Panzer III is the common name of a medium tank that was developed in the 1930s by Germany and used extensively in World War II. The official German designation was Panzerkampfwagen III (abbreviated PzKpfw III) "armoured fighting vehicle". It was intended to fight other armoured fighting vehicles and serve alongside the infantry-support Panzer IV. However, it soon became obsolete in this role and for most purposes was supplanted by Panzer IVs with more powerful guns, though some Panzer IIIs would continue to be used for infantry support until late in the war. The Panzer III was intended to fight other tanks and a high-velocity 50 mm cannon was initially called for. However, the infantry at the time were being equipped with a 37 mm anti-tank gun, and it was felt that in the interest of standardization the tanks should carry the same armament. As a compromise, the turret ring was made large enough to accommodate a 50 mm cannon should a future upgrade be required. This single decision would later assure the Panzer III a much prolonged life in the German army. The early models (Ausf A to Ausf E, and a few Ausf F) were equipped with a 3.7 cm KwK 36 L/46.5 which proved somewhat satisfactory during the campaigns of 1939 and 1940 but later models (Ausf F to Ausf M) were upgraded with the heavier 5 cm KwK 38 L/42 and 5 cm KwK 39 L/60 cannons in response to increasingly better armed and armoured opponents. |
