Pz III M

MEDIUM TANK (Pz. Kpfw. III). (1) General. This tank has appeared in many models but has retained basic characteristics throughout. The latest models to appear are armed with the long-barreled 5 cm Kw.K. 39 (L/60), which in 1942 displaced the shorter 5 cm Kw.K. (L/42). The original main armament, discarded late in 1940, was a 37-mm gun. The Pz. Kpfw. III now is obsolete and rarely encountered. The excellent hull and suspension have been utilized as the carriage for self-propelled guns, and it is in this form that the vehicle remains in production. The Pz. Kpfw. III has been encountered armed with the short 7.5 cm Kw.K. (the original armament of the Pz. Kpfw.IV), and also as a commander's vehicle, as a flame-throwing tank, as a wrecker tank, as an armored ammunition carrier, and as an armored observation post.

(2) Specifications.
Models L and M
Specification number . .....Sd. Kfz. 141/1.
Weight in action ................24.6 tons
(approximately).
Crew ...................................5 men.
Armor, Front nose plate... 50 mm.
Glacis plate .......................25 mm.
Driver's front plate ............50 and 20 mm spaced
armor.
Hull sides ..........................30 mm.
Rear plates .......................50 mm.
Turret front......................... 57 mm.
Turret sides...................... 10 mm.
Armament (coaxially
mounted in turret) . . ........ One 5 cm Kw.K. 39
with one M.G.34.

In hull ... One M.G.34.

Dimensions, Length .......17 feet 8 inches.
Width................................ 9 feet 9 inches.
Height............................... 8 feet 3 inches.
Gun overhang.................. 1 foot 3 inches.
(approximately).
Ground clearance .......... 1 foot 2 inches.

Performance, Maximum
speed ................................35 miles per hour
(approximately).
Road speed . .. ................22 miles per hour.
(Cross-country speed.... .10 to 15 miles per hour.
Range on roads...... .........102 miles.
Range cross-country........ 59 miles.
Trench crossing ................8 feet 6 inches.
Step ...................................2 feet.
Gradient ............................30°.
Fording ..............................2 feet 9 inches.

Engine, Type . . . . . . . .... . Maybach HL 120 TRM.
Fuel . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . ...... Gasoline.
BHP................................... 296 HP at 3,000 rpm.

Transmission: SSG77 Maybach synchromesh gear box, sliding dog type, manual
control. Six forward speeds, one reverse.

Suspension: Six small rubber-tired bogie wheels on each side. Torsion-bar
suspension.