Deserting from the norm with a Panther in Italy..

[Alex Easten]

Well,

Seeing as this forum operates on dibs these days....looking at you Chris me old chum . I've decided to stake my claim on which Panther G my kit will represent. Here's my little take on the history, I'm sure more knowledgable people can fill in the gaps..

In October 1944 a Panther G early of Panzer Regiment 4 of the 26th Panzer Division, was captured by Canadian infantry and given to the 145th Armoured Regiment RAC, part of the 26th Tank Brigade. The Panther was named 'Deserter', and operated with a British crew, alongside the Regiments Churchills and Shermans.

Deserter was used in combat for some time, until she was eventually withdrawn to be used as a test vehicle. There are a couple of photos of deserter that I've found using basic internet searching, but I hope to find more.

Firstly, Deserter with her British crew:

Secondly a picture of Deserter apparently in Fali Italy, in May 1945:

Finally a Kagero colour profile of Deserter:

I'm really excited about this model and it will be a homage to my wife's Grandfather Ron, who served in France, North Africa, Sicily, Italy and Austria between 1940 and 1945. I feel sure a big cat being turned on it's owner would have gone down well with his dry Lincolnshire sense of humour.

That's all for now, cheers,

Alex

[Chris Hall]

Cuckoo, Deserter, Adrian’s Peiper ersatz M10 ….. is anyone planning to do a normal, German early Panther G ?

[Armortek]

Cuckoo, Deserter, Adrian’s Peiper ersatz M10 ….. is anyone planning to do a normal, German early Panther G ?

We are

[Alex Easten]

So I've just found this nice bit of artwork..lifted from Osprey's November release Captured Panthers book:

A nice artwork of Cuckoo with the following caption:

‘DESERTER’, IN SERVICE WITH THE ROYAL ARMOURED CORPS, ITALY 1944/45

The 21st Tank Brigade’s 145th Battalion, Royal Armoured Corps (145th RAC) operated a Panther Ausf G captured in operational condition but with some of its breech components missing. The gun was repaired by the 145th RAC and the tank was named ‘Deserter’, joining A Squadron. The tank saw about two months of combat use in Italy’s rainy winter of 1944/45, being employed largely as a mobile artillery system. The British crews of ‘Deserter’ were impressed by the Panther’s firepower and mobility, even in muddy terrain. ‘Deserter’ was extensively marked by the 145th RAC: the Panther’s glacis was adorned with the Seaforth Highlanders of Canada’s and the 145th RAC’s tactical symbols, and a prominent 21st Tank Brigade diabolo. All markings were applied over carefully scraped areas where the zimmerit had been removed. ‘Deserter’ appears to have been finished in German dunkelgelb overall, possibly with a light overspray of green or brown.

Cheers,

Alex

[Chris Hall]

So I've just found this nice bit of artwork..lifted from Osprey's November release Captured Panthers book:

That’ll be top of the Christmas present list, then ……

[Gary Rafferty]

This is front runner for my panther scheme so far, I quite like the design and it's from a real tank.
My kit should be here today hopefully

[Alex Easten]

That's a really catchy paint scheme Gary, will look well on the model. Love the combination of the hard edged Camo and the Zimmerit. Looks like a late war camo but on an early production tank.

[Gary Rafferty]

That's a really catchy paint scheme Gary, will look well on the model. Love the combination of the hard edged Camo and the Zimmerit. Looks like a late war camo but on an early production tank.

Hi Alex

Thanks I need to do a lot more investigation to be sure tank paint scheme is correct.
I also have a few other schemes I like all depends on which ones ties in with the July 44 version.

Cheers
Gary

[mark lawson]

If I remember correctly it's a factory paint scheme from MNH without zimmerit.

[Alex Easten]

Hi Gary,

I'm pretty confident that the Panther in your picture has zimmerit, the turret side plate has that 'look' so you should be good. I'll have a look in some of my references and see what I can find!

You can see the zimm if particularly if you study the turret letters in this picture.

Cheers,

Alex

[Didier Molard]

hello
will look nice with that camo.
beware sometimes this panther is given as an A model, but skirts fixation tells Ausf.G
What is clearly visible in the pictures is the wear of the road whelds due to rubbing against the theeth of the tracks
regards
Didier

[Gary Rafferty]

Hi Gary,

I'm pretty confident that the Panther in your picture has zimmerit, the turret side plate has that 'look' so you should be good. I'll have a look in some of my references and see what I can find!

You can see the zimm if particularly if you study the turret letters in this picture.

Cheers,

Alex

Hi Alex

That's a cracking picture.
I see what you mean the letters have a sort of slight roughness to them.
Thanks anything you can find would be brilliant.
I'm trying to find a picture of the back to see what the exhaust layout looks like that way I know if it will be accurate.

Cheers
Gary

[Didier Molard]

hello.
About the 432, seems the number on the back of the turret was not written in full numbers but with a mix of number + symbol
It would have been 32 + an horizontal bar on the rear hatch
as per (in french)
https://72e-db.forumactif.com/t904-term ... -normandie

interesting is the number of the tank painted on the front vent armor (if it is trully the 432 as it is noted)
regards
didier