis and suspension. There was very little room for further improvement.

By the summer of 1943 the long gunned Panzer IV was the most important German tank. At the start of the battle of Kursk Army Groups Centre and South had 841 of them, alongside 432 Panzer IIIs, in a total force of around 2,700 armoured vehicles. Likewise the Panzer IV had passed its peak. By the end of the war it was outgunned by the 122mm IS heavy tanks and by the 85mm gun on T-34/85, although it could still inflict heavy losses on the T-34s.

Western Front

On 6 June 1944 a total of 748 Panzer IVs were present in the nine Panzer divisions in France. The Panzer IV’s combination of thick frontal armour and the powerful 75mm long gun made it a very dangerous opponent, superior to the Cromwell, Churchill and Sherman M4A2 at normal combat ranges. The Sherman M4A4 could at least match it, and the 17pdr Sherman Firefly and the Achilles and M10 tank destroyers could deal with it at longer ranges.

Fortunately the nature of the fighting in Normandy negated much of the Panzer IV’s advantage. In order to win the Germans had to throw the Allies back into the sea, and so the Panzers Divisions had to launch a series of counter-attacks. The bocage country of Normandy was divided into a patchwork of fields separated by high thick hedges, and as a result most fighting took place at very short range. Which ever side was attacked suffered heavy losses from short range tank and anti-tank guns and bazooka fire. The Germans also suffered heavily from fighter bomber attack.

By the end of July the Allies had finally broken out of the Normandy beachhead, and during August the German retreat turned into a rout. Many of the surviving Panzer IVs were destroyed in the Falaise pocket or in the retreat east through France. By the end of the year only 259 Panzer IVs could be found for the eight Panzer divisions that took part in the battle of the Bulge.

Standard Variants

Panzerkampfwagen IV Ausf A

The Panzerkampfwagen IV Ausf A was produced between October 1937 and March 1938. It carried the short 75mm KwK37 L/24 and two machine guns, and had the stepped front that would be standard on most later models. The Ausf A was built with 15mm armour, which made it vulnerable to most anti-tank weapons. Thirty five were produced, and the Ausf A served in Poland, Norway and France before being withdrawn.

Panzerkampfwagen IV Ausf B

The Panzerkampfwagen IV Ausf B saw an increase in engine power, from 250hp to 320hp, and in frontal armour, from 15mm to 30mm. It also saw the temporary replacement of the stepped front of the Ausf A with a straight front, and may have seen the removal of the hull machine gun (some pictures do show a straight fronted tank with machine gun, but surviving tanks were often updated, so the gun may have been installed later). The Ausf B served in Poland, France, the Balkans and Russia, before being eliminated by attrition late in 1943.

Panzerkampfwagen IV Ausf C

Panzer IV Ausf CThe Panzerkampfwagen IV Ausf C also featured the straight superstructure front introduced in the Ausf B, and did not carry the hull machine gun. The type also saw the introduction of an armoured shield for the coaxial turret machine gun. A total of 134 Ausf Cs were produced, enough for the tank to be integrated into the Panzer divisions early in 1939. The Ausf C fought in Poland and France, before having extra armour fitted. It then fought on the Eastern Front until disappearing late in 1943.

Panzerkampfwagen IV Ausf D

Panzer IV Ausf D in North Africa The Panzerkampfwagen IV Ausf D was the first version of the Panzer IV to be produced during the Second World War. It saw the first increase in the thickness of the side and rear armour, from 15mm to 20mm. The Ausf D also saw the reintroduction of the stepped superstructure front used in the Ausf A, the return of the hull mounted machine gun, and the use of an external mantlet for the main gun in place of the vulnerable internal mantlet of earlier models. The Ausf D served in France, the Balkans, North Africa and Russia, and survived into 1944.

Panzerkampfwagen IV Ausf E

The Panzerkampfwagen IV Ausf E saw a further increase in the armour of the Panzer IV. The frontal hull armour was increased by 20mm to 50mm, and 20mm plates were bolted to the side of the superstructure and hull and 30mm plates to the front of the superstructure. The cupola was moved slightly forward and a simple single curved plate used for the rear of the turret. The Ausf E fought in the Balkans, in Russia and in North Africa, surviving into 1944.

Panzerkampfwagen IV Ausf F

Panzer IV Ausf FThe Panzerkampfwagen IV Ausf F saw an increase in the standard armour of the Panzer IV, to 50mm on the front and 30mm on the sides, and the removal of the bolted on armoured plates used on the Ausf D and E. To cope with the increased weight the tracks were widened by 2cm to 40cm, to reduce the ground pressure of the tank. This was the last version of the short-gunned close support Panzer IV.

Panzerkampfwagen IV Ausf F2

Panzer IV Ausf F2The Panzerkampfwagen IV Ausf F2 saw the biggest change in the design of the Panzer IV when the short 75mm howitzer was replaced by the 7.5cm KwK40 L/43 anti-tank gun. This turned the Panzer IV from a close support tank into the best main battle tank in the German army. The Panzer IV Ausf F2 entered combat on the Eastern Front in the summer of 1942, where it proved to be superior to the T-34. In June 1942 the surviving Ausf F2s were all redesignated as Ausf Gs to avoid confusion.

Panzerkampfwagen IV Ausf G

Panzer IV Ausf GWhen it first appeared the Panzerkampfwagen IV Ausf G was identical to the long gun Ausf F2. During its production a number of improvements were introduced, amongst them an increase in the frontal armour on some tanks, a new muzzle brake for the long gun, and the installation of a system for transferring coolant between tanks to make it easier to start the engines in the frozen conditions of the Russian winter.

Panzerkampfwagen IV Ausf H

Panzer IV Ausf HThe Panzerkampfwagen IV Ausf H was produced in larger numbers than any other version of the Panzer IV. It was very similar to the Ausf G, but with improved transmission, cast drive sprockets and thicker armour on the turret roof. During the production run armoured skirts were installed on the sides of the tanks, to protect against infantry carried anti-tank guns.

Panzerkampfwagen IV Ausf J

The Panzerkampfwagen IV Ausf J was the final version of the Panzer IV to enter production. The main change was the removal of the electric turret traverse. The space saved was used to add an auxiliary fuel tank which increased the Panzer IV’s cross country range by 30 miles. Although 1,758 Panzer IVs were produced between June 1944 and the end of the war that was not enough to make up for the heavy combat losses, and the tank declined in importance in the last months of the fighting.

Other Variants

Panzerkampfwagen IV als Tauchpanzer/ Tauchpanzer IV

The Tauchpanzer IV was a submersible tank designed for use during the expected invasion of England. While the Allies concentrated on floating tanks, the Germans made their tanks air-tight. The idea was that they would be taken most of the way across the channel by boat. Once close to shore they would be lowered into the water and drive along the sea bed to reach the shore. The submersible tanks were never used in their intended role, and were eventually used as standard tanks, although some were used during the crossing of the River Bug in June 1941.

Sturmpanzer IV/  Brummbär

The Brummbär (“Grizzly Bear”) was a heavy armoured assault vehicle which saw a 15cm howitzer mounted on the chassis of the Panzer IV. Designed to deal with heavily constructed buildings, it saw service on the Eastern, Western and Italian fronts.

Sturmgeschütz IV (7.5cm StuK40 L/48)/ StuG IV

StuG IV in GreeceThe StuG IV entered production in December 1943, after a bombing raid devastated the Alkett factory that had been producing the StuG III. The similarity in the sizes of the Panzer III and Panzer IV meant that the development of the StuG IV was a fairly simply process, and the StuG III and StuG IV are fairly difficult to tell apart unless seen from the side, when the number of road wheels makes identification easy. A total of 1,139 or 1,141 StuG IVs were produced, each combining the latest version of the Panzer IV chassis with the latest version of the StuG III superstructure. Most StuG IVs were issued in companies of fourteen to various types of infantry divisions.

Jagdpanzer IV

The Jagdpanzer IV was an improved version of the StuG, mounting the same gun as the long-gun Panzer IV on as low vehicle as possible and with the best armour possible. With a height of 1m 85cm the Jagdpanzer was 93cm lower than the long gunned Panzer IV.
While the Panzer IV was 2m 68cm high, the Jagdpanzer IV was only 1m 85cm high. While the frontal armour was only 50-60mm thick, compared to the 80mm on contemporary Panzer IVs, the armour on the Jagdpanzer was sloped at 45-55 degrees, making it more effective. The Jagdpanzer IV served with the tank destroyer detachments of Panzer divisions in Russia, Italy and France. 769 were produced.

Panzer IV/70 (V)

The Panzer IV/70(V) was an improved version of the Jagdpanzer IV, carrying a longer 7.5cm PaK42 L/70 gun. It was otherwise very similar to the Jagdpanzer IV, with its long gun carried at the front of a low sloped armoured superstructure. 930 Panzer IV/70 (V)s were produced by Vomag.

Panzer IV/70 (A)

The Panzer IV/70 (A) was a version of the Jagdpanzer IV designed by Alkett and produced at Nibelungenwerke. It was 50 cm higher than the Panzer IV/70(V), and was produced in smaller numbers – only 278 were produced between August 1944 and the end of the war.

Hornisse/ Nashorn

The Hornisse (hornet) was a mount for the 8.8cm PaK43 gun built on a chassis based on a mix of the Panzer IV and Panzer III. It entered production in 1943, and 494 were completed by the end of the war. The Hornisse was used by independent tank killing detachments.

Hummel captured in Italy, 1944
Hummel captured in Italy, 1944

Hummel

The Hummel (bumble-bee) was designed to provide the Panzer divisions with a fully armoured artillery weapon. It used the same mixed Panzer IV/III chassis as the Hornisse, but carried a 15cm sFH18/1 L/30 gun. The Hummel was used by the heavy batteries of the armoured artillery detachments of the Panzer divisions.

Möbelwagen

The Möbelwagen was developed to provide the Panzer divisions with their own mobile anti-aircraft guns. It was armed with a 3.7cm Flak43, protected by a simple armoured box, which could be lowered down to allow the gun to fire a ground targets. 240 were produced between March 1944 and the end of the war.

Wirbelwind

The Wirbelwind was a less successful attempt to mount an AA gun on a Panzer IV chassis. The four barrelled 2cn Flakvierling 38 was not as successful as the 3.7cm FlaK, and production ended in November 1944 after only 86 had been produced.

Ostwind I

The Ostwind I saw a 3.7cm FlaK43/1 L/60 AA gun mounted in a six sided open turret on the chassis of a Panzer IV. The Ostwind was produced in very small numbers – one prototype, 36 conversions and seven produced from new after the failure of a later project. 

Production Figures

Panzerkampfwagen IV Ausf A

35

Panzerkampfwagen IV Ausf B

42

Panzerkampfwagen IV Ausf C

134

Panzerkampfwagen IV Ausf D

229

Panzerkampfwagen IV Ausf E

223

Panzerkampfwagen IV Ausf F

462

Panzerkampfwagen IV Ausf F2

175

Panzerkampfwagen IV Ausf G

1687

Panzerkampfwagen IV Ausf H

3774

Panzerkampfwagen IV Ausf J

1758

Brummbär

298 or 313

Sturmgeschütz IV (7.5cm StuK40 L/48)

31 converted
1,108 from new

Jadgpanzer IV

769

Panzer IV/70 (V)

930

Panzer IV/70 (A)

278

Hornisse

494

Hummel

930 or 724

Möbelwagen

240

Wirbelwind

86 converted

Ostwind I

36 converted
7 from new

Images of War: Panzer IV at War 1939-1945, Paul Thomas. A super collection of photos of the Panzer IV and related vehicles, tracing its evolution from the infantry support tank of 1939, to the king of the mid-war battlefield and on its use as the basis of a large number of related vehicles towards the end of the war. Lot of good pictures from different angles make this a useful book for the modeller. [read full review]
cover cover cover

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How to cite this article: Rickard, J (25 July 2008), Panzer IV Medium Tank , http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/weapons_panzer_IV.html

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