Generally, these involved increasing the armour protection or upgrading the weapons, although during the last months of the war, with Germany's pressing need for rapid replacement of losses, design changes also included simplifications to speed up the manufacturing process. The Panzer IV received various upgrades and design modifications, intended to counter new threats, extending its service life. However, as the Germans faced the formidable T-34, the Panzer IV had more development potential, with a larger turret ring to mount more powerful guns, so it swapped roles with the Panzer III whose production wound down in 1943. It was originally designed for infantry support, while the similar Panzer III was to fight armoured fighting vehicles. The Panzer IV saw service in all combat theatres involving Germany and was the only German tank to remain in continuous production throughout the war. Its chassis was also used as the base for many other fighting vehicles, including the Sturmgeschütz IV assault gun, the Jagdpanzer IV self-propelled anti-tank gun, the Wirbelwind self-propelled anti-aircraft gun, and the Brummbär self-propelled gun. The Panzer IV was the most numerous German tank and the second-most numerous German fully tracked armoured fighting vehicle of the Second World War 8,553 Panzer IVs of all versions were built during World War II, only exceeded by the StuG III assault gun with 10,086 vehicles. Its ordnance inventory designation was Sd.Kfz. IV), commonly known as the Panzer IV, is a German medium tank developed in the late 1930s and used extensively during the Second World War.

Hull rear (upper and lower): 20 mm (0.79 in)

Hull side (upper and lower): 30 mm (1.2 in) H, 1943 )Ģ5.0 tonnes (27.6 short tons 24.6 long tons)ĥ (commander, gunner, loader, driver, radio operator/bow machine-gunner) StuG IV, Jagdpanzer IV, Brummbär (Sturmpanzer IV), Nashorn, Wirbelwind, Ostwind G '413' in desert colours, bearing the palm tree insignia of the Afrika Korps, ' Friederike' script written on the gun barrel near the mantlet

North africa tank battles - wwii