Panzer III

Panzerkampfwagen III Sd.Kfz. 141
Panzer III Ausf. F at Musée des Blindés, France
Type	Medium tank
Place of origin	Nazi Germany
Service history
In service	1939–1945
Used by	Germany Hungary Romania Slovak Republic Croatia Norway Turkey
Wars	World War II
Production history
Designer	Daimler-Benz
Designed	1935–1937
Manufacturer	Daimler-Benz
Unit cost	103,163 ℛ︁ℳ︁ (Ausf. M)
Produced	1939–1943
No. built	5,774 (excluding StuG III)
Specifications
Mass	23.0 tonnes (25.4 short tons)
Length	5.56 m (18 ft 3 in)
Width	2.90 m (9 ft 6 in)
Height	2.5 m (8 ft 2 in)
Crew	5 (commander, gunner, loader, driver, radio operator/bow machine-gunner)
Armour	Ausf A - C: 15 mm all around Ausf D - G: 30 mm all around Ausf J+: 50 mm all around
Main armament	1 × 3.7 cm KwK 36 Ausf. A - G 1 × 5 cm KwK 38 Ausf. F - J 1 × 5 cm KwK 39 Ausf. J¹- M 1 × 7.5 cm KwK 37 Ausf. N
Secondary armament	2–3 × 7.92 mm MG 34 machine gun
Engine	12-cylinder Maybach HL120 TRM petrol engine 300 PS (295 hp, 220 kW)
Power/weight	12 hp (9.6 kW) / tonne
Suspension	Torsion-bar suspension
Fuel capacity	300–320 L (66–70 imp gal; 79–85 US gal)
Operational range	Road: 165 km (103 mi) Cross-country: 85 km (53 mi)[1]
Maximum speed	Road: 40 km/h (25 mph) Off-road: 20 km/h (12 mph)

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.

Production of the Panzer III ceased in 1943 but the Sturmgeschütz III assault gun which had been developed from the Panzer III chassis continued in production until the end of the war. About 18,000 vehicles based on the Panzer III chasis were produced between all variants, by far the most of any German AFV design in World War II and over a quarter of all tanks and assault guns produced by Nazi Germany.