Evolution of German Tanks | Animated History

Hello, I'm Griffin Johnson, the armchair historian, given the large number of vehicles designed by Germany during the 20th century, we will only feature the

tanks

that were produced in large quantities, as well as a couple of important interwar prototypes, if you will. For more videos covering different German

tanks

like self-propelled guns and tank destroyers, feel free to let us know in the comments below. Now enjoy my horrible attempts at German pronunciation first. I would like to thank our sponsor. The Conflict of Nations is a free online pvp strategy game that allows you to fight against up to 128 other players in weeks-long real-time matches.

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Germany's first foray into armored warfare began during the Great War with the sturm panzerwarden art sieben fowl or sturm panzerwagen a7v created in response to British tanks that had begun to appear on the Western Front in September 1916, the a7v was quickly created as a prototype and went into production almost exactly a year later because it was manufactured by hand. No two A7vs were completely alike, although they were arguably as effective as the British Mark IV. The A7V was only built in very small numbers and saw action in a handful of engagements before the end of the war following its defeat at the hands of the Allies in During World War I, Germany was forced to cease all domestic tank production. until the Apollo Treaty in 1922 allowed the creation of the Kama tank school near Kazan, in the Soviet Union, safe from prying eyes.

Several German companies began competing to produce new tank designs. veiled in absolute secrecy, the first major entry of this program was taktor or gross tractor, which directly translates as large tractor, a code name designated for a 16-ton tracked vehicle with two turrets, one equipped with a 75 millimeter cannon and the other with a 7.92 cannon. millimeter machine gun Six prototypes were built and underwent testing, but were rejected for mass production. If anything, it was the Soviets who gained the most from the brute tractor using it as inspiration for their own multi-turret tanks, such as the T28, during this same period, several prototypes. of a second, much lighter vehicle called the leicester were built by croup and reinmatal armed with a 37 millimeter cannon and capable of reaching speeds of up to 19 miles or 30 kilometers per hour, the prototypes provided crucial information for the development of new and better vehicles with improved ergonomics. and crew layout, despite the obvious shortcomings of the thick tractor, some German officers still clung to the outdated concept of the tank as a land battleship, so in 1934 the enormous three-turret neu beforezoyg was built, this heavy giant was an effective propaganda tool and took center stage. during the Berlin International Automobile Exhibition in 1939.

Unfortunately, it proved completely useless on the battlefield due to its low speed and weak armor that could easily be pierced by rifle-caliber ammunition. Fortunately for the Vehmasht, much more practical designs were already in the works. The first of these. It was the Panzer Eins or Panzer One infantry support tank armed with twin light machine guns. More than one hundred Panzers participated in the Spanish Civil War. The first time German tanks entered combat since the First World War. This combat experience was vital for the development of

german

y The armored doctrine and the panzer would be seen in combat in almost all theaters of World War II.

Its chassis was also used by several early tank destroyers and self-propelled guns, although German tank doctrine was already shifting towards the use of heavier vehicles. Delays in the production of heavier vehicles led to the creation of a provisional design: the Panzer. Zvay or Panzer II, armed with a magazine-fed 20-millimeter automatic cannon, this light tank could punch above its weight. The Panzer Twos formed the bulk of Vermont's armored vehicles. divisions during the invasion of Poland and gave a good account of themselves in most engagements, the Panzer II was in service until the end of the war and the chassis served as the basis for many specialized vehicles, such as the Martyr 2 tank destroyer and the west self. -Powered artillery piece by 1937.

Production of heavier vehicles had finally begun from 10 prototypes of the Panzer 3 or Panzer 3 medium tank. Thanks to its superior ergonomics, the crew of a Panzer III could operate much more efficiently than their French or British counterparts. The prototype saw limited combat during the invasion of Poland, but these encounters provided valuable information about the strengths and weaknesses of the design. By the time of the invasion of France, the Panzer III had been upgraded to the Aspergeron A or E variant, which had thicker armor and improved suspension. Thanks to its excellent leadership coordination and use of radio communication, the Panzer III was able to They surrounded many of the slow, heavy French tanks they encountered even though they were often substantially outgunned by them.

The Panzer III continued to evolve rapidly after the invasion of France. and by the time of the North African campaign most were equipped with the short-barreled 50-millimeter gun that would become standardized with the H variant, but the fighting in North Africa also brought the Germans into contact with their first American tanks whose long 75-millimeter guns could easily pierce the armor of any Panzer III. Furthermore, the short 50-millimeter gun proved inadequate against Russian tanks such as the KV-1 and T-34. Seeing this weakness, Adolf Hitler ordered an upgrade that resulted in the L variant, which included spaced armor around the turret mantlet and upper hull.

Shortly after, the Panzer 3 reached its final

evolution

with the M variant, which added a deep wading escapement for crossing rivers and jackets and armor panels for protection against man-portable anti-tank weapons. Of course, the Panzer 3 was not. the only medium tank to begin production in the 1930s after an extensive series of prototype designs by multiple companies. The first Panzerfia or Panzer Fours began rolling off the production line just in time for the invasion of Poland. Initially they were infantry support tanks that launched high explosives. shells from their short 75 millimeter guns to destroy enemy bunkers and machine gun nests, a job they excelled at with the cannon was also more than adequate to deal with the lightly armored vehicles used by the Polish Army, much like its counterpart Smaller, the Panzer IV, received extensive improvements.

Just before the invasion of France, which resulted in the D variant, which had better suspension and armor protection, the Panzer IV proved to be an excellent vehicle during the early stages of the war, but was outgunned by most. British and American tanks and was still vulnerable even to low casualties. caliber anti-tank guns in early 1941, the Panzer IV was further upgraded with the Aspirjung F Heinz or F1 variant which increased the thickness of the frontal armor to 50 millimeters and improved the thickness of the turret armor by 30 millimeters. The tracks were also widened and the suspension redesigned, but like the Panzer 3, the short-barreled gun was never powerful enough at long range.

A solution was found in November 1941 when the Panzer IV received a long-barreled 75-millimeter gun that could penetrate all but the thickest armor of this transitional model. Initially known as the F2 variant and later renamed the G variant after receiving additional armor, by 1944 the Panzer IV had reached its full potential in the form of the H variant, which featured similar liners and panels to the Panzer III, however It's all downhill from here, as supply shortages forced Vermost to simplify the design with the j variant which removed the turret engine and replaced the scherzen with wire mesh, yet the Panzer IV continued to serve. faithfully to Vermont until the end of the war as useful as the Panzer III and Four were plans for larger, more powerful vehicles that had been floating around since 1935.

After the complete failure of the Neue Beforezoyg, German engineers went back to the drawing board. drawing and created a series of prototypes that slowly but surely evolved into possibly the most iconic tank of all time. The Tiga Ice or Tiger won with its thick armor, a devastating 88-millimeter gun and surprisingly good mobility. The Tiger One was a terrifying force on the battlefield that exemplified the German idea of ​​quality over quantity. Such production figures were very low, less than 2,000 units in total during its operational life, the Tiger received minor improvements, including a new periscope cupola, various internal modifications and a new exhaust system, while the expensive Tiger One was effective in its intended role with its only real drawback being the lack of units available for deployment, but Hitler was convinced that the problem lay not in the number of tiger tanks on the battlefield, but in their size and armament.

Their solution was the Tiga Osferon Bay, a massively oversized and overloaded vehicle, apparently built from the start to devour Germany's resources as quickly as possible to make matters worse, many Tiger Twos were later found to be sub-welded. than their older counterparts and even projectiles that could not penetrate the armor could crack and slowly deform the chassis to the point of breaking. Supply shortages in Germany eventually reached a point where as many King Tigers were abandoned due to lack of spare parts and fuel as destroyed by enemy fire. In the end, the Tiger II caused far more panic among its own mechanics and quartermasters than it did.

Among enemy troops not all late-war German tank designs were as impractical as the Tiger II; However, in 1943 the allies would encounter Vermont's second big cat, the Panta or Panther, imagined as a replacement for the Panzer IV, the Panther had well-sloped frontal armor. a powerful 75 millimeter cannon and road speeds of up to 55 kilometers or 34 miles per hour, although much larger and more advanced than the panzer iv, the panther was not especially difficult or expensive to produce compared to the tiger and were built Around 6,000 between 1943 and 1945. The initial version was called the D variant and was modified mid-production to fit a new cupola and eliminate the weak points created by the driver's vision slit and full side armor panels of machine gun port after the Panther was shown to be vulnerable to the 14.5 millimeter anti-tank rifles used by Russian infantry.

The overall thickness of the armor was increased further with the variant, although the design remained the same except for minor details. Unfortunately, the Panther suffered from the same reliability and parts shortage issues as the Tiger II. The suspension system in particular was overly complicated while the transmission was prone to failure in the heat of combat. The turret was well armored but the mantlet was eventually redesigned with the G variant eliminating the tendency to deflect bullets directly down the hole. The Panther served until the fall of the Third Reich and, despite its edition, remains one of the best late-war tanks deployed by the German army.

In the end, not even the tiger and the panther could save the Nazi regime from destruction and for many years divided Germany. The nation had to make do with equipment borrowed from the Americans or the Soviets, but in 1956 the Bundeswehr received permission to begin fielding domestic tank designs once again, resulting in the birth of the leopot eins or leopard 1, a tank of main battle that renounced thick armor. Plating excellent mobility, the Leopard was soon recognized as one of the best tanks on the market and orders came in from all over the world. German engineers quickly improved the design of thebase by adding a thermal jacket to the barrel and side skirts for better trajectory. protection, but despite excellent reviews from operators around the world, the Leopard 1 would not see sustained combat until the Bosnian War, where peacekeeping forces used Leopard 1a5 during several operations and were not yet completely satisfied with its design.

German engineers continued to work with their American counterparts throughout the Cold War to produce an even better armored fighting vehicle, but this super tank codenamed M Beitei Tsipsek or MBT 70 was eventually canceled and the Bundeswehr struck out on its own with the leopot zvei or leopard 2 built to take advantage of new advances in armor. and fire control technologies, the Leopard 2 quickly came to be considered by most operators as Europe's best tank, easily competitive with the American M1 Abrams. Leopard 2 is still Germany's main mbt and there have been seven different versions produced in the country thanks again to the conflict of nations for sponsoring this video join our special match in this free online pvp strategy game by registering for the game through from our affiliate link using the game name the armchair historian and the password the armchair historian shown on the screen at this time.