What exactly is an ‘Early Ausf. G’ ?

[Chris Hall]

Following on from Mark Lawson’s useful post on 10 October (viewtopic.php?f=10&t=9104&start=30) I’ve been looking through my library for information about the new Panther, and thought my findings might be of interest to people, especially given that this particular model seems to have attracted a lot of new members to the Armortek fraternity (welcome, all !). Right from the start, though, I would say that this post is focussed on history so, if you’re intending to make your model up as an engineering piece, or just wish to paint and mark it up to suit your own taste, this might not be of much interest to you. And, if you already know all this stuff, please forgive my presumption (and feel free to correct me if I’ve got something wrong !).

Panthers were mainly produced by 3 companies: Maschinenfabrik Augsberg-Nuernberg (M.A.N), Daimler-Benz in Berlin-Marienfelde (DB), and Maschinenfabrik Niedersachsen Hannover (MNH). The lead constructor was M.A.N., who approved changes and instructed the other companies. They all produced their Panthers in slightly different ways – ‘experts’ can tell which company produced which tank from a quick glance !

The quickest way to find the history of a particular tank is to look for the Fahrgestell (chassis) number, which was usually stencilled on the front glacis plate. For the entire production run of the Ausf. G this will be in the 12xxxx series, with different ranges assigned to different companies. But the Fahrgestell, sadly, isn’t that obvious in many of the available photographs .....

All the Panthers (Ausf. D, A and G) were subject to approved upgrades and changes throughout their production run, based on practical field experience. From looking at the Armortek prototype that was on show at the Open Day (I’ve posted pictures elsewhere) there are a number of pointers which can be used to ‘date’ the model:

1. The Ausf. G used the same turret (Turm) as the earlier Ausf. A, but had a new hull (Wanne). Production started in March 1944 (M.A.N.), May 1944 (DB) and July 1944 (MNH). Armortek have marketed it as the ‘July 1944’ version. The Ausf. G remained in production for the rest of the War in Europe.

2. The Armortek model differs from the ‘Late’ Ausf. G, which Armortek produced in about 2008, in a number of ways, most notably the ‘chin mantlet’ and the raised rear deck fan (the Kampfraumheizung) for improved crew cabin heating. The chin (designed to remove the shot trap that could divert a shell through the hull roof) started to be fitted in September 1944, but was not fitted to all Panthers. However, the raised fan was introduced in October 1944 and seems to have become a standard fit very quickly.

3. There are lots of smaller details that can be reflected to taste, such as infra-red searchlight mountings (rare), rain guards, the debris guard on top of the gun mantlet (introduced in August 1944), armoured covers for the exhaust pipes , gas attack panels ....... I’ll leave those to you !

So, on balance, we can assume that the new ‘Early’ Ausf. G covers the period March / April to October / November 1944. That might seem a short time, but it covers Normandy to Arnhem, as well as preparations for the Ardennes, the campaign in Northern Italy, and loads of action on the Eastern Front (not my field of interest, I’ll admit) from Leningrad to the Ukraine, including Bagration. So lots to choose from. Given the rate of attrition thought, ranging from Allied air superiority to mechanical breakdown, it’s probably unlikely that many ‘Early’ Ausf. G’s would have survived into 1945.

There are two other areas that warrant particular mention:

4. Zimmerit. This was a common feature until 9 September 1944, when the Panzer Inspectorate ordered it be stopped immediately, over fears that it was inflammable. The 3 companies applied Zimmerit in particular patterns and didn’t apply it all over so, if you want zim you need to work out where and how to apply it !

5. Paint. Up to 19 August 1944 tanks left the manufacturers in plain Dunkelgelb (RAL 7028) (the main gun being painted with a heat-resistant grey paint), with troops being issued with cans of Olivegruen (RAL 6003) and Rotbraun (RAL 8017) to apply as they saw fit. But, from that date, the companies were instructed to supply the finished tanks to a standard camouflage pattern (known as ‘Ambush’), so they would all look the same.

And there are other little things you can do to make your model stand out. For example, DB tanks sometimes carried a spare road wheel on the left rear of the turret, and MNH sometimes used a different design of rear panniers. The 3 companies tended to put the Balkenkreuz in different places too. And all soldiers of all armies ‘liberated’ loads of stuff, whether useful or not (buckets are a sore point with some !) .

I hope this helps. But, however you build your tank, enjoy the process and, when it's finished, please take it out to play for the Public to stare at and the rest of us to enthuse over.

Best wishes,

Chris

(Main Sources for the above:
- Germany’s Panther Tank: the quest for combat supremacy – Jentz & Doyle, 1995
- Panther, External Appearance and Design Changes –MacDougall & Block, 2016)

[Peter Quambusch]

Hi Chris,

Very well researched!! Thumbs up!!

Cheers

Peter

p. s.: the second book you mention is an excellent source for research!!!

[Tim Page]

Hi Chris, pleased to see someone else doing some research regarding early/late Panthers.
I am very familiar with this topic bacause my Panther ausf.G was re-built as an early ausf.G and represents a tank built in July 1944 by Daimler Benz and was allocated to Panzer Brigade 105 defending the Westwall during late August and early September 1944.
Until recently, mine was the only Armortek early G that i knew of.

There are far too many differences between the early and late Panthers to mention here but the Jentz books cover most of these in some detail.
The main areas for me were the removal of the chin from the gun mantlet, turret roof details, non-crew heater fan housings and air inlet on the engine deck, applying zimmerite, cast exhaust housings and the ausf.A style rear idlers.

Most of these were relatively simple to do but i have still not got around to replacing the rear idlers. The cast exhaust housings are still work in progress and i hope to be able to do an update shortly.

Cheers
Tim

[Kent Wiik]

Hi all Panther fans!

Here is a link to a nice and useful website:
https://www.panther1944.de/index.php/en ... al-changes

Kind regards
Kent

[Didier Molard]

hello
Another nice website, with some info for free and some other to buy (such as books or DVDs about a certain "panther 231" )

in animation you can find among others, an interactive timeline of the different evolution on the panther (same for the tiger II)
just have to download the pflash player + the file

https://theresearchsquad.com/index.php/animations

Regards
Didier