Panzerkampfwagen III, Version F, SdKfz 141 What the German Wehrmacht was missing in 1935 was a tank that would finally have a realistic chance of disabling enemy tanks. The Panzerkampfwagen III was first manufactured in 1938. In its 'F' revision, it was equipped with a 5 cm cannon. Additional weaponry consisted of dual caliber 32 MG's, one fitted to the turret, the other to the bow. The Panzer III was successfully used in Poland and France and was able to crack the enemy's most superior tanks. The Panzer III's crew consisted of 5 people; the driver, the commander who coordinated the battle while watching from the turret, a shooter, a loader and a radio operator who also operated the MGs. The 30mm armor was sufficient against anti-tank grenades and MG fire, but was too weak to repel direct hits from enemy tanks. This was seen primarily during the Russian campaign, when the tanks sides were easily penetrated by Russian 'Panzer Rifles'. The sides of the turret and the drive were then reinforced with armor skirts. Panzerkampfwagen IV, Version F2, SdKfz 161/1 The F2 version of the Panzer IV was equipped with what should turn it into the nightmare of even the best Allied tanks; a long barreled 7.5 cm antitank cannon. With it an experienced crews was able to disable practically every Allied tank. The longer barrel proved itself primarily during the Russian campaign. As before, the Russian tanks seemed to be immune against the smaller cannons of the Germans - the F2 changed this drastically. Still, the Russian 'Panzer Rifles' were a big threat to the side armor of the Panzer IV. Subsequently, armor skirts were added to protect the drives and turret. This upgrade turned out to be amazingly resistant against hollow point ammunition. As with the earlier versions, 5 person crews were sent on the hunt for enemy infantry and tanks. Starting with version B, the draftsmen included a 300 hp engine since the earlier model's 250 hp engine was evidently too weak. Up until 1943 a total of approximately 5,300 Panzer IV - including all versions - had been built. Panzerkampfwagen VI Tiger, Version E, SdKfz 181 To face the threat posed by the Allied tanks in 1941, the famous 'Tiger' tank was manufactured starting in July 1942. Its strongest assets were the 8.8 cm cannon, which the engineers derived from the famous '88' - an 8.8 cm flak. From a distance of roughly a mile its projectiles could penetrate all Allied tanks, however, these same tanks had to be quite close to the Tiger in order to penetrate its 10cm hull. And even if the distance was sufficient, the enemy tank only had a chance of success if it hit at exactly the right angle. If the Tiger's driver guarded this angle from enemy fire, the tank was invincible. Although the commander, driver, shooter, loader and radio operator could always rely on the enormous firepower and strong armor of their 'predator', its 650 hp engine caused frequent problems. On the one hand, the tank was not sufficiently motorized; on the other hand, its frequent stalls and failures regularly caused dangerous situations. Even in later revisions, these problems could never be fully eliminated. Another weakness of the tiger was its dependence on terrain conditions. With a weight of roughly 57 tons, it was better off avoiding muddy ground. Sherman M4A4 The Sherman Tank was the all around weapon of the Allied armored vehicles. It addition to being placed in service with a 75 mm anti-tank gun, it was also used as a bridge bearer, rescue vehicle, amphibious tank, flamethrower or even as mobile rocket launcher. One of its advantages was that it was produced with diecast steel so that it could be assembled quite quickly. The facilities could produce approximately 1,000 Shermans per month. Another advantage was its horizontally stabilized gun. With it, the five crew members were able to fire while the tank was in motion. Later, the 75 mm gun became too weak against the newer German tanks, like the Panther or Tiger, but the high numbers of Shermans used compensated for this. Often 15 Shermans attacked a single Panther. The first versions had the unpleasant habit of catching fire without any enemy contact. The reason was the 425 hp gasoline-operated engine from Chrysler. Sometimes even the ammunition caught fire, which ended in a disaster. Because of this, Germans gave it the nickname "Tommy Kocher" or "Tommy Boiler". The Sherman tank was one of the best known tanks in WWII - last but not least, because the USA exported it to many countries all around the world. 88 mm Flak (Model 36) Take a 88mm anti-aircraft gun, lower the barrel and you've got one of the most lethal antitank guns known in the Second World War. In the early years of the war, the German Wehrmacht learned their lesson the hard way when they realized that their normal AT-guns were not powerful enough to penetrate the armor of heavy French and British tanks. To be more successful against enemy armor, the German army used their most powerful weapon against them: the 8.8cm anti-aircraft gun. Used against ground targets, it had an immense impact. The "8.8" was one of the most feared weapons used by the Wehrmacht. It could hit targets from more than 16,000 yards, and its high velocity shells were feared by every Allied tank crew. One of the problems was its weight, and the need for a vehicle such as an Opel Blitz to pull it to the frontline. Nevertheless, a well trained 8.8 crew was able to deploy it in just a few minutes. The impact the "8.8" had at the frontline was not only devastating to the enemy's vehicles, its long barreled gun firing high velocity shells had a very characteristic sound that soon became to some extent a kind of psychological weapon. The gun was so successful that variations were later also used in tanks like the famous Tiger or Königstiger (Tiger II). sIG 33 (15cm) The heavy infantry gun sIG 33 was only built in small quantities between 1942 and 1943. With its 150mm gun, on a Panzer I chassis, the sIG 33 soon belonged to the artillery. Its firepower had a devastating effect behind enemy lines, but like all self-propelled guns, the sIG 33 lacked armor and was extremely vulnerable to infantry attacks. What armor it had was not thick enough to withstand MG fire. 75mm L.36.3 Field Gun (France) The French soldiers were able to shoot up to twenty projectiles weighing 5.3 kg each into the enemy lines with their L.36.3 field gun, bridging a distance of up to 4,500 meters. The roughly three meter long cannon was so easy to use that trained shooters were able to ready it within a few minutes. Krupp L2 At the beginning of the war, the Wehrmacht was able to employ fast Blitzkrieg tactics because of their high mobility. To support this high degree of mobility, the Wehrmacht used many different vehicles. In 1929 the Krupp Company began to design a new, cross-country infantry transporter based on the Model L2, which could carry up to eight soldiers to their destination. 1936 it received a more powerful 60 HP engine, and was then able to travel up to 70km/h. There were more than 7,000 L2's produced. However, the Krupp L2 was not only used for transporting soldiers; it also pulled the 37mm PaK 35/36. Motorcycle BMW R 75 The BMW R75 was the workhorse of the dispatch riders. It was designed to carry three fully fitted infantry soldiers. Even mud, snow or difficult terrain presented no problems for this bike. With its 26 HP engine, it was fast for its time. Because it could travel up to 350 km without refilling, the R 75 could remain in action longer than most other vehicles without needing to refuel. A fast moving target is a hard to hit target. This motorcycle was also very good for carrying loads in excess of 500 kg. And its sidecar offered room for lots of maps, ammunition, weapons and other equipment. The BMW was perfect for the task of moving soldiers quickly into a new position. Jeep The legendary Willys Jeep was probably the most famous military car the Allied forces used. It was capable of finding its way through the worst terrain the whole world over. With its four-wheel drive and water cooled 54HP engine, it could climb slopes up to 60°, travel through shallow waters and had no problem in the desert or in the jungle. On the road it could travel with up to 105 km/h and was produced in high numbers because of its easy-to-build chassis. More than 600,000 were produced and all Allied nations used it. In service the Jeep was used as a transport, officer's car and served in numerous combat missions. It was sometimes equipped with a pivot MG, additional fuel tank and armor. It's interesting that the fuel consumption was low; on the road it only needed around 12 liters, whereas off-road it consumed almost twice as much. IL-2 Sturmovik The IL-2 Sturmovik was often compared to a flying tank. The entire front was fitted with a 14 mm thick armor when the fighter/bomber first came into use in 1941. The pilot, engine and fuel tank were protected against bullets by the armor. The canopy's front was also made of 65 mm thick bulletproof glass. It got four MGs mounted in its wing roots, which were replaced by more lethal weapons later in war. But the IL-2 was not secure against German fighters, which attacked them from behind and shot down a lot of them. The engineer's reaction was the two seated version IL-2M, which included a tail gunner using a 23 mm MG. Although the IL-2 Sturmovik was one of the most successful planes of WWII, the German and Finish pilots were not impressed by its quality. It was produced in numbers greater than 30,000, but the German Luftwaffe wouldn't use it, due to its low technical standard. However, this did not change the fact that the IL-2 was very successful and used until the war's end in Berlin.