Panther tank

Panther tank

The first clashes with best Soviet tank T-34 proved to German constructors that their doctrine has to be adapt to development of the enemy forces. Panzer III and Panzer IV tanks were with time improved to provide better armor, better guns, better protection, but all of this could by achieved only by increasing overall weight and lowering mobility of the tank. T-34 was completely different concept - a tank that had fair armor, fair gun, but at the same time good mobility and good speed. With Panther (Panzer V) Germans were trying to build a similiar tank (first prototypes had even similiar outlook), that would be superior to Panzer III and Panzer IV and could support the planned heavy tanks.

But after prototypes the concept was changed, both inside and outside, and with each such change the Panther was less similiar to T-34. The final effect was tank much bigger than T-34, much heavier (T-34 was 30 tons, Panther 44 tons), with thicker armor and much heavier gun. Panther was one of the best constructions of World War 2, it was somewhere between medium and heavy tank, well protected, deadly even from long distance, but at the same time it had the same flaws as other German tanks, that made T-34 the winner on Eastern Front - Panthers were expensive, complicated (which meant it took more time to produce them) and required a lot of maintenance (which meant they could not be repaired without proper tools).

Overall Panther and Tiger were better than most of the Allied tanks, but Germans could not build enough of them, which during the war is a huge design flaw.

Battle of the BulgeWarsaw Uprising

tanksworld war 2 tanks