Osprey New Vanguard 28 : Panzerkampfwagen IV Medium Tank 1936-1945

The Panzerkampfwagen IV (PzKpfw IV) was essentially an integrated support weapon, and its involvement in World War 2 is difficult to separate from the story of the Panzerwaffe as a whole. A powerful and robust fighting machine, the PzKpfw IV was supplied to various allies of Germany, and remained in service with the Spanish and Finnish armies for some time after the end of the war. Indeed, it was next (and for the last time) seen in action in the 1965 'Water War' between Israel and Syria. This book looks at the development of this formidable weapon between the beginning of its production in 1936 and the end of the Second World War in 1945. It examines the effect of external factors such as the introduction of the T-34 and thick-skinned KV-I by the Russians in the evolution of the PzKpfw IV. Differences between the various marks are detailed, and a good sense of the tank's adaptability is given, not only by showing how the original version was able to adopt increasingly heavy arms and armour, but also by the examination of some specialist vehicles based on the PzKpfw IV such as the Hummel or 'Bumble-bee', a 150mm self-propelled howitzer. Text by Bryan Perrett with illustrations by Jim Laurier.

Contents

• Development History
• Special-Purpose Vehicles
• PzKpfw IV Described
• Organisation and Tactics
• PzKpfw IV in Action
• The East 1942-1945
• North Africa 1942-1943
• North-West Europe
• Postscript