Panzer III with 5cm gun

German medium tank Mark 3 with 5cm guns.
History, development, service, specifications, statistics, pictures and 3D model.

Panzer III

The German Panzer III (Panzerkampfwagen III) was a medium tank that saw extensive service during World War II. The Panzer III series included several variants, each featuring different armament and design modifications. The Panzer III models G through J are particularly notable for their use of the 5 cm KwK 38 L/42 gun.

Panzer III Variants G to J Overview

Panzer III Ausf. G (Model G)

Production Period: 1940-1941
Main Armament: Initially equipped with a 3.7 cm KwK 36 gun, later upgraded to the 5 cm KwK 38 L/42 gun.
Armor: Improved frontal armor up to 30 mm.
Engine: Maybach HL 120 TRM, producing 300 hp.
Features: Added spaced armor to the front of the hull and turret, increased protection against anti-tank weapons.

Panzer III Ausf. H (Model H)

Production Period: 1940-1941
Main Armament: 5 cm KwK 38 L/42 gun.
Armor: Frontal armor increased to 50 mm.
Engine: Maybach HL 120 TRM.
Features: Further improvements in armor, with additional plates bolted onto the hull and turret.

Panzer III Ausf. J (Model J)

Production Period: 1941-1942
Main Armament: Early models had the 5 cm KwK 38 L/42 gun; later models were equipped with the longer 5 cm KwK 39 L/60 gun.
Armor: Frontal armor standardized at 50 mm, with some later models receiving further increased armor.
Engine: Maybach HL 120 TRM.
Features: Improved vision devices for the commander, and some received additional hull armor.

The 5 cm KwK 38 L/42 Gun

Caliber: 50 mm
Barrel Length: 42 calibers (L/42), which means the barrel length was 42 times the diameter of the shell (50 mm x 42 = 2,100 mm or 2.1 meters).
Muzzle Velocity: Approximately 685 m/s (meters per second) when firing armor-piercing rounds.
Ammunition Types: Armor-piercing (PzGr. 39), high-explosive (Sprgr. 38), and special anti-tank (PzGr. 40).

Operational Use

The Panzer III variants equipped with the 5 cm KwK 38 L/42 gun were effective during the early years of World War II, particularly in the Western and North African campaigns and on the Eastern Front. The gun was capable of penetrating the armor of many early Allied tanks, though it struggled against the more heavily armored Soviet T-34 tank and KV heavy tank encountered later in the war.

Summary

The Panzer III G-J variants armed with the 5 cm KwK 38 L/42 gun represented a critical evolution in German armored vehicle design. They showcased improvements in firepower, armor protection, and overall battlefield effectiveness. However, as the war progressed and enemy armor became more formidable, the Panzer III series was eventually overshadowed by more advanced tanks like the Panzer IV and the Panther tank.

PzKpfw III Ausf L

Panzer III Ausf L (SdKfz 141/1)
Type: Medium tank.

History:

In March 1942, a study was undertaken to determine whether the Panzer IV turret would fit on the Panzer III superstructure. Analysis revealed that the resultant weight was excessive, and numerous modifications would be necessary. The idea was dropped, and production of the Panzer III with the 5 cm KwK39 L/60 continued.

The original order for 1,100 Ausf L was reduced by an order, early in June 1942, to mount 450 7.5 cm KwK L/24 in the Panzer III. 447 Ausf L were used to mount the short 7.5 cm gun and thus became Ausf N. One Ausf L was completed with an experimental, tapered-bore KwK0725.

Improvements to the Ausf L included increasing the armor on the turret front from 30 mm to 57 mm, installing a torsion-bar counter-balance instead of a coil spring for the main gun, and altering the air-intake louvres and hatches on the rear deck. All Ausf L had 20 mm spaced armor on the superstructure front, and most had 20 mm spaced armor on the gun mantle. Early in the production run, the hull escape hatches on the hull side, the loader’s vision port on the gun mantle and the turret side ports were deleted. A system designed to transfer heated engine coolant from one vehicle to another was also introduced with the Ausf L.

Panzer III J or L.

Panzer III L showing the space armour on the gun mantlet and hull front.

PzKpfw III Ausf L

Panzer III used as shiled for the infantry during the offensive in Southern Russia, 1942.

Panzer III under fire during the tank battle of Kursk, July 1943. Still 432 Panzer III with the long 5 cm gun were available with the units of Army Group South and Center at the start of the battle.

Panzer III with long 5cm gun in Panzermuseum Munster

Panzer III with the long gun between a Panzer II and a Panzer VI Kingtiger at the RAC Tank Museum, Bovington Camp, Dorset (UK).

Remote-controlled model of Panzer III with long 5 cm gun.

3D model of Panzer III L from Afrika Korps.

From late in June 1942, at the start of the summer offensive in Russia, there were approximately 600 Panzer III mounting the 5 cm KwK L/60 with units at the front in Russia. Apart from replacing losses, Ausf L were issued to the newly-formed Panzer regiments of the 1st SS-Division Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler, 2nd SS-Division Das Reich and 3rd SS-Division Totenkopf (all now Panzergrenadier divisions), and the Panzergrenadier Division Grossdeutschland.

Users: Germany, Hungary, Spain, Turkey (for all variants).

Animated 3D model Panzer III L (SdKfz 141/1)

Specifications for Panzerkampfwagen III Ausf L (SdKfz 141/1)

Specifications:

Armour:

Armament and Equipment:

Penetration mm at 30° armour plates of the gun:

Production:

Service statistics of all Panzer III variants:

Video from the action with Panzer III N in video games

Mission with Panzer II H and Panzer III N at a ‘Realistic Ground Battle’ of the free2play game War Thunder:

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References and literature

Kraftfahrzeuge und Panzer der Reichswehr, Wehrmacht und Bundeswehr (Werner Oswald)
Encyclopedia of German Tanks of World War Two (P.Chamberlain, H.L.Doyle)
Panzer und andere Kampffahrzeuge von 1916 bis heute (Christopher F. Foss, John F. Milsom, Colonel John Stafford Weeks, Captain Georffrey Tillotson, Richard M. Ogorkiewicz)
Panzerkampfwagen des 1. und 2. Weltkrieges (Andrew Kershaw)
Krieg der Panzer (Piekalkiewicz)
The Encyclopedia of Weapons of World War II (Chris Bishop)