Knocking out a WW2 tank

[Ulzgoroth]

Originally Posted by Rupert

Actually, with about 6,000 Panthers produced in 1943 to 1945 compared to the Pz.IV's wartime production of ~8,300 (~7,500 in the 1943-45 period), in the late war is was absolutely a 'typical' German tank.

The US assumption before D-Day and the invasion of France that the Panther was a 'special issue' tank had a lot to do with their choice to largely stick with the low-velocity 75mm on their M4s. This proved to be less than ideal at least in part because there were a lot more Panthers in service than expected, as it was built in large (for Germany) numbers.

The numbers are always a bit wobbly depending on source and how they're defined, but yeah, it does look like you've got a point. Assuming Panthers weren't too disproportionately out of action for mechanical reasons they'd at least have made a very large minority of tanks encountered.


By the late war the Tiger was also pretty obsolete. A big, dangerous obsolete, but even so. Production was stopped around the middle of 1944.