Panzer III

The Panzerkampfwagen III, generally called the Panzer III, is a German medium tank developed during the 1930s and produced from 1937 onward, entering mass production with the Ausf. F version in 1939 as one of the two main battle tanks, alongside the Panzer IV, that formed the backbone of German armored divisions in the early years of the Second World War. It carried a three-man turret, torsion-bar suspension and a Maybach engine producing around 300 horsepower, and its main armament grew over successive versions from an original 3.7 cm gun to a 5 cm and finally a short 7.5 cm gun as German designers tried to keep pace with enemy tanks. The Panzer III fought in the invasions of Poland and France and across North Africa, but proved outclassed by the Soviet T-34 and KV tanks encountered from 1941 onward, and Germany progressively shifted production toward the heavier Panzer IV and Panther, phasing the Panzer III out of the tank role by 1943 though its chassis continued in use for assault guns.