Hello,
there is a new Tank chats out, David Willey is still substituting David Fletcher who is alright but still healing from a minor accident he had recently, on this episode they feature the Panther:
I really love that The Tank Museum started adding archive videos/pictures and it may be shorter but I enjoy these more than WG’s (specially the Tortoise one)
Enjoy!
The Panther is always a tank I have trouble categorizing as either good or bad, because everyone has a different opinion of it.
Brits and Americans found it great, but a lot of German Panther crew complained about how mechanically fickle it was. A wrong gear change could severely damage the poor strained gearbox.
Then there’s the French post-war review who absolutely demolished the Panther as a viable tank past 1947, despite having quite a number of them in service at the time.
I think on one hand you have the people claiming it’s great judging its potential, if you overlook mechanical problems, on the other people claiming it was far from a Wunderwaffe judging it from actual battlefield perfomance, including all the problems that go along with allied bombing of factories, passive resistance sabotaging factories, and the German necessity to find solutions, however complex, to a lack of viable building material, which doesn’t apply to peace-time. Like the double row of road wheels, which makes maintenance a living hell ; a necessity for war-time Germany, but a hindrance for post-war France and Czechoslovakia.
That said, I once saw one move from up close, good or not, it’s a fucking beast.
Actually most of the panther issue stem from the Design process and its lack of updating. The engine was a masterpiece for a tank that weighted 30 tons. Its wasn’t in a 30 ton tank tho. As was the herringbone final drive set up. Its was successful to the point where 3 full factory were tasked to build them and two sub factory were added (MAN MNH DB) and (Miag and MBA). Its close StuG and StuH production.
Its was a good Tank. It protected it crew. Killed other tanks in the first shot. And the bane of the supply group. I’m talking about the Panther and M1A2 Abrams. For the M1 its endless thrist for fuel. For the Panther its was a Very strange I-Staffel Rule that Every Panther company had Any Panther sent to MAN for repairs Stay on the company rolls as a “On Hand panther”. However Those panther were never really sent back. So the werkstab would mark tanks as losses to just get new replacement and the “lost” would become a Parts depot. Its Like if You when to store and ask for 50 jelly beans and got 20 dropped in your hand Then were told 15 are in back and the rest would come eventually. You can’t really plan on that.
It is too easy to disqualify equipment based on production issues. Obviously, if factories are bombed and everything needs to be ready Yesterday, not to mention supply problems, you will see errors. Russian tanks broke down as well, but you do not really hear about it because the Russians did a very good job of sweeping problems under a carpet. (And executing everybody with a broom, afterwards.) American tanks had the blissful luxury of being produced in factories that did not get attacked. So you can see how the usual comparisons are a bit skewed. Also, issues found in the early model Panther are somehow taken to be generic issues for all Panthers. As mentioned in this video, a lot of them were fixed and the late model Panther was actually fairly reliable, as far as I know. So I would argue to look at the bigger picture. Consider the tank as it actually functioned, with all its issues, consider the tank as it was meant to be and how it could have been if production could have functioned properly and consider the fact everybody was keen to learn from it. I would say this is one of the more influential tank designs in history, shaping further development. That alone demands respect.
Great video as usual with a lot of informations in it. Also I just can’t keep but looking at the guy painting the roof in the back. It’s hypnotizing me 0_0
Also, seems that our little panther was quite nervous to be shown in a video and had a leak…