Publisher Description

Using only original official period documents from the Second World War this book tries to provide the reader with the same information on the Panzer V Panther tank that was available to British and Commonwealth senior officers and tank crews during the war. As soon as intelligence reports confirmed the existence of the Panther tank the hunt was on to find reliable information on how to knock out this new German tank. Most people believe that the only way to stop a Panther was to penetrate its armour with an armour piercing A.P. round. Luckily the British 17 pdr anti-tank gun could do that but the British were also looking how to knock them out by using other weapons. They tested using high explosive artillery rounds and 20 mm air attack aircraft canon rounds to penetrate and damage the tank's rear engine deck and puncture the vehicle's radiators. Loss of water would cause the engine to overheat and stop working. Tank radiators were large and spares were not carried on the tank. If the Panther could not be recovered back to a maintenance depot the crew would have to abandon the tank and disable it by setting off internal explosive charges.

Author Biography

Craig Moore is a writer and editor for www.tanks-encyclopedia.com and www.tank-hunter.com, a guide to where you can find surviving WW1 and WW2 tanks. He has had an interest in military history since childhood. Eight of his close relatives fought in both World Wars: only six survived. One of his uncles lost a leg when his Sherman tank was hit during Operation Totalize in Normandy 1944. In 2017 he was part of the team that recovered a buried British WW2 Covenanter tank from a Vineyard in Surry. He lives in London but regularly visits tank museums and archives around the world.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements; Glossary; Introduction; 1 The Panther Tank Prototypes; 2 Panzer V Ausf. D Panther Tank (Sd.Kfz.171); 3 Panzer V Ausf. A Panther Tank (Sd.Kfz.171); 4 Panzer V Ausf. G Panther Tank (Sd.Kfz.171); 5 The Soviet Panther Tank Report; 6 Panther Armour-Thickness Poster; 7 Pamphlet on Attack on Panther PzKw V and Tiger PzKw VI; 8 US Army Pamphlet: How to Kill a Panther; 9 Performance Trials and Workshop Report; 10 Preliminary Report on Armour Quality and Vulnerability of the Panther Tank; 11 Panther, Brief Notes on Fighting Qualities: DTD Fighting Equipment Division; 12 Report of Comprehensive Firing Trials Against the German Panther PzKw V; 13 Authorised Battlefield Modifications; 14 Air Attack Trials; 15 British Anti-Tank Weapons; 16 British Battle Reports; 17 The Armour Report; 18 Panzerketten: German Tank Track Classification System; 19 The Bucket; 20 Surviving Panther Tanks.

Review

"...a very interesting and informative read."-- "IPMS/USA"
"This is a well presented, no nonsense book written by an author who has a deep affinity with tanks and their history. It is entertaining, fact filled and well illustrated."-- "War History Online"

Long Description

Using only original official period documents from the Second World War this book tries to provide the reader with the same information on the Panzer V Panther tank that was available to British and Commonwealth senior officers and tank crews during the war. As soon as intelligence reports confirmed the existence of the Panther tank the hunt was on to find reliable information on how to knock out this new German tank. Most people believe that the only way to stop a Panther was to penetrate its armour with an armour piercing A.P. round. Luckily the British 17 pdr anti-tank gun could do that but the British were also looking how to knock them out by using other weapons. They tested using high explosive artillery rounds and 20 mm air attack aircraft canon rounds to penetrate and damage the tank's rear engine deck and puncture the vehicle's radiators. Loss of water would cause the engine to overheat and stop working. Tank radiators were large and spares were not carried on the tank. If the Panther could not be recovered back to a maintenance depot the crew would have to abandon the tank and disable it by setting off internal explosive charges.

Review Quote

"This is a well presented, no nonsense book written by an author who has a deep affinity with tanks and their history. It is entertaining, fact filled and well illustrated."

Details