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| Despite plans for a 50mm gun, the following versions of the PzKpfw III, Ausf. F and some Ausf. G, were still armed with the 37mm gun, untill the 50mm KwK L/42 came available. A somewhat lower commander's cupola was a dinstinctive new feature, as was a prominent equipment box on the back of the turret. From the Ausf. F on the idler wheels were also altered to simplify production, in that the new idler was spoked. Some 450 examples of this model were produced, with a production output of 100 vehicles per month. the Ausf. G appeared in October 1940, and became the backbone of the tank regiments. For North African service special radiators and air filters were used. These Fiefel filters, partly protected by armor, were fitted to the exterior of the engine compartment. Vehicles with this sort of equipment received the designation Tp (Tropical) and were the mainstay of the Afrika Korps. |
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| The front wall of the bow armor in the Ausf. E to H was strengthened by addition of a 30mm armor plate (either screwed-on or welded-on). The Ausf. G was fitted with a new commander's cupola that no longer cut into the rear wall of the turret, simplifying production. Late 1940 the PzKpfw III Ausf. H appeared, with stronger suspension and wider track width. The fighting weight had risen to 21.6 tons. The PzKpfw III was designed for the Central European area, which caused insuperable difficulties on the Eastern front. Physical limitations, such as bridge load and road conditions, and design limitations (armament and armor) made it difficult to remain equal to the enemy. Despite Hitler's orders, the Army Weapons office did not install the available 50mm 39L/60 gun, but the weaker 50mm L/42. When the Russian T34 and KV tanks appeared, the weakness of the German tank armament was quickly revealed to its fullest extent. |
| In 1941 the Ausf. J was introduced, which had a strengthened armor of 50mm, but the first series still fitted the short L/42 gun. Only at the end of 1941 was the second series of the Ausf. J fitted with the L/60 as standard equipment. Using the armor piercing Panzergranate 40 shell, this gun had a much higher muzzle velocity. All earlier PzKpfw IIIs returned to Germany for general overhaul after April 1941 and were upgunned with this weapon. The PzKpfw III Ausf. L was a further improvement introduced at the end of 1941 and had increased front turret armor and additional 'spaced armor' plates 20mm thick in front of the turret shield and the driver's plate. The Ausf. L was the last model with hinged escape doors located centrally on both sides of the hull. |
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| During 1942, 75mm L/24 guns were installed in PzKpfw III tanks, and also flame-throwing tanks were delivered intended for use at Stalingrad. Instead of the 50mm gun, a 14mm flame-throwing barrel was installed, which reached only an insufficient 35 meters (Ausf. M). The last version was the Ausf. N, which came off the production line towards the end of 1942. It was armed with the short-barrelled 75mm KwK L/24 gun, which was a left-over of the up-gunned PzKpfw IV. Of these vehicles 666 were manufactured when the production of the PzKpfw III ended in 1943. In total more than 6000 vehicles were built. Facilities freed of the production of the PzKpfw III were converted to the production of self-propelled guns as the Sturmgeschütz, Panzerjäger and Feldartillerie. |
| In order to improve the PzKpfw III's own defence capabilities, 5mm thin steel skirts (schurzen) were hung from brackets along the hull sides and turret sides and rear, intended to detonate anti-tank shells before they struck the body of the tank itself. While of use against lighter anti-tank weapons, the benefits of these skirts were more often psychological than actual when dealing with the 76mm gun of the T-34. A protective coating of Zimmerit was applied to prevent the attachment of magnetic charges. This substance was no longer used after the end of 1944. Like the PzKpfw I and II, the PzKpfw III had rather narrow tracks, and to improve its cross-country performance in snow and on soft terrain, track extensions were fitted to the outer edge to help spread the ground loading (the so-called 'Ostkette'). Because of the extra width, the tanks could be driven safely only on flat terrain. From 1943, all new vehicles and repaired ones were also equipped with smoke-laying launchers on each side of the turret. |
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PzKpfw IV and was also called Sturmpanzer III |
in the PzKpfw III Ausf. L |
the side of the hull |
| The PzKpfw III was also used as command vehicle (Panzerbefehlwagen III). Like the armored command car, these vehicles carried a distinctive frame aerial above the engine compartment, though this was replaced by pole-type aerials from 1943. For the defence of the five-men crew there was a machine-gun (MG34); a dummy gun replaced the main armament since absence of a gun would have made its function apparent to the enemy. The absence of main armament gave enough interior space for a command staff but made the vehicle of limited use on active service. A new design, the Panzerbefehlwagen III Ausf. K, was equipped with a 50mm gun in a fully traversing turret (which was fixed in earlier models). As an observation post vehicle for armored artillery units, the |
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