Panzer IV

Overview

The Panzer IV was a German medium tank used in

World War II

. The most widely manufactured and deployed German tank of the Second World War, the Panzer IV was used as the base for many other fighting vehicles, including tank destroyers and self-propelled anti-aircraft guns. Over 8500 Panzer IVs were mass-produced between 1936 and 1945. It was designed to be an infantry-support tank, while the lighter Panzer III tank was supposed to face enemy armor. The Panzer IV was equipped with a

KwK 37 gun

, a low velocity gun that mainly fired high-explosive shells, which proved deadly against enemy infantry. When facing armored targets, it was able to use armor-piercing shells, which could penetrate 43mm (1.69 in) armor. It also had a

MG 34

mounted on its turret, with a second MG 34 mounted in the front plate of the hull.

Upgrades and design modification, often made in response to new Allied tanks, allowed its service life to be extended even more. Generally these involved increasing the Panzer IV's armor protection or upgrading its weapons.

After the war, the French and Spanish sold dozens of Panzer IVs to Syria, where they saw combat in the 1967 Six-Day War.

Later Versions

The Panzer IV was not originally intended to engage enemy armor, but when the Panzer IV saw combat during the first months of Operation Barbossa, Germany was shocked from the encounter with the Soviet

T-34

medium and KV-1 heavy tanks. In response to this, Germany upgraded the Panzer IV's armament from the low velocity

KwK 37 gun

to a much larger KwK 40 gun, which could penetrate 77mm (3.03 in) armor at a range of 1830m (6,000 ft). The Panzer IV soon assumed the main role of tank-fighting after this huge upgrade. The Panzer IV was constantly upgraded with better guns, armor and ammunition during the war until it stopped production.

In Games

Company of Heroes

The Wehrmacht can in

Company of Heroes

get the Panzer IV, which serves as a fairly cheap, reliable tank, that gets the job done. It is good against any enemy and is deadly and extremely resilient when fully upgraded. In the expansion,

Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts

, the Panzer Elite can build a Infantry Support Tank, which is the first version of the Panzer IV, with the shorter low-velocity gun.