No. 4 tank (German: Panzerkampfwagen IV, English: Panzer IV Tanks[15]Type IV tank, No. 4 tank) is a medium-sized tank developed and heavily equipped by Germany from the 1930s to the mid-1940s.
After many improvements and modifications, No. 4 tank has many models. Its J-type tank is equipped with a 75mm gun and two machine guns. It uses high explosive shells. The total weight of the tank is 25t, the armor thickness is 50mm, the cross-country speed is 40km, the maximum road travel is 300km, and it is also equipped with on-board radio.During the Second World War, the No. 4 tank was used as a variety of modified combat vehicles, including assault guns, self-propelled anti tank guns, ammunition delivery vehicles, bridge building tanks, etc.Because of its reliable performance and various uses, it is called "military horse" by German soldiers[12]。
Tank 4 was developed in 1934[17]In 1937, the sample vehicle was tested. In 1939, the No. 4 tank A was mass produced and equipped with German troops for actual combat;By May 1945, 8870 tanks of various models had been built[12][15]。
Although the tank was earlythe First World WarIt has already appeared on the battlefield, but by the 1930s, all parties had different opinions on how to use tanks.Most conservative soldiers insist that infantry is the main force on the battlefield, and tanks are only support weapons equipped with infantry to break through positions and support firepowerHeinz Guderian General and others foresaw the dominance of armored forces in the future battlefield.
In 1934, the German army's vision for future equipment operations was based on two types of tanks: one was a large number of tanks equipped with high muzzle velocity artillery, on which the later No. 3 tank was developed.The other only plays the role of firepower support, carrying a large caliber artillery to launch grenades to support the infantry breakthrough tank, which is the original intention of No. 4 tank.Therefore, the original design of No. 4 tank is actually a support tank;In addition, due to the limitation of bridge load in Germany, the weight of No. 4 tank is limited to less than 24 tons, and it is stipulated that it should be highly versatile with No. 3 tank in terms of parts[11]。
On January 11, 1934, the German Army Weapons Agency put forward a plan for tank specification requirements. The main battle consists of two tanks: the main battle tank is equipped with a high muzzle velocity gun, and the support tank is equipped with a large caliber gun (that is, the later designed No. 4 tank).The military plans to develop a tank that weighs 24 tons, has a maximum speed of 35 kilometers per hour, and is equipped with a short tube large caliber gun that can fire high explosive projectiles, as an auxiliary tank to cover infantry attacks[10][12]。
Type D of No. 4 tank
Development history
In 1934,KruppThree experimental tanks produced by Rhine Metal and MAN began to test. As a result, Krupp's tanks were selected and mass produced under the name of Type A of No. 4 tank.The first Type A of No. 4 tank was manufactured in October 1937. In the following six months, another 35 vehicles of the same type were produced and improved.However, it took a lot of time to simplify the structure. It was not until 1939 that the No. 4 tank could be mass produced. At this time, it had developed to the D type[17]。
In 1940, Germany put forward a standardized plan for Krupp's No. 4 tank and Daimler Benz's No. 3 tank.The German government had planned to allocate most of the No. 4 tanks to infantry and fortifications, but due to the shortage of No. 3 tank, No. 4 tank was able to undertake the combat task of No. 3 tank.Tank 4 has successively participatedPolish Campaign as well asBattle of France, finally entered in 1941Soviet Battlefield。Although the tank is well designed, its weak armor makes it unfit for the combat task of No. 3 tank, so the tank continued to make modifications during the war.Until when Germany developedNo. 5 medium tankAfter putting it into war, many No. 4 tanks retreated from the front and began to be replaced by No. 5 medium-sized tanks[11-12]。
From October 1939, the formal batch production of No.4 tank began. By the time Nazi Germany surrendered in May 1945, a total of 8870 No.4 tanks of various models had been produced in German military factories[13][15]。
There are 10 different types of tank A, B, C to J in the development of tank 4, and there are also some differences in the performance of each type of tank 4.The total combat weight of No. 4 tank is 18.4~25 tons, depending on the specific model.
The crew of No. 4 tank is 5 people: vehicle commander, artillery commander, driver, loader, radio man and machine gunner.The A type car is 5.6 meters long, 2.9 meters wide and 2.65 meters high.From the general layout, the front is the cockpit and the transmission gear compartment. The driver is on the left, and the radio man cum machine gunner is on the right. They have their own doors.The middle part is the battle room, which is equipped with 75mm guns. The vehicle commander's seat is located in the rear center of the turret, the artillery commander is located on the left side of the gun, and the loader is located on the right side of the gun.There are several small hatches on the side of the turret, which are convenient for ammunition replenishment and crew shooting with pistols, but the protection of the turret is greatly weakened.The rear of the car body is the power compartment, and the power of the engine is transmitted to the gearbox in the front of the car body through a long transmission shaft.The driving wheel is in the front and the inducer is in the rear[12]。
weaponry
Close up of gun barrel of No. 4 medium tank
The main weapon of No. 4 tank is a 75mm gun, but the gun barrel length of each type is different.Type A-F of No. 4 tank adopts 24 caliber KwK37 artillery, Type F2 and some Type G 43 caliber KwK40 artillery, and Type G, H and J 48 caliber KwK40 artillery.The purpose of tank gun barrel lengthening is mainly to change from supporting infantry operations and fighting tanks to anti tank operations.The 24 times diameter KwK37 gun is a vertical breech with an electric shock device. The high and low firing range of the gun is - 10~+20 degrees, and the ammunition types include: shrapnel (65%), armor piercing projectile (25%) and smoke projectile (10%).Artillery ammunition base: Type A, 122 rounds;Type B-F, 80~87 rounds.The armour piercing projectile can only penetrate 30 mm thick steel armor at a shooting distance of 2000 meters, which is obviously insufficient.KwK40 43 times caliber gun, armor piercing power increased to 98mm (1000m distance) and 63mm (2000m distance).The KwK40 48 caliber gun is further improved to 106mm (1000m distance) and 64mm (2000m distance).Due to the light weight of the shell, the speed of the shell decreases quickly at a long distance, and its power is greatly reduced. Therefore, No. 4 tank is mostly used to attack enemy tanks at close range.
The sighting device of No. 4 tank is telescope type, with 2.5 times magnification and 24 degrees field of view.
The auxiliary weapons of No. 4 tank are 2 7.92mm machine guns, 1 parallel machine gun and 1 front machine gun.The front machine gun is installed on the spherical machine gun base, with a high and low firing range of - 10~+20 degrees.The ammunition base of the machine gun is 2500~3150 rounds, depending on the model[12]。
Power device
Maybach engine equipped with tank 4
During the development and modification of No. 4 tank, the power of the tank has changed several times.Type A is a V-type 12 cylinder water-cooled gasoline engine with a maximum power of 230 horsepower.Type B is the power enhanced type of Type A, with the maximum power increased to 265 horsepower.Starting from the 41st production tank, the C-type adopts the Maybach HL120TRM gasoline engine with improved ignition device, and the maximum power is increased to 300 horsepower. This power device has been used to J-type tanks.The gearbox of No. 4 tank is a fixed shaft mechanical gearbox with 6 forward gears and 1 reverse gear.
The suspension device of the tank is a balanced suspension type. Two of the eight load wheels on each side are a group and connected to the leaf spring.The driving wheel is in front and the inducer is behind.There is an automatic adjustment device for track tension at the inducer.There are 4 carrier pulleys on the upper part of each track.The track is made of high manganese steel castings, with 99 track shoes on each side.The maximum speed of the tank is 40 km/h, and the maximum travel is 200 km[12]。
Armor protection
Protection close-up of No. 4 medium tank
The body and turret of No. 4 tank are of steel armored welded structure.The armor of No. 4 tanks of various types is constantly thickened.Take the H type of No. 4 tank with the highest output as an example, the armor piercing thickness of the front of the vehicle body is 80mm, the side is 30mm, and the rear is 20mm;The front armor of the turret is 50mm, the side and rear armor are 30mm, and the top armor is 10mm.The H-type and J-type of No. 4 tank are equipped with side skirts on both sides of the track, and the rear of the turret side is equipped with guard plates to improve the protective performance of the tank[12]。
performance data
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Reference data of various types of tank 4
B. Type C
D. Type E
F/F2 type
Type G
Type H
Type J
Basic parameters
Total weight
17.7t
C_18.5t
20 tons
E_21t
22.3 tons
F2_23.6 tons
23.5t
25 tons
25 tons
Vehicle commander
5.87m
5.92m
5.92m (F2_6.63m)
6.63m
7.02m
7.02m
Vehicle width
2.83m
2.84m
2.88m
Vehicle height
2.85m
2.68m
weaponry
Main gun
75mm KwK37 gun
75mm KwK 40 gun
Multiple diameter of main gun
twenty-four
twenty-four
24（F2：43）
forty-three
forty-eight
forty-eight
Total length of main gun
1.80m
1.80m
(F2: 3.20m)
3.20m
3.60m
3.60m
Artillery life
13000 rounds
thirteen thousand
(F2:6000)
6000 rounds
Auxiliary weapon
1×MG34
2×MG34
Artillery ammunition
eighty
80（F2：87）
eighty-seven
Machine gun ammunition preparation
two thousand and seven hundred
three thousand one hundred and fifty
two thousand two hundred and fifty
three thousand one hundred and fifty
Armor protection
positive
30 mm/80 °
30 mm/80 °
(E_60 mm)
50mm/80 °
80mm/80 °
side
15mm/90 °
20 mm/90 °
(E_40mm)
20+20mm/90 °
30 mm/90 °
behind
15mm/80~90 °
20mm/80~90 °
roof
10 mm
15mm
chassis
10 mm
Turret front
20 mm/8 (C_30 mm)
30 mm/80 °
50mm/80 °
50mm/80 °
(Gun shield 80mm)
Side of turret
20 mm/65 °
30 mm/65 °
Behind the turret
20 mm/75 °
30 mm/75 °
Turret top
10 mm
20 mm
dynamic system
Maybach
engine
HL120TR
12 cylinder gasoline
Water cooled
HL120TRM
12 cylinder gasoline engine
Water cooled
Power/speed
300 HP/3000 rpm
Exhaust volume
11.87L
Number of gears (forward/backward)
6/1
Horsepower weight ratio
17p/t
（C_16.2）
15p/t
（E_14.3）
13.4 p/t
（F2_12.7）
12.7 p/t
12p/t
top speed
40 km/h
Oil tank capacity
470 liters
680 liters
Maximum stroke
200 km (highway)
130 km (off-road)
300km (highway)
180 km (off-road)
track width
380 mm[4][6]
400mm[5][7-9]
Type G of No. 4 tank
Derivative model
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The models of No. 4 tank are very complicated. During the seven years of mass production, 10 types of No. 4 tanks of A-J type have been produced successively, reflecting the characteristics of wartime. Once deficiencies or defects in tank design and manufacturing are found in the war, they will be immediately improved.The characteristics of each type of tank are introduced below.
Type A
This type is the basic type of No. 4 tank, with a total combat weight of 18.4 tons and an engine power of 230 horsepower. From October 1937 to March 1938, 35 tanks were produced and participated in the "blitz" against Poland and France.The main armor is only 15mm thick, and the armor is thin.In fact, even Type A tanks produced in different months have slight differences, such as different amounts of ammunition, different thickness of armor on the front of the vehicle body, and whether there are anti-aircraft gun racks.This type of tank is mainly used to train armored forces and manufacturing technicians[12][16]。
Type B
The main improvement of Type B tank is to thicken the armor on the main parts of the fighting vehicle to 30 mm, thus increasing the total combat weight to 18.8 tons.The power of the engine is increased to 265 horsepower, and the shape of the car body is also changed.A total of 42 vehicles were produced from April to September 1938.Type B tanks participated in the war against Poland and France[12]。
Type C
This type of tank was partially improved after the manufacturer produced 42 Type B tanks in 1938. At this time, the military positioned No. 4 tank as a self-propelled gun[3-4][12]。
Type D
The D-type tank was officially awarded as Sd Kfz 161 on September 27, 1939, after the Polish campaign carried out by Germany.D-type tanks were manufactured between October 1939 and March 1941, with a total of 229 produced.The armor on the side and back of the car body and turret was thickened, so that the total weight of the battle was increased to 20 tons.The armor plate on the front of the car body is changed into surface hardened armor plate.Add dampers at the 1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th and 8th load wheels.In order to carry out the "Sea Lion" plan to attack Britain, Germany also converted 48 D-type tanks into submersible tanks from July to August 1940.Later, due to the failure to implement the "Sea Lion" plan, these submersible tanks were only used in the Bouguer River battle, and later changed to ordinary tanks[6][12]。
Type E
223 E-type tanks were produced from September 1940 to April 1941.According to the lessons learned from the Polish war, 30 mm thick additional armor plates were added to the front of the car body, making the total weight of the battle reach 21 tons.An external storage compartment is added at the rear of the turret[12]。
Type E of No. 4 tank
F/F2 type
From April 1941 to February 1942, 462 F and F2 tanks were produced.The main improvement of the two types of tanks is to thicken the armor, and the armor thickness of the main parts has reached 50 mm, so that the total combat weight has reached 22.3 tons.Another major improvement is to increase the width of the load wheels and tracks.On the basis of Type F, Type F2 is equipped with a 75mm gun 43 times the diameter, which improves the power of the gun and increases the total combat weight to 23 tons.The total production capacity of Type F and Type F2 is 175 vehicles[7][12]。
Type G
From May 1942 to June 1943, 1687 G-tanks were produced.The appearance of G-type tank is mainly to cope with the Soviet "T-34 impact", increase the gun barrel length from 24 times to 43 times, and further increase to 48 times, and improve the ability of anti tank operations.The shape of the turret root and the car body also changed accordingly.The G type tanks produced in the later stage were also equipped with side skirts.
There are two versions of G-tank in the literature.One is that there are F2 type and G type;The other is that F2 is the initial production type of G type.The muzzle brake of 43 caliber gun is single chamber type, and 48 caliber gun is double chamber type[5][12]。
Type H
H-type tank is the most produced of No. 4 tanks. The German military number is SdKfz.161/2，The total production reached 3774 vehicles.Due to the enhanced protection, the total combat weight has increased to 25 tons, and the maximum armor thickness has reached 80 mm.The wide side skirts of the tank and the rear of the turret are equipped with guard plates, which enhance the protection of the weak parts of the tank.Some H-type vehicles are also equipped with additional armor at the armor on the head.The 75mm gun with 48 times the caliber has the ability to compete with the medium-sized tanks of the Allies.stayNormandy During the anti landing campaign, the German army had a large number of H-type tanks put into battle[8][12]。
The US Army Captured Tank IV J-type
Type J
Type J tank is the last model of No. 4 tank.From June 1944 to March 1945, 1758 vehicles were produced.The tank is a small improvement on the basis of the H-type.The main change is that the turret rotating motor is removed, the auxiliary engine and the corresponding exhaust pipe at the rear of the car body are canceled, and a 200L fuel tank is replaced.Due to the increased capacity of the fuel tank, the maximum range of the tank increased from 210 km to 320 km.There is no obvious difference between J-type tank and H-type tank in appearance[9][12]。
Line diagram of various types of tank 4
Service dynamics
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Put into practice
Originally, No. 4 tank was designed as a fire support vehicle, while No. 3 tank was the main force in the battle.When the invasion of the Soviet Union was launched on June 22, 1941, the German army had 428 No. 4 tanks in total. By 1943, in the Kursk War alone, the German army had used 841 No. 4 tanks. At this time, No. 4 tanks had become the main force of the German armored forces.Because No. 3 tank could not effectively fight against Soviet tanks such as T-34 tank and KV-1 heavy tank, and the newly developed tank failed to succeed, the German army continued to improve No. 4 tank, including adding armor and using spare tracks to enhance protection.In short, although the No. 4 tank is not as famous as the tiger or leopard tanks, it is the main force of the German armored forces[11]。
On February 7, 1944, several No. 4 tanks of the German Fifth Armored Division broke through the siege, and two No. 4 tanks fought back.In the confrontation with Soviet tanks, No. 4 tank destroyed 8 in totalT-34 tank。In the following days, the German No. 4 tank unit fought with the Soviet armored forces and finally destroyed 21 Soviet tanks.
On the afternoon of June 11, 1944, several battalions of the 12th German Armored Regiment tried to break through the encirclement of the 6th Canadian Armored Regiment and occupy Le Mesnier.The fourth tank of the twelfth armored regiment destroyed 32 Canadian tanks in the counterattack, forcing Canadians to retreat, while the German army lost only two fourth tanks[2][10]。
In addition to equipping the German army, No. 4 tank is also exported to many countries.In 1942, 11 vehicles were exported to Romania and 32 to Hungary;At the end of 1942 and the beginning of 1943, most of the losses were in the eastern line.During the whole World War II, Romania received about 120 No. 4 tanks of different types.Germany supplied 46 (also known as 91) No. 4 tanks to arm Bulgaria, and 12 to Italy as the cornerstone for the formation of a new armored division.These tanks were used by Italian dictatorsMussoliniAfter being deposed, it was used to train Italian crew members, but was recovered during the German occupation of Italy in the middle of 1943.The Spanish government put forward an order request for 100 vehicles in March 1943, but only received 20 vehicles in December.In 1944, Finland obtained 20 No. 4 tanks, and in the second batch of the same year, Hungary obtained 62 or 72 tanks (although 20 tanks were used to supplement German losses).In total, about 297 tanks of various types were supplied to the German allies[15]。
After 1945, some No. 4 tanks were still used in the armies of Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Finland, Egypt, Spain, Syria, Jordan and Turkey.
From 1949 to 1950, the Finnish retired the No. 4 tank from the active service, but it was still used for training purposes until 1962.
In the 1950s, France sold part of the No. 4 tank captured after the war to Syria and the Soviet Union,CzechoslovakiaAnd Spain.This batch of No. 4 tanks even reached 1966~1967,conflict between Arabian countries and IsraelDuring this period, the Syrian army was still using[2]。
Type D of No. 4 tank
Overall evaluation
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Although the No. 4 tank was designed by Germany in 1934, it was still an excellent tank until the end of the Second World War. Its excellent basic design enabled it to carry out continuous modifications.For example, the body weight increased from the original 17 tons to the last 25 tons, and the main gun was upgraded from the original 24 times diameter short gun with low muzzle velocity to the 48 times diameter long gun with high muzzle velocity. The armor thickness also increased from the initial 14.5~20 mm to 30~80 mm.No matter firepower, mobility or armor protection, it is enough to fight against the new Allied tanks.
By the end of the war, the number four tank series had produced tens of thousands of vehicles. During the war, except Germany,Italy、SpainandturkeyWe also obtained several No. 4 tanks.But the career of No. 4 tank did not end with the end of the war.After the war, a batch of about 200 German tanks (mostly No. 4 tanks and No. III assault guns) were sentSyria、JordanAnd other countries until 1967The Third Middle East WarIt is 30 years since the production of No. 4 tank began in 1937, which is the longest serving tank except T-34.This highly reliable "German Army Horse" is really one of the outstanding tanks in World War II[11]。
Judging from the comprehensiveness, production quantity, continuous production years, refitting potential and the role played on the battlefield of the German No. 4 tank, it is undoubtedly an excellent main tank.It has its due place in the history of the world's chariot development.From its actual combat performance, Type H and Type J of No. 4 tank also have the ability to compete with medium-sized tanks such as T-34 tank and M4 "Sherman".However, it was originally a product in the 1930s, but in the end, its total combat weight was only 25 tons, and its inherent lack of protection had been highlighted in the late World War II.If you compete one-on-one with T-34 tanks or "Sherman" tanks, No. 4 tank is obviously at a disadvantage.Overall, the role played in World War II by No. 4 tank is better than that of GermanyPanther tank[12][14]。（Comments on International Outlook and Tanks and Armored Vehicles）
