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Brummbar

2024-04-29T10:40:59Z

U151393429: /* Survivability and armour */

{{Specs-Card
|code=germ_sturmpanzer_IV_brummbar
|images={{Specs-Card-Image|GarageImage_{{PAGENAME}}.jpg|ArtImage_{{PAGENAME}}.png}}
}}

== Description ==


Seeing a need to create a new direct-fire infantry support self-propelled gun for the infantry, Alkett developed a self-propelled artillery piece based on the chassis of the Panzer IV medium tank in service. The vehicle became known as the ''Sturmpanzer IV'', though it would become known more popularly by the nickname '''Brummbär''' (German: "Grouch") that the Allied intelligence assigned to it. With 300 units manufactured between March 1943 to May 1945, the Sturmpanzer IV saw its first use at the Battle of Kursk and was present at most major combat operations afterwards, proving to be an extremely effective tool for neutralizing fortified positions, enemy troops, and armored vehicles.

Introduced in [[Update 1.61 "Road to Glory"]], the Brummbär's main strength lies in its 150 mm cannon, akin to that found on the [[KV-2 (1939)]]. Due to its long reload and decent armour, this machine is suited to ambushes or supported urban combat. Its ~100 mm frontal armour is a force to be reckoned with (being about the same as a [[Tiger H1|Tiger I's]]). However, its sides are weak (as any Panzer IV is) and its rear is as well. Its gun has a lot of drop (it is very low velocity), so "sniping" at ranges over ~750 m will basically be indirect fire. This is why this vehicle should stick to short-range attacks. Due to the potential of all of its shells, it is almost guaranteed a one-hit knock-out, assuming the shell hits relatively on-target.

== General info ==
=== Survivability and armour ===
{{Specs-Tank-Armour}}

The armour protection of the Brummbär is one of its main advantages. The bulky fighting compartment occupies most of its frontal silhouette, and its gently sloped 100 mm armour plate gives an effective thickness of ~125 mm which makes it immune to all light tanks' cannons and most medium tanks' cannons at its tier (e.g. [[M24 (Family)|M24]], [[Cromwell (Family)|Cromwell I]], [[T-34 (1942)|T-34 1942]]). Most players, not knowing the locations of the Brummbär's weak spots, will naturally shoot at this huge attention-grabbing armour plate. The tapering plates joining the front and the sides are 60 mm, giving an effective thickness of ~100 mm when looking from the front, which is also able to neglect most tanks' ammunition.

However, one frontal weak spot is the 20 mm upper glacis. Although well angled it can still be penetrated due to the insufficient thickness, especially when the shell has good overmatching characteristics (e.g. USSR 76 mm/85 mm, US 75 mm). Thus, the Brummbär's frontal protection is great, but with some flaws.

The side and rear armour range from 20 to 50 mm, which is not enough to stop any rounds without significant angling. They can only stop HE shells, rifle-calibre bullets, or some autocannon shells.

The post-penetration survivability of the Brummbär is quite bad. Similar to the StuG series tank destroyers, the Brummbär has 3 crew members sitting tightly in a column at the right side of the fighting compartment (when looking at its front), and 2 on the left. This means that a frontal penetrating shot through the right side can take out 3 men if the shell is solid, or even all 5 crew members if it is explosive. Frontal penetration through the hull can destroy the transmission, leaving the tank immobile. It may also hurt the driver.

'''Armour type:'''

* Rolled homogeneous armour
* Cast homogeneous armour (Gun mantlet)

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Armour !! Front !! Sides !! Rear !! Roof
|-
| Hull || 20 mm (74°) ''Front glacis'' 50 + 50 mm (12°) ''Joint plate'' 30 + 30 mm (57°) ''Lower glacis'' || 20 + 5 mm || 20 mm (11-12°) || 10 mm
|-
| Superstructure || 100 mm (39°) 250 mm ''Gun mantlet'' || 60 mm (21°) ''Front-to-Side joint plate'' 50 mm (15°) ''Sides'' || 30 mm (29°) || 20 mm
|-
|}
'''Notes:'''

* Suspension wheels are 15 mm thick while tracks are 20 mm thick.
* Belly armour is 10 mm thick.

=== Mobility ===

{{Specs-Tank-Mobility}}

The mobility of the Brummbär is overall inferior. The forward speed on average is ~20 km/h on dirt road and ~15 km/h on worse offroad conditions. It can only reach a maximum speed of ~30 km/h on well-paved flat roads, which is not a common infrastructure on most maps. The acceleration is also very slow especially when offroad. This low speed significantly limits the Brummbär's positioning ability, and it will always arrive at a position later than most teammates.

The hull traverse is quite bad too. The tank will need a short forward/backward acceleration before turning on the tracks. This is worsened on loose terrain like sand and snow, meaning the Brummbär not only cannot change direction quickly, but will also easily get circled and not be able to respond in time. The reverse speed of -7 km/h is not fast enough to retreat the Brummbär from danger, but luckily its strong frontal armour might compensate it.

{{tankMobility|abMinHp=426|rbMinHp=265}}

=== Modifications and economy ===
{{Specs-Economy}}

== Armaments ==
{{Specs-Tank-Armaments}}
=== Main armament ===
{{Specs-Tank-Weapon|1}}

{{main|Stu.H 43 L/12 (150 mm)}}

The Brummbär's 150 mm howitzer is a deadly weapon thanks to its explosive shells. The gun has a usable vertical traverse of -8°/+30°, and a good horizontal traverse of ±15°, meaning that if you position yourself correctly you don't need to move the entire tank a lot. The gun rotates at an average speed of ~12°/s, which is adequate to target medium and heavy vehicles. Against fast-moving vehicles, this targeting speed is generally not enough to keep up with them especially if they are up close.

The reload speed is approximately 20 seconds, which is reasonable for its calibre and power, though still quite slow comparing to other guns. Thus the Brummbär should stay behind cover during the reload, and aim carefully to make every shot count.

The gunsight zoom is not particularly good, and combined with the slow muzzle velocity and extremely curved trajectory it makes long range shooting very hard even for experienced players.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[Stu.H 43 L/12 (150 mm)|150 mm Stu.H 43 L/12]] || colspan="5" | Turret rotation speed (°/s) || colspan="4" | Reloading rate (seconds)
|-
! Mode !! Capacity !! Vertical !! Horizontal !! Stabilizer
! Stock !! Upgraded !! Full !! Expert !! Aced
! Stock !! Full !! Expert !! Aced
|-
! ''Arcade''
| rowspan="2" | 38 || rowspan="2" | -8°/+30° || rowspan="2" | ±15° || rowspan="2" | N/A || 13.2 || 18.3 || 22.2 || 24.6 || 26.1 || rowspan="2" | 22.36 || rowspan="2" | 19.78 || rowspan="2" | 18.23 || rowspan="2" | 17.20
|-
! ''Realistic''
| 8.9 || 10.5 || 12.8 || 14.1 || 15.0
|-
|}

==== Ammunition ====
The 150 mm howitzer offers 2 ammunition types, a HE shell and a HEAT shell.

* '''I.Gr.38; HE:''' recommended primary shell choice. this HE packs 8.6 kg of explosives, one of the most explosive shell in game, which is extremely fatal against all tanks. It can knock out all light, medium tanks and SPAAs with a single shot, and most heavy tanks and tank destroyers, or even modern MBTs if hit properly. Its shrapnel can also cripple or destroy thinly armoured/unarmoured vehicles when exploding nearby. However, if there are no thin armour around the hit point, it will most likely cause zero damage.
* '''I.Gr.39 HI/A; HEAT:''' secondary choice, recommended to only bring less than 5 rounds. It has an impressive 185 mm penetration, but the fact that most tanks the Brummbär faces have less than 100 mm of armour makes this shell an overkill. However if you plan to bring this tank to a higher BR, it might become handy. It will be able to penetrate tanks like M4A3E2, M6A1, Churchill VII easily. But the nature of HEAT gives it a small post-penetration damage, and only the things directly in its path will be affected. This requires you to accurately hit exactly what you want to disable. This HEAT also has a slightly less curved trajectory than the HE, as well as a slightly faster velocity.

{{:Stu.H 43 L/12 (150 mm)/Ammunition|I.Gr.38, I.Gr.39 HI/A}}

==== [[Ammo racks]] ====
[[File:Ammoracks_{{PAGENAME}}.png|right|thumb|x250px|[[Ammo racks]] of the {{PAGENAME}}]]

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! Full ammo
! Ammo part
! 1st rack empty
! 2nd rack empty
! 3rd rack empty
! Visual discrepancy
|-
| '''38''' || style="text-align:right" | ''Projectiles'' ''Propellants'' || 27 ''(+11)'' 31 ''(+7)'' || 14 ''(+24)'' 1 ''(+37)'' || 1 ''(+37)''   || No
|-
|}

== Usage in battles ==

If in a large, open map, move with as much teammates as possible since the Brummbär will not be able to fire at enemies from long range due to the nature of the gun. Stay a bit behind your teammates if you can to better protect yourself when providing fire support. If little to no teammates are in your area, find yourself a place that offers a cover and overwatches a key enemy area and avoid being in the open at all costs, since the Brummbär can only face enemies from its front, while an open space means countless threat directions. The tapering armour plates joining the frontal fighting compartment and the sides are only 60 mm thick, meaning any shell hitting it at an angle will very likely penetrate.

Urban combat is probably where this vehicle does best, as its armour can bounce many shots if it peeks around corners properly. The short ideal range (0-600 m) of the gun makes short range urban combat its friend. This coupled with lots of cover for the long reload makes any city the best place to play this tank. Find a street/pathway with buildings at the sides so your flanks are covered. The place should also overwatch an area where enemies can appear. This way you only need to worry about enemies from one direction, which is your front, allowing you to concentrate on fighting. You can also present your sturdy frontal armour towards the threat confidently. When conducted well, the Brummbär can be a fortress that blockades the advancement of multiple enemy tanks through a key street (e.g. the rightmost street in [[Advance to the Rhine]]), which is very beneficial in leading to a victory or delaying a defeat. However it is best to fight alongisde teammates, as being alone can very much result in you getting swarmed and flanked. The Brummbär's slow reload does not allow it to fight multiple enemies at once.

If you need to reposition under enemy fire, do not turn the tank to the side too much unless all enemies are unable to fire when you turn. This is to avoid your thin side getting penetrated. Instead, turn no more than 10° each time to slowly "wriggle" towards the new place. This ensures that your frontal armour is always facing the front even when moving sideways.

Be wary of fast-moving vehicles, as, they are harder to hit with the slow, heavy gun, and especially since the Brummbär does not have a turret, they will flank easily. In addition, heavy SPAA will ruin the Brummbär's day if they get to even the side armour, being relatively thin for its rank. Regardless, most guns of the rank can penetrate the Brummbär frontally from medium ranges, so be careful. Always beware of multiple/squad enemies, as the Brummbär cannot engage them all at once. Sometimes, if they don't see the vehicle, it's better to just let them go and avoid exposing the Brummbär.

Whenever you arrive at a fighting spot it is good to range-find the areas where enemies might appear prior to them actually showing up, and memorise the ranges. This way you can fire as soon as an enemy appears instead of wasting another 10 seconds which is beneficial given the unfriendly trajectory, velocity, and slow reload.

=== Enemies worth noting: ===

* [[SU-85]]: this USSR tank destroyer carries a long 85 mm gun capable of frontally penetrating the Brummbär, which is very rare at this BR. The 85 mm shell can enter through the well angled 20 mm upper glacis using its great overmatching ability and one-shot all the crew, or through the frontal hull and knock out the transmission. The SU-85 also has a low silhouette making it rather hard to spot. Luckily, the SU-85 has an average armour protection that becomes nonexistent in front of the Brummbär's 150 mm HE. Hitting it anywhere can result in its crew being knocked out by overpressur, just avoid hitting the tracks, the gun mantlet, and the driver's hatch.
* [[KV-2 (1939)|KV-2]]: similar to the Brummbär, the KV-2 also has a large-calibre 152 mm howitzer as its main weapon. Its HE shell, although inferior in terms of explosive mass, can still destroy the Brummbär with overpressure if hit on the thin upper glacis, the top, or the side, so you must avoid getting hit by it. The KV-2's turret rotates extremely slowly meaning its agility as a turreted tank is not a lot better than the turretless Brummbär. However it requires accurate hits to be destroyed, since it has good armour against HE on the hull and turret (75 mm). To trigger an overpressure, the Brummbär must land a hit near the bottom-most area of the turret, so the blast will travel down through the hull roof into the crew compartment. Hitting the middle of an armour plate will very likely result in no damage at all.
* [[Sherman Firefly]], [[M4A4 (SA50)]]: these Sherman variants can appear fragile in front of your 150 mm gun, but they will give a strong bite in return. They are armed with long barrel 75/76 mm anti-tank guns with over 190 mm of penetration, which is more than enough to frontally penetrate the Brummbär even from 800 m away. Also, despite firing solid shots, their ammo can cause quite a bit of shrapnel due to their good calibres. Against them, do not expect your armour to hold up anymore. Try your best to fire first and finish them off to avoid getting hit.

=== Against the Brummbär: ===

* '''Light tanks & SPAA''': players of light vehicles can very much feel powerless in front of a Brummbär, and that is perfectly normal. Because in order to feel the joy of getting a kill, you must not stand in front of it, instead utilise your superior manoeuvrability to get behind or flank it, where the Brummbär's armour plates are thin. An average light tank like [[M24 (Family)|M24]] should be confident to flank it as the Brummbär has very poor acceleration and hull traverse, preventing it from keeping its howitzer on target. The closer you are, the easier it is to circle it, and the harder it is for the Brummbär to keep up with you. As for SPAA, because of the slightly worsened mobility of most SPAAs comparing to light tanks you must pick the time to flank carefully. Once at its side, if your SPAA has low penetration (e.g. [[M16 MGMC]]), target the lower part of the hull that has sideskirts attached, it is only 25 mm thick. If you have over 50 mm penetration (e.g. [[CCKW 353 AA]]), the fighting compartment's side (50 mm) can also be penetrated. The rear (20-30 mm) is an easy target for any SPAA. If a frontal engagement is a must, SPAAs can also destroy the Brummbär's tracks and then the short, thick gun barrel.
* '''Medium tanks''': compared to light tanks, medium tanks have upgraded firepower, thicker armour, and worsened mobility. Only the upgraded firepower is useful against a Brummbär, as your armour will still be useless when hit by a large-calibre HE. Again, rely on your speed to get to the Brummbär's side or rear. Now because of your better gun, the tapered armour between its frontal fighting compartment and the sides are also an option since they are only 60 mm thick. As a result medium tanks like [[T-34 (1942)]] and [[M4]] will be able to knock a Brummbär out at a slight angle from the front, without doing a full flanking manoeuvre. However you are now slower, so be decisive in your actions to avoid getting hit.
* '''Heavy tanks''': perhaps heavy tanks are the most challenging vehicles to use when fighting a Brummbär, because its 150 mm HE can ignore all armour regardless of the thickness, making your armour useless dead weight. You also have a subpar mobility that might not be any better than the Brummbär's, making it harder to flank. Plus, most heavy tanks at this tier are only equipped with medium tank level cannons (e.g. [[Churchill III]], [[KV-1 (ZiS-5)|KV-1]]) meaning you cannot enjoy the luxury of destroying it frontally. As such, in a head-on fight, it is safer to either target its tracks and gun barrel, or to straight up avoid engaging it. Be patient and peek out when the Brummbär is distracted and exposes its weak spots. In the meanwhile, don't forget to pin it out on the minimap.
* '''Tank destroyers''': having a powerful anti-tank cannon can be the biggest assurance when facing a heavily armoured vehicle like the Brummbär. As a tank destroyer, you should have no problem penetrating the Brummbär's frontal armour. However lots of tank destroyers are thinly armoured (e.g. [[ASU-57]], [[Archer]], [[Breda 501]]) which means that the Brummbär doesn't even need a direct hit to injure or knock out your crew with shrapnel. Other tank destroyers have some armour (e.g. [[SU-85]], [[Gun Carrier (3-in)]]), but will still get destroyed easily. Therefore, with strong firepower yet low survivability, tank destroyers can be more adaptable in terms of positioning as they can penetrate the Brummbär anywhere, but they must conceal themselves until the Brummbär appears. Be quick and accurate on the aim to shoot first, before the Brummbär fires.

=== Pros and cons ===


'''Pros:'''

* 100 mm frontal armour stops the shells of most tanks (e.g. [[T-34 (1943) (China)|T-34 1943]], [[M4A2]], [[Cromwell (Family)|Cromwell]]), granting high protection
* 15 cm gun can knock out most tanks with overpressure with a single shot
* Fear factor: intimidates the enemy and delays their actions with the deadly 15cm howitzer
* Curved trajectory allows shell-lobbing over covers

'''Cons:'''

* Thin side armour with ammo stored behind lowers post-penetration survivability
* Very slow traveling rounds with curvy trajectory, hitting moving targets at range can be extremely difficult.
* Optic only provides aiming marks up to 800 m, aiming past that is either in 3rd person view or guestimations
* Poor mobility, greatly limiting its positioning speed
* Is a big target
* Frontal 20 mm plate, though extremely sloped, can still get overmatched by Sherman 75 mm and Soviet 57 and 76 mm guns
* No machine gun to help clear obstacles

== History ==


===Development===
The '''Sturmpanzer''' is a development of the Wehrmacht on the needed for a heavy assault gun to provide direct fire support for the infantry in urban areas. It took a Panzer IV chassis, turned it into a casemate structure, and added a 15 cm StuH 43 howitzer (derived from the 15 cm sIG 33) onto the vehicle. The official names were "Sturmpanzer", "Sturmpanzer 43", or the "Sturmpanzer IV", however it was not known as the '''Brummbär''' by the Germans as that name was actually coined by the Allied forces. The Wehrmacht accepted it in 1943 and about 300 units were built from 1943 to 1945.

===Design===
The Sturmpanzer was heavily armoured and equipped with a gun capable of leveling buildings. The 15 cm howitzer has 38 two-piece rounds available in storage, though rate of fire is low due to the heavy weight of each shell, the HE shell weighing around 38 kg (84 lb.) alone. Though its armour ensures great survivability, the heavy weight of the design stressed the chassis and breakdowns were frequent on the transmission and suspension.

The Sturmpanzer underwent four different designs during its production life, mostly fixing problems experienced with the preceding models. The first series were produced from April to December 1943 with 52 from [[Pz.IV G|Ausf. G]] chassis and 8 from [[Pz.IV E|Ausf. E]] and [[Pz.IV F2|Ausf. F]] chassis. The second series of vehicles began in December 1943 using the [[Pz.IV H|Ausf. H]] chassis until March 1944 with improvements to the driver's compartment, internal ventilation, and steel-rimmed road wheels. The third series of vehicles lasted from March to June 1944 with to the driver's optic and a lighter 15 cm StuH 43/1 howitzer as the armament. The fourth and last series from June 1944 to March 1945 featured the chassis and engine of the [[Pz.IV J|Ausf. J]] model, it had a redesigned gun collar, a reduction in overall height, and a ball mount for an MG34 in the front casemate structure.

===Combat usage===
The Sturmpanzer was equipped in four independent battalions in the course of the war in the Sturmpanzer-Abteilung 216, 217, 218, and 219. The first to receive the Sturmpanzers was the 216th in April 1943 with about 45 vehicles split into three companies with 14 each and 3 in the battalion headquarters. They saw use in the Battle of Kursk in Operation Citadel and was assigned to the Panzerjäger Regiment 656 in the 9th Army of Army Group Center. It stayed in play all the way to December 1943, assisting German soldiers in attacking and withdrawing from the Russian front. The battalion was transferred in February 1944 to counter the Allied invasion of Italy. Though intended to attack the Allies at the beachhead, the operation failed and the battalion was stationed there all the way until Germany's surrender. The 217th was made in April 1944 and was stationed in Normandy in early June 1944. They did not see use early in the Battle of Normandy as the Allies and the French Resistance sabotaged the rail network to France and the Sturmpanzers, forced to drive to France, broke down en route. They did see combat at Caen in August 1944 however, but withdrew to recuperate after suffering major casualties. The 217th also saw combat in the Battle of the Bulge, before retreating due to losses and continued withdrawing until captured in the Ruhr Pocket in April 1945.

The 218th started as the Sturmpanzer-Kompanie z.b.V. 218 and was raised in August 1944. It stayed in the Eastern Front and saw combat in the Warsaw Uprising. It continued fighting until it was wiped out in East Prussia in April 1945. A similar unit known as the Sturmpanzer-Kompanie z.b.V. 2./218 was made alongside the 218th, though not much is known except that it went to form the actual Sturmpanzer-Abteilung 218 in January 1945. Though expected to be equipped with 45 Sturmpanzers, it ended up with [[StuG III G|StuG III]]s instead. The 219th was made in September 1944. In October 1944, it only had 10 Sturmpanzers when Operation Panzerfaust was launched and Germany enters Hungary. It arrived on October 19th when it was no longer needed and was sent to Slovakia for further training and equipping before returning to Hungary to relieve the German troops at Budapest. It stayed until forced to retreat by the Soviets before either being wiped out or surrendering.

Today, four Sturmpanzers are known to have survived in intact conditions. Each one is in France, Germany, Russia, and the United States.

== Media ==


;Skins

* [https://live.warthunder.com/feed/camouflages/?vehicle=germ_sturmpanzer_IV_brummbar Skins and camouflages for the {{PAGENAME}} from live.warthunder.com.]

;Videos
{{Youtube-gallery|Ah9gpdy7IPI|'''The Shooting Range #333''' - ''Pages of History'' section at 04:01 discusses the {{PAGENAME}}.|HEI1o43SMzw|'''Only rank I ammunition available? No problem! Brummbär''' - ''HowToPlay1337''}}

== See also ==


;Vehicles equipped with the same chassis

* [[Pz.IV]] Family

;Vehicles equipped with the same ammunition

* [[15cm sIG 33 B Sfl]]

;Other vehicles of similar configuration and role

* [[KV-2 (Family)]]

== External links ==


* [[wt:en/news/4149-development-sturmpanzer-iv-brummb%C3%A4r-the-high-calibre-grouch-en|[Development] Sturmpanzer IV Brummbär – The High-Calibre Grouch]]
* [[Wikipedia:Brummb%C3%A4r|[Wikipedia] Brummbär]]
* [https://tanks-encyclopedia.com/ww2/nazi_germany/sturmpanzer-iv_brummbar.php <nowiki>[Tanks Encyclopedia]</nowiki> Sturmpanzer IV Brummbär]

{{Germany tank destroyers}}
{{Germany premium ground vehicles}}

Panther A

2024-04-23T12:04:03Z

U151393429: /* Notable Enemies */

{{About
|about = German medium tank '''{{PAGENAME}}'''
|other
|usage-1 = other versions
|link-1 = Panther tank (Family)
|usage-2 = other uses
|link-2 = Panther (Disambiguation)
}}
{{Specs-Card
|code=germ_pzkpfw_V_ausf_a_panther
|images={{Specs-Card-Image|GarageImage_{{PAGENAME}}.jpg|ArtImage_{{PAGENAME}}.png}}
}}

== Description ==

The '''Panzerkampfwagen V Ausführung A (Panther A)''' ([[Abbreviations#.28DE.29 Sd.Kfz. Index|Sd.Kfz. Index:]] '''Sd.Kfz. 171''') is the second production variant of the iconic [[Panther tank (Family)|Panzerkampfwagen V Panther medium tank family]]. Many [[Panther D]] characteristics, such as the small rectangular 'letterbox' hull machine gun opening, remained on the early production Panther A manufactured between July and December 1943. The Panther A turret has received significant modifications. For starters, the gun mantlet on the Panther A turret was larger than the one on the previous Panther D. The design of the cast turret side directly behind the gun mantlet was modified to a dish-shaped protrusion to fit the new gun mantlet. In addition, a new dome-shaped cast-armour commander's cupola was designed, and a ring was mounted on the commander's cupola to allow for the mounting of an anti-aircraft light machine gun. A single-speed turret power traverse system was also introduced, allowing Panther A to react to adversary tanks considerably faster than before. Finally, the German Army put a unique coating called Zimmerit on the tank's outside surface, anticipating that the Soviets and Allies would deploy magnetic mines to destroy the tank. The Zimmerit aims to minimize the effectiveness of magnets adhering to the metal hull.

Introduced in the Closed Beta Test for Ground Forces before Update 1.41, the Panther A was part of the next generation of medium tanks that officially superseded the [[Pz.IV (Family)|Panzer IVs]] in World War II. The Panther A is widely regarded as one of the best medium tanks of World War II, combining mobility, protection, and firepower. After the Soviet [[T-34 (Family)|T-34]], it was one of the most influential tank designs and served as the foundation for many later medium tank designs in other countries. The turret traverse speed is much faster than the previous Panther D model, lowering reaction time to unexpected spotting of enemies at close quarters significantly. Players can also use the commander's cupola-mounted MG34 light machine gun as a deterrence to hostile low-flying aircraft.

== General info ==
=== Survivability and armour ===
{{Specs-Tank-Armour}}


The Panther A has excellent frontal armour, which can protect the crew from many of the kinetic shells found in this battle rating range (with the exception of chemical shells and large calibre kinetic shells). Panther A's survivability is excellent when played to its strengths in long-range engagement; avoid brawling with enemy tanks unless absolutely necessary. Although the turret cheek of all Panther medium tanks is a well-known weak spot, engaging the enemy from a mid- to long-distance can greatly mitigate this weakness because the enemy will struggle to effectively penetrate the weak spot as engagement distance increases. Furthermore, due to the unique curvature of the turret armour layout, the turret cheek can bounce many kinetic shells from the enemy as distance increases. Keep in mind that powerful kinetic shells like that of the 122 mm D-25 cannon and APDS shells from British and Swedish tanks will easily penetrate the frontal armour, necessitating greater caution when engaging such foes.

The Panther A armour is not very different from the Panther D, retaining the curved gun mantlet that could potentially bounce a kinetic round down into the vulnerable hull roof. While this phenomenon is relatively rare, the risk is present and should be considered when fighting any enemy even if they don't have a gun that can reliably penetrate the Panther's turret front armour.

'''Armour type:'''

* Rolled homogeneous armour
* Cast homogeneous armour (Gun mantlet, Cupola)

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Armour !! Front (Slope angle) !! Sides (Slope angle) !! Rear (Slope angle) !! Roof
|-
| Hull || 80 mm (55°) ''Front glacis'' 60 mm (56°) ''Lower glacis'' || 40 mm (40°) ''Top'' 40 + 5 mm ''Lower'' || 40 mm (29°) || 16 mm
|-
| Turret || 100 mm ''Turret front'' 65 -100 mm ''Gun mantlet''|| 45 mm || 45 mm || 16 mm
|-
| Cupola || 80 mm || 80 mm || 80 mm || 16 mm
|-
|}
'''Notes:'''

* Tracks and lower side of the hull are covered by 5 mm thick armour plate, protecting them from HEAT and HE shells.
* Rear parts of the upper side hull armour have tracks attached to it, adding additional 20 mm of armour.

=== Mobility ===
{{Specs-Tank-Mobility}}


{{tankMobility|abMinHp=930|rbMinHp=531|AoAweight=0.45}}

The mobility of the Panther A is greatly improved over that of the previous Panther D, and it can be considered one of the best medium tanks in Germany's mid-BR range during WWII. The Panther A combines great mobility with excellent firepower thanks to its high top speed and neutral steering. However, mobility is still lacking when compared to its contemporary era tanks, particularly the Soviet T-34-85. Most Panther enemies, such as Sherman and T-34-85, will have no trouble firing the first shot when they come face-to-face with Panthers unexpectedly. Maps with lots of cover should be played with caution as US M18 light tanks frequently appear in unexpected areas of the map at the start of a match. Overall, the Panther A should be played as a fast medium tank, taking advantage of its excellent frontal armour while not overly relying on it to take hits, and engaging the enemy from a distance with its excellent cannon.

=== Modifications and economy ===
{{Specs-Economy}}

== Armaments ==
{{Specs-Tank-Armaments}}
=== Main armament ===
{{Specs-Tank-Weapon|1}}

{{main|KwK42 (75 mm)}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[KwK42 (75 mm)|75 mm KwK42]] || colspan="5" | Turret rotation speed (°/s) || colspan="4" | Reloading rate (seconds)
|-
! Mode !! Capacity !! Vertical !! Horizontal !! Stabilizer
! Stock !! Upgraded !! Full !! Expert !! Aced
! Stock !! Full !! Expert !! Aced
|-
! ''Arcade''
| rowspan="2" | 79 || rowspan="2" | -8°/+20° || rowspan="2" | ±180° || rowspan="2" | N/A || 19.0 || 26.4 || 32.0 || 35.4 || 37.6 || rowspan="2" | 9.62 || rowspan="2" | 8.51 || rowspan="2" | 7.84 || rowspan="2" | 7.40
|-
! ''Realistic''
| 11.9 || 14.0 || 17.0 || 18.8 || 20.0
|-
|}

==== Ammunition ====
{{:KwK42 (75 mm)/Ammunition|PzGr 39/42, PzGr 40/42, Sprgr. 42}}

==== [[Ammo racks]] ====
[[File:Ammoracks_{{PAGENAME}}.png|right|thumb|x250px|[[Ammo racks]] of the {{PAGENAME}}]]

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! Full ammo
! 1st rack empty
! 2nd rack empty
! 3rd rack empty
! 4th rack empty
! 5th rack empty
|-
| '''79''' || 77 ''(+2)'' || 71 ''(+8)'' || 62 ''(+17)'' || 53 ''(+26)'' || 44 ''(+35)''
|-
! 6th rack empty
! 7th rack empty
! 8th rack empty
! 9th rack empty
! 10th rack empty
! Visual discrepancy
|-
| 35 ''(+44)'' || 31 ''(+48)'' || 16 ''(+63)'' || 4 ''(+75)'' || 1 ''(+78)'' || Yes
|-
|}
'''Note''':

* Turret and large sides empty: 31 ''(+48)'' shells.

=== Machine guns ===
{{Specs-Tank-Weapon|2}}
{{Specs-Tank-Weapon|3}}

{{main|MG34 (7.92 mm)}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="50%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[MG34 (7.92 mm)|7.92 mm MG34]]
|-
! Mount !! Capacity (Belt) !! Fire rate !! Vertical !! Horizontal
|-
| Coaxial || 2,700 (150) || 900 || N/A || N/A
|-
| Pintle || 2,000 (150) || 900 || -10°/+25° || -60°/+160°
|-
|}

== Usage in battles ==

'''Playing as Panther A:'''

As with all other Panther-series medium tanks, it is best played in a supporting role or as a front-line offensive tank due to its agility. The cannon mounted is more than forgiving and powerful enough to destroy any potential target, so use it to an advantage; long-range shooting is effective as the muzzle velocity is extremely high, owing to the long-barreled 75 mm, the penetration values are more than capable of punching through any opposing armour, and the shell weight will, if the shell penetrates, consistently deal decent amounts of crew and module damage, if not immediately make the target on combat ineffective.

Sniping may be a fun and tempting strategy but you can get outmatched at those longer ranges where your fast reload and turret traverse no longer matter. A good strategy is to push objectives with the panther A considering it has the improved turret traverse and thus is able to fight in both the city and open ground. Do not attempt to use the panther like a tiger, and that is being a meatshield breakthrough tank. Instead, Spearhead assaults on objectives and flank the enemy. Your gun will be able to take care of most targets medium to close range and your armour should do its job. Make sure you check every corner and shoot and scoot. If you move methodically behind cover or on flanking routes you should be able to destroy many tanks. You can brawl quite well if you watch your flanks and flank others.

Another viable strategy is ambushes. The good camouflage for the tank can hide you if you hide behind a bush. Hide near a choke point and hope an enemy tank comes by.

Because Panthers have relatively weak side armour that even 20 mm autocannons can penetrate it, most enemies would make it their goal to flank around and penetrate the Panther's side armour (it does not help that the Panther's target profile is much larger from the side compared to the front as well). The Panther A's significantly improve turret traverse speed makes it better able to counter this trick than the Panther D, but it can still struggle against enemies that are moving at high speed like Shermans and T-34-85 at close ranges.

As the Panther's suspension rocks violently during the start and stop of the tank movement, it is recommended to not drive too fast when enemies are expected to be close by in order to reduce the gun sway and gun sight stabilization.

'''Playing against Panther A:'''

Like when fighting the previous Panther D variant head-on, fight the Panther A by firing into the right turret cheek. This is one of its weak points and can also knock out the gunner to provide some breathing room for a follow-up shot. Keep in mind that as the range increases, the shell may bounce. At short ranges, high-velocity guns like the 17-pounder can penetrate the lower glacis, and any large calibre (100 mm and up) can penetrate the upper glacis. Any British tank equipped with APDS can easily penetrate the upper glacis.

'''Light tank''': Light tanks can use their high speed to flank the Panther A tank, often more successfully than medium tanks due to their smaller profile and swift mobility. Most light tanks also carry sufficiently powerful cannons to penetrate the Panther A side armour from even a fair distance away as the Panther A's side armour is only 50 mm thick. Ensure that the Panther's firepower or mobility is taken out with the first shot, or else the Panther A would be able to quickly respond to a flanking threat by either their turret traverse or hull neutral steering turn to point directly at the light tank's position, protecting themselves while allowing them to handle the light tank threat.

'''Medium tank''': The Panther series medium tanks' greatest strengths are long-range engagements with its high-velocity 75 mm cannon and thick frontal armour. Their mobility also allow the Panther tank to reach most places an up-tiered medium tank may not reach in time. Try to minimize this disadvantage by closing the combat distance to minimize the firepower and armour disparity. Take care to make use of all map terrain and cover in order to avoid getting into the Panther's gun sights. Closing the distance also enable better targeting of weak points like the turret cheeks that is only 100 mm thick to quickly incapacitate the Panther A's turret crew, allowing for an opportunity to advance as the gunner is being replaced by another crew member. Tanks like the M4 Shermans can take advantage of their gun stabilizers to quickly move up and briefly pause and take a well-aimed shot at the Panther weak point as they get closer to take out the Panther A without needing to flank all the way around. Tanks like the T-34-85 can often instantly take out the Panther A with one well-placed APCBC round into the side and letting the post-penetration damage devastate the interior, often taking out all the crew members or igniting the ammunition.

'''Heavy tank/tank destroyer''': While heavy tanks are more well-armoured, caution is still needed as the Panther's high-velocity cannon can easily penetrate tanks like the IS-2 from a distance. Continue to approach the Panther A as one would with a medium tank, making the most of existing cover and terrain to avoid staying in the Panther's gun sights for very long. That said, heavy tanks and tank destroyers often have cannon armament more than able to penetrate the Panther's front armour without relying on weak points. With this attribute, heavy tanks and tank destroyers should take on the "Panther-destroyer" role by having allies attempt to expose the Panther tank in the open and keep it in placed for the heavy tank/tank destroyer to aim at the Panther tank and penetrate their armour with ease.

=== Notable Enemies ===

* '''M18 Hellcat or any hellcat variation:''' These guys are super annoying and will flank shot you by sneaking into a bush. Honestly a waste of ammo to shoot. Just watch your flanks because if you shoot it, it will crumple like a tin can and the crew will simply cease to exist.
* '''M4 Sherman 76 variants:''' These guys are dangerous for a different reason. Never underestimate how petty a M4 is. They will shoot your gun and then take your tracks with their 50 cals. Then they will flank shot you as you flail around helplessly. Best way to brawl them is to wiggle your turret while reloading causing them to miss.
* '''Jumbo sherman variants:''' These are a bit different because they will play like m4 and remove your gun and tracks and flank you, but they have super tough armor combined with god-awful mobility. Shoot the hull mg port and wiggle your turret while reloading. It might seem like a small target but it is impossible to miss in a close range slugfest. Do not even think about shooting the turret anywhere because it is extremely heavily armoured. Any side shot is possible but in a face to face brawl a clean shot to the hull mg port will cause the jumbo's entire crew to flatline.
* '''M-51 Super Sherman:''' Despite its name, the only thing super about it is its gun. The HEAT shell will penetrate you easily but struggles to spall and will likely take two shots to kill you. Despite this meaning you can easily kill them with just a single shot in retaliation still be weary. If you find it pointing its gun at you, take cover immediately.
* '''M36 Jackson:''' These guys are very annoying with their 90mm gun with a stupid amount of penetration. Luckily, it's weak armour and the fact that they are open topped means that when you shoot them it's likely a one shot.
* '''PT-76B:''' Like the super sherman, this tank is deadly for its HEAT shell. Thankfully it is not particularly fast and has paper thin armour. There isn't much of a strategy for these guys. All you have to do is shoot first and that will be easy considering it takes about 2 shots for them to finish you off because of the bad spalling from the HEAT shell. It is possible that you will need 2 shots as well because the hollow insides of the tank, but always go for the turret crew first unless they are facing hull towards you, then, shoot the front hull plate and watch the 75mm round take out all 3 crew members.
* '''IS-2:''' The best and most spectacular way to kill an IS-2 is to ammorack it. Frontally, shoot the drivers vision port unless it is a mod 1944 variant. Other weak spots include the (your right, their left) turret cheek to take out the gunner and commander and pray that the 17 grams of RDX finish the job. The last and most surprising weak spot is the lower front plate which is poorly angled. This might sound risky but will likely result in a 1 shot because of the shrapnel bouncing off the floor of the tank. The IS-2 has a gun capable of penetrating you anywhere frontally but the chances are about 50/50. However, it is devastating if it does penetrate you. Bait the IS-2 into shooting because you have a 3× faster reload. they you can toy around with them as they scream for help. Treat any soviet tank with an abnormally long gun(ISU-122S, SU-100Y, KV-2(ZiS 6))with caution. Fear not, for big soviet guns have slow reloads. (If you want to be extra cheeky when you have a side or rear shot of the IS-2 turret, do not aim for the crew, aim for the turret rear for a guaranteed beautiful ammorack.)
* '''M26 Pershing and variants:''' Not all that common of a threat but still notable for being hard to kill. Shoot the hull or turret mg ports and aim for the lower and upper glacis joining point all the way up to the middle of the upper glacis. The gun of the normal pershing is potentially dangerous but nothing to be worried about only worry about the guns of the Super Pershing or the M26E1.
* '''Super Pershing:''' Super rare but possible. Best idea is to get a side shot perhaps by ambushing. The frontal weak points are the exposed(your right their left)turret cheek to ammorack it or go for the hull mg port. You can also shoot the tubes above the turret to disable the vertical drive and then scramble up to high or low ground and flank shot it.
* '''T-44:''' Also a rare sight. Shoot the(your right their left)turret cheek for a clean instant kill.
* '''T-34-85:''' This tank is mostly a nuisance. Do not fear the gun of the T-34. The T-34's biggest strengths are mobility and turret traverse. Flanking is your only weakness.
* '''M41A1:''' Small tank with an impressive APDS shell, but the spalling effects of this round is laughable. They will try to ammorack you because of this and will take 2-3 shots to kill you. You can kill them easily but the luck and the skill of their ammoracking is uncanny.
* '''Strv 74:''' Again, poorly armoured HEAT shell user. Extremely high HEAT penetration but this time with a easy to spot tall profile.
* '''FV4005:''' Possible to meet but very rare if not impossible. Never get hit by this thing as it's 183mm shell will most likely atomise your tank.. It is literally the size of a refrigerator so there is little to no chance in missing this thing. You can ammorack by going for the sides of the turret.
* '''R3 T20 FA-HS:''' We have all grown to hate this thing and it can side shot you but it is very rare. Most used by players trying to be funny. Machine gun into oblivion on sight.
* '''2S3M:''' Getting more and more common these days. It has a super dangerous HE shell and will snipe you. Also very easy to kill. The rear hull houses a large ammorack.
* '''Any ISU or SU series tank destroyer 100mm gun and up:''' Shoot anywhere except gun mantlet. Be aware of the slow reload for the 122mm ones as well as their tall profile unless it is a SU-100.
* '''M109 of any variant:''' This SPG has a 155mm main gun that fires HE. Sometimes the shell overpressures your tank but sometimes it does something funny and damages literally nothing. They have weak armour and are easily one shot.

=== Pros and cons ===


'''Pros:'''

* Excellent cannon has a range of ammo for any type of enemy: great stock AP for common targets (eg. [[T-34-85]], [[M4 Sherman (Family)|M4 Sherman]] or even the [[M4A3E2]]), piercing APCR for early cold war tanks (e.g. [[M26 (Family)|M26]], [[T-44]], early [[Centurion (Family)|Centurions]]) and HE for light vehicles. Great accuracy and velocity allows easy long-range sniping. Plenty of ammo capacity allows flexible ammo setups. It even has a fast reload.
* Heavily armoured frontal hull is immune to most guns at 5.7 like the 85 mm D-5T and 76 mm M1
* Almost 300% faster turret rotation than the previous D model. Is more responsive to flankers
* Fast top speed, good hull traverse. Can get to positions in time. unlike other tanks it has neutral steering.
* Engine has 50 more horsepower compared to the D variant, acceleration is noticeably faster and is on par, if not slightly faster, than T-34s
* Adequate gun depression of -8° adapts most terrains well
* Reasonably cheap repair cost
* Has a wide range of good-looking camouflage to unlock. Suitable for almost every terrain
* 2 machine guns to get rid of airplanes or light tanks.

'''Cons:'''

* Gun mantlet is only 100 mm thick, well-known weak spot to shoot at. The ball mg port that is 80 mm can also be penetrated albeit less frequently.
* Terrible reverse speed of only -4 km/h, can get the player killed
* Weak side armour gets penetrated easily by Soviet APHEBC. Cannot angle too much
* Lower glacis often catches fire or breaks transmission when penetrated, leaving the tank immobile and vulnerable. The transmission does protect the crew at the cost of a lengthy repair.
* High profile for a medium tank makes it harder to hide
* Roof armour of 16 mm is vulnerable to [[M2 Browning (12.7 mm)|M2 Brownings]] which are widely seen on American planes. Any autocannon can cause strafing damage.
* Although heavily armoured, it can still get frontally penetrated easily by a rather common heavy tank: [[IS-2 (Family)|IS-2]]
* Gun mantlet traps shots (shells may deflect into the hull roof weak armour). This is incredibly rare.

== History ==

===Development===
The '''Panther''' development started as far back as 1938 as a replacement to the [[Pz.III F|Panzer IIIs]] and [[Pz.IV E|Panzer IVs]]. The program was called VK 20 and it called for a 20 ton tracked vehicle design by Krupp, Daimler-Benz, and MAN. Krupp dropped out when the requirements changed to 30 tones in 1941 when the German encounters the Soviet [[T-34 (1941)|T-34]] and [[KV-1 (L-11)|KV-1]] tanks where the Panzer III and Panzer IV's performance have little effect due to its superior armour, mobility, and armament. The VK 20 was abandoned for the VK 30.02 in April 1942. Daimler-Benz design for this project looks similar to the T-34 with the turret far forward in the hull, plus the use of a diesel engine and external leaf spring suspension. MAN's design had a twin torsion bar, the interleaved suspension system (like the [[Tiger H1|Tiger I]]) with the turret situated in the middle of the hull, plus had a petrol Maybach engine. Hitler was reported to believe that the DB design was superior to the MAN design, and in a review between January to March 1942, Fritz Todt and Albert Speer also recommended the DB design. Then MAN revised their design, and a special commission by Hitler decided on the MAN design in May 1942, to which Hitler approved after reviewing it. One of the reasons the MAN was approved was that its turret was already in production while the DB used a completely new design. However, despite being built for a 30-ton design, Hitler decided to increase the armour on the MAN design and the weight went from 30 tons to 45 tons.

The MAN design was made into a prototype in September 1942, when it was officially accepted after testing and named the '''Panzerkampfwagen V Panther'''. Where it remained so until 1944, where Hitler removed the '''V''' in the designation for the name '''Panther'''. Production started in December 1942, though the early models suffered from reliability issues. The production plants expanded from MAN to Daimler-Benz, MNH, and Henschel for increased output. Despite that, production was often delayed due to Allied air bombing, which targeted the Maybach engine plant and DB, MAN, and MNH tank factories. Nevertheless, the total number of Panther tanks produced was 6,706, making the Panther the third most produced armoured fighting vehicle in Germany behind the Panzer IV and the StuG III.

===Design===
The MAN design for the Panther featured a heavily sloped armour design, with the front glacis plate being 80 mm thick (from the original 60 mm before the weight increase) and when sloped at 55 degrees, it was 140 mm effective in thickness. This made the Panther one of the best-armoured vehicle in World War II. The side armour of the Panther was way thinner at 40 mm that could be pierced very easily. Additional side armour in the form of Schürzen could be placed on the sides hanging to cover the suspension and hull side from being penetrated by Soviet anti-tank rifle fire. The Panther used the same engine as the Tiger I, the Mayback HL 210 P30 engine, and had a similar suspension system, the Schachtellaufwerk interleaved wheel system, which complicated maintenance issues. The tank used the formidable 7.5 cm Kwk 42 cannon, which could destroy most of the allied tanks in service, only possess a mediocre HE shell.

The '''Ausf. A''' variant was the second variant designed for the Panther, The old drum-shaped cupola on the [[Panther D|Ausf. D]] had been replaced by a side-swinging hatch that didn't require the commander to expose himself to open or close the hatch. The Ausf. A introduced the standard ball mount for the assistant driver's machine gun, replacing the "letterbox" flap design on the Ausf. D. The Ausf. A also had the initial turret curved gun mantlet that was introduced to the Panther, though there were faults with the design as explained below. Other small improvements of the Ausf. A over the Ausf. D was improved reliability by ironing out several mechanical issues. 2,192 Panther Ausf. A was produced from August 1943 to June 1944.

The Panther's rushed development and commitment into battle caused the design to have many flaws inhibiting its full potential. The most prominent flaw that lasted throughout the war was the weak final drive due to using a double spur system that made it more prone to failure from the Panther's torque requirements, which is averaged at around 150 km before failing. The curved gun mantlet design had an unfortunate tendency to ricochet deflected rounds into the roof, it was, however, not fixed until a new gun mantlet design with a flat "chin" shape was introduced on the [[Panther G|Panther G]]. The Schachtellaufwerk suspension system, like the [[Tiger H1|Tiger]], suffered from over-engineering and complicating maintenance of the tank. Smaller problems in the tank included not having a dedicated periscope for the gunner, maintenance-heavy, fuel-hungry, and deteriorating armour quality as metal alloys in Germany began to run out.

Despite its heavier weight and slightly complex design, the cost of each Panther tank was not very high in relative to tanks with a price at 117,100 Reichmarks, compared to the 103,462 RM of Panzer IVs and 250,800 RM of the Tiger I. This made the tank rather economic for its fighting purposes despite being over-engineered.

===Combat usage===
The Panther was first issued to the Eastern Front, arming the 51st and 52nd Tank Battalions. Their usage presented mechanical problems of the Panther, forcing many of the early Panthers to be returned for rebuilding. Despite these issues, the Panther was deemed critical in the Battle of Kursk in Operation Citadel, Hitler delayed the operation so more Panthers can reach the front. 200 Panthers were ready in June 1943, but its combat debut was disappointing. The Panthers, which arrived last minute before the operation started, meant that the crew serving the tanks had little time to train with the new tanks. Two tanks were lost to motor fires right after disembarking from the trains at the front lines. 184 were operational at the start of the operation on July 5, this dropped to 40 within two days. According to Heinz Guderian, five days into the offensive, only 10 operation Panthers were available with 25 completely lost, 100 in need of repairs, and 60 per cent of those mechanical breakdowns were easily repaired. Those that did work during the campaign were able to cause heavy casualties on the Soviet tank forces, but the Panther's lethality was mitigated by its low number available. When the operation turned and the Soviet counteroffensive pushed the Germans away from Kursk, the Panther loss rose to 156 on August 11, with many more lost as the Soviet kept gaining ground. Perhaps the Panther's biggest role in Operation Citadel was delaying the start of the operation by two months to allow the Soviet defences to be bolstered beyond the German's expectations, causing the failure of the offensive.

After the failure at Kursk, improvements on the Panther helped its reliability rate. By March 1944, Guderian reported that most of the Panther's flaws were ironed out, but the final drive and other mechanical issues were still a major issue to front-line units. The Panthers served the rest of the war as quick-reaction forces to fight off Allied offensives on both fronts. On the Eastern Front, some 700 Panthers were committed to the battle at all times, though the number of operational vehicles varies depending on the situation. The Panthers were also sent to suppress the Warsaw Uprising in August 1944. Two were captured by the Polish forces, who used them against the German forces. The captured Panthers were used until they became immobilized and were destroyed to prevent recapture by the Germans.

On the Western Front, the Panthers began being present in large numbers after the Invasion of Normandy. 156 Panthers were initially present between two Panzer regiments, but this increased by seven regiments after the Allied invasion, boosting the strength to 432 tanks. The high number of Panther situated in France, mostly around Caen, and their performance against the Allied armour caused many Allied tankers to fear it as much as the Tiger tanks. However, the Panther's reliability problem was still evident as many Panthers were left abandoned by the crew when they broke down. The mechanical breakdown, partly from the flaws in the machine, can also be attributed to the poor crew training given, which showed by crew overburdening the transmission or lacking regular maintenance on the tank. The Allied assessment of the Panther was that its mobility on soft grounds was superior due to its wider tracks giving more flotation over the ground, and armour and firepower value was superior to anything they had, though it was inferior in the bocage terrain of France due to the constrained nature of the environment. The Panther participated in the famed Battle of Arracourt, where a total of 262 German tanks were committed to battle. The battle, against the mostly [[M4|M4 Sherman]], equipped 4th Armored Division, routed the Germans after they suffered heavy casualties, while the Allies only losing 32 armoured fighting vehicles, a testament on how crew training and tactical advantage have a big impact on tank warfare. The highest concentration of Panthers on the Western Front was 471 Panthers (336 operational) in the Ardennes Offensive (Battle of the Bulge), where it showed its prowess in open terrain due to its superior gun. The Panthers also took place in Operation Grief, being disguised as [[M10 GMC|M10 tank destroyers]] to trick American soldiers. All of these mocked up Panthers were destroyed in battle or scrapped after it. After the Ardennes Offensive, eight Panzer division with 271 Panthers were transferred to the Eastern Front to beat back the Soviet offensive. Only five Panther battalions, 96 Panthers for each battalion, remained on the Western Front to fight the Allies.

After the war, Panther still saw a use for some time in various countries. Bulgaria and Romania received Panthers from the Soviets as aid, which they used until the 1950s. France was the most notable user of the Panther tanks after World War II due to the large quantities of operable vehicles left behind by the Germans during the Normandy invasion. The French raised a regiment of 50 Panthers from 1944 to 1947, when they were replaced by the new ARL 44 tanks. The Panther also influenced the French AMX 50 tank design, and its gun was derived onto the AMX 13 light tank. In 1947, an evaluation was written by the French War Ministry on the Panthers which even made their own assessment of the Panther that pointed out most of the flaws of the Panthers, especially the mechanical failure and the deficiency of the armour later in the war due to alloy shortages.

{{break}}
{{Navigation-Start|{{Annotation|Archive of the in-game description|An archive of the historical description of the vehicle that was presented in-game prior to Update 1.55 'Royal Armour'}}}}
{{Navigation-First-Simple-Line}}
In the fall of 1943, production of the Ausf.A variant of the Pz.Kpfw. V tank began. The Verstandigungsoeffnung hatch, which allowed for communication with infantry and for pistol fire from inside, was removed from the new turret. Vehicles of this variant were given the simpler monocular TZF-12А sight, as well as the commander's cupola used by the Tiger I tank. The hull's front plate was equipped with a traditional ball-mount directional machine gun instead of the inefficient letterbox flap gun used earlier. To strengthen the chassis, the road wheels received an increased number of bolts. The engine and transmission cooling systems were improved. A viewport was installed on the roof of the turret, along with a close-combat device (antipersonnel fragmentation grenade launchers). Tanks released at a later date had a modified exhaust system. Some Panther Ausf. A tanks were equipped with experimental infrared night vision devices. All of the tanks of this variant had their vertical surfaces coated with Zimmerit anti-magnetic paste.

From August 1943 to May 1944, about 2,000 of these tanks were released.

Beginning in 1943, the Red Army captured a small number of Panther tanks (of several variants). These tanks were then used by several of the USSR's armoured divisions, including, for example, Lieutenant Sotnikov's division. This tank was known as a dangerous enemy to Soviet tank forces, and captured vehicles were considered a thing of great luck. They were given to the most experienced and effective crews as recognition of their incredible merit. To keep the German tanks in good condition, Soviet tank divisions used captured German mechanics. In 1944, a technical manual for the Panther was published in Russian, for distribution to the crews.
{{Navigation-End}}

== Media ==


;Skins

* [https://live.warthunder.com/feed/camouflages/?vehicle=germ_pzkpfw_V_ausf_a_panther Skins and camouflages for the {{PAGENAME}} from live.warthunder.com.]

;Sights

* [https://live.warthunder.com/post/675135/en/ RideR2's Realistic gunsight (TZF4a, TZF 5a/b/d/e/f/f2, TZF 9b/b1/c/d, TZF 12/a) for Pzkpfw II, Pzkpfw III, Pzkpfw IV, Pzkpfw V, Pzkpfw VI]

;Videos
{{Youtube-gallery|y1S7jHyFxdA|'''The Shooting Range #34''' - ''Pages of History'' section at 02:36 discusses the Panther I.|Bf1YWYfD_qk|'''The Shooting Range #135''' - ''Metal Beasts'' section at 01:12 discusses the {{PAGENAME}}.|oa26g25qqP4|'''Best medium tanks''' discusses the {{PAGENAME}} at 0:34 - ''War Thunder Official Channel''|9rUocSj2dHc|'''Tank Chats #16 Panther''' - ''The Tank Museum''}}

== See also ==
''Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:''

* ''reference to the series of the vehicles;''
* ''links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.''

== External links ==
''Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:''

* ''topic on the official game forum;''
* ''other literature.''

{{TankManufacturer MAN AG}}
{{Germany medium tanks}}

Panther A

2024-04-23T11:59:10Z

U151393429: /* Usage in battles */

{{About
|about = German medium tank '''{{PAGENAME}}'''
|other
|usage-1 = other versions
|link-1 = Panther tank (Family)
|usage-2 = other uses
|link-2 = Panther (Disambiguation)
}}
{{Specs-Card
|code=germ_pzkpfw_V_ausf_a_panther
|images={{Specs-Card-Image|GarageImage_{{PAGENAME}}.jpg|ArtImage_{{PAGENAME}}.png}}
}}

== Description ==

The '''Panzerkampfwagen V Ausführung A (Panther A)''' ([[Abbreviations#.28DE.29 Sd.Kfz. Index|Sd.Kfz. Index:]] '''Sd.Kfz. 171''') is the second production variant of the iconic [[Panther tank (Family)|Panzerkampfwagen V Panther medium tank family]]. Many [[Panther D]] characteristics, such as the small rectangular 'letterbox' hull machine gun opening, remained on the early production Panther A manufactured between July and December 1943. The Panther A turret has received significant modifications. For starters, the gun mantlet on the Panther A turret was larger than the one on the previous Panther D. The design of the cast turret side directly behind the gun mantlet was modified to a dish-shaped protrusion to fit the new gun mantlet. In addition, a new dome-shaped cast-armour commander's cupola was designed, and a ring was mounted on the commander's cupola to allow for the mounting of an anti-aircraft light machine gun. A single-speed turret power traverse system was also introduced, allowing Panther A to react to adversary tanks considerably faster than before. Finally, the German Army put a unique coating called Zimmerit on the tank's outside surface, anticipating that the Soviets and Allies would deploy magnetic mines to destroy the tank. The Zimmerit aims to minimize the effectiveness of magnets adhering to the metal hull.

Introduced in the Closed Beta Test for Ground Forces before Update 1.41, the Panther A was part of the next generation of medium tanks that officially superseded the [[Pz.IV (Family)|Panzer IVs]] in World War II. The Panther A is widely regarded as one of the best medium tanks of World War II, combining mobility, protection, and firepower. After the Soviet [[T-34 (Family)|T-34]], it was one of the most influential tank designs and served as the foundation for many later medium tank designs in other countries. The turret traverse speed is much faster than the previous Panther D model, lowering reaction time to unexpected spotting of enemies at close quarters significantly. Players can also use the commander's cupola-mounted MG34 light machine gun as a deterrence to hostile low-flying aircraft.

== General info ==
=== Survivability and armour ===
{{Specs-Tank-Armour}}


The Panther A has excellent frontal armour, which can protect the crew from many of the kinetic shells found in this battle rating range (with the exception of chemical shells and large calibre kinetic shells). Panther A's survivability is excellent when played to its strengths in long-range engagement; avoid brawling with enemy tanks unless absolutely necessary. Although the turret cheek of all Panther medium tanks is a well-known weak spot, engaging the enemy from a mid- to long-distance can greatly mitigate this weakness because the enemy will struggle to effectively penetrate the weak spot as engagement distance increases. Furthermore, due to the unique curvature of the turret armour layout, the turret cheek can bounce many kinetic shells from the enemy as distance increases. Keep in mind that powerful kinetic shells like that of the 122 mm D-25 cannon and APDS shells from British and Swedish tanks will easily penetrate the frontal armour, necessitating greater caution when engaging such foes.

The Panther A armour is not very different from the Panther D, retaining the curved gun mantlet that could potentially bounce a kinetic round down into the vulnerable hull roof. While this phenomenon is relatively rare, the risk is present and should be considered when fighting any enemy even if they don't have a gun that can reliably penetrate the Panther's turret front armour.

'''Armour type:'''

* Rolled homogeneous armour
* Cast homogeneous armour (Gun mantlet, Cupola)

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Armour !! Front (Slope angle) !! Sides (Slope angle) !! Rear (Slope angle) !! Roof
|-
| Hull || 80 mm (55°) ''Front glacis'' 60 mm (56°) ''Lower glacis'' || 40 mm (40°) ''Top'' 40 + 5 mm ''Lower'' || 40 mm (29°) || 16 mm
|-
| Turret || 100 mm ''Turret front'' 65 -100 mm ''Gun mantlet''|| 45 mm || 45 mm || 16 mm
|-
| Cupola || 80 mm || 80 mm || 80 mm || 16 mm
|-
|}
'''Notes:'''

* Tracks and lower side of the hull are covered by 5 mm thick armour plate, protecting them from HEAT and HE shells.
* Rear parts of the upper side hull armour have tracks attached to it, adding additional 20 mm of armour.

=== Mobility ===
{{Specs-Tank-Mobility}}


{{tankMobility|abMinHp=930|rbMinHp=531|AoAweight=0.45}}

The mobility of the Panther A is greatly improved over that of the previous Panther D, and it can be considered one of the best medium tanks in Germany's mid-BR range during WWII. The Panther A combines great mobility with excellent firepower thanks to its high top speed and neutral steering. However, mobility is still lacking when compared to its contemporary era tanks, particularly the Soviet T-34-85. Most Panther enemies, such as Sherman and T-34-85, will have no trouble firing the first shot when they come face-to-face with Panthers unexpectedly. Maps with lots of cover should be played with caution as US M18 light tanks frequently appear in unexpected areas of the map at the start of a match. Overall, the Panther A should be played as a fast medium tank, taking advantage of its excellent frontal armour while not overly relying on it to take hits, and engaging the enemy from a distance with its excellent cannon.

=== Modifications and economy ===
{{Specs-Economy}}

== Armaments ==
{{Specs-Tank-Armaments}}
=== Main armament ===
{{Specs-Tank-Weapon|1}}

{{main|KwK42 (75 mm)}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[KwK42 (75 mm)|75 mm KwK42]] || colspan="5" | Turret rotation speed (°/s) || colspan="4" | Reloading rate (seconds)
|-
! Mode !! Capacity !! Vertical !! Horizontal !! Stabilizer
! Stock !! Upgraded !! Full !! Expert !! Aced
! Stock !! Full !! Expert !! Aced
|-
! ''Arcade''
| rowspan="2" | 79 || rowspan="2" | -8°/+20° || rowspan="2" | ±180° || rowspan="2" | N/A || 19.0 || 26.4 || 32.0 || 35.4 || 37.6 || rowspan="2" | 9.62 || rowspan="2" | 8.51 || rowspan="2" | 7.84 || rowspan="2" | 7.40
|-
! ''Realistic''
| 11.9 || 14.0 || 17.0 || 18.8 || 20.0
|-
|}

==== Ammunition ====
{{:KwK42 (75 mm)/Ammunition|PzGr 39/42, PzGr 40/42, Sprgr. 42}}

==== [[Ammo racks]] ====
[[File:Ammoracks_{{PAGENAME}}.png|right|thumb|x250px|[[Ammo racks]] of the {{PAGENAME}}]]

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! Full ammo
! 1st rack empty
! 2nd rack empty
! 3rd rack empty
! 4th rack empty
! 5th rack empty
|-
| '''79''' || 77 ''(+2)'' || 71 ''(+8)'' || 62 ''(+17)'' || 53 ''(+26)'' || 44 ''(+35)''
|-
! 6th rack empty
! 7th rack empty
! 8th rack empty
! 9th rack empty
! 10th rack empty
! Visual discrepancy
|-
| 35 ''(+44)'' || 31 ''(+48)'' || 16 ''(+63)'' || 4 ''(+75)'' || 1 ''(+78)'' || Yes
|-
|}
'''Note''':

* Turret and large sides empty: 31 ''(+48)'' shells.

=== Machine guns ===
{{Specs-Tank-Weapon|2}}
{{Specs-Tank-Weapon|3}}

{{main|MG34 (7.92 mm)}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="50%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[MG34 (7.92 mm)|7.92 mm MG34]]
|-
! Mount !! Capacity (Belt) !! Fire rate !! Vertical !! Horizontal
|-
| Coaxial || 2,700 (150) || 900 || N/A || N/A
|-
| Pintle || 2,000 (150) || 900 || -10°/+25° || -60°/+160°
|-
|}

== Usage in battles ==

'''Playing as Panther A:'''

As with all other Panther-series medium tanks, it is best played in a supporting role or as a front-line offensive tank due to its agility. The cannon mounted is more than forgiving and powerful enough to destroy any potential target, so use it to an advantage; long-range shooting is effective as the muzzle velocity is extremely high, owing to the long-barreled 75 mm, the penetration values are more than capable of punching through any opposing armour, and the shell weight will, if the shell penetrates, consistently deal decent amounts of crew and module damage, if not immediately make the target on combat ineffective.

Sniping may be a fun and tempting strategy but you can get outmatched at those longer ranges where your fast reload and turret traverse no longer matter. A good strategy is to push objectives with the panther A considering it has the improved turret traverse and thus is able to fight in both the city and open ground. Do not attempt to use the panther like a tiger, and that is being a meatshield breakthrough tank. Instead, Spearhead assaults on objectives and flank the enemy. Your gun will be able to take care of most targets medium to close range and your armour should do its job. Make sure you check every corner and shoot and scoot. If you move methodically behind cover or on flanking routes you should be able to destroy many tanks. You can brawl quite well if you watch your flanks and flank others.

Another viable strategy is ambushes. The good camouflage for the tank can hide you if you hide behind a bush. Hide near a choke point and hope an enemy tank comes by.

Because Panthers have relatively weak side armour that even 20 mm autocannons can penetrate it, most enemies would make it their goal to flank around and penetrate the Panther's side armour (it does not help that the Panther's target profile is much larger from the side compared to the front as well). The Panther A's significantly improve turret traverse speed makes it better able to counter this trick than the Panther D, but it can still struggle against enemies that are moving at high speed like Shermans and T-34-85 at close ranges.

As the Panther's suspension rocks violently during the start and stop of the tank movement, it is recommended to not drive too fast when enemies are expected to be close by in order to reduce the gun sway and gun sight stabilization.

'''Playing against Panther A:'''

Like when fighting the previous Panther D variant head-on, fight the Panther A by firing into the right turret cheek. This is one of its weak points and can also knock out the gunner to provide some breathing room for a follow-up shot. Keep in mind that as the range increases, the shell may bounce. At short ranges, high-velocity guns like the 17-pounder can penetrate the lower glacis, and any large calibre (100 mm and up) can penetrate the upper glacis. Any British tank equipped with APDS can easily penetrate the upper glacis.

'''Light tank''': Light tanks can use their high speed to flank the Panther A tank, often more successfully than medium tanks due to their smaller profile and swift mobility. Most light tanks also carry sufficiently powerful cannons to penetrate the Panther A side armour from even a fair distance away as the Panther A's side armour is only 50 mm thick. Ensure that the Panther's firepower or mobility is taken out with the first shot, or else the Panther A would be able to quickly respond to a flanking threat by either their turret traverse or hull neutral steering turn to point directly at the light tank's position, protecting themselves while allowing them to handle the light tank threat.

'''Medium tank''': The Panther series medium tanks' greatest strengths are long-range engagements with its high-velocity 75 mm cannon and thick frontal armour. Their mobility also allow the Panther tank to reach most places an up-tiered medium tank may not reach in time. Try to minimize this disadvantage by closing the combat distance to minimize the firepower and armour disparity. Take care to make use of all map terrain and cover in order to avoid getting into the Panther's gun sights. Closing the distance also enable better targeting of weak points like the turret cheeks that is only 100 mm thick to quickly incapacitate the Panther A's turret crew, allowing for an opportunity to advance as the gunner is being replaced by another crew member. Tanks like the M4 Shermans can take advantage of their gun stabilizers to quickly move up and briefly pause and take a well-aimed shot at the Panther weak point as they get closer to take out the Panther A without needing to flank all the way around. Tanks like the T-34-85 can often instantly take out the Panther A with one well-placed APCBC round into the side and letting the post-penetration damage devastate the interior, often taking out all the crew members or igniting the ammunition.

'''Heavy tank/tank destroyer''': While heavy tanks are more well-armoured, caution is still needed as the Panther's high-velocity cannon can easily penetrate tanks like the IS-2 from a distance. Continue to approach the Panther A as one would with a medium tank, making the most of existing cover and terrain to avoid staying in the Panther's gun sights for very long. That said, heavy tanks and tank destroyers often have cannon armament more than able to penetrate the Panther's front armour without relying on weak points. With this attribute, heavy tanks and tank destroyers should take on the "Panther-destroyer" role by having allies attempt to expose the Panther tank in the open and keep it in placed for the heavy tank/tank destroyer to aim at the Panther tank and penetrate their armour with ease.

=== Notable Enemies ===

* '''M18 Hellcat or any hellcat variation:''' These guys are super annoying and will flank shot you by sneaking into a bush. Honestly a waste of ammo to shoot. Just watch your flanks because if you shoot it, it will crumple like a tin can and the crew will simply cease to exist.
* '''M4 Sherman 76 variants:''' These guys are dangerous for a different reason. Never underestimate how petty a M4 is. They will shoot your gun and then take your tracks with their 50 cals. Then they will flank shot you as you flail around helplessly. Best way to brawl them is to wiggle your turret while reloading causing them to miss.
* '''Jumbo sherman variants:''' These are a bit different because they will play like m4 and remove your gun and tracks and flank you, but they have super tough armor combined with god-awful mobility. Shoot the hull mg port and wiggle your turret while reloading. It might seem like a small target but it is impossible to miss in a close range slugfest. Do not even think about shooting the turret anywhere because it is extremely heavily armoured. Any side shot is possible but in a face to face brawl a clean shot to the hull mg port will cause the jumbo's entire crew to flatline.
* '''M-51 Super Sherman:''' Despite its name, the only thing super about it is its gun. The HEAT shell will penetrate you easily but struggles to spall and will likely take two shots to kill you. Despite this meaning you can easily kill them with just a single shot in retaliation still be weary. If you find it pointing its gun at you, take cover immediately.
* '''M36 Jackson:''' These guys are very annoying with their 90mm gun with a stupid amount of penetration. Luckily, it's weak armour and the fact that they are open topped means that when you shoot them it's likely a one shot.
* '''PT-76B:''' Like the super sherman, this tank is deadly for its HEAT shell. Thankfully it is not particularly fast and has paper thin armour. There isn't much of a strategy for these guys. All you have to do is shoot first and that will be easy considering it takes about 2 shots for them to finish you off because of the bad spalling from the HEAT shell. It is possible that you will need 2 shots as well because the hollow insides of the tank, but always go for the turret crew first unless they are facing hull towards you, then, shoot the front hull plate and watch the 75mm round take out all 3 crew members.
* '''IS-2:''' The best and most spectacular way to kill an IS-2 is to ammorack it. Frontally, shoot the drivers vision port unless it is a mod 1944 variant. Other weak spots include the (your right, their left) turret cheek to take out the gunner and commander and pray that the 17 grams of RDX finish the job. The last and most surprising weak spot is the lower front plate which is poorly angled. This might sound risky but will likely result in a 1 shot because of the shrapnel bouncing off the floor of the tank. The IS-2 has a gun capable of penetrating you anywhere frontally but the chances are about 50/50. However, it is devastating if it does penetrate you. Bait the IS-2 into shooting because you have a 3× faster reload. they you can toy around with them as they scream for help. Treat any soviet tank with an abnormally long gun(ISU-122S, SU-100Y, KV-2(ZiS 6))with caution. Fear not, for big soviet guns have slow reloads. (If you want to be extra cheeky when you have a side or rear shot of the IS-2 turret, do not aim for the crew, aim for the turret rear for a guaranteed beautiful ammorack.)
* '''M26 Pershing and variants:''' Not all that common of a threat but still notable for being hard to kill. Shoot the hull or turret mg ports and aim for the lower and upper glacis joining point all the way up to the middle of the upper glacis. The gun of the normal pershing is potentially dangerous but nothing to be worried about only worry about the guns of the Super Pershing or the M26E1.
* '''Super Pershing:''' Super rare but possible. Best idea is to get a side shot perhaps by ambushing. The frontal weak points are the exposed(your right their left)turret cheek to ammorack it or go for the hull mg port. You can also shoot the tubes above the turret to disable the vertical drive and then scramble up to high or low ground and flank shot it.
* '''T-44:''' Also a rare sight. Shoot the(your right their left)turret cheek for a clean instant kill.
* '''T-34-85:''' This tank is mostly a nuisance. Do not fear the gun of the T-34. The T-34's biggest strengths are mobility and turret traverse. Flanking is your only weakness.
* '''M41A1:''' Small tank with an impressive APDS shell, but the spalling effects of this round is laughable. They will try to ammorack you because of this and will take 2-3 shots to kill you. You can kill them easily but the luck and the skill of their ammoracking is uncanny.
* '''Strv 74:''' Again, poorly armoured HEAT shell user. Extremely high HEAT penetration but this time with a easy to spot tall profile.
* '''FV4005:''' Possible to meet but very rare if not impossible. Never get hit by this thing. It is literally the size of a refrigerator so there is little to no chance in missing this thing. You can ammorack by going for the sides of the turret. Watch out because it's 183mm shell will most likely atomise your tank.
* '''R3 T20 FA-HS:''' We have all grown to hate this thing and it can side shot you but it is very rare. Most used by players trying to be funny. Machine gun into oblivion on sight.
* '''2S3M:''' Getting more and more common these days. It has a super dangerous HE shell and will snipe you. Also very easy to kill. The rear hull houses a large ammorack.
* '''Any ISU or SU series tank destroyer 100mm gun and up:''' Shoot anywhere except gun mantlet. Be aware of the slow reload for the 122mm ones as well as their tall profile unless it is a SU-100.

=== Pros and cons ===


'''Pros:'''

* Excellent cannon has a range of ammo for any type of enemy: great stock AP for common targets (eg. [[T-34-85]], [[M4 Sherman (Family)|M4 Sherman]] or even the [[M4A3E2]]), piercing APCR for early cold war tanks (e.g. [[M26 (Family)|M26]], [[T-44]], early [[Centurion (Family)|Centurions]]) and HE for light vehicles. Great accuracy and velocity allows easy long-range sniping. Plenty of ammo capacity allows flexible ammo setups. It even has a fast reload.
* Heavily armoured frontal hull is immune to most guns at 5.7 like the 85 mm D-5T and 76 mm M1
* Almost 300% faster turret rotation than the previous D model. Is more responsive to flankers
* Fast top speed, good hull traverse. Can get to positions in time. unlike other tanks it has neutral steering.
* Engine has 50 more horsepower compared to the D variant, acceleration is noticeably faster and is on par, if not slightly faster, than T-34s
* Adequate gun depression of -8° adapts most terrains well
* Reasonably cheap repair cost
* Has a wide range of good-looking camouflage to unlock. Suitable for almost every terrain
* 2 machine guns to get rid of airplanes or light tanks.

'''Cons:'''

* Gun mantlet is only 100 mm thick, well-known weak spot to shoot at. The ball mg port that is 80 mm can also be penetrated albeit less frequently.
* Terrible reverse speed of only -4 km/h, can get the player killed
* Weak side armour gets penetrated easily by Soviet APHEBC. Cannot angle too much
* Lower glacis often catches fire or breaks transmission when penetrated, leaving the tank immobile and vulnerable. The transmission does protect the crew at the cost of a lengthy repair.
* High profile for a medium tank makes it harder to hide
* Roof armour of 16 mm is vulnerable to [[M2 Browning (12.7 mm)|M2 Brownings]] which are widely seen on American planes. Any autocannon can cause strafing damage.
* Although heavily armoured, it can still get frontally penetrated easily by a rather common heavy tank: [[IS-2 (Family)|IS-2]]
* Gun mantlet traps shots (shells may deflect into the hull roof weak armour). This is incredibly rare.

== History ==

===Development===
The '''Panther''' development started as far back as 1938 as a replacement to the [[Pz.III F|Panzer IIIs]] and [[Pz.IV E|Panzer IVs]]. The program was called VK 20 and it called for a 20 ton tracked vehicle design by Krupp, Daimler-Benz, and MAN. Krupp dropped out when the requirements changed to 30 tones in 1941 when the German encounters the Soviet [[T-34 (1941)|T-34]] and [[KV-1 (L-11)|KV-1]] tanks where the Panzer III and Panzer IV's performance have little effect due to its superior armour, mobility, and armament. The VK 20 was abandoned for the VK 30.02 in April 1942. Daimler-Benz design for this project looks similar to the T-34 with the turret far forward in the hull, plus the use of a diesel engine and external leaf spring suspension. MAN's design had a twin torsion bar, the interleaved suspension system (like the [[Tiger H1|Tiger I]]) with the turret situated in the middle of the hull, plus had a petrol Maybach engine. Hitler was reported to believe that the DB design was superior to the MAN design, and in a review between January to March 1942, Fritz Todt and Albert Speer also recommended the DB design. Then MAN revised their design, and a special commission by Hitler decided on the MAN design in May 1942, to which Hitler approved after reviewing it. One of the reasons the MAN was approved was that its turret was already in production while the DB used a completely new design. However, despite being built for a 30-ton design, Hitler decided to increase the armour on the MAN design and the weight went from 30 tons to 45 tons.

The MAN design was made into a prototype in September 1942, when it was officially accepted after testing and named the '''Panzerkampfwagen V Panther'''. Where it remained so until 1944, where Hitler removed the '''V''' in the designation for the name '''Panther'''. Production started in December 1942, though the early models suffered from reliability issues. The production plants expanded from MAN to Daimler-Benz, MNH, and Henschel for increased output. Despite that, production was often delayed due to Allied air bombing, which targeted the Maybach engine plant and DB, MAN, and MNH tank factories. Nevertheless, the total number of Panther tanks produced was 6,706, making the Panther the third most produced armoured fighting vehicle in Germany behind the Panzer IV and the StuG III.

===Design===
The MAN design for the Panther featured a heavily sloped armour design, with the front glacis plate being 80 mm thick (from the original 60 mm before the weight increase) and when sloped at 55 degrees, it was 140 mm effective in thickness. This made the Panther one of the best-armoured vehicle in World War II. The side armour of the Panther was way thinner at 40 mm that could be pierced very easily. Additional side armour in the form of Schürzen could be placed on the sides hanging to cover the suspension and hull side from being penetrated by Soviet anti-tank rifle fire. The Panther used the same engine as the Tiger I, the Mayback HL 210 P30 engine, and had a similar suspension system, the Schachtellaufwerk interleaved wheel system, which complicated maintenance issues. The tank used the formidable 7.5 cm Kwk 42 cannon, which could destroy most of the allied tanks in service, only possess a mediocre HE shell.

The '''Ausf. A''' variant was the second variant designed for the Panther, The old drum-shaped cupola on the [[Panther D|Ausf. D]] had been replaced by a side-swinging hatch that didn't require the commander to expose himself to open or close the hatch. The Ausf. A introduced the standard ball mount for the assistant driver's machine gun, replacing the "letterbox" flap design on the Ausf. D. The Ausf. A also had the initial turret curved gun mantlet that was introduced to the Panther, though there were faults with the design as explained below. Other small improvements of the Ausf. A over the Ausf. D was improved reliability by ironing out several mechanical issues. 2,192 Panther Ausf. A was produced from August 1943 to June 1944.

The Panther's rushed development and commitment into battle caused the design to have many flaws inhibiting its full potential. The most prominent flaw that lasted throughout the war was the weak final drive due to using a double spur system that made it more prone to failure from the Panther's torque requirements, which is averaged at around 150 km before failing. The curved gun mantlet design had an unfortunate tendency to ricochet deflected rounds into the roof, it was, however, not fixed until a new gun mantlet design with a flat "chin" shape was introduced on the [[Panther G|Panther G]]. The Schachtellaufwerk suspension system, like the [[Tiger H1|Tiger]], suffered from over-engineering and complicating maintenance of the tank. Smaller problems in the tank included not having a dedicated periscope for the gunner, maintenance-heavy, fuel-hungry, and deteriorating armour quality as metal alloys in Germany began to run out.

Despite its heavier weight and slightly complex design, the cost of each Panther tank was not very high in relative to tanks with a price at 117,100 Reichmarks, compared to the 103,462 RM of Panzer IVs and 250,800 RM of the Tiger I. This made the tank rather economic for its fighting purposes despite being over-engineered.

===Combat usage===
The Panther was first issued to the Eastern Front, arming the 51st and 52nd Tank Battalions. Their usage presented mechanical problems of the Panther, forcing many of the early Panthers to be returned for rebuilding. Despite these issues, the Panther was deemed critical in the Battle of Kursk in Operation Citadel, Hitler delayed the operation so more Panthers can reach the front. 200 Panthers were ready in June 1943, but its combat debut was disappointing. The Panthers, which arrived last minute before the operation started, meant that the crew serving the tanks had little time to train with the new tanks. Two tanks were lost to motor fires right after disembarking from the trains at the front lines. 184 were operational at the start of the operation on July 5, this dropped to 40 within two days. According to Heinz Guderian, five days into the offensive, only 10 operation Panthers were available with 25 completely lost, 100 in need of repairs, and 60 per cent of those mechanical breakdowns were easily repaired. Those that did work during the campaign were able to cause heavy casualties on the Soviet tank forces, but the Panther's lethality was mitigated by its low number available. When the operation turned and the Soviet counteroffensive pushed the Germans away from Kursk, the Panther loss rose to 156 on August 11, with many more lost as the Soviet kept gaining ground. Perhaps the Panther's biggest role in Operation Citadel was delaying the start of the operation by two months to allow the Soviet defences to be bolstered beyond the German's expectations, causing the failure of the offensive.

After the failure at Kursk, improvements on the Panther helped its reliability rate. By March 1944, Guderian reported that most of the Panther's flaws were ironed out, but the final drive and other mechanical issues were still a major issue to front-line units. The Panthers served the rest of the war as quick-reaction forces to fight off Allied offensives on both fronts. On the Eastern Front, some 700 Panthers were committed to the battle at all times, though the number of operational vehicles varies depending on the situation. The Panthers were also sent to suppress the Warsaw Uprising in August 1944. Two were captured by the Polish forces, who used them against the German forces. The captured Panthers were used until they became immobilized and were destroyed to prevent recapture by the Germans.

On the Western Front, the Panthers began being present in large numbers after the Invasion of Normandy. 156 Panthers were initially present between two Panzer regiments, but this increased by seven regiments after the Allied invasion, boosting the strength to 432 tanks. The high number of Panther situated in France, mostly around Caen, and their performance against the Allied armour caused many Allied tankers to fear it as much as the Tiger tanks. However, the Panther's reliability problem was still evident as many Panthers were left abandoned by the crew when they broke down. The mechanical breakdown, partly from the flaws in the machine, can also be attributed to the poor crew training given, which showed by crew overburdening the transmission or lacking regular maintenance on the tank. The Allied assessment of the Panther was that its mobility on soft grounds was superior due to its wider tracks giving more flotation over the ground, and armour and firepower value was superior to anything they had, though it was inferior in the bocage terrain of France due to the constrained nature of the environment. The Panther participated in the famed Battle of Arracourt, where a total of 262 German tanks were committed to battle. The battle, against the mostly [[M4|M4 Sherman]], equipped 4th Armored Division, routed the Germans after they suffered heavy casualties, while the Allies only losing 32 armoured fighting vehicles, a testament on how crew training and tactical advantage have a big impact on tank warfare. The highest concentration of Panthers on the Western Front was 471 Panthers (336 operational) in the Ardennes Offensive (Battle of the Bulge), where it showed its prowess in open terrain due to its superior gun. The Panthers also took place in Operation Grief, being disguised as [[M10 GMC|M10 tank destroyers]] to trick American soldiers. All of these mocked up Panthers were destroyed in battle or scrapped after it. After the Ardennes Offensive, eight Panzer division with 271 Panthers were transferred to the Eastern Front to beat back the Soviet offensive. Only five Panther battalions, 96 Panthers for each battalion, remained on the Western Front to fight the Allies.

After the war, Panther still saw a use for some time in various countries. Bulgaria and Romania received Panthers from the Soviets as aid, which they used until the 1950s. France was the most notable user of the Panther tanks after World War II due to the large quantities of operable vehicles left behind by the Germans during the Normandy invasion. The French raised a regiment of 50 Panthers from 1944 to 1947, when they were replaced by the new ARL 44 tanks. The Panther also influenced the French AMX 50 tank design, and its gun was derived onto the AMX 13 light tank. In 1947, an evaluation was written by the French War Ministry on the Panthers which even made their own assessment of the Panther that pointed out most of the flaws of the Panthers, especially the mechanical failure and the deficiency of the armour later in the war due to alloy shortages.

{{break}}
{{Navigation-Start|{{Annotation|Archive of the in-game description|An archive of the historical description of the vehicle that was presented in-game prior to Update 1.55 'Royal Armour'}}}}
{{Navigation-First-Simple-Line}}
In the fall of 1943, production of the Ausf.A variant of the Pz.Kpfw. V tank began. The Verstandigungsoeffnung hatch, which allowed for communication with infantry and for pistol fire from inside, was removed from the new turret. Vehicles of this variant were given the simpler monocular TZF-12А sight, as well as the commander's cupola used by the Tiger I tank. The hull's front plate was equipped with a traditional ball-mount directional machine gun instead of the inefficient letterbox flap gun used earlier. To strengthen the chassis, the road wheels received an increased number of bolts. The engine and transmission cooling systems were improved. A viewport was installed on the roof of the turret, along with a close-combat device (antipersonnel fragmentation grenade launchers). Tanks released at a later date had a modified exhaust system. Some Panther Ausf. A tanks were equipped with experimental infrared night vision devices. All of the tanks of this variant had their vertical surfaces coated with Zimmerit anti-magnetic paste.

From August 1943 to May 1944, about 2,000 of these tanks were released.

Beginning in 1943, the Red Army captured a small number of Panther tanks (of several variants). These tanks were then used by several of the USSR's armoured divisions, including, for example, Lieutenant Sotnikov's division. This tank was known as a dangerous enemy to Soviet tank forces, and captured vehicles were considered a thing of great luck. They were given to the most experienced and effective crews as recognition of their incredible merit. To keep the German tanks in good condition, Soviet tank divisions used captured German mechanics. In 1944, a technical manual for the Panther was published in Russian, for distribution to the crews.
{{Navigation-End}}

== Media ==


;Skins

* [https://live.warthunder.com/feed/camouflages/?vehicle=germ_pzkpfw_V_ausf_a_panther Skins and camouflages for the {{PAGENAME}} from live.warthunder.com.]

;Sights

* [https://live.warthunder.com/post/675135/en/ RideR2's Realistic gunsight (TZF4a, TZF 5a/b/d/e/f/f2, TZF 9b/b1/c/d, TZF 12/a) for Pzkpfw II, Pzkpfw III, Pzkpfw IV, Pzkpfw V, Pzkpfw VI]

;Videos
{{Youtube-gallery|y1S7jHyFxdA|'''The Shooting Range #34''' - ''Pages of History'' section at 02:36 discusses the Panther I.|Bf1YWYfD_qk|'''The Shooting Range #135''' - ''Metal Beasts'' section at 01:12 discusses the {{PAGENAME}}.|oa26g25qqP4|'''Best medium tanks''' discusses the {{PAGENAME}} at 0:34 - ''War Thunder Official Channel''|9rUocSj2dHc|'''Tank Chats #16 Panther''' - ''The Tank Museum''}}

== See also ==
''Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:''

* ''reference to the series of the vehicles;''
* ''links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.''

== External links ==
''Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:''

* ''topic on the official game forum;''
* ''other literature.''

{{TankManufacturer MAN AG}}
{{Germany medium tanks}}

Zerstörer 45

2024-04-23T11:53:07Z

U151393429:

{{Specs-Card
|code=germ_flakpanzer_zerstorer_45
|images={{Specs-Card-Image|GarageImage_{{PAGENAME}}.jpg}}
}}

== Description ==

The '''{{Specs|name}}''' is a rank {{Specs|rank}} German SPAA {{Battle-rating}}. It was introduced in [[Update "Alpha Strike"]].

== General info ==
=== Survivability and armour ===
{{Specs-Tank-Armour}}

''Describe armour protection. Note the most well protected and key weak areas. Appreciate the layout of modules as well as the number and location of crew members. Is the level of armour protection sufficient, is the placement of modules helpful for survival in combat? If necessary use a visual template to indicate the most secure and weak zones of the armour.''

'''Armour type:''' 


{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Armour !! Front (Slope angle) !! Sides !! Rear !! Roof
|-
| Hull || 50 mm || 30 mm || 20 mm || 10 mm
|-
| Turret || 16 mm || 16 mm
!
!
|-
|}

'''Notes:''' 


=== Mobility ===
{{Specs-Tank-Mobility}}

''Write about the mobility of the ground vehicle. Estimate the specific power and manoeuvrability, as well as the maximum speed forwards and backwards.''

{{tankMobility}}

=== Modifications and economy ===
{{Specs-Economy}}

== Armaments ==
{{Specs-Tank-Armaments}}
=== Main armament ===
{{Specs-Tank-Weapon|1}}

{{main|MK103/38 (30 mm)}}

''Give the reader information about the characteristics of the main gun. Assess its effectiveness in a battle based on the reloading speed, ballistics and the power of shells. Do not forget about the flexibility of the fire, that is how quickly the cannon can be aimed at the target, open fire on it and aim at another enemy. Add a link to the main article on the gun: <code><nowiki>{{main|Name of the weapon}}</nowiki></code>. Describe in general terms the ammunition available for the main gun. Give advice on how to use them and how to fill the ammunition storage.''

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
|-
! colspan="6" | [[MK103/38 (30 mm)|30 mm MK103/38]] (x4) || colspan="5" | Turret rotation speed (°/s) || colspan="4" | Reloading rate (seconds)
|-
! Mode !! Capacity (Belt) !! Fire rate !! Vertical !! Horizontal !! Stabilizer
! Stock !! Upgraded !! Full !! Expert !! Aced
! Stock !! Full !! Expert !! Aced
|-
! ''Arcade''
| rowspan="2" | 840 (30) || rowspan="2" | 450 || rowspan="2" | -7°/+80° || rowspan="2" | ±180° || rowspan="2" | No || __._ || __._ || __._ || __._ || __._ || rowspan="2" | _.__ || rowspan="2" | _.__ || rowspan="2" | _.__ || rowspan="2" | _.__
|-
! ''Realistic''
| __._ || __._ || __._ || __._ || __._
|-
|}

==== Ammunition ====

* '''Default:''' {{Annotation|AP-I|Armour-piercing incendiary}}{{-}}{{Annotation|HEI-T|High-explosive incendiary tracer (minengeschoß)}}
* '''M.Gr.:''' {{Annotation|HEI-T|High-explosive incendiary tracer (minengeschoß)}}{{-}}{{Annotation|HEI-T|High-explosive incendiary tracer (minengeschoß)}}{{-}}{{Annotation|HEI-T|High-explosive incendiary tracer (minengeschoß)}}{{-}}{{Annotation|AP-I|Armour-piercing incendiary}}
* '''Pz.Gr.:''' {{Annotation|AP-I|Armour-piercing incendiary}}{{-}}{{Annotation|AP-I|Armour-piercing incendiary}}{{-}}{{Annotation|AP-I|Armour-piercing incendiary}}{{-}}{{Annotation|HEI-T|High-explosive incendiary tracer (minengeschoß)}}
* '''Pz.Gr. H:''' {{Annotation|HVAP-T|High-velocity armour-piercing tracer}}{{-}}{{Annotation|HVAP-T|High-velocity armour-piercing tracer}}{{-}}{{Annotation|HVAP-T|High-velocity armour-piercing tracer}}

{{:MK103/38 (30 mm)/Ammunition|HEI-T, AP-I, HVAP-T}}

==== [[Ammo racks]] ====


{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! Full ammo
! 1st rack empty
! 2nd rack empty
! 3rd rack empty
! 4th rack empty
! 5th rack empty
! 6th rack empty
! Visual discrepancy
|-
| '''28''' || __ ''(+__)'' || __ ''(+__)'' || __ ''(+__)'' || __ ''(+__)'' || __ ''(+__)'' || __ ''(+__)'' || __
|-
|}

== Usage in battles ==

''Describe the tactics of playing in the vehicle, the features of using vehicles in the team and advice on tactics. Refrain from creating a "guide" - do not impose a single point of view but instead give the reader food for thought. Describe the most dangerous enemies and give recommendations on fighting them. If necessary, note the specifics of the game in different modes (AB, RB, SB).''

=== Pros and cons ===

''Summarise and briefly evaluate the vehicle in terms of its characteristics and combat effectiveness. Mark its pros and cons in a bulleted list. Try not to use more than 6 points for each of the characteristics. Avoid using categorical definitions such as "bad", "good" and the like - use substitutions with softer forms such as "inadequate" and "effective".''

'''Pros:'''

* Effective penetration with Pzgr. H
* Optional fold-up sides to add some protection for crew
* Pz.Gr.H belts are very capable of penetrating light vehicles from the front and sides and is also capable of penetrating some medium vehicles from the sides and back

*

'''Cons:'''

* Virtually no armour/exposed crew: sides down makes crew susceptible to any calibre of MG, with sides up can be penetrated with 12.7mm and higher

* Panzer IV chassis: limited mobility and protection
* Slow reverse speed: harder to get out of dangerous situations or reverse into cover
* Very evil ammo depletion: don't be fooled by the amount of shells in your rack. It minuses by four every time you reload.

*

== History ==

''Describe the history of the creation and combat usage of the vehicle in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too long, take it to a separate article, taking a link to the article about the vehicle and adding a block "/History" (example: <nowiki>https://wiki.warthunder.com/(Vehicle-name)/History</nowiki>) and add a link to it here using the <code>main</code> template. Be sure to reference text and sources by using <code><nowiki><ref></ref></nowiki></code>, as well as adding them at the end of the article with <code><nowiki><references /></nowiki></code>. This section may also include the vehicle's dev blog entry (if applicable) and the in-game encyclopedia description (under <code><nowiki>=== In-game description ===</nowiki></code>, also if applicable).''

=== [[wt:en/news/8779-development-zerstorer-45-a-new-wind-en|Devblog]] ===
In parallel to the development of the Flakpanzer IV ‘Wirbelwind’, equipped with a quadruple 20 mm turret, the Ostbau Werke company also produced a second variant in November 1944. This version was then outfitted with the same quadruple mount but armed with modified 30 mm MK 103 cannons instead. Initially, firing tests of the turret were conducted on a Flakpanzer IV ‘Möbelwagen’ chassis. In December however, two dedicated prototypes were constructed using the chassis of the existing Panzer IV Ausf. H medium tanks.

Despite the work done however, the Zerstörer 45 never made it past the prototype stage as the factories of the Ostbau Werke got destroyed in the final months of the war and thus a full-scale production became impossible.

== Media ==

''Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.''

== See also ==

''Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:''

* Prototype in the German SPAAG series of vehicles (FlakPanzer)
* ''links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.''

== External links ==


* [[wt:en/news/8779-development-zerstorer-45-a-new-wind-en|[Devblog] Zerstörer 45: A New Wind]]

{{Germany anti-aircraft vehicles}}

Panther A

2024-04-23T11:50:09Z

U151393429: /* Notable Enemies */

{{About
|about = German medium tank '''{{PAGENAME}}'''
|other
|usage-1 = other versions
|link-1 = Panther tank (Family)
|usage-2 = other uses
|link-2 = Panther (Disambiguation)
}}
{{Specs-Card
|code=germ_pzkpfw_V_ausf_a_panther
|images={{Specs-Card-Image|GarageImage_{{PAGENAME}}.jpg|ArtImage_{{PAGENAME}}.png}}
}}

== Description ==

The '''Panzerkampfwagen V Ausführung A (Panther A)''' ([[Abbreviations#.28DE.29 Sd.Kfz. Index|Sd.Kfz. Index:]] '''Sd.Kfz. 171''') is the second production variant of the iconic [[Panther tank (Family)|Panzerkampfwagen V Panther medium tank family]]. Many [[Panther D]] characteristics, such as the small rectangular 'letterbox' hull machine gun opening, remained on the early production Panther A manufactured between July and December 1943. The Panther A turret has received significant modifications. For starters, the gun mantlet on the Panther A turret was larger than the one on the previous Panther D. The design of the cast turret side directly behind the gun mantlet was modified to a dish-shaped protrusion to fit the new gun mantlet. In addition, a new dome-shaped cast-armour commander's cupola was designed, and a ring was mounted on the commander's cupola to allow for the mounting of an anti-aircraft light machine gun. A single-speed turret power traverse system was also introduced, allowing Panther A to react to adversary tanks considerably faster than before. Finally, the German Army put a unique coating called Zimmerit on the tank's outside surface, anticipating that the Soviets and Allies would deploy magnetic mines to destroy the tank. The Zimmerit aims to minimize the effectiveness of magnets adhering to the metal hull.

Introduced in the Closed Beta Test for Ground Forces before Update 1.41, the Panther A was part of the next generation of medium tanks that officially superseded the [[Pz.IV (Family)|Panzer IVs]] in World War II. The Panther A is widely regarded as one of the best medium tanks of World War II, combining mobility, protection, and firepower. After the Soviet [[T-34 (Family)|T-34]], it was one of the most influential tank designs and served as the foundation for many later medium tank designs in other countries. The turret traverse speed is much faster than the previous Panther D model, lowering reaction time to unexpected spotting of enemies at close quarters significantly. Players can also use the commander's cupola-mounted MG34 light machine gun as a deterrence to hostile low-flying aircraft.

== General info ==
=== Survivability and armour ===
{{Specs-Tank-Armour}}


The Panther A has excellent frontal armour, which can protect the crew from many of the kinetic shells found in this battle rating range (with the exception of chemical shells and large calibre kinetic shells). Panther A's survivability is excellent when played to its strengths in long-range engagement; avoid brawling with enemy tanks unless absolutely necessary. Although the turret cheek of all Panther medium tanks is a well-known weak spot, engaging the enemy from a mid- to long-distance can greatly mitigate this weakness because the enemy will struggle to effectively penetrate the weak spot as engagement distance increases. Furthermore, due to the unique curvature of the turret armour layout, the turret cheek can bounce many kinetic shells from the enemy as distance increases. Keep in mind that powerful kinetic shells like that of the 122 mm D-25 cannon and APDS shells from British and Swedish tanks will easily penetrate the frontal armour, necessitating greater caution when engaging such foes.

The Panther A armour is not very different from the Panther D, retaining the curved gun mantlet that could potentially bounce a kinetic round down into the vulnerable hull roof. While this phenomenon is relatively rare, the risk is present and should be considered when fighting any enemy even if they don't have a gun that can reliably penetrate the Panther's turret front armour.

'''Armour type:'''

* Rolled homogeneous armour
* Cast homogeneous armour (Gun mantlet, Cupola)

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Armour !! Front (Slope angle) !! Sides (Slope angle) !! Rear (Slope angle) !! Roof
|-
| Hull || 80 mm (55°) ''Front glacis'' 60 mm (56°) ''Lower glacis'' || 40 mm (40°) ''Top'' 40 + 5 mm ''Lower'' || 40 mm (29°) || 16 mm
|-
| Turret || 100 mm ''Turret front'' 65 -100 mm ''Gun mantlet''|| 45 mm || 45 mm || 16 mm
|-
| Cupola || 80 mm || 80 mm || 80 mm || 16 mm
|-
|}
'''Notes:'''

* Tracks and lower side of the hull are covered by 5 mm thick armour plate, protecting them from HEAT and HE shells.
* Rear parts of the upper side hull armour have tracks attached to it, adding additional 20 mm of armour.

=== Mobility ===
{{Specs-Tank-Mobility}}


{{tankMobility|abMinHp=930|rbMinHp=531|AoAweight=0.45}}

The mobility of the Panther A is greatly improved over that of the previous Panther D, and it can be considered one of the best medium tanks in Germany's mid-BR range during WWII. The Panther A combines great mobility with excellent firepower thanks to its high top speed and neutral steering. However, mobility is still lacking when compared to its contemporary era tanks, particularly the Soviet T-34-85. Most Panther enemies, such as Sherman and T-34-85, will have no trouble firing the first shot when they come face-to-face with Panthers unexpectedly. Maps with lots of cover should be played with caution as US M18 light tanks frequently appear in unexpected areas of the map at the start of a match. Overall, the Panther A should be played as a fast medium tank, taking advantage of its excellent frontal armour while not overly relying on it to take hits, and engaging the enemy from a distance with its excellent cannon.

=== Modifications and economy ===
{{Specs-Economy}}

== Armaments ==
{{Specs-Tank-Armaments}}
=== Main armament ===
{{Specs-Tank-Weapon|1}}

{{main|KwK42 (75 mm)}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[KwK42 (75 mm)|75 mm KwK42]] || colspan="5" | Turret rotation speed (°/s) || colspan="4" | Reloading rate (seconds)
|-
! Mode !! Capacity !! Vertical !! Horizontal !! Stabilizer
! Stock !! Upgraded !! Full !! Expert !! Aced
! Stock !! Full !! Expert !! Aced
|-
! ''Arcade''
| rowspan="2" | 79 || rowspan="2" | -8°/+20° || rowspan="2" | ±180° || rowspan="2" | N/A || 19.0 || 26.4 || 32.0 || 35.4 || 37.6 || rowspan="2" | 9.62 || rowspan="2" | 8.51 || rowspan="2" | 7.84 || rowspan="2" | 7.40
|-
! ''Realistic''
| 11.9 || 14.0 || 17.0 || 18.8 || 20.0
|-
|}

==== Ammunition ====
{{:KwK42 (75 mm)/Ammunition|PzGr 39/42, PzGr 40/42, Sprgr. 42}}

==== [[Ammo racks]] ====
[[File:Ammoracks_{{PAGENAME}}.png|right|thumb|x250px|[[Ammo racks]] of the {{PAGENAME}}]]

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! Full ammo
! 1st rack empty
! 2nd rack empty
! 3rd rack empty
! 4th rack empty
! 5th rack empty
|-
| '''79''' || 77 ''(+2)'' || 71 ''(+8)'' || 62 ''(+17)'' || 53 ''(+26)'' || 44 ''(+35)''
|-
! 6th rack empty
! 7th rack empty
! 8th rack empty
! 9th rack empty
! 10th rack empty
! Visual discrepancy
|-
| 35 ''(+44)'' || 31 ''(+48)'' || 16 ''(+63)'' || 4 ''(+75)'' || 1 ''(+78)'' || Yes
|-
|}
'''Note''':

* Turret and large sides empty: 31 ''(+48)'' shells.

=== Machine guns ===
{{Specs-Tank-Weapon|2}}
{{Specs-Tank-Weapon|3}}

{{main|MG34 (7.92 mm)}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="50%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[MG34 (7.92 mm)|7.92 mm MG34]]
|-
! Mount !! Capacity (Belt) !! Fire rate !! Vertical !! Horizontal
|-
| Coaxial || 2,700 (150) || 900 || N/A || N/A
|-
| Pintle || 2,000 (150) || 900 || -10°/+25° || -60°/+160°
|-
|}

== Usage in battles ==

'''Playing as Panther A:'''

As with all other Panther-series medium tanks, it is best played in a supporting role or as a front-line offensive tank due to its agility. The cannon mounted is more than forgiving and powerful enough to destroy any potential target, so use it to an advantage; long-range shooting is effective as the muzzle velocity is extremely high, owing to the long-barreled 75 mm, the penetration values are more than capable of punching through any opposing armour, and the shell weight will, if the shell penetrates, consistently deal decent amounts of crew and module damage, if not immediately make the target on combat ineffective.

Sniping may be a fun and tempting strategy but you can get outmatched at those longer ranges where your fast reload and turret traverse no longer matter. A good strategy is to push objectives with the panther A considering it has the improved turret traverse and thus is able to fight in both the city and open ground. Do not attempt to use the panther like a tiger, and that is being a meatshield breakthrough tank. Instead, Spearhead assaults on objectives and flank the enemy. Your gun will be able to take care of most targets medium to close range and your armour should do its job. Make sure you check every corner and shoot and scoot. If you move methodically behind cover or on flanking routes you should be able to destroy many tanks. You can brawl quite well if you watch your flanks and flank others.

Another viable strategy is ambushes. The good camouflage for the tank can hide you if you hide behind a bush. Hide near a choke point and hope an enemy tank comes by.

Because Panthers have relatively weak side armour that even 20 mm autocannons can penetrate it, most enemies would make it their goal to flank around and penetrate the Panther's side armour (it does not help that the Panther's target profile is much larger from the side compared to the front as well). The Panther A's significantly improve turret traverse speed makes it better able to counter this trick than the Panther D, but it can still struggle against enemies that are moving at high speed like Shermans and T-34-85 at close ranges.

As the Panther's suspension rocks violently during the start and stop of the tank movement, it is recommended to not drive too fast when enemies are expected to be close by in order to reduce the gun sway and gun sight stabilization.

'''Playing against Panther A:'''

Like when fighting the previous Panther D variant head-on, fight the Panther A by firing into the right turret cheek. This is one of its weak points and can also knock out the gunner to provide some breathing room for a follow-up shot. Keep in mind that as the range increases, the shell may bounce. At short ranges, high-velocity guns like the 17-pounder can penetrate the lower glacis, and any large calibre (100 mm and up) can penetrate the upper glacis. Any British tank equipped with APDS can easily penetrate the upper glacis.

'''Light tank''': Light tanks can use their high speed to flank the Panther A tank, often more successfully than medium tanks due to their smaller profile and swift mobility. Most light tanks also carry sufficiently powerful cannons to penetrate the Panther A side armour from even a fair distance away as the Panther A's side armour is only 50 mm thick. Ensure that the Panther's firepower or mobility is taken out with the first shot, or else the Panther A would be able to quickly respond to a flanking threat by either their turret traverse or hull neutral steering turn to point directly at the light tank's position, protecting themselves while allowing them to handle the light tank threat.

'''Medium tank''': The Panther series medium tanks' greatest strengths are long-range engagements with its high-velocity 75 mm cannon and thick frontal armour. Their mobility also allow the Panther tank to reach most places an up-tiered medium tank may not reach in time. Try to minimize this disadvantage by closing the combat distance to minimize the firepower and armour disparity. Take care to make use of all map terrain and cover in order to avoid getting into the Panther's gun sights. Closing the distance also enable better targeting of weak points like the turret cheeks that is only 100 mm thick to quickly incapacitate the Panther A's turret crew, allowing for an opportunity to advance as the gunner is being replaced by another crew member. Tanks like the M4 Shermans can take advantage of their gun stabilizers to quickly move up and briefly pause and take a well-aimed shot at the Panther weak point as they get closer to take out the Panther A without needing to flank all the way around. Tanks like the T-34-85 can often instantly take out the Panther A with one well-placed APCBC round into the side and letting the post-penetration damage devastate the interior, often taking out all the crew members or igniting the ammunition.

'''Heavy tank/tank destroyer''': While heavy tanks are more well-armoured, caution is still needed as the Panther's high-velocity cannon can easily penetrate tanks like the IS-2 from a distance. Continue to approach the Panther A as one would with a medium tank, making the most of existing cover and terrain to avoid staying in the Panther's gun sights for very long. That said, heavy tanks and tank destroyers often have cannon armament more than able to penetrate the Panther's front armour without relying on weak points. With this attribute, heavy tanks and tank destroyers should take on the "Panther-destroyer" role by having allies attempt to expose the Panther tank in the open and keep it in placed for the heavy tank/tank destroyer to aim at the Panther tank and penetrate their armour with ease.

=== Notable Enemies ===

* '''M18 Hellcat or any hellcat variation:''' These guys are super annoying and will flank shot you by sneaking into a bush. Honestly a waste of ammo to shoot. Just watch your flanks because if you shoot it, it will crumple like a tin can and the crew will simply cease to exist.
* '''M4 Sherman 76 variants:''' These guys are dangerous for a different reason. Never underestimate how petty a M4 is. They will shoot your gun and then take your tracks with their 50 cals. Then they will flank shot you as you flail around helplessly. Best way to brawl them is to wiggle your turret while reloading causing them to miss.
* '''Jumbo sherman variants:''' These are a bit different because they will play like m4 and remove your gun and tracks and flank you, but they have super tough armor combined with god-awful mobility. Shoot the hull mg port and wiggle your turret while reloading. It might seem like a small target but it is impossible to miss in a close range slugfest. Do not even think about shooting the turret anywhere because it is extremely heavily armoured. Any side shot is possible but in a face to face brawl a clean shot to the hull mg port will cause the jumbo's entire crew to flatline.
* '''M-51 Super Sherman:''' Despite its name, the only thing super about it is its gun. The HEAT shell will penetrate you easily but struggles to spall and will likely take two shots to kill you. Despite this meaning you can easily kill them with just a single shot in retaliation still be weary. If you find it pointing its gun at you, take cover immediately.
* '''PT-76B:''' Like the super sherman, this tank is deadly for its HEAT shell. Thankfully it is not particularly fast and has paper thin armour. There isn't much of a strategy for these guys. All you have to do is shoot first and that will be easy considering it takes about 2 shots for them to finish you off because of the bad spalling from the HEAT shell. It is possible that you will need 2 shots as well because the hollow insides of the tank, but always go for the turret crew first unless they are facing hull towards you, then, shoot the front hull plate and watch the 75mm round take out all 3 crew members.
* '''IS-2:''' The best and most spectacular way to kill an IS-2 is to ammorack it. Frontally, shoot the drivers vision port unless it is a mod 1944 variant. Other weak spots include the (your right, their left) turret cheek to take out the gunner and commander and pray that the 17 grams of RDX finish the job. The last and most surprising weak spot is the lower front plate which is poorly angled. This might sound risky but will likely result in a 1 shot because of the shrapnel bouncing off the floor of the tank. The IS-2 has a gun capable of penetrating you anywhere frontally but the chances are about 50/50. However, it is devastating if it does penetrate you. Bait the IS-2 into shooting because you have a 3× faster reload. they you can toy around with them as they scream for help. Treat any soviet tank with an abnormally long gun(ISU-122S, SU-100Y, KV-2(ZiS 6))with caution. Fear not, for big soviet guns have slow reloads. (If you want to be extra cheeky when you have a side or rear shot of the IS-2 turret, do not aim for the crew, aim for the turret rear for a guaranteed beautiful ammorack.)
* '''M26 Pershing and variants:''' Not all that common of a threat but still notable for being hard to kill. Shoot the hull or turret mg ports and aim for the lower and upper glacis joining point all the way up to the middle of the upper glacis. The gun of the normal pershing is potentially dangerous but nothing to be worried about only worry about the guns of the Super Pershing or the M26E1.
* '''Super Pershing:''' Super rare but possible. Best idea is to get a side shot perhaps by ambushing. The frontal weak points are the exposed(your right their left)turret cheek to ammorack it or go for the hull mg port. You can also shoot the tubes above the turret to disable the vertical drive and then scramble up to high or low ground and flank shot it.
* '''T-44:''' Also a rare sight. Shoot the(your right their left)turret cheek for a clean instant kill.
* '''T-34-85:''' This tank is mostly a nuisance. Do not fear the gun of the T-34. The T-34's biggest strengths are mobility and turret traverse. Flanking is your only weakness.
* '''M41A1:''' Small tank with an impressive APDS shell, but the spalling effects of this round is laughable. They will try to ammorack you because of this and will take 2-3 shots to kill you. You can kill them easily but the luck and the skill of their ammoracking is uncanny.
* '''Strv 74:''' Again, poorly armoured HEAT shell user. Extremely high HEAT penetration but this time with a easy to spot tall profile.
* '''FV4005:''' Possible to meet but very rare if not impossible. Never get hit by this thing. It is literally the size of a refrigerator so there is little to no chance in missing this thing. You can ammorack by going for the sides of the turret. Watch out because it's 183mm shell will most likely atomise your tank.
* '''R3 T20 FA-HS:''' We have all grown to hate this thing and it can side shot you but it is very rare. Most used by players trying to be funny. Machine gun into oblivion on sight.
* '''2S3M:''' Getting more and more common these days. It has a super dangerous HE shell and will snipe you. Also very easy to kill. The rear hull houses a large ammorack.
* '''Any ISU or SU series tank destroyer 100mm gun and up:''' Shoot anywhere except gun mantlet. Be aware of the slow reload for the 122mm ones as well as their tall profile unless it is a SU-100.

=== Pros and cons ===


'''Pros:'''

* Excellent cannon has a range of ammo for any type of enemy: great stock AP for common targets (eg. [[T-34-85]], [[M4 Sherman (Family)|M4 Sherman]] or even the [[M4A3E2]]), piercing APCR for early cold war tanks (e.g. [[M26 (Family)|M26]], [[T-44]], early [[Centurion (Family)|Centurions]]) and HE for light vehicles. Great accuracy and velocity allows easy long-range sniping. Plenty of ammo capacity allows flexible ammo setups. It even has a fast reload.
* Heavily armoured frontal hull is immune to most guns at 5.7 like the 85 mm D-5T and 76 mm M1
* Almost 300% faster turret rotation than the previous D model. Is more responsive to flankers
* Fast top speed, good hull traverse. Can get to positions in time. unlike other tanks it has neutral steering.
* Engine has 50 more horsepower compared to the D variant, acceleration is noticeably faster and is on par, if not slightly faster, than T-34s
* Adequate gun depression of -8° adapts most terrains well
* Reasonably cheap repair cost
* Has a wide range of good-looking camouflage to unlock. Suitable for almost every terrain
* 2 machine guns to get rid of airplanes or light tanks.

'''Cons:'''

* Gun mantlet is only 100 mm thick, well-known weak spot to shoot at. The ball mg port that is 80 mm can also be penetrated albeit less frequently.
* Terrible reverse speed of only -4 km/h, can get the player killed
* Weak side armour gets penetrated easily by Soviet APHEBC. Cannot angle too much
* Lower glacis often catches fire or breaks transmission when penetrated, leaving the tank immobile and vulnerable. The transmission does protect the crew at the cost of a lengthy repair.
* High profile for a medium tank makes it harder to hide
* Roof armour of 16 mm is vulnerable to [[M2 Browning (12.7 mm)|M2 Brownings]] which are widely seen on American planes. Any autocannon can cause strafing damage.
* Although heavily armoured, it can still get frontally penetrated easily by a rather common heavy tank: [[IS-2 (Family)|IS-2]]
* Gun mantlet traps shots (shells may deflect into the hull roof weak armour). This is incredibly rare.

== History ==

===Development===
The '''Panther''' development started as far back as 1938 as a replacement to the [[Pz.III F|Panzer IIIs]] and [[Pz.IV E|Panzer IVs]]. The program was called VK 20 and it called for a 20 ton tracked vehicle design by Krupp, Daimler-Benz, and MAN. Krupp dropped out when the requirements changed to 30 tones in 1941 when the German encounters the Soviet [[T-34 (1941)|T-34]] and [[KV-1 (L-11)|KV-1]] tanks where the Panzer III and Panzer IV's performance have little effect due to its superior armour, mobility, and armament. The VK 20 was abandoned for the VK 30.02 in April 1942. Daimler-Benz design for this project looks similar to the T-34 with the turret far forward in the hull, plus the use of a diesel engine and external leaf spring suspension. MAN's design had a twin torsion bar, the interleaved suspension system (like the [[Tiger H1|Tiger I]]) with the turret situated in the middle of the hull, plus had a petrol Maybach engine. Hitler was reported to believe that the DB design was superior to the MAN design, and in a review between January to March 1942, Fritz Todt and Albert Speer also recommended the DB design. Then MAN revised their design, and a special commission by Hitler decided on the MAN design in May 1942, to which Hitler approved after reviewing it. One of the reasons the MAN was approved was that its turret was already in production while the DB used a completely new design. However, despite being built for a 30-ton design, Hitler decided to increase the armour on the MAN design and the weight went from 30 tons to 45 tons.

The MAN design was made into a prototype in September 1942, when it was officially accepted after testing and named the '''Panzerkampfwagen V Panther'''. Where it remained so until 1944, where Hitler removed the '''V''' in the designation for the name '''Panther'''. Production started in December 1942, though the early models suffered from reliability issues. The production plants expanded from MAN to Daimler-Benz, MNH, and Henschel for increased output. Despite that, production was often delayed due to Allied air bombing, which targeted the Maybach engine plant and DB, MAN, and MNH tank factories. Nevertheless, the total number of Panther tanks produced was 6,706, making the Panther the third most produced armoured fighting vehicle in Germany behind the Panzer IV and the StuG III.

===Design===
The MAN design for the Panther featured a heavily sloped armour design, with the front glacis plate being 80 mm thick (from the original 60 mm before the weight increase) and when sloped at 55 degrees, it was 140 mm effective in thickness. This made the Panther one of the best-armoured vehicle in World War II. The side armour of the Panther was way thinner at 40 mm that could be pierced very easily. Additional side armour in the form of Schürzen could be placed on the sides hanging to cover the suspension and hull side from being penetrated by Soviet anti-tank rifle fire. The Panther used the same engine as the Tiger I, the Mayback HL 210 P30 engine, and had a similar suspension system, the Schachtellaufwerk interleaved wheel system, which complicated maintenance issues. The tank used the formidable 7.5 cm Kwk 42 cannon, which could destroy most of the allied tanks in service, only possess a mediocre HE shell.

The '''Ausf. A''' variant was the second variant designed for the Panther, The old drum-shaped cupola on the [[Panther D|Ausf. D]] had been replaced by a side-swinging hatch that didn't require the commander to expose himself to open or close the hatch. The Ausf. A introduced the standard ball mount for the assistant driver's machine gun, replacing the "letterbox" flap design on the Ausf. D. The Ausf. A also had the initial turret curved gun mantlet that was introduced to the Panther, though there were faults with the design as explained below. Other small improvements of the Ausf. A over the Ausf. D was improved reliability by ironing out several mechanical issues. 2,192 Panther Ausf. A was produced from August 1943 to June 1944.

The Panther's rushed development and commitment into battle caused the design to have many flaws inhibiting its full potential. The most prominent flaw that lasted throughout the war was the weak final drive due to using a double spur system that made it more prone to failure from the Panther's torque requirements, which is averaged at around 150 km before failing. The curved gun mantlet design had an unfortunate tendency to ricochet deflected rounds into the roof, it was, however, not fixed until a new gun mantlet design with a flat "chin" shape was introduced on the [[Panther G|Panther G]]. The Schachtellaufwerk suspension system, like the [[Tiger H1|Tiger]], suffered from over-engineering and complicating maintenance of the tank. Smaller problems in the tank included not having a dedicated periscope for the gunner, maintenance-heavy, fuel-hungry, and deteriorating armour quality as metal alloys in Germany began to run out.

Despite its heavier weight and slightly complex design, the cost of each Panther tank was not very high in relative to tanks with a price at 117,100 Reichmarks, compared to the 103,462 RM of Panzer IVs and 250,800 RM of the Tiger I. This made the tank rather economic for its fighting purposes despite being over-engineered.

===Combat usage===
The Panther was first issued to the Eastern Front, arming the 51st and 52nd Tank Battalions. Their usage presented mechanical problems of the Panther, forcing many of the early Panthers to be returned for rebuilding. Despite these issues, the Panther was deemed critical in the Battle of Kursk in Operation Citadel, Hitler delayed the operation so more Panthers can reach the front. 200 Panthers were ready in June 1943, but its combat debut was disappointing. The Panthers, which arrived last minute before the operation started, meant that the crew serving the tanks had little time to train with the new tanks. Two tanks were lost to motor fires right after disembarking from the trains at the front lines. 184 were operational at the start of the operation on July 5, this dropped to 40 within two days. According to Heinz Guderian, five days into the offensive, only 10 operation Panthers were available with 25 completely lost, 100 in need of repairs, and 60 per cent of those mechanical breakdowns were easily repaired. Those that did work during the campaign were able to cause heavy casualties on the Soviet tank forces, but the Panther's lethality was mitigated by its low number available. When the operation turned and the Soviet counteroffensive pushed the Germans away from Kursk, the Panther loss rose to 156 on August 11, with many more lost as the Soviet kept gaining ground. Perhaps the Panther's biggest role in Operation Citadel was delaying the start of the operation by two months to allow the Soviet defences to be bolstered beyond the German's expectations, causing the failure of the offensive.

After the failure at Kursk, improvements on the Panther helped its reliability rate. By March 1944, Guderian reported that most of the Panther's flaws were ironed out, but the final drive and other mechanical issues were still a major issue to front-line units. The Panthers served the rest of the war as quick-reaction forces to fight off Allied offensives on both fronts. On the Eastern Front, some 700 Panthers were committed to the battle at all times, though the number of operational vehicles varies depending on the situation. The Panthers were also sent to suppress the Warsaw Uprising in August 1944. Two were captured by the Polish forces, who used them against the German forces. The captured Panthers were used until they became immobilized and were destroyed to prevent recapture by the Germans.

On the Western Front, the Panthers began being present in large numbers after the Invasion of Normandy. 156 Panthers were initially present between two Panzer regiments, but this increased by seven regiments after the Allied invasion, boosting the strength to 432 tanks. The high number of Panther situated in France, mostly around Caen, and their performance against the Allied armour caused many Allied tankers to fear it as much as the Tiger tanks. However, the Panther's reliability problem was still evident as many Panthers were left abandoned by the crew when they broke down. The mechanical breakdown, partly from the flaws in the machine, can also be attributed to the poor crew training given, which showed by crew overburdening the transmission or lacking regular maintenance on the tank. The Allied assessment of the Panther was that its mobility on soft grounds was superior due to its wider tracks giving more flotation over the ground, and armour and firepower value was superior to anything they had, though it was inferior in the bocage terrain of France due to the constrained nature of the environment. The Panther participated in the famed Battle of Arracourt, where a total of 262 German tanks were committed to battle. The battle, against the mostly [[M4|M4 Sherman]], equipped 4th Armored Division, routed the Germans after they suffered heavy casualties, while the Allies only losing 32 armoured fighting vehicles, a testament on how crew training and tactical advantage have a big impact on tank warfare. The highest concentration of Panthers on the Western Front was 471 Panthers (336 operational) in the Ardennes Offensive (Battle of the Bulge), where it showed its prowess in open terrain due to its superior gun. The Panthers also took place in Operation Grief, being disguised as [[M10 GMC|M10 tank destroyers]] to trick American soldiers. All of these mocked up Panthers were destroyed in battle or scrapped after it. After the Ardennes Offensive, eight Panzer division with 271 Panthers were transferred to the Eastern Front to beat back the Soviet offensive. Only five Panther battalions, 96 Panthers for each battalion, remained on the Western Front to fight the Allies.

After the war, Panther still saw a use for some time in various countries. Bulgaria and Romania received Panthers from the Soviets as aid, which they used until the 1950s. France was the most notable user of the Panther tanks after World War II due to the large quantities of operable vehicles left behind by the Germans during the Normandy invasion. The French raised a regiment of 50 Panthers from 1944 to 1947, when they were replaced by the new ARL 44 tanks. The Panther also influenced the French AMX 50 tank design, and its gun was derived onto the AMX 13 light tank. In 1947, an evaluation was written by the French War Ministry on the Panthers which even made their own assessment of the Panther that pointed out most of the flaws of the Panthers, especially the mechanical failure and the deficiency of the armour later in the war due to alloy shortages.

{{break}}
{{Navigation-Start|{{Annotation|Archive of the in-game description|An archive of the historical description of the vehicle that was presented in-game prior to Update 1.55 'Royal Armour'}}}}
{{Navigation-First-Simple-Line}}
In the fall of 1943, production of the Ausf.A variant of the Pz.Kpfw. V tank began. The Verstandigungsoeffnung hatch, which allowed for communication with infantry and for pistol fire from inside, was removed from the new turret. Vehicles of this variant were given the simpler monocular TZF-12А sight, as well as the commander's cupola used by the Tiger I tank. The hull's front plate was equipped with a traditional ball-mount directional machine gun instead of the inefficient letterbox flap gun used earlier. To strengthen the chassis, the road wheels received an increased number of bolts. The engine and transmission cooling systems were improved. A viewport was installed on the roof of the turret, along with a close-combat device (antipersonnel fragmentation grenade launchers). Tanks released at a later date had a modified exhaust system. Some Panther Ausf. A tanks were equipped with experimental infrared night vision devices. All of the tanks of this variant had their vertical surfaces coated with Zimmerit anti-magnetic paste.

From August 1943 to May 1944, about 2,000 of these tanks were released.

Beginning in 1943, the Red Army captured a small number of Panther tanks (of several variants). These tanks were then used by several of the USSR's armoured divisions, including, for example, Lieutenant Sotnikov's division. This tank was known as a dangerous enemy to Soviet tank forces, and captured vehicles were considered a thing of great luck. They were given to the most experienced and effective crews as recognition of their incredible merit. To keep the German tanks in good condition, Soviet tank divisions used captured German mechanics. In 1944, a technical manual for the Panther was published in Russian, for distribution to the crews.
{{Navigation-End}}

== Media ==


;Skins

* [https://live.warthunder.com/feed/camouflages/?vehicle=germ_pzkpfw_V_ausf_a_panther Skins and camouflages for the {{PAGENAME}} from live.warthunder.com.]

;Sights

* [https://live.warthunder.com/post/675135/en/ RideR2's Realistic gunsight (TZF4a, TZF 5a/b/d/e/f/f2, TZF 9b/b1/c/d, TZF 12/a) for Pzkpfw II, Pzkpfw III, Pzkpfw IV, Pzkpfw V, Pzkpfw VI]

;Videos
{{Youtube-gallery|y1S7jHyFxdA|'''The Shooting Range #34''' - ''Pages of History'' section at 02:36 discusses the Panther I.|Bf1YWYfD_qk|'''The Shooting Range #135''' - ''Metal Beasts'' section at 01:12 discusses the {{PAGENAME}}.|oa26g25qqP4|'''Best medium tanks''' discusses the {{PAGENAME}} at 0:34 - ''War Thunder Official Channel''|9rUocSj2dHc|'''Tank Chats #16 Panther''' - ''The Tank Museum''}}

== See also ==
''Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:''

* ''reference to the series of the vehicles;''
* ''links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.''

== External links ==
''Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:''

* ''topic on the official game forum;''
* ''other literature.''

{{TankManufacturer MAN AG}}
{{Germany medium tanks}}

Panther A

2024-04-23T11:49:13Z

U151393429: /* Notable Enemies */

{{About
|about = German medium tank '''{{PAGENAME}}'''
|other
|usage-1 = other versions
|link-1 = Panther tank (Family)
|usage-2 = other uses
|link-2 = Panther (Disambiguation)
}}
{{Specs-Card
|code=germ_pzkpfw_V_ausf_a_panther
|images={{Specs-Card-Image|GarageImage_{{PAGENAME}}.jpg|ArtImage_{{PAGENAME}}.png}}
}}

== Description ==

The '''Panzerkampfwagen V Ausführung A (Panther A)''' ([[Abbreviations#.28DE.29 Sd.Kfz. Index|Sd.Kfz. Index:]] '''Sd.Kfz. 171''') is the second production variant of the iconic [[Panther tank (Family)|Panzerkampfwagen V Panther medium tank family]]. Many [[Panther D]] characteristics, such as the small rectangular 'letterbox' hull machine gun opening, remained on the early production Panther A manufactured between July and December 1943. The Panther A turret has received significant modifications. For starters, the gun mantlet on the Panther A turret was larger than the one on the previous Panther D. The design of the cast turret side directly behind the gun mantlet was modified to a dish-shaped protrusion to fit the new gun mantlet. In addition, a new dome-shaped cast-armour commander's cupola was designed, and a ring was mounted on the commander's cupola to allow for the mounting of an anti-aircraft light machine gun. A single-speed turret power traverse system was also introduced, allowing Panther A to react to adversary tanks considerably faster than before. Finally, the German Army put a unique coating called Zimmerit on the tank's outside surface, anticipating that the Soviets and Allies would deploy magnetic mines to destroy the tank. The Zimmerit aims to minimize the effectiveness of magnets adhering to the metal hull.

Introduced in the Closed Beta Test for Ground Forces before Update 1.41, the Panther A was part of the next generation of medium tanks that officially superseded the [[Pz.IV (Family)|Panzer IVs]] in World War II. The Panther A is widely regarded as one of the best medium tanks of World War II, combining mobility, protection, and firepower. After the Soviet [[T-34 (Family)|T-34]], it was one of the most influential tank designs and served as the foundation for many later medium tank designs in other countries. The turret traverse speed is much faster than the previous Panther D model, lowering reaction time to unexpected spotting of enemies at close quarters significantly. Players can also use the commander's cupola-mounted MG34 light machine gun as a deterrence to hostile low-flying aircraft.

== General info ==
=== Survivability and armour ===
{{Specs-Tank-Armour}}


The Panther A has excellent frontal armour, which can protect the crew from many of the kinetic shells found in this battle rating range (with the exception of chemical shells and large calibre kinetic shells). Panther A's survivability is excellent when played to its strengths in long-range engagement; avoid brawling with enemy tanks unless absolutely necessary. Although the turret cheek of all Panther medium tanks is a well-known weak spot, engaging the enemy from a mid- to long-distance can greatly mitigate this weakness because the enemy will struggle to effectively penetrate the weak spot as engagement distance increases. Furthermore, due to the unique curvature of the turret armour layout, the turret cheek can bounce many kinetic shells from the enemy as distance increases. Keep in mind that powerful kinetic shells like that of the 122 mm D-25 cannon and APDS shells from British and Swedish tanks will easily penetrate the frontal armour, necessitating greater caution when engaging such foes.

The Panther A armour is not very different from the Panther D, retaining the curved gun mantlet that could potentially bounce a kinetic round down into the vulnerable hull roof. While this phenomenon is relatively rare, the risk is present and should be considered when fighting any enemy even if they don't have a gun that can reliably penetrate the Panther's turret front armour.

'''Armour type:'''

* Rolled homogeneous armour
* Cast homogeneous armour (Gun mantlet, Cupola)

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Armour !! Front (Slope angle) !! Sides (Slope angle) !! Rear (Slope angle) !! Roof
|-
| Hull || 80 mm (55°) ''Front glacis'' 60 mm (56°) ''Lower glacis'' || 40 mm (40°) ''Top'' 40 + 5 mm ''Lower'' || 40 mm (29°) || 16 mm
|-
| Turret || 100 mm ''Turret front'' 65 -100 mm ''Gun mantlet''|| 45 mm || 45 mm || 16 mm
|-
| Cupola || 80 mm || 80 mm || 80 mm || 16 mm
|-
|}
'''Notes:'''

* Tracks and lower side of the hull are covered by 5 mm thick armour plate, protecting them from HEAT and HE shells.
* Rear parts of the upper side hull armour have tracks attached to it, adding additional 20 mm of armour.

=== Mobility ===
{{Specs-Tank-Mobility}}


{{tankMobility|abMinHp=930|rbMinHp=531|AoAweight=0.45}}

The mobility of the Panther A is greatly improved over that of the previous Panther D, and it can be considered one of the best medium tanks in Germany's mid-BR range during WWII. The Panther A combines great mobility with excellent firepower thanks to its high top speed and neutral steering. However, mobility is still lacking when compared to its contemporary era tanks, particularly the Soviet T-34-85. Most Panther enemies, such as Sherman and T-34-85, will have no trouble firing the first shot when they come face-to-face with Panthers unexpectedly. Maps with lots of cover should be played with caution as US M18 light tanks frequently appear in unexpected areas of the map at the start of a match. Overall, the Panther A should be played as a fast medium tank, taking advantage of its excellent frontal armour while not overly relying on it to take hits, and engaging the enemy from a distance with its excellent cannon.

=== Modifications and economy ===
{{Specs-Economy}}

== Armaments ==
{{Specs-Tank-Armaments}}
=== Main armament ===
{{Specs-Tank-Weapon|1}}

{{main|KwK42 (75 mm)}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[KwK42 (75 mm)|75 mm KwK42]] || colspan="5" | Turret rotation speed (°/s) || colspan="4" | Reloading rate (seconds)
|-
! Mode !! Capacity !! Vertical !! Horizontal !! Stabilizer
! Stock !! Upgraded !! Full !! Expert !! Aced
! Stock !! Full !! Expert !! Aced
|-
! ''Arcade''
| rowspan="2" | 79 || rowspan="2" | -8°/+20° || rowspan="2" | ±180° || rowspan="2" | N/A || 19.0 || 26.4 || 32.0 || 35.4 || 37.6 || rowspan="2" | 9.62 || rowspan="2" | 8.51 || rowspan="2" | 7.84 || rowspan="2" | 7.40
|-
! ''Realistic''
| 11.9 || 14.0 || 17.0 || 18.8 || 20.0
|-
|}

==== Ammunition ====
{{:KwK42 (75 mm)/Ammunition|PzGr 39/42, PzGr 40/42, Sprgr. 42}}

==== [[Ammo racks]] ====
[[File:Ammoracks_{{PAGENAME}}.png|right|thumb|x250px|[[Ammo racks]] of the {{PAGENAME}}]]

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! Full ammo
! 1st rack empty
! 2nd rack empty
! 3rd rack empty
! 4th rack empty
! 5th rack empty
|-
| '''79''' || 77 ''(+2)'' || 71 ''(+8)'' || 62 ''(+17)'' || 53 ''(+26)'' || 44 ''(+35)''
|-
! 6th rack empty
! 7th rack empty
! 8th rack empty
! 9th rack empty
! 10th rack empty
! Visual discrepancy
|-
| 35 ''(+44)'' || 31 ''(+48)'' || 16 ''(+63)'' || 4 ''(+75)'' || 1 ''(+78)'' || Yes
|-
|}
'''Note''':

* Turret and large sides empty: 31 ''(+48)'' shells.

=== Machine guns ===
{{Specs-Tank-Weapon|2}}
{{Specs-Tank-Weapon|3}}

{{main|MG34 (7.92 mm)}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="50%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[MG34 (7.92 mm)|7.92 mm MG34]]
|-
! Mount !! Capacity (Belt) !! Fire rate !! Vertical !! Horizontal
|-
| Coaxial || 2,700 (150) || 900 || N/A || N/A
|-
| Pintle || 2,000 (150) || 900 || -10°/+25° || -60°/+160°
|-
|}

== Usage in battles ==

'''Playing as Panther A:'''

As with all other Panther-series medium tanks, it is best played in a supporting role or as a front-line offensive tank due to its agility. The cannon mounted is more than forgiving and powerful enough to destroy any potential target, so use it to an advantage; long-range shooting is effective as the muzzle velocity is extremely high, owing to the long-barreled 75 mm, the penetration values are more than capable of punching through any opposing armour, and the shell weight will, if the shell penetrates, consistently deal decent amounts of crew and module damage, if not immediately make the target on combat ineffective.

Sniping may be a fun and tempting strategy but you can get outmatched at those longer ranges where your fast reload and turret traverse no longer matter. A good strategy is to push objectives with the panther A considering it has the improved turret traverse and thus is able to fight in both the city and open ground. Do not attempt to use the panther like a tiger, and that is being a meatshield breakthrough tank. Instead, Spearhead assaults on objectives and flank the enemy. Your gun will be able to take care of most targets medium to close range and your armour should do its job. Make sure you check every corner and shoot and scoot. If you move methodically behind cover or on flanking routes you should be able to destroy many tanks. You can brawl quite well if you watch your flanks and flank others.

Another viable strategy is ambushes. The good camouflage for the tank can hide you if you hide behind a bush. Hide near a choke point and hope an enemy tank comes by.

Because Panthers have relatively weak side armour that even 20 mm autocannons can penetrate it, most enemies would make it their goal to flank around and penetrate the Panther's side armour (it does not help that the Panther's target profile is much larger from the side compared to the front as well). The Panther A's significantly improve turret traverse speed makes it better able to counter this trick than the Panther D, but it can still struggle against enemies that are moving at high speed like Shermans and T-34-85 at close ranges.

As the Panther's suspension rocks violently during the start and stop of the tank movement, it is recommended to not drive too fast when enemies are expected to be close by in order to reduce the gun sway and gun sight stabilization.

'''Playing against Panther A:'''

Like when fighting the previous Panther D variant head-on, fight the Panther A by firing into the right turret cheek. This is one of its weak points and can also knock out the gunner to provide some breathing room for a follow-up shot. Keep in mind that as the range increases, the shell may bounce. At short ranges, high-velocity guns like the 17-pounder can penetrate the lower glacis, and any large calibre (100 mm and up) can penetrate the upper glacis. Any British tank equipped with APDS can easily penetrate the upper glacis.

'''Light tank''': Light tanks can use their high speed to flank the Panther A tank, often more successfully than medium tanks due to their smaller profile and swift mobility. Most light tanks also carry sufficiently powerful cannons to penetrate the Panther A side armour from even a fair distance away as the Panther A's side armour is only 50 mm thick. Ensure that the Panther's firepower or mobility is taken out with the first shot, or else the Panther A would be able to quickly respond to a flanking threat by either their turret traverse or hull neutral steering turn to point directly at the light tank's position, protecting themselves while allowing them to handle the light tank threat.

'''Medium tank''': The Panther series medium tanks' greatest strengths are long-range engagements with its high-velocity 75 mm cannon and thick frontal armour. Their mobility also allow the Panther tank to reach most places an up-tiered medium tank may not reach in time. Try to minimize this disadvantage by closing the combat distance to minimize the firepower and armour disparity. Take care to make use of all map terrain and cover in order to avoid getting into the Panther's gun sights. Closing the distance also enable better targeting of weak points like the turret cheeks that is only 100 mm thick to quickly incapacitate the Panther A's turret crew, allowing for an opportunity to advance as the gunner is being replaced by another crew member. Tanks like the M4 Shermans can take advantage of their gun stabilizers to quickly move up and briefly pause and take a well-aimed shot at the Panther weak point as they get closer to take out the Panther A without needing to flank all the way around. Tanks like the T-34-85 can often instantly take out the Panther A with one well-placed APCBC round into the side and letting the post-penetration damage devastate the interior, often taking out all the crew members or igniting the ammunition.

'''Heavy tank/tank destroyer''': While heavy tanks are more well-armoured, caution is still needed as the Panther's high-velocity cannon can easily penetrate tanks like the IS-2 from a distance. Continue to approach the Panther A as one would with a medium tank, making the most of existing cover and terrain to avoid staying in the Panther's gun sights for very long. That said, heavy tanks and tank destroyers often have cannon armament more than able to penetrate the Panther's front armour without relying on weak points. With this attribute, heavy tanks and tank destroyers should take on the "Panther-destroyer" role by having allies attempt to expose the Panther tank in the open and keep it in placed for the heavy tank/tank destroyer to aim at the Panther tank and penetrate their armour with ease.

=== Notable Enemies ===

* '''M18 Hellcat or any hellcat variation:''' These guys are super annoying and will flank shot you by sneaking into a bush. Honestly a waste of ammo to shoot. Just watch your flanks because if you shoot it, it will crumple like a tin can and the crew will simply cease to exist.
* '''M4 Sherman 76 variants:''' These guys are dangerous for a different reason. Never underestimate how petty a m4 is. They will shoot your gun and then take your tracks with their 50 cals. Then they will flank shot you as you flail around helplessly. Best way to brawl them is to wiggle your turret while reloading causing them to miss.
* '''Jumbo sherman variants:''' These are a bit different because they will play like m4 and remove your gun and tracks and flank you, but they have super tough armor combined with god-awful mobility. Shoot the hull mg port and wiggle your turret while reloading. It might seem like a small target but it is impossible to miss in a close range slugfest. Do not even think about shooting the turret anywhere because it is extremely heavily armoured. Any side shot is possible but in a face to face brawl a clean shot to the hull mg port will cause the jumbo's entire crew to flatline.
* '''M-51 Super Sherman:''' Despite its name, the only thing super about it is its gun. The HEAT shell will penetrate you easily but struggles to spall and will likely take two shots to kill you. Despite this meaning you can easily kill them with just a single shot in retaliation still be weary. If you find it pointing its gun at you, take cover immediately.
* '''PT-76B:''' Like the super sherman, this tank is deadly for its HEAT shell. Thankfully it is not particularly fast and has paper thin armour. There isn't much of a strategy for these guys. All you have to do is shoot first and that will be easy considering it takes about 2 shots for them to finish you off because of the bad spalling from the HEAT shell. It is possible that you will need 2 shots as well because the hollow insides of the tank, but always go for the turret crew first unless they are facing hull towards you, then, shoot the front hull plate and watch the 75mm round take out all 3 crew members.
* '''IS-2:''' The best and most spectacular way to kill an IS-2 is to ammorack it. Frontally, shoot the drivers vision port unless it is a mod 1944 variant. Other weak spots include the (your right, their left) turret cheek to take out the gunner and commander and pray that the 17 grams of RDX finish the job. The last and most surprising weak spot is the lower front plate which is poorly angled. This might sound risky but will likely result in a 1 shot because of the shrapnel bouncing off the floor of the tank. The IS-2 has a gun capable of penetrating you anywhere frontally but the chances are about 50/50. However, it is devastating if it does penetrate you. Bait the IS-2 into shooting because you have a 3× faster reload. they you can toy around with them as they scream for help. Treat any soviet tank with an abnormally long gun(ISU-122S, SU-100Y, KV-2(ZiS 6))with caution. Fear not, for big soviet guns have slow reloads. (If you want to be extra cheeky when you have a side or rear shot of the IS-2 turret, do not aim for the crew, aim for the turret rear for a guaranteed beautiful ammorack.)
* '''M26 Pershing and variants:''' Not all that common of a threat but still notable for being hard to kill. Shoot the hull or turret mg ports and aim for the lower and upper glacis joining point all the way up to the middle of the upper glacis. The gun of the normal pershing is potentially dangerous but nothing to be worried about only worry about the guns of the Super Pershing or the M26E1.
* '''Super Pershing:''' Super rare but possible. Best idea is to get a side shot perhaps by ambushing. The frontal weak points are the exposed(your right their left)turret cheek to ammorack it or go for the hull mg port. You can also shoot the tubes above the turret to disable the vertical drive and then scramble up to high or low ground and flank shot it.
* '''T-44:''' Also a rare sight. Shoot the(your right their left)turret cheek for a clean instant kill.
* '''T-34-85:''' This tank is mostly a nuisance. Do not fear the gun of the T-34. The T-34's biggest strengths are mobility and turret traverse. Flanking is your only weakness.
* '''M41A1:''' Small tank with an impressive APDS shell, but the spalling effects of this round is laughable. They will try to ammorack you because of this and will take 2-3 shots to kill you. You can kill them easily but the luck and the skill of their ammoracking is uncanny.
* '''Strv 74:''' Again, poorly armoured HEAT shell user. Extremely high HEAT penetration but this time with a easy to spot tall profile.
* '''FV4005:''' Possible to meet but very rare if not impossible. Never get hit by this thing. It is literally the size of a refrigerator so there is little to no chance in missing this thing. You can ammorack by going for the sides of the turret. Watch out because it's 183mm shell will most likely atomise your tank.
* '''R3 T20 FA-HS:''' We have all grown to hate this thing and it can side shot you but it is very rare. Most used by players trying to be funny. Machine gun into oblivion on sight.
* '''2S3M:''' Getting more and more common these days. It has a super dangerous HE shell and will snipe you. Also very easy to kill. The rear hull houses a large ammorack.
* '''Any ISU or SU series tank destroyer 100mm gun and up:''' Shoot anywhere except gun mantlet. Be aware of the slow reload for the 122mm ones as well as their tall profile unless it is a SU-100.

=== Pros and cons ===


'''Pros:'''

* Excellent cannon has a range of ammo for any type of enemy: great stock AP for common targets (eg. [[T-34-85]], [[M4 Sherman (Family)|M4 Sherman]] or even the [[M4A3E2]]), piercing APCR for early cold war tanks (e.g. [[M26 (Family)|M26]], [[T-44]], early [[Centurion (Family)|Centurions]]) and HE for light vehicles. Great accuracy and velocity allows easy long-range sniping. Plenty of ammo capacity allows flexible ammo setups. It even has a fast reload.
* Heavily armoured frontal hull is immune to most guns at 5.7 like the 85 mm D-5T and 76 mm M1
* Almost 300% faster turret rotation than the previous D model. Is more responsive to flankers
* Fast top speed, good hull traverse. Can get to positions in time. unlike other tanks it has neutral steering.
* Engine has 50 more horsepower compared to the D variant, acceleration is noticeably faster and is on par, if not slightly faster, than T-34s
* Adequate gun depression of -8° adapts most terrains well
* Reasonably cheap repair cost
* Has a wide range of good-looking camouflage to unlock. Suitable for almost every terrain
* 2 machine guns to get rid of airplanes or light tanks.

'''Cons:'''

* Gun mantlet is only 100 mm thick, well-known weak spot to shoot at. The ball mg port that is 80 mm can also be penetrated albeit less frequently.
* Terrible reverse speed of only -4 km/h, can get the player killed
* Weak side armour gets penetrated easily by Soviet APHEBC. Cannot angle too much
* Lower glacis often catches fire or breaks transmission when penetrated, leaving the tank immobile and vulnerable. The transmission does protect the crew at the cost of a lengthy repair.
* High profile for a medium tank makes it harder to hide
* Roof armour of 16 mm is vulnerable to [[M2 Browning (12.7 mm)|M2 Brownings]] which are widely seen on American planes. Any autocannon can cause strafing damage.
* Although heavily armoured, it can still get frontally penetrated easily by a rather common heavy tank: [[IS-2 (Family)|IS-2]]
* Gun mantlet traps shots (shells may deflect into the hull roof weak armour). This is incredibly rare.

== History ==

===Development===
The '''Panther''' development started as far back as 1938 as a replacement to the [[Pz.III F|Panzer IIIs]] and [[Pz.IV E|Panzer IVs]]. The program was called VK 20 and it called for a 20 ton tracked vehicle design by Krupp, Daimler-Benz, and MAN. Krupp dropped out when the requirements changed to 30 tones in 1941 when the German encounters the Soviet [[T-34 (1941)|T-34]] and [[KV-1 (L-11)|KV-1]] tanks where the Panzer III and Panzer IV's performance have little effect due to its superior armour, mobility, and armament. The VK 20 was abandoned for the VK 30.02 in April 1942. Daimler-Benz design for this project looks similar to the T-34 with the turret far forward in the hull, plus the use of a diesel engine and external leaf spring suspension. MAN's design had a twin torsion bar, the interleaved suspension system (like the [[Tiger H1|Tiger I]]) with the turret situated in the middle of the hull, plus had a petrol Maybach engine. Hitler was reported to believe that the DB design was superior to the MAN design, and in a review between January to March 1942, Fritz Todt and Albert Speer also recommended the DB design. Then MAN revised their design, and a special commission by Hitler decided on the MAN design in May 1942, to which Hitler approved after reviewing it. One of the reasons the MAN was approved was that its turret was already in production while the DB used a completely new design. However, despite being built for a 30-ton design, Hitler decided to increase the armour on the MAN design and the weight went from 30 tons to 45 tons.

The MAN design was made into a prototype in September 1942, when it was officially accepted after testing and named the '''Panzerkampfwagen V Panther'''. Where it remained so until 1944, where Hitler removed the '''V''' in the designation for the name '''Panther'''. Production started in December 1942, though the early models suffered from reliability issues. The production plants expanded from MAN to Daimler-Benz, MNH, and Henschel for increased output. Despite that, production was often delayed due to Allied air bombing, which targeted the Maybach engine plant and DB, MAN, and MNH tank factories. Nevertheless, the total number of Panther tanks produced was 6,706, making the Panther the third most produced armoured fighting vehicle in Germany behind the Panzer IV and the StuG III.

===Design===
The MAN design for the Panther featured a heavily sloped armour design, with the front glacis plate being 80 mm thick (from the original 60 mm before the weight increase) and when sloped at 55 degrees, it was 140 mm effective in thickness. This made the Panther one of the best-armoured vehicle in World War II. The side armour of the Panther was way thinner at 40 mm that could be pierced very easily. Additional side armour in the form of Schürzen could be placed on the sides hanging to cover the suspension and hull side from being penetrated by Soviet anti-tank rifle fire. The Panther used the same engine as the Tiger I, the Mayback HL 210 P30 engine, and had a similar suspension system, the Schachtellaufwerk interleaved wheel system, which complicated maintenance issues. The tank used the formidable 7.5 cm Kwk 42 cannon, which could destroy most of the allied tanks in service, only possess a mediocre HE shell.

The '''Ausf. A''' variant was the second variant designed for the Panther, The old drum-shaped cupola on the [[Panther D|Ausf. D]] had been replaced by a side-swinging hatch that didn't require the commander to expose himself to open or close the hatch. The Ausf. A introduced the standard ball mount for the assistant driver's machine gun, replacing the "letterbox" flap design on the Ausf. D. The Ausf. A also had the initial turret curved gun mantlet that was introduced to the Panther, though there were faults with the design as explained below. Other small improvements of the Ausf. A over the Ausf. D was improved reliability by ironing out several mechanical issues. 2,192 Panther Ausf. A was produced from August 1943 to June 1944.

The Panther's rushed development and commitment into battle caused the design to have many flaws inhibiting its full potential. The most prominent flaw that lasted throughout the war was the weak final drive due to using a double spur system that made it more prone to failure from the Panther's torque requirements, which is averaged at around 150 km before failing. The curved gun mantlet design had an unfortunate tendency to ricochet deflected rounds into the roof, it was, however, not fixed until a new gun mantlet design with a flat "chin" shape was introduced on the [[Panther G|Panther G]]. The Schachtellaufwerk suspension system, like the [[Tiger H1|Tiger]], suffered from over-engineering and complicating maintenance of the tank. Smaller problems in the tank included not having a dedicated periscope for the gunner, maintenance-heavy, fuel-hungry, and deteriorating armour quality as metal alloys in Germany began to run out.

Despite its heavier weight and slightly complex design, the cost of each Panther tank was not very high in relative to tanks with a price at 117,100 Reichmarks, compared to the 103,462 RM of Panzer IVs and 250,800 RM of the Tiger I. This made the tank rather economic for its fighting purposes despite being over-engineered.

===Combat usage===
The Panther was first issued to the Eastern Front, arming the 51st and 52nd Tank Battalions. Their usage presented mechanical problems of the Panther, forcing many of the early Panthers to be returned for rebuilding. Despite these issues, the Panther was deemed critical in the Battle of Kursk in Operation Citadel, Hitler delayed the operation so more Panthers can reach the front. 200 Panthers were ready in June 1943, but its combat debut was disappointing. The Panthers, which arrived last minute before the operation started, meant that the crew serving the tanks had little time to train with the new tanks. Two tanks were lost to motor fires right after disembarking from the trains at the front lines. 184 were operational at the start of the operation on July 5, this dropped to 40 within two days. According to Heinz Guderian, five days into the offensive, only 10 operation Panthers were available with 25 completely lost, 100 in need of repairs, and 60 per cent of those mechanical breakdowns were easily repaired. Those that did work during the campaign were able to cause heavy casualties on the Soviet tank forces, but the Panther's lethality was mitigated by its low number available. When the operation turned and the Soviet counteroffensive pushed the Germans away from Kursk, the Panther loss rose to 156 on August 11, with many more lost as the Soviet kept gaining ground. Perhaps the Panther's biggest role in Operation Citadel was delaying the start of the operation by two months to allow the Soviet defences to be bolstered beyond the German's expectations, causing the failure of the offensive.

After the failure at Kursk, improvements on the Panther helped its reliability rate. By March 1944, Guderian reported that most of the Panther's flaws were ironed out, but the final drive and other mechanical issues were still a major issue to front-line units. The Panthers served the rest of the war as quick-reaction forces to fight off Allied offensives on both fronts. On the Eastern Front, some 700 Panthers were committed to the battle at all times, though the number of operational vehicles varies depending on the situation. The Panthers were also sent to suppress the Warsaw Uprising in August 1944. Two were captured by the Polish forces, who used them against the German forces. The captured Panthers were used until they became immobilized and were destroyed to prevent recapture by the Germans.

On the Western Front, the Panthers began being present in large numbers after the Invasion of Normandy. 156 Panthers were initially present between two Panzer regiments, but this increased by seven regiments after the Allied invasion, boosting the strength to 432 tanks. The high number of Panther situated in France, mostly around Caen, and their performance against the Allied armour caused many Allied tankers to fear it as much as the Tiger tanks. However, the Panther's reliability problem was still evident as many Panthers were left abandoned by the crew when they broke down. The mechanical breakdown, partly from the flaws in the machine, can also be attributed to the poor crew training given, which showed by crew overburdening the transmission or lacking regular maintenance on the tank. The Allied assessment of the Panther was that its mobility on soft grounds was superior due to its wider tracks giving more flotation over the ground, and armour and firepower value was superior to anything they had, though it was inferior in the bocage terrain of France due to the constrained nature of the environment. The Panther participated in the famed Battle of Arracourt, where a total of 262 German tanks were committed to battle. The battle, against the mostly [[M4|M4 Sherman]], equipped 4th Armored Division, routed the Germans after they suffered heavy casualties, while the Allies only losing 32 armoured fighting vehicles, a testament on how crew training and tactical advantage have a big impact on tank warfare. The highest concentration of Panthers on the Western Front was 471 Panthers (336 operational) in the Ardennes Offensive (Battle of the Bulge), where it showed its prowess in open terrain due to its superior gun. The Panthers also took place in Operation Grief, being disguised as [[M10 GMC|M10 tank destroyers]] to trick American soldiers. All of these mocked up Panthers were destroyed in battle or scrapped after it. After the Ardennes Offensive, eight Panzer division with 271 Panthers were transferred to the Eastern Front to beat back the Soviet offensive. Only five Panther battalions, 96 Panthers for each battalion, remained on the Western Front to fight the Allies.

After the war, Panther still saw a use for some time in various countries. Bulgaria and Romania received Panthers from the Soviets as aid, which they used until the 1950s. France was the most notable user of the Panther tanks after World War II due to the large quantities of operable vehicles left behind by the Germans during the Normandy invasion. The French raised a regiment of 50 Panthers from 1944 to 1947, when they were replaced by the new ARL 44 tanks. The Panther also influenced the French AMX 50 tank design, and its gun was derived onto the AMX 13 light tank. In 1947, an evaluation was written by the French War Ministry on the Panthers which even made their own assessment of the Panther that pointed out most of the flaws of the Panthers, especially the mechanical failure and the deficiency of the armour later in the war due to alloy shortages.

{{break}}
{{Navigation-Start|{{Annotation|Archive of the in-game description|An archive of the historical description of the vehicle that was presented in-game prior to Update 1.55 'Royal Armour'}}}}
{{Navigation-First-Simple-Line}}
In the fall of 1943, production of the Ausf.A variant of the Pz.Kpfw. V tank began. The Verstandigungsoeffnung hatch, which allowed for communication with infantry and for pistol fire from inside, was removed from the new turret. Vehicles of this variant were given the simpler monocular TZF-12А sight, as well as the commander's cupola used by the Tiger I tank. The hull's front plate was equipped with a traditional ball-mount directional machine gun instead of the inefficient letterbox flap gun used earlier. To strengthen the chassis, the road wheels received an increased number of bolts. The engine and transmission cooling systems were improved. A viewport was installed on the roof of the turret, along with a close-combat device (antipersonnel fragmentation grenade launchers). Tanks released at a later date had a modified exhaust system. Some Panther Ausf. A tanks were equipped with experimental infrared night vision devices. All of the tanks of this variant had their vertical surfaces coated with Zimmerit anti-magnetic paste.

From August 1943 to May 1944, about 2,000 of these tanks were released.

Beginning in 1943, the Red Army captured a small number of Panther tanks (of several variants). These tanks were then used by several of the USSR's armoured divisions, including, for example, Lieutenant Sotnikov's division. This tank was known as a dangerous enemy to Soviet tank forces, and captured vehicles were considered a thing of great luck. They were given to the most experienced and effective crews as recognition of their incredible merit. To keep the German tanks in good condition, Soviet tank divisions used captured German mechanics. In 1944, a technical manual for the Panther was published in Russian, for distribution to the crews.
{{Navigation-End}}

== Media ==


;Skins

* [https://live.warthunder.com/feed/camouflages/?vehicle=germ_pzkpfw_V_ausf_a_panther Skins and camouflages for the {{PAGENAME}} from live.warthunder.com.]

;Sights

* [https://live.warthunder.com/post/675135/en/ RideR2's Realistic gunsight (TZF4a, TZF 5a/b/d/e/f/f2, TZF 9b/b1/c/d, TZF 12/a) for Pzkpfw II, Pzkpfw III, Pzkpfw IV, Pzkpfw V, Pzkpfw VI]

;Videos
{{Youtube-gallery|y1S7jHyFxdA|'''The Shooting Range #34''' - ''Pages of History'' section at 02:36 discusses the Panther I.|Bf1YWYfD_qk|'''The Shooting Range #135''' - ''Metal Beasts'' section at 01:12 discusses the {{PAGENAME}}.|oa26g25qqP4|'''Best medium tanks''' discusses the {{PAGENAME}} at 0:34 - ''War Thunder Official Channel''|9rUocSj2dHc|'''Tank Chats #16 Panther''' - ''The Tank Museum''}}

== See also ==
''Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:''

* ''reference to the series of the vehicles;''
* ''links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.''

== External links ==
''Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:''

* ''topic on the official game forum;''
* ''other literature.''

{{TankManufacturer MAN AG}}
{{Germany medium tanks}}

Panther A

2024-04-23T11:45:56Z

U151393429: /* Notable Enemies */

{{About
|about = German medium tank '''{{PAGENAME}}'''
|other
|usage-1 = other versions
|link-1 = Panther tank (Family)
|usage-2 = other uses
|link-2 = Panther (Disambiguation)
}}
{{Specs-Card
|code=germ_pzkpfw_V_ausf_a_panther
|images={{Specs-Card-Image|GarageImage_{{PAGENAME}}.jpg|ArtImage_{{PAGENAME}}.png}}
}}

== Description ==

The '''Panzerkampfwagen V Ausführung A (Panther A)''' ([[Abbreviations#.28DE.29 Sd.Kfz. Index|Sd.Kfz. Index:]] '''Sd.Kfz. 171''') is the second production variant of the iconic [[Panther tank (Family)|Panzerkampfwagen V Panther medium tank family]]. Many [[Panther D]] characteristics, such as the small rectangular 'letterbox' hull machine gun opening, remained on the early production Panther A manufactured between July and December 1943. The Panther A turret has received significant modifications. For starters, the gun mantlet on the Panther A turret was larger than the one on the previous Panther D. The design of the cast turret side directly behind the gun mantlet was modified to a dish-shaped protrusion to fit the new gun mantlet. In addition, a new dome-shaped cast-armour commander's cupola was designed, and a ring was mounted on the commander's cupola to allow for the mounting of an anti-aircraft light machine gun. A single-speed turret power traverse system was also introduced, allowing Panther A to react to adversary tanks considerably faster than before. Finally, the German Army put a unique coating called Zimmerit on the tank's outside surface, anticipating that the Soviets and Allies would deploy magnetic mines to destroy the tank. The Zimmerit aims to minimize the effectiveness of magnets adhering to the metal hull.

Introduced in the Closed Beta Test for Ground Forces before Update 1.41, the Panther A was part of the next generation of medium tanks that officially superseded the [[Pz.IV (Family)|Panzer IVs]] in World War II. The Panther A is widely regarded as one of the best medium tanks of World War II, combining mobility, protection, and firepower. After the Soviet [[T-34 (Family)|T-34]], it was one of the most influential tank designs and served as the foundation for many later medium tank designs in other countries. The turret traverse speed is much faster than the previous Panther D model, lowering reaction time to unexpected spotting of enemies at close quarters significantly. Players can also use the commander's cupola-mounted MG34 light machine gun as a deterrence to hostile low-flying aircraft.

== General info ==
=== Survivability and armour ===
{{Specs-Tank-Armour}}


The Panther A has excellent frontal armour, which can protect the crew from many of the kinetic shells found in this battle rating range (with the exception of chemical shells and large calibre kinetic shells). Panther A's survivability is excellent when played to its strengths in long-range engagement; avoid brawling with enemy tanks unless absolutely necessary. Although the turret cheek of all Panther medium tanks is a well-known weak spot, engaging the enemy from a mid- to long-distance can greatly mitigate this weakness because the enemy will struggle to effectively penetrate the weak spot as engagement distance increases. Furthermore, due to the unique curvature of the turret armour layout, the turret cheek can bounce many kinetic shells from the enemy as distance increases. Keep in mind that powerful kinetic shells like that of the 122 mm D-25 cannon and APDS shells from British and Swedish tanks will easily penetrate the frontal armour, necessitating greater caution when engaging such foes.

The Panther A armour is not very different from the Panther D, retaining the curved gun mantlet that could potentially bounce a kinetic round down into the vulnerable hull roof. While this phenomenon is relatively rare, the risk is present and should be considered when fighting any enemy even if they don't have a gun that can reliably penetrate the Panther's turret front armour.

'''Armour type:'''

* Rolled homogeneous armour
* Cast homogeneous armour (Gun mantlet, Cupola)

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Armour !! Front (Slope angle) !! Sides (Slope angle) !! Rear (Slope angle) !! Roof
|-
| Hull || 80 mm (55°) ''Front glacis'' 60 mm (56°) ''Lower glacis'' || 40 mm (40°) ''Top'' 40 + 5 mm ''Lower'' || 40 mm (29°) || 16 mm
|-
| Turret || 100 mm ''Turret front'' 65 -100 mm ''Gun mantlet''|| 45 mm || 45 mm || 16 mm
|-
| Cupola || 80 mm || 80 mm || 80 mm || 16 mm
|-
|}
'''Notes:'''

* Tracks and lower side of the hull are covered by 5 mm thick armour plate, protecting them from HEAT and HE shells.
* Rear parts of the upper side hull armour have tracks attached to it, adding additional 20 mm of armour.

=== Mobility ===
{{Specs-Tank-Mobility}}


{{tankMobility|abMinHp=930|rbMinHp=531|AoAweight=0.45}}

The mobility of the Panther A is greatly improved over that of the previous Panther D, and it can be considered one of the best medium tanks in Germany's mid-BR range during WWII. The Panther A combines great mobility with excellent firepower thanks to its high top speed and neutral steering. However, mobility is still lacking when compared to its contemporary era tanks, particularly the Soviet T-34-85. Most Panther enemies, such as Sherman and T-34-85, will have no trouble firing the first shot when they come face-to-face with Panthers unexpectedly. Maps with lots of cover should be played with caution as US M18 light tanks frequently appear in unexpected areas of the map at the start of a match. Overall, the Panther A should be played as a fast medium tank, taking advantage of its excellent frontal armour while not overly relying on it to take hits, and engaging the enemy from a distance with its excellent cannon.

=== Modifications and economy ===
{{Specs-Economy}}

== Armaments ==
{{Specs-Tank-Armaments}}
=== Main armament ===
{{Specs-Tank-Weapon|1}}

{{main|KwK42 (75 mm)}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[KwK42 (75 mm)|75 mm KwK42]] || colspan="5" | Turret rotation speed (°/s) || colspan="4" | Reloading rate (seconds)
|-
! Mode !! Capacity !! Vertical !! Horizontal !! Stabilizer
! Stock !! Upgraded !! Full !! Expert !! Aced
! Stock !! Full !! Expert !! Aced
|-
! ''Arcade''
| rowspan="2" | 79 || rowspan="2" | -8°/+20° || rowspan="2" | ±180° || rowspan="2" | N/A || 19.0 || 26.4 || 32.0 || 35.4 || 37.6 || rowspan="2" | 9.62 || rowspan="2" | 8.51 || rowspan="2" | 7.84 || rowspan="2" | 7.40
|-
! ''Realistic''
| 11.9 || 14.0 || 17.0 || 18.8 || 20.0
|-
|}

==== Ammunition ====
{{:KwK42 (75 mm)/Ammunition|PzGr 39/42, PzGr 40/42, Sprgr. 42}}

==== [[Ammo racks]] ====
[[File:Ammoracks_{{PAGENAME}}.png|right|thumb|x250px|[[Ammo racks]] of the {{PAGENAME}}]]

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! Full ammo
! 1st rack empty
! 2nd rack empty
! 3rd rack empty
! 4th rack empty
! 5th rack empty
|-
| '''79''' || 77 ''(+2)'' || 71 ''(+8)'' || 62 ''(+17)'' || 53 ''(+26)'' || 44 ''(+35)''
|-
! 6th rack empty
! 7th rack empty
! 8th rack empty
! 9th rack empty
! 10th rack empty
! Visual discrepancy
|-
| 35 ''(+44)'' || 31 ''(+48)'' || 16 ''(+63)'' || 4 ''(+75)'' || 1 ''(+78)'' || Yes
|-
|}
'''Note''':

* Turret and large sides empty: 31 ''(+48)'' shells.

=== Machine guns ===
{{Specs-Tank-Weapon|2}}
{{Specs-Tank-Weapon|3}}

{{main|MG34 (7.92 mm)}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="50%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[MG34 (7.92 mm)|7.92 mm MG34]]
|-
! Mount !! Capacity (Belt) !! Fire rate !! Vertical !! Horizontal
|-
| Coaxial || 2,700 (150) || 900 || N/A || N/A
|-
| Pintle || 2,000 (150) || 900 || -10°/+25° || -60°/+160°
|-
|}

== Usage in battles ==

'''Playing as Panther A:'''

As with all other Panther-series medium tanks, it is best played in a supporting role or as a front-line offensive tank due to its agility. The cannon mounted is more than forgiving and powerful enough to destroy any potential target, so use it to an advantage; long-range shooting is effective as the muzzle velocity is extremely high, owing to the long-barreled 75 mm, the penetration values are more than capable of punching through any opposing armour, and the shell weight will, if the shell penetrates, consistently deal decent amounts of crew and module damage, if not immediately make the target on combat ineffective.

Sniping may be a fun and tempting strategy but you can get outmatched at those longer ranges where your fast reload and turret traverse no longer matter. A good strategy is to push objectives with the panther A considering it has the improved turret traverse and thus is able to fight in both the city and open ground. Do not attempt to use the panther like a tiger, and that is being a meatshield breakthrough tank. Instead, Spearhead assaults on objectives and flank the enemy. Your gun will be able to take care of most targets medium to close range and your armour should do its job. Make sure you check every corner and shoot and scoot. If you move methodically behind cover or on flanking routes you should be able to destroy many tanks. You can brawl quite well if you watch your flanks and flank others.

Another viable strategy is ambushes. The good camouflage for the tank can hide you if you hide behind a bush. Hide near a choke point and hope an enemy tank comes by.

Because Panthers have relatively weak side armour that even 20 mm autocannons can penetrate it, most enemies would make it their goal to flank around and penetrate the Panther's side armour (it does not help that the Panther's target profile is much larger from the side compared to the front as well). The Panther A's significantly improve turret traverse speed makes it better able to counter this trick than the Panther D, but it can still struggle against enemies that are moving at high speed like Shermans and T-34-85 at close ranges.

As the Panther's suspension rocks violently during the start and stop of the tank movement, it is recommended to not drive too fast when enemies are expected to be close by in order to reduce the gun sway and gun sight stabilization.

'''Playing against Panther A:'''

Like when fighting the previous Panther D variant head-on, fight the Panther A by firing into the right turret cheek. This is one of its weak points and can also knock out the gunner to provide some breathing room for a follow-up shot. Keep in mind that as the range increases, the shell may bounce. At short ranges, high-velocity guns like the 17-pounder can penetrate the lower glacis, and any large calibre (100 mm and up) can penetrate the upper glacis. Any British tank equipped with APDS can easily penetrate the upper glacis.

'''Light tank''': Light tanks can use their high speed to flank the Panther A tank, often more successfully than medium tanks due to their smaller profile and swift mobility. Most light tanks also carry sufficiently powerful cannons to penetrate the Panther A side armour from even a fair distance away as the Panther A's side armour is only 50 mm thick. Ensure that the Panther's firepower or mobility is taken out with the first shot, or else the Panther A would be able to quickly respond to a flanking threat by either their turret traverse or hull neutral steering turn to point directly at the light tank's position, protecting themselves while allowing them to handle the light tank threat.

'''Medium tank''': The Panther series medium tanks' greatest strengths are long-range engagements with its high-velocity 75 mm cannon and thick frontal armour. Their mobility also allow the Panther tank to reach most places an up-tiered medium tank may not reach in time. Try to minimize this disadvantage by closing the combat distance to minimize the firepower and armour disparity. Take care to make use of all map terrain and cover in order to avoid getting into the Panther's gun sights. Closing the distance also enable better targeting of weak points like the turret cheeks that is only 100 mm thick to quickly incapacitate the Panther A's turret crew, allowing for an opportunity to advance as the gunner is being replaced by another crew member. Tanks like the M4 Shermans can take advantage of their gun stabilizers to quickly move up and briefly pause and take a well-aimed shot at the Panther weak point as they get closer to take out the Panther A without needing to flank all the way around. Tanks like the T-34-85 can often instantly take out the Panther A with one well-placed APCBC round into the side and letting the post-penetration damage devastate the interior, often taking out all the crew members or igniting the ammunition.

'''Heavy tank/tank destroyer''': While heavy tanks are more well-armoured, caution is still needed as the Panther's high-velocity cannon can easily penetrate tanks like the IS-2 from a distance. Continue to approach the Panther A as one would with a medium tank, making the most of existing cover and terrain to avoid staying in the Panther's gun sights for very long. That said, heavy tanks and tank destroyers often have cannon armament more than able to penetrate the Panther's front armour without relying on weak points. With this attribute, heavy tanks and tank destroyers should take on the "Panther-destroyer" role by having allies attempt to expose the Panther tank in the open and keep it in placed for the heavy tank/tank destroyer to aim at the Panther tank and penetrate their armour with ease.

=== Notable Enemies ===

* '''M18 Hellcat or any hellcat variation:''' These guys are super annoying and will flank shot you by sneaking into a bush. Honestly a waste of ammo to shoot. Just watch your flanks because if you shoot it, it will crumple like a tin can and the crew will simply cease to exist.
* '''M4 Sherman 76 variants:''' These guys are dangerous for a different reason. Never underestimate how petty a m4 is. They will shoot your gun and then take your tracks with their 50 cals. Then they will flank shot you as you flail around helplessly. Best way to brawl them is to wiggle your turret while reloading causing them to miss.
* '''Jumbo sherman variants:''' These are a bit different because they will play like m4 and remove your gun and tracks and flank you, but they have super tough armor combined with god-awful mobility. Shoot the hull mg port and wiggle your turret while reloading. It might seem like a small target but it is impossible to miss in a close range slugfest. Do not even think about shooting the turret anywhere because it is extremely heavily armoured. Any side shot is possible but in a face to face brawl a clean shot to the hull mg port will cause the jumbo's entire crew to flatline.
* '''M-51 Super Sherman:''' Despite its name, the only thing super about it is its gun. The HEAT shell will penetrate you easily but struggles to spall and will likely take two shots to kill you. Despite this meaning you can easily kill them with just a single shot in retaliation still be weary. If you find it pointing its gun at you, take cover immediately.
* '''PT-76B:''' Like the super sherman, this tank is deadly for its HEAT shell. Thankfully it is not particularly fast and has paper thin armour. There isn't much of a strategy for these guys. All you have to do is shoot first and that will be easy considering it takes about 2 shots for them to finish you off because of the bad spalling from the HEAT shell. It is possible that you will need 2 shots as well because the hollow insides of the tank, but always go for the turret crew first unless they are facing hull towards you, then, shoot the front hull plate and watch the 75mm round take out all 3 crew members.
* '''IS-2:''' The best and most spectacular way to kill an IS-2 is to ammorack it. Frontally, shoot the drivers vision port unless it is a mod 1944 variant. Other weak spots include the (your right, their left) turret cheek to take out the gunner and commander and pray that the 17 grams of RDX finish the job. The last and most surprising weak spot is the lower front plate which is poorly angled. This might sound risky but will likely result in a 1 shot because of the shrapnel bouncing off the floor of the tank. The IS-2 has a gun capable of penetrating you anywhere frontally but the chances are about 50/50. However, it is devastating if it does penetrate you. Bait the IS-2 into shooting because you have a 3× faster reload. they you can toy around with them as they scream for help. Treat any soviet tank with an abnormally long gun(ISU-122S, SU-100Y, KV-2(ZiS 6))with caution. Fear not, for big soviet guns have slow reloads. (If you want to be extra cheeky when you have a side or rear shot of the IS-2 turret, do not aim for the crew, aim for the turret rear for a guaranteed beautiful ammorack.)
* '''M26 Pershing and variants:''' Not all that common of a threat but still notable for being hard to kill. Shoot the hull or turret mg ports and aim for the lower and upper glacis joining point all the way up to the middle of the upper glacis. The gun of the normal pershing is potentially dangerous but nothing to be worried about only worry about the guns of the Super Pershing or the M26E1.
* '''Super Pershing:''' Super rare but possible. Best idea is to get a side shot perhaps by ambushing. The frontal weak points are the exposed(your right their left)turret cheek to ammorack it or go for the hull mg port. You can also shoot the tubes above the turret to disable the vertical drive and then scramble up to high or low ground and flank shot it.
* '''T-44:''' Also a rare sight. Shoot the(your right their left)turret cheek for a clean instant kill.
* '''T-34-85:''' This tank is mostly a nuisance. Do not fear the gun of the T-34. The T-34's biggest strengths are mobility and turret traverse. Flanking is your only weakness.
* '''M41A1:''' Small tank with an impressive APDS shell, but the spalling effects of this round is laughable. They will try to ammorack you because of this and will take 2-3 shots to kill you. You can kill them easily but the luck and the skill of their ammoracking is uncanny.
* '''Strv 74:''' Again, poorly armoured HEAT shell user. Extremely high HEAT penetration but this time with a easy to spot tall profile.
* '''FV4005:''' Possible to meet but very rare if not impossible. Never get hit by this thing. It is literally the size of a refrigerator there is no missing this thing. You can ammorack by going to the sides of the turret.
* '''R3 T20 FA-HS:''' We have all grown to hate this thing and it can side shot you but it is very rare. Most used by players trying to be funny. Machine gun into oblivion on sight.
* '''2S3M:''' Getting more and more common these days. It has a super dangerous HE shell and will snipe you. Also very easy to kill. The rear hull houses a large ammorack.
* '''Any ISU or SU series tank destroyer 100mm gun and up:''' Shoot anywhere except gun mantlet. Be aware of the slow reload for the 122mm ones as well as their tall profile unless it is a SU-100.

=== Pros and cons ===


'''Pros:'''

* Excellent cannon has a range of ammo for any type of enemy: great stock AP for common targets (eg. [[T-34-85]], [[M4 Sherman (Family)|M4 Sherman]] or even the [[M4A3E2]]), piercing APCR for early cold war tanks (e.g. [[M26 (Family)|M26]], [[T-44]], early [[Centurion (Family)|Centurions]]) and HE for light vehicles. Great accuracy and velocity allows easy long-range sniping. Plenty of ammo capacity allows flexible ammo setups. It even has a fast reload.
* Heavily armoured frontal hull is immune to most guns at 5.7 like the 85 mm D-5T and 76 mm M1
* Almost 300% faster turret rotation than the previous D model. Is more responsive to flankers
* Fast top speed, good hull traverse. Can get to positions in time. unlike other tanks it has neutral steering.
* Engine has 50 more horsepower compared to the D variant, acceleration is noticeably faster and is on par, if not slightly faster, than T-34s
* Adequate gun depression of -8° adapts most terrains well
* Reasonably cheap repair cost
* Has a wide range of good-looking camouflage to unlock. Suitable for almost every terrain
* 2 machine guns to get rid of airplanes or light tanks.

'''Cons:'''

* Gun mantlet is only 100 mm thick, well-known weak spot to shoot at. The ball mg port that is 80 mm can also be penetrated albeit less frequently.
* Terrible reverse speed of only -4 km/h, can get the player killed
* Weak side armour gets penetrated easily by Soviet APHEBC. Cannot angle too much
* Lower glacis often catches fire or breaks transmission when penetrated, leaving the tank immobile and vulnerable. The transmission does protect the crew at the cost of a lengthy repair.
* High profile for a medium tank makes it harder to hide
* Roof armour of 16 mm is vulnerable to [[M2 Browning (12.7 mm)|M2 Brownings]] which are widely seen on American planes. Any autocannon can cause strafing damage.
* Although heavily armoured, it can still get frontally penetrated easily by a rather common heavy tank: [[IS-2 (Family)|IS-2]]
* Gun mantlet traps shots (shells may deflect into the hull roof weak armour). This is incredibly rare.

== History ==

===Development===
The '''Panther''' development started as far back as 1938 as a replacement to the [[Pz.III F|Panzer IIIs]] and [[Pz.IV E|Panzer IVs]]. The program was called VK 20 and it called for a 20 ton tracked vehicle design by Krupp, Daimler-Benz, and MAN. Krupp dropped out when the requirements changed to 30 tones in 1941 when the German encounters the Soviet [[T-34 (1941)|T-34]] and [[KV-1 (L-11)|KV-1]] tanks where the Panzer III and Panzer IV's performance have little effect due to its superior armour, mobility, and armament. The VK 20 was abandoned for the VK 30.02 in April 1942. Daimler-Benz design for this project looks similar to the T-34 with the turret far forward in the hull, plus the use of a diesel engine and external leaf spring suspension. MAN's design had a twin torsion bar, the interleaved suspension system (like the [[Tiger H1|Tiger I]]) with the turret situated in the middle of the hull, plus had a petrol Maybach engine. Hitler was reported to believe that the DB design was superior to the MAN design, and in a review between January to March 1942, Fritz Todt and Albert Speer also recommended the DB design. Then MAN revised their design, and a special commission by Hitler decided on the MAN design in May 1942, to which Hitler approved after reviewing it. One of the reasons the MAN was approved was that its turret was already in production while the DB used a completely new design. However, despite being built for a 30-ton design, Hitler decided to increase the armour on the MAN design and the weight went from 30 tons to 45 tons.

The MAN design was made into a prototype in September 1942, when it was officially accepted after testing and named the '''Panzerkampfwagen V Panther'''. Where it remained so until 1944, where Hitler removed the '''V''' in the designation for the name '''Panther'''. Production started in December 1942, though the early models suffered from reliability issues. The production plants expanded from MAN to Daimler-Benz, MNH, and Henschel for increased output. Despite that, production was often delayed due to Allied air bombing, which targeted the Maybach engine plant and DB, MAN, and MNH tank factories. Nevertheless, the total number of Panther tanks produced was 6,706, making the Panther the third most produced armoured fighting vehicle in Germany behind the Panzer IV and the StuG III.

===Design===
The MAN design for the Panther featured a heavily sloped armour design, with the front glacis plate being 80 mm thick (from the original 60 mm before the weight increase) and when sloped at 55 degrees, it was 140 mm effective in thickness. This made the Panther one of the best-armoured vehicle in World War II. The side armour of the Panther was way thinner at 40 mm that could be pierced very easily. Additional side armour in the form of Schürzen could be placed on the sides hanging to cover the suspension and hull side from being penetrated by Soviet anti-tank rifle fire. The Panther used the same engine as the Tiger I, the Mayback HL 210 P30 engine, and had a similar suspension system, the Schachtellaufwerk interleaved wheel system, which complicated maintenance issues. The tank used the formidable 7.5 cm Kwk 42 cannon, which could destroy most of the allied tanks in service, only possess a mediocre HE shell.

The '''Ausf. A''' variant was the second variant designed for the Panther, The old drum-shaped cupola on the [[Panther D|Ausf. D]] had been replaced by a side-swinging hatch that didn't require the commander to expose himself to open or close the hatch. The Ausf. A introduced the standard ball mount for the assistant driver's machine gun, replacing the "letterbox" flap design on the Ausf. D. The Ausf. A also had the initial turret curved gun mantlet that was introduced to the Panther, though there were faults with the design as explained below. Other small improvements of the Ausf. A over the Ausf. D was improved reliability by ironing out several mechanical issues. 2,192 Panther Ausf. A was produced from August 1943 to June 1944.

The Panther's rushed development and commitment into battle caused the design to have many flaws inhibiting its full potential. The most prominent flaw that lasted throughout the war was the weak final drive due to using a double spur system that made it more prone to failure from the Panther's torque requirements, which is averaged at around 150 km before failing. The curved gun mantlet design had an unfortunate tendency to ricochet deflected rounds into the roof, it was, however, not fixed until a new gun mantlet design with a flat "chin" shape was introduced on the [[Panther G|Panther G]]. The Schachtellaufwerk suspension system, like the [[Tiger H1|Tiger]], suffered from over-engineering and complicating maintenance of the tank. Smaller problems in the tank included not having a dedicated periscope for the gunner, maintenance-heavy, fuel-hungry, and deteriorating armour quality as metal alloys in Germany began to run out.

Despite its heavier weight and slightly complex design, the cost of each Panther tank was not very high in relative to tanks with a price at 117,100 Reichmarks, compared to the 103,462 RM of Panzer IVs and 250,800 RM of the Tiger I. This made the tank rather economic for its fighting purposes despite being over-engineered.

===Combat usage===
The Panther was first issued to the Eastern Front, arming the 51st and 52nd Tank Battalions. Their usage presented mechanical problems of the Panther, forcing many of the early Panthers to be returned for rebuilding. Despite these issues, the Panther was deemed critical in the Battle of Kursk in Operation Citadel, Hitler delayed the operation so more Panthers can reach the front. 200 Panthers were ready in June 1943, but its combat debut was disappointing. The Panthers, which arrived last minute before the operation started, meant that the crew serving the tanks had little time to train with the new tanks. Two tanks were lost to motor fires right after disembarking from the trains at the front lines. 184 were operational at the start of the operation on July 5, this dropped to 40 within two days. According to Heinz Guderian, five days into the offensive, only 10 operation Panthers were available with 25 completely lost, 100 in need of repairs, and 60 per cent of those mechanical breakdowns were easily repaired. Those that did work during the campaign were able to cause heavy casualties on the Soviet tank forces, but the Panther's lethality was mitigated by its low number available. When the operation turned and the Soviet counteroffensive pushed the Germans away from Kursk, the Panther loss rose to 156 on August 11, with many more lost as the Soviet kept gaining ground. Perhaps the Panther's biggest role in Operation Citadel was delaying the start of the operation by two months to allow the Soviet defences to be bolstered beyond the German's expectations, causing the failure of the offensive.

After the failure at Kursk, improvements on the Panther helped its reliability rate. By March 1944, Guderian reported that most of the Panther's flaws were ironed out, but the final drive and other mechanical issues were still a major issue to front-line units. The Panthers served the rest of the war as quick-reaction forces to fight off Allied offensives on both fronts. On the Eastern Front, some 700 Panthers were committed to the battle at all times, though the number of operational vehicles varies depending on the situation. The Panthers were also sent to suppress the Warsaw Uprising in August 1944. Two were captured by the Polish forces, who used them against the German forces. The captured Panthers were used until they became immobilized and were destroyed to prevent recapture by the Germans.

On the Western Front, the Panthers began being present in large numbers after the Invasion of Normandy. 156 Panthers were initially present between two Panzer regiments, but this increased by seven regiments after the Allied invasion, boosting the strength to 432 tanks. The high number of Panther situated in France, mostly around Caen, and their performance against the Allied armour caused many Allied tankers to fear it as much as the Tiger tanks. However, the Panther's reliability problem was still evident as many Panthers were left abandoned by the crew when they broke down. The mechanical breakdown, partly from the flaws in the machine, can also be attributed to the poor crew training given, which showed by crew overburdening the transmission or lacking regular maintenance on the tank. The Allied assessment of the Panther was that its mobility on soft grounds was superior due to its wider tracks giving more flotation over the ground, and armour and firepower value was superior to anything they had, though it was inferior in the bocage terrain of France due to the constrained nature of the environment. The Panther participated in the famed Battle of Arracourt, where a total of 262 German tanks were committed to battle. The battle, against the mostly [[M4|M4 Sherman]], equipped 4th Armored Division, routed the Germans after they suffered heavy casualties, while the Allies only losing 32 armoured fighting vehicles, a testament on how crew training and tactical advantage have a big impact on tank warfare. The highest concentration of Panthers on the Western Front was 471 Panthers (336 operational) in the Ardennes Offensive (Battle of the Bulge), where it showed its prowess in open terrain due to its superior gun. The Panthers also took place in Operation Grief, being disguised as [[M10 GMC|M10 tank destroyers]] to trick American soldiers. All of these mocked up Panthers were destroyed in battle or scrapped after it. After the Ardennes Offensive, eight Panzer division with 271 Panthers were transferred to the Eastern Front to beat back the Soviet offensive. Only five Panther battalions, 96 Panthers for each battalion, remained on the Western Front to fight the Allies.

After the war, Panther still saw a use for some time in various countries. Bulgaria and Romania received Panthers from the Soviets as aid, which they used until the 1950s. France was the most notable user of the Panther tanks after World War II due to the large quantities of operable vehicles left behind by the Germans during the Normandy invasion. The French raised a regiment of 50 Panthers from 1944 to 1947, when they were replaced by the new ARL 44 tanks. The Panther also influenced the French AMX 50 tank design, and its gun was derived onto the AMX 13 light tank. In 1947, an evaluation was written by the French War Ministry on the Panthers which even made their own assessment of the Panther that pointed out most of the flaws of the Panthers, especially the mechanical failure and the deficiency of the armour later in the war due to alloy shortages.

{{break}}
{{Navigation-Start|{{Annotation|Archive of the in-game description|An archive of the historical description of the vehicle that was presented in-game prior to Update 1.55 'Royal Armour'}}}}
{{Navigation-First-Simple-Line}}
In the fall of 1943, production of the Ausf.A variant of the Pz.Kpfw. V tank began. The Verstandigungsoeffnung hatch, which allowed for communication with infantry and for pistol fire from inside, was removed from the new turret. Vehicles of this variant were given the simpler monocular TZF-12А sight, as well as the commander's cupola used by the Tiger I tank. The hull's front plate was equipped with a traditional ball-mount directional machine gun instead of the inefficient letterbox flap gun used earlier. To strengthen the chassis, the road wheels received an increased number of bolts. The engine and transmission cooling systems were improved. A viewport was installed on the roof of the turret, along with a close-combat device (antipersonnel fragmentation grenade launchers). Tanks released at a later date had a modified exhaust system. Some Panther Ausf. A tanks were equipped with experimental infrared night vision devices. All of the tanks of this variant had their vertical surfaces coated with Zimmerit anti-magnetic paste.

From August 1943 to May 1944, about 2,000 of these tanks were released.

Beginning in 1943, the Red Army captured a small number of Panther tanks (of several variants). These tanks were then used by several of the USSR's armoured divisions, including, for example, Lieutenant Sotnikov's division. This tank was known as a dangerous enemy to Soviet tank forces, and captured vehicles were considered a thing of great luck. They were given to the most experienced and effective crews as recognition of their incredible merit. To keep the German tanks in good condition, Soviet tank divisions used captured German mechanics. In 1944, a technical manual for the Panther was published in Russian, for distribution to the crews.
{{Navigation-End}}

== Media ==


;Skins

* [https://live.warthunder.com/feed/camouflages/?vehicle=germ_pzkpfw_V_ausf_a_panther Skins and camouflages for the {{PAGENAME}} from live.warthunder.com.]

;Sights

* [https://live.warthunder.com/post/675135/en/ RideR2's Realistic gunsight (TZF4a, TZF 5a/b/d/e/f/f2, TZF 9b/b1/c/d, TZF 12/a) for Pzkpfw II, Pzkpfw III, Pzkpfw IV, Pzkpfw V, Pzkpfw VI]

;Videos
{{Youtube-gallery|y1S7jHyFxdA|'''The Shooting Range #34''' - ''Pages of History'' section at 02:36 discusses the Panther I.|Bf1YWYfD_qk|'''The Shooting Range #135''' - ''Metal Beasts'' section at 01:12 discusses the {{PAGENAME}}.|oa26g25qqP4|'''Best medium tanks''' discusses the {{PAGENAME}} at 0:34 - ''War Thunder Official Channel''|9rUocSj2dHc|'''Tank Chats #16 Panther''' - ''The Tank Museum''}}

== See also ==
''Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:''

* ''reference to the series of the vehicles;''
* ''links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.''

== External links ==
''Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:''

* ''topic on the official game forum;''
* ''other literature.''

{{TankManufacturer MAN AG}}
{{Germany medium tanks}}

Panther A

2024-04-23T11:44:38Z

U151393429: /* Notable Enemies */

{{About
|about = German medium tank '''{{PAGENAME}}'''
|other
|usage-1 = other versions
|link-1 = Panther tank (Family)
|usage-2 = other uses
|link-2 = Panther (Disambiguation)
}}
{{Specs-Card
|code=germ_pzkpfw_V_ausf_a_panther
|images={{Specs-Card-Image|GarageImage_{{PAGENAME}}.jpg|ArtImage_{{PAGENAME}}.png}}
}}

== Description ==

The '''Panzerkampfwagen V Ausführung A (Panther A)''' ([[Abbreviations#.28DE.29 Sd.Kfz. Index|Sd.Kfz. Index:]] '''Sd.Kfz. 171''') is the second production variant of the iconic [[Panther tank (Family)|Panzerkampfwagen V Panther medium tank family]]. Many [[Panther D]] characteristics, such as the small rectangular 'letterbox' hull machine gun opening, remained on the early production Panther A manufactured between July and December 1943. The Panther A turret has received significant modifications. For starters, the gun mantlet on the Panther A turret was larger than the one on the previous Panther D. The design of the cast turret side directly behind the gun mantlet was modified to a dish-shaped protrusion to fit the new gun mantlet. In addition, a new dome-shaped cast-armour commander's cupola was designed, and a ring was mounted on the commander's cupola to allow for the mounting of an anti-aircraft light machine gun. A single-speed turret power traverse system was also introduced, allowing Panther A to react to adversary tanks considerably faster than before. Finally, the German Army put a unique coating called Zimmerit on the tank's outside surface, anticipating that the Soviets and Allies would deploy magnetic mines to destroy the tank. The Zimmerit aims to minimize the effectiveness of magnets adhering to the metal hull.

Introduced in the Closed Beta Test for Ground Forces before Update 1.41, the Panther A was part of the next generation of medium tanks that officially superseded the [[Pz.IV (Family)|Panzer IVs]] in World War II. The Panther A is widely regarded as one of the best medium tanks of World War II, combining mobility, protection, and firepower. After the Soviet [[T-34 (Family)|T-34]], it was one of the most influential tank designs and served as the foundation for many later medium tank designs in other countries. The turret traverse speed is much faster than the previous Panther D model, lowering reaction time to unexpected spotting of enemies at close quarters significantly. Players can also use the commander's cupola-mounted MG34 light machine gun as a deterrence to hostile low-flying aircraft.

== General info ==
=== Survivability and armour ===
{{Specs-Tank-Armour}}


The Panther A has excellent frontal armour, which can protect the crew from many of the kinetic shells found in this battle rating range (with the exception of chemical shells and large calibre kinetic shells). Panther A's survivability is excellent when played to its strengths in long-range engagement; avoid brawling with enemy tanks unless absolutely necessary. Although the turret cheek of all Panther medium tanks is a well-known weak spot, engaging the enemy from a mid- to long-distance can greatly mitigate this weakness because the enemy will struggle to effectively penetrate the weak spot as engagement distance increases. Furthermore, due to the unique curvature of the turret armour layout, the turret cheek can bounce many kinetic shells from the enemy as distance increases. Keep in mind that powerful kinetic shells like that of the 122 mm D-25 cannon and APDS shells from British and Swedish tanks will easily penetrate the frontal armour, necessitating greater caution when engaging such foes.

The Panther A armour is not very different from the Panther D, retaining the curved gun mantlet that could potentially bounce a kinetic round down into the vulnerable hull roof. While this phenomenon is relatively rare, the risk is present and should be considered when fighting any enemy even if they don't have a gun that can reliably penetrate the Panther's turret front armour.

'''Armour type:'''

* Rolled homogeneous armour
* Cast homogeneous armour (Gun mantlet, Cupola)

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Armour !! Front (Slope angle) !! Sides (Slope angle) !! Rear (Slope angle) !! Roof
|-
| Hull || 80 mm (55°) ''Front glacis'' 60 mm (56°) ''Lower glacis'' || 40 mm (40°) ''Top'' 40 + 5 mm ''Lower'' || 40 mm (29°) || 16 mm
|-
| Turret || 100 mm ''Turret front'' 65 -100 mm ''Gun mantlet''|| 45 mm || 45 mm || 16 mm
|-
| Cupola || 80 mm || 80 mm || 80 mm || 16 mm
|-
|}
'''Notes:'''

* Tracks and lower side of the hull are covered by 5 mm thick armour plate, protecting them from HEAT and HE shells.
* Rear parts of the upper side hull armour have tracks attached to it, adding additional 20 mm of armour.

=== Mobility ===
{{Specs-Tank-Mobility}}


{{tankMobility|abMinHp=930|rbMinHp=531|AoAweight=0.45}}

The mobility of the Panther A is greatly improved over that of the previous Panther D, and it can be considered one of the best medium tanks in Germany's mid-BR range during WWII. The Panther A combines great mobility with excellent firepower thanks to its high top speed and neutral steering. However, mobility is still lacking when compared to its contemporary era tanks, particularly the Soviet T-34-85. Most Panther enemies, such as Sherman and T-34-85, will have no trouble firing the first shot when they come face-to-face with Panthers unexpectedly. Maps with lots of cover should be played with caution as US M18 light tanks frequently appear in unexpected areas of the map at the start of a match. Overall, the Panther A should be played as a fast medium tank, taking advantage of its excellent frontal armour while not overly relying on it to take hits, and engaging the enemy from a distance with its excellent cannon.

=== Modifications and economy ===
{{Specs-Economy}}

== Armaments ==
{{Specs-Tank-Armaments}}
=== Main armament ===
{{Specs-Tank-Weapon|1}}

{{main|KwK42 (75 mm)}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[KwK42 (75 mm)|75 mm KwK42]] || colspan="5" | Turret rotation speed (°/s) || colspan="4" | Reloading rate (seconds)
|-
! Mode !! Capacity !! Vertical !! Horizontal !! Stabilizer
! Stock !! Upgraded !! Full !! Expert !! Aced
! Stock !! Full !! Expert !! Aced
|-
! ''Arcade''
| rowspan="2" | 79 || rowspan="2" | -8°/+20° || rowspan="2" | ±180° || rowspan="2" | N/A || 19.0 || 26.4 || 32.0 || 35.4 || 37.6 || rowspan="2" | 9.62 || rowspan="2" | 8.51 || rowspan="2" | 7.84 || rowspan="2" | 7.40
|-
! ''Realistic''
| 11.9 || 14.0 || 17.0 || 18.8 || 20.0
|-
|}

==== Ammunition ====
{{:KwK42 (75 mm)/Ammunition|PzGr 39/42, PzGr 40/42, Sprgr. 42}}

==== [[Ammo racks]] ====
[[File:Ammoracks_{{PAGENAME}}.png|right|thumb|x250px|[[Ammo racks]] of the {{PAGENAME}}]]

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! Full ammo
! 1st rack empty
! 2nd rack empty
! 3rd rack empty
! 4th rack empty
! 5th rack empty
|-
| '''79''' || 77 ''(+2)'' || 71 ''(+8)'' || 62 ''(+17)'' || 53 ''(+26)'' || 44 ''(+35)''
|-
! 6th rack empty
! 7th rack empty
! 8th rack empty
! 9th rack empty
! 10th rack empty
! Visual discrepancy
|-
| 35 ''(+44)'' || 31 ''(+48)'' || 16 ''(+63)'' || 4 ''(+75)'' || 1 ''(+78)'' || Yes
|-
|}
'''Note''':

* Turret and large sides empty: 31 ''(+48)'' shells.

=== Machine guns ===
{{Specs-Tank-Weapon|2}}
{{Specs-Tank-Weapon|3}}

{{main|MG34 (7.92 mm)}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="50%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[MG34 (7.92 mm)|7.92 mm MG34]]
|-
! Mount !! Capacity (Belt) !! Fire rate !! Vertical !! Horizontal
|-
| Coaxial || 2,700 (150) || 900 || N/A || N/A
|-
| Pintle || 2,000 (150) || 900 || -10°/+25° || -60°/+160°
|-
|}

== Usage in battles ==

'''Playing as Panther A:'''

As with all other Panther-series medium tanks, it is best played in a supporting role or as a front-line offensive tank due to its agility. The cannon mounted is more than forgiving and powerful enough to destroy any potential target, so use it to an advantage; long-range shooting is effective as the muzzle velocity is extremely high, owing to the long-barreled 75 mm, the penetration values are more than capable of punching through any opposing armour, and the shell weight will, if the shell penetrates, consistently deal decent amounts of crew and module damage, if not immediately make the target on combat ineffective.

Sniping may be a fun and tempting strategy but you can get outmatched at those longer ranges where your fast reload and turret traverse no longer matter. A good strategy is to push objectives with the panther A considering it has the improved turret traverse and thus is able to fight in both the city and open ground. Do not attempt to use the panther like a tiger, and that is being a meatshield breakthrough tank. Instead, Spearhead assaults on objectives and flank the enemy. Your gun will be able to take care of most targets medium to close range and your armour should do its job. Make sure you check every corner and shoot and scoot. If you move methodically behind cover or on flanking routes you should be able to destroy many tanks. You can brawl quite well if you watch your flanks and flank others.

Another viable strategy is ambushes. The good camouflage for the tank can hide you if you hide behind a bush. Hide near a choke point and hope an enemy tank comes by.

Because Panthers have relatively weak side armour that even 20 mm autocannons can penetrate it, most enemies would make it their goal to flank around and penetrate the Panther's side armour (it does not help that the Panther's target profile is much larger from the side compared to the front as well). The Panther A's significantly improve turret traverse speed makes it better able to counter this trick than the Panther D, but it can still struggle against enemies that are moving at high speed like Shermans and T-34-85 at close ranges.

As the Panther's suspension rocks violently during the start and stop of the tank movement, it is recommended to not drive too fast when enemies are expected to be close by in order to reduce the gun sway and gun sight stabilization.

'''Playing against Panther A:'''

Like when fighting the previous Panther D variant head-on, fight the Panther A by firing into the right turret cheek. This is one of its weak points and can also knock out the gunner to provide some breathing room for a follow-up shot. Keep in mind that as the range increases, the shell may bounce. At short ranges, high-velocity guns like the 17-pounder can penetrate the lower glacis, and any large calibre (100 mm and up) can penetrate the upper glacis. Any British tank equipped with APDS can easily penetrate the upper glacis.

'''Light tank''': Light tanks can use their high speed to flank the Panther A tank, often more successfully than medium tanks due to their smaller profile and swift mobility. Most light tanks also carry sufficiently powerful cannons to penetrate the Panther A side armour from even a fair distance away as the Panther A's side armour is only 50 mm thick. Ensure that the Panther's firepower or mobility is taken out with the first shot, or else the Panther A would be able to quickly respond to a flanking threat by either their turret traverse or hull neutral steering turn to point directly at the light tank's position, protecting themselves while allowing them to handle the light tank threat.

'''Medium tank''': The Panther series medium tanks' greatest strengths are long-range engagements with its high-velocity 75 mm cannon and thick frontal armour. Their mobility also allow the Panther tank to reach most places an up-tiered medium tank may not reach in time. Try to minimize this disadvantage by closing the combat distance to minimize the firepower and armour disparity. Take care to make use of all map terrain and cover in order to avoid getting into the Panther's gun sights. Closing the distance also enable better targeting of weak points like the turret cheeks that is only 100 mm thick to quickly incapacitate the Panther A's turret crew, allowing for an opportunity to advance as the gunner is being replaced by another crew member. Tanks like the M4 Shermans can take advantage of their gun stabilizers to quickly move up and briefly pause and take a well-aimed shot at the Panther weak point as they get closer to take out the Panther A without needing to flank all the way around. Tanks like the T-34-85 can often instantly take out the Panther A with one well-placed APCBC round into the side and letting the post-penetration damage devastate the interior, often taking out all the crew members or igniting the ammunition.

'''Heavy tank/tank destroyer''': While heavy tanks are more well-armoured, caution is still needed as the Panther's high-velocity cannon can easily penetrate tanks like the IS-2 from a distance. Continue to approach the Panther A as one would with a medium tank, making the most of existing cover and terrain to avoid staying in the Panther's gun sights for very long. That said, heavy tanks and tank destroyers often have cannon armament more than able to penetrate the Panther's front armour without relying on weak points. With this attribute, heavy tanks and tank destroyers should take on the "Panther-destroyer" role by having allies attempt to expose the Panther tank in the open and keep it in placed for the heavy tank/tank destroyer to aim at the Panther tank and penetrate their armour with ease.

=== Notable Enemies ===

* '''M18 Hellcat or any hellcat variation:''' These guys are super annoying and will flank shot you by sneaking into a bush. Honestly a waste of ammo to shoot. Just watch your flanks because if you shoot it, it will crumple like a tin can and the crew will simply cease to exist.
* '''M4 Sherman 76 variants:''' These guys are dangerous for a different reason. Never underestimate how petty a m4 is. They will shoot your gun and then take your tracks with their 50 cals. Then they will flank shot you as you flail around helplessly. Best way to brawl them is to wiggle your turret while reloading causing them to miss.
* '''Jumbo sherman variants:''' These are a bit different because they will play like m4 and remove your gun and tracks and flank you, but they have super tough armor combined with godawful mobility. Shoot the hull mg port and wiggle your turret while reloading. It might seem like a small target but it is impossible to miss in a close range slugfest. Do not even think about shooting the turret anywhere because it is extremely heavily armoured. Any side shot is possible but in a face to face brawl a clean shot to the hull mg port will cause the jumbo's entire crew to flatline.
* '''M-51 Super Sherman:''' Despite its name, the only thing super about it is its gun. The HEAT shell will penetrate you easily but struggles to spall and will likely take two shots to kill you. Despite this meaning you can easily kill them with just a single shot in retaliation still be weary. If you find it pointing its gun at you, take cover immediately.
* '''PT-76B:''' Like the super sherman, this tank is deadly for its HEAT shell. Thankfully it is not particularly fast and has paper thin armour. There isn't much of a strategy for these guys. All you have to do is shoot first and that will be easy considering it takes about 2 shots for them to finish you off because of the bad spalling from the HEAT shell. It is possible that you will need 2 shots as well because the hollow insides of the tank, but always go for the turret crew first unless they are facing hull towards you, then, shoot the front hull plate and watch the 75mm round take out all 3 crew members.
* '''IS-2:''' The best and most spectacular way to kill an IS-2 is to ammorack it. Frontally, shoot the drivers vision port unless it is a mod 1944 variant. Other weak spots include the (your right, their left) turret cheek to take out the gunner and commander and pray that the 17 grams of RDX finish the job. The last and most surprising weak spot is the lower front plate which is poorly angled. This might sound risky but will likely result in a 1 shot because of the shrapnel bouncing off the floor of the tank. The IS-2 has a gun capable of penetrating you anywhere frontally but the chances are about 50/50. However, it is devastating if it does penetrate you. Bait the IS-2 into shooting because you have a 3× faster reload. they you can toy around with them as they scream for help. Treat any soviet tank with an abnormally long gun(ISU-122S, SU-100Y, KV-2(ZiS 6))with caution. Fear not, for big soviet guns have slow reloads. (If you want to be extra cheeky when you have a side or rear shot of the IS-2 turret, do not aim for the crew, aim for the turret rear for a guaranteed beautiful ammorack.)
* '''M26 Pershing and variants:''' Not all that common of a threat but still notable for being hard to kill. Shoot the hull or turret mg ports and aim for the lower and upper glacis joining point all the way up to the middle of the upper glacis. The gun of the normal pershing is potentially dangerous but nothing to be worried about only worry about the guns of the Super Pershing or the M26E1.
* '''Super Pershing:''' Super rare but possible. Best idea is to get a side shot perhaps by ambushing. The frontal weak points are the exposed(your right their left)turret cheek to ammorack it or go for the hull mg port. You can also shoot the tubes above the turret to disable the vertical drive and then scramble up to high or low ground and flank shot it.
* '''T-44:''' Also a rare sight. Shoot the(your right their left)turret cheek for a clean instant kill.
* '''T-34-85:''' This tank is mostly a nuisance. Do not fear the gun of the T-34. The T-34's biggest strengths are mobility and turret traverse. Flanking is your only weakness.
* '''M41A1:''' Small tank with an impressive APDS shell, but the spalling effects of this round is laughable. They will try to ammorack you because of this and will take 2-3 shots to kill you. You can kill them easily but the luck and the skill of their ammoracking is uncanny.
* '''Strv 74:''' Again, poorly armoured HEAT shell user. Extremely high HEAT penetration but this time with a easy to spot tall profile.
* '''FV4005:''' Possible to meet but very rare if not impossible. Never get hit by this thing. It is literally the size of a refrigerator there is no missing this thing. You can ammorack by going to the sides of the turret.
* '''R3 T20 FA-HS:''' We have all grown to hate this thing and it can side shot you but it is very rare. Most used by players trying to be funny. Machine gun into oblivion on sight.
* '''2S3M:''' Getting more and more common these days. It has a super dangerous HE shell and will snipe you. Also very easy to kill. The rear hull houses a large ammorack.
* '''Any ISU or SU series tank destroyer 100mm gun and up:''' Shoot anywhere except gun mantlet. Be aware of the slow reload for the 122mm ones as well as their tall profile unless it is a SU-100.

=== Pros and cons ===


'''Pros:'''

* Excellent cannon has a range of ammo for any type of enemy: great stock AP for common targets (eg. [[T-34-85]], [[M4 Sherman (Family)|M4 Sherman]] or even the [[M4A3E2]]), piercing APCR for early cold war tanks (e.g. [[M26 (Family)|M26]], [[T-44]], early [[Centurion (Family)|Centurions]]) and HE for light vehicles. Great accuracy and velocity allows easy long-range sniping. Plenty of ammo capacity allows flexible ammo setups. It even has a fast reload.
* Heavily armoured frontal hull is immune to most guns at 5.7 like the 85 mm D-5T and 76 mm M1
* Almost 300% faster turret rotation than the previous D model. Is more responsive to flankers
* Fast top speed, good hull traverse. Can get to positions in time. unlike other tanks it has neutral steering.
* Engine has 50 more horsepower compared to the D variant, acceleration is noticeably faster and is on par, if not slightly faster, than T-34s
* Adequate gun depression of -8° adapts most terrains well
* Reasonably cheap repair cost
* Has a wide range of good-looking camouflage to unlock. Suitable for almost every terrain
* 2 machine guns to get rid of airplanes or light tanks.

'''Cons:'''

* Gun mantlet is only 100 mm thick, well-known weak spot to shoot at. The ball mg port that is 80 mm can also be penetrated albeit less frequently.
* Terrible reverse speed of only -4 km/h, can get the player killed
* Weak side armour gets penetrated easily by Soviet APHEBC. Cannot angle too much
* Lower glacis often catches fire or breaks transmission when penetrated, leaving the tank immobile and vulnerable. The transmission does protect the crew at the cost of a lengthy repair.
* High profile for a medium tank makes it harder to hide
* Roof armour of 16 mm is vulnerable to [[M2 Browning (12.7 mm)|M2 Brownings]] which are widely seen on American planes. Any autocannon can cause strafing damage.
* Although heavily armoured, it can still get frontally penetrated easily by a rather common heavy tank: [[IS-2 (Family)|IS-2]]
* Gun mantlet traps shots (shells may deflect into the hull roof weak armour). This is incredibly rare.

== History ==

===Development===
The '''Panther''' development started as far back as 1938 as a replacement to the [[Pz.III F|Panzer IIIs]] and [[Pz.IV E|Panzer IVs]]. The program was called VK 20 and it called for a 20 ton tracked vehicle design by Krupp, Daimler-Benz, and MAN. Krupp dropped out when the requirements changed to 30 tones in 1941 when the German encounters the Soviet [[T-34 (1941)|T-34]] and [[KV-1 (L-11)|KV-1]] tanks where the Panzer III and Panzer IV's performance have little effect due to its superior armour, mobility, and armament. The VK 20 was abandoned for the VK 30.02 in April 1942. Daimler-Benz design for this project looks similar to the T-34 with the turret far forward in the hull, plus the use of a diesel engine and external leaf spring suspension. MAN's design had a twin torsion bar, the interleaved suspension system (like the [[Tiger H1|Tiger I]]) with the turret situated in the middle of the hull, plus had a petrol Maybach engine. Hitler was reported to believe that the DB design was superior to the MAN design, and in a review between January to March 1942, Fritz Todt and Albert Speer also recommended the DB design. Then MAN revised their design, and a special commission by Hitler decided on the MAN design in May 1942, to which Hitler approved after reviewing it. One of the reasons the MAN was approved was that its turret was already in production while the DB used a completely new design. However, despite being built for a 30-ton design, Hitler decided to increase the armour on the MAN design and the weight went from 30 tons to 45 tons.

The MAN design was made into a prototype in September 1942, when it was officially accepted after testing and named the '''Panzerkampfwagen V Panther'''. Where it remained so until 1944, where Hitler removed the '''V''' in the designation for the name '''Panther'''. Production started in December 1942, though the early models suffered from reliability issues. The production plants expanded from MAN to Daimler-Benz, MNH, and Henschel for increased output. Despite that, production was often delayed due to Allied air bombing, which targeted the Maybach engine plant and DB, MAN, and MNH tank factories. Nevertheless, the total number of Panther tanks produced was 6,706, making the Panther the third most produced armoured fighting vehicle in Germany behind the Panzer IV and the StuG III.

===Design===
The MAN design for the Panther featured a heavily sloped armour design, with the front glacis plate being 80 mm thick (from the original 60 mm before the weight increase) and when sloped at 55 degrees, it was 140 mm effective in thickness. This made the Panther one of the best-armoured vehicle in World War II. The side armour of the Panther was way thinner at 40 mm that could be pierced very easily. Additional side armour in the form of Schürzen could be placed on the sides hanging to cover the suspension and hull side from being penetrated by Soviet anti-tank rifle fire. The Panther used the same engine as the Tiger I, the Mayback HL 210 P30 engine, and had a similar suspension system, the Schachtellaufwerk interleaved wheel system, which complicated maintenance issues. The tank used the formidable 7.5 cm Kwk 42 cannon, which could destroy most of the allied tanks in service, only possess a mediocre HE shell.

The '''Ausf. A''' variant was the second variant designed for the Panther, The old drum-shaped cupola on the [[Panther D|Ausf. D]] had been replaced by a side-swinging hatch that didn't require the commander to expose himself to open or close the hatch. The Ausf. A introduced the standard ball mount for the assistant driver's machine gun, replacing the "letterbox" flap design on the Ausf. D. The Ausf. A also had the initial turret curved gun mantlet that was introduced to the Panther, though there were faults with the design as explained below. Other small improvements of the Ausf. A over the Ausf. D was improved reliability by ironing out several mechanical issues. 2,192 Panther Ausf. A was produced from August 1943 to June 1944.

The Panther's rushed development and commitment into battle caused the design to have many flaws inhibiting its full potential. The most prominent flaw that lasted throughout the war was the weak final drive due to using a double spur system that made it more prone to failure from the Panther's torque requirements, which is averaged at around 150 km before failing. The curved gun mantlet design had an unfortunate tendency to ricochet deflected rounds into the roof, it was, however, not fixed until a new gun mantlet design with a flat "chin" shape was introduced on the [[Panther G|Panther G]]. The Schachtellaufwerk suspension system, like the [[Tiger H1|Tiger]], suffered from over-engineering and complicating maintenance of the tank. Smaller problems in the tank included not having a dedicated periscope for the gunner, maintenance-heavy, fuel-hungry, and deteriorating armour quality as metal alloys in Germany began to run out.

Despite its heavier weight and slightly complex design, the cost of each Panther tank was not very high in relative to tanks with a price at 117,100 Reichmarks, compared to the 103,462 RM of Panzer IVs and 250,800 RM of the Tiger I. This made the tank rather economic for its fighting purposes despite being over-engineered.

===Combat usage===
The Panther was first issued to the Eastern Front, arming the 51st and 52nd Tank Battalions. Their usage presented mechanical problems of the Panther, forcing many of the early Panthers to be returned for rebuilding. Despite these issues, the Panther was deemed critical in the Battle of Kursk in Operation Citadel, Hitler delayed the operation so more Panthers can reach the front. 200 Panthers were ready in June 1943, but its combat debut was disappointing. The Panthers, which arrived last minute before the operation started, meant that the crew serving the tanks had little time to train with the new tanks. Two tanks were lost to motor fires right after disembarking from the trains at the front lines. 184 were operational at the start of the operation on July 5, this dropped to 40 within two days. According to Heinz Guderian, five days into the offensive, only 10 operation Panthers were available with 25 completely lost, 100 in need of repairs, and 60 per cent of those mechanical breakdowns were easily repaired. Those that did work during the campaign were able to cause heavy casualties on the Soviet tank forces, but the Panther's lethality was mitigated by its low number available. When the operation turned and the Soviet counteroffensive pushed the Germans away from Kursk, the Panther loss rose to 156 on August 11, with many more lost as the Soviet kept gaining ground. Perhaps the Panther's biggest role in Operation Citadel was delaying the start of the operation by two months to allow the Soviet defences to be bolstered beyond the German's expectations, causing the failure of the offensive.

After the failure at Kursk, improvements on the Panther helped its reliability rate. By March 1944, Guderian reported that most of the Panther's flaws were ironed out, but the final drive and other mechanical issues were still a major issue to front-line units. The Panthers served the rest of the war as quick-reaction forces to fight off Allied offensives on both fronts. On the Eastern Front, some 700 Panthers were committed to the battle at all times, though the number of operational vehicles varies depending on the situation. The Panthers were also sent to suppress the Warsaw Uprising in August 1944. Two were captured by the Polish forces, who used them against the German forces. The captured Panthers were used until they became immobilized and were destroyed to prevent recapture by the Germans.

On the Western Front, the Panthers began being present in large numbers after the Invasion of Normandy. 156 Panthers were initially present between two Panzer regiments, but this increased by seven regiments after the Allied invasion, boosting the strength to 432 tanks. The high number of Panther situated in France, mostly around Caen, and their performance against the Allied armour caused many Allied tankers to fear it as much as the Tiger tanks. However, the Panther's reliability problem was still evident as many Panthers were left abandoned by the crew when they broke down. The mechanical breakdown, partly from the flaws in the machine, can also be attributed to the poor crew training given, which showed by crew overburdening the transmission or lacking regular maintenance on the tank. The Allied assessment of the Panther was that its mobility on soft grounds was superior due to its wider tracks giving more flotation over the ground, and armour and firepower value was superior to anything they had, though it was inferior in the bocage terrain of France due to the constrained nature of the environment. The Panther participated in the famed Battle of Arracourt, where a total of 262 German tanks were committed to battle. The battle, against the mostly [[M4|M4 Sherman]], equipped 4th Armored Division, routed the Germans after they suffered heavy casualties, while the Allies only losing 32 armoured fighting vehicles, a testament on how crew training and tactical advantage have a big impact on tank warfare. The highest concentration of Panthers on the Western Front was 471 Panthers (336 operational) in the Ardennes Offensive (Battle of the Bulge), where it showed its prowess in open terrain due to its superior gun. The Panthers also took place in Operation Grief, being disguised as [[M10 GMC|M10 tank destroyers]] to trick American soldiers. All of these mocked up Panthers were destroyed in battle or scrapped after it. After the Ardennes Offensive, eight Panzer division with 271 Panthers were transferred to the Eastern Front to beat back the Soviet offensive. Only five Panther battalions, 96 Panthers for each battalion, remained on the Western Front to fight the Allies.

After the war, Panther still saw a use for some time in various countries. Bulgaria and Romania received Panthers from the Soviets as aid, which they used until the 1950s. France was the most notable user of the Panther tanks after World War II due to the large quantities of operable vehicles left behind by the Germans during the Normandy invasion. The French raised a regiment of 50 Panthers from 1944 to 1947, when they were replaced by the new ARL 44 tanks. The Panther also influenced the French AMX 50 tank design, and its gun was derived onto the AMX 13 light tank. In 1947, an evaluation was written by the French War Ministry on the Panthers which even made their own assessment of the Panther that pointed out most of the flaws of the Panthers, especially the mechanical failure and the deficiency of the armour later in the war due to alloy shortages.

{{break}}
{{Navigation-Start|{{Annotation|Archive of the in-game description|An archive of the historical description of the vehicle that was presented in-game prior to Update 1.55 'Royal Armour'}}}}
{{Navigation-First-Simple-Line}}
In the fall of 1943, production of the Ausf.A variant of the Pz.Kpfw. V tank began. The Verstandigungsoeffnung hatch, which allowed for communication with infantry and for pistol fire from inside, was removed from the new turret. Vehicles of this variant were given the simpler monocular TZF-12А sight, as well as the commander's cupola used by the Tiger I tank. The hull's front plate was equipped with a traditional ball-mount directional machine gun instead of the inefficient letterbox flap gun used earlier. To strengthen the chassis, the road wheels received an increased number of bolts. The engine and transmission cooling systems were improved. A viewport was installed on the roof of the turret, along with a close-combat device (antipersonnel fragmentation grenade launchers). Tanks released at a later date had a modified exhaust system. Some Panther Ausf. A tanks were equipped with experimental infrared night vision devices. All of the tanks of this variant had their vertical surfaces coated with Zimmerit anti-magnetic paste.

From August 1943 to May 1944, about 2,000 of these tanks were released.

Beginning in 1943, the Red Army captured a small number of Panther tanks (of several variants). These tanks were then used by several of the USSR's armoured divisions, including, for example, Lieutenant Sotnikov's division. This tank was known as a dangerous enemy to Soviet tank forces, and captured vehicles were considered a thing of great luck. They were given to the most experienced and effective crews as recognition of their incredible merit. To keep the German tanks in good condition, Soviet tank divisions used captured German mechanics. In 1944, a technical manual for the Panther was published in Russian, for distribution to the crews.
{{Navigation-End}}

== Media ==


;Skins

* [https://live.warthunder.com/feed/camouflages/?vehicle=germ_pzkpfw_V_ausf_a_panther Skins and camouflages for the {{PAGENAME}} from live.warthunder.com.]

;Sights

* [https://live.warthunder.com/post/675135/en/ RideR2's Realistic gunsight (TZF4a, TZF 5a/b/d/e/f/f2, TZF 9b/b1/c/d, TZF 12/a) for Pzkpfw II, Pzkpfw III, Pzkpfw IV, Pzkpfw V, Pzkpfw VI]

;Videos
{{Youtube-gallery|y1S7jHyFxdA|'''The Shooting Range #34''' - ''Pages of History'' section at 02:36 discusses the Panther I.|Bf1YWYfD_qk|'''The Shooting Range #135''' - ''Metal Beasts'' section at 01:12 discusses the {{PAGENAME}}.|oa26g25qqP4|'''Best medium tanks''' discusses the {{PAGENAME}} at 0:34 - ''War Thunder Official Channel''|9rUocSj2dHc|'''Tank Chats #16 Panther''' - ''The Tank Museum''}}

== See also ==
''Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:''

* ''reference to the series of the vehicles;''
* ''links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.''

== External links ==
''Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:''

* ''topic on the official game forum;''
* ''other literature.''

{{TankManufacturer MAN AG}}
{{Germany medium tanks}}

SC2500 (2,500 kg)

2024-03-07T12:39:05Z

U151393429: /* Comparison with analogues */

== Description ==
''Write an introduction to the article in 2-3 small paragraphs. Briefly tell us about the history of the development and combat using the weaponry and also about its features. Compile a list of air, ground, or naval vehicles that feature this weapon system in the game.''
[[File:SC2500.jpg|left|400px|thumb]]
{{break}}

=== Vehicles equipped with this weapon ===


* {{Specs-Link|he-111h-16_winter}}

== General info ==


{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
! colspan="2" | Bomb characteristics
|-
| '''Mass''' || 2,400 kg
|-
| '''Explosive mass''' || 1,700 kg
|-
| '''Explosive type''' || Trialen 105
|-
| '''TNT equivalent''' || 2,720 kg
|-
| '''HE max penetration''' || 270 mm
|-
| '''Armour destruction radius''' || 71 m
|-
| '''Fragment dispersion radius''' || 301 m
|-
|}

=== Effective damage ===
''Describe the type of damage produced by this type of bomb (high explosive, splash damage, etc)''

=== Comparison with analogues ===
Although not as powerful as it's Soviet and British counterparts, the SC2500 can still drastically impact the course of the game when played correctly.

== Usage in battles ==


;Ground RB

Due to its overwhelming explosive power, the SC2500 is able to destroy multiple tanks that are in close proximity. It is best used on ground targets that are close together or that stand on a capture point as it has enough range to clean the entire point. Be careful not to bomb your own forces since the blast radius is large.

;Air RB

The SC2500 lacks versatility in realistic air battles since you can bomb only one base at a time with it. It also slows down the plane a lot. The He 111 H-16 has better options (2x SC1000 bombs) for that role. Since maps usually feature 3 bases at that BR, you won't be able to destroy them all because you won't have the time to return to base several times without getting shot down or the match ending. It is advised not to use the SC2500 bomb.

=== Pros and cons ===
''Summarise and briefly evaluate the weaponry in terms of its characteristics and combat effectiveness. Mark pros and cons as a list.''

'''Pros:'''

* Devastating payload
* Great blast radius

'''Cons:'''

* Severe impact on the carrier's flight performance

== History ==
''Examine the history of the creation and combat usage of the weapon in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too long, take it to a separate article, taking a link to the article about the weapon and adding a block "/History" (example: <nowiki>https://wiki.warthunder.com/(Weapon-name)/History</nowiki>) and add a link to it here using the <code>main</code> template. Be sure to reference text and sources by using <code><nowiki><ref></ref></nowiki></code>, as well as adding them at the end of the article with <code><nowiki><references /></nowiki></code>.''

== Media ==
''Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.''

== See also ==


* [[SC1800B (1,800 kg)]]

== External links ==
''Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:''

* ''topic on the official game forum;''
* ''other literature.''

{{Bombs}}

[[Category:Suspended armaments]]

SC2500 (2,500 kg)

2024-03-07T12:38:28Z

U151393429: /* Comparison with analogues */

== Description ==
''Write an introduction to the article in 2-3 small paragraphs. Briefly tell us about the history of the development and combat using the weaponry and also about its features. Compile a list of air, ground, or naval vehicles that feature this weapon system in the game.''
[[File:SC2500.jpg|left|400px|thumb]]
{{break}}

=== Vehicles equipped with this weapon ===


* {{Specs-Link|he-111h-16_winter}}

== General info ==


{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
! colspan="2" | Bomb characteristics
|-
| '''Mass''' || 2,400 kg
|-
| '''Explosive mass''' || 1,700 kg
|-
| '''Explosive type''' || Trialen 105
|-
| '''TNT equivalent''' || 2,720 kg
|-
| '''HE max penetration''' || 270 mm
|-
| '''Armour destruction radius''' || 71 m
|-
| '''Fragment dispersion radius''' || 301 m
|-
|}

=== Effective damage ===
''Describe the type of damage produced by this type of bomb (high explosive, splash damage, etc)''

=== Comparison with analogues ===
''Although not as powerful as it's Soviet and British counterparts, the SC2500 can still drastically impact the course of the game when played correctly.''

== Usage in battles ==


;Ground RB

Due to its overwhelming explosive power, the SC2500 is able to destroy multiple tanks that are in close proximity. It is best used on ground targets that are close together or that stand on a capture point as it has enough range to clean the entire point. Be careful not to bomb your own forces since the blast radius is large.

;Air RB

The SC2500 lacks versatility in realistic air battles since you can bomb only one base at a time with it. It also slows down the plane a lot. The He 111 H-16 has better options (2x SC1000 bombs) for that role. Since maps usually feature 3 bases at that BR, you won't be able to destroy them all because you won't have the time to return to base several times without getting shot down or the match ending. It is advised not to use the SC2500 bomb.

=== Pros and cons ===
''Summarise and briefly evaluate the weaponry in terms of its characteristics and combat effectiveness. Mark pros and cons as a list.''

'''Pros:'''

* Devastating payload
* Great blast radius

'''Cons:'''

* Severe impact on the carrier's flight performance

== History ==
''Examine the history of the creation and combat usage of the weapon in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too long, take it to a separate article, taking a link to the article about the weapon and adding a block "/History" (example: <nowiki>https://wiki.warthunder.com/(Weapon-name)/History</nowiki>) and add a link to it here using the <code>main</code> template. Be sure to reference text and sources by using <code><nowiki><ref></ref></nowiki></code>, as well as adding them at the end of the article with <code><nowiki><references /></nowiki></code>.''

== Media ==
''Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.''

== See also ==


* [[SC1800B (1,800 kg)]]

== External links ==
''Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:''

* ''topic on the official game forum;''
* ''other literature.''

{{Bombs}}

[[Category:Suspended armaments]]