List of German combat vehicles of World War II
The German Wehrmacht used an extensive variety of combat vehicles during World War II.
By the time production ended in 1937, 1869 Panzer I hulls had been produced, of which 1493 were fitted with turrets, and the rest were used as command or training vehicles.
Variants: In March 1939, Germany occupied and annexed the Bohemia and Moravia region of Czechoslovakia taking over the Czech arms manufacturing industries.
However, the production lines were already running, the vehicle was mechanically reliable, and the factory would have had difficulty moving over to larger tanks, so it was decided to find other uses for the Panzer 38(t) chassis for self-propelled guns.
The Panzer IV was a slightly larger and heavier tank, and with its large calibre low velocity gun, it was designed to support the Panzer III when it met heavy resistance from infantry support.
171, was a medium tank of the German Army in the second part of World War II.
The production Panther was a direct response to the Soviet T-34, after encountering difficulties fighting the T-34, Colonel General Heinz Guderian (the "Inspector of Panzer Troops") suggested simply copying the T-34; although the report of the enquiry recommended that the main attributes of the T-34 - armament, sloped armor and suspension - be incorporated into a new German medium weight tank under the Vollketten 30 project.
Variants: Panther II tank successor tank to the Panther while visually similar, was planned to use a new turret, longer 75mm gun, thicker armour, new engine and different components from the Tiger and Tiger II.
On May 26, 1941 Hitler ordered the Henschel and Porsche firms to design a new heavy tank to be delivered in 1942.
A few Porsche Tigers were made, with a different chassis and hybrid gasoline-electric powerplant, but these were not as reliable as the Henschel model.
The Tiger II combined one of the most capable AT guns of the period with heavy armour, but had an over-burdened engine and lacked reliability.
Several types of armored self-propelled anti-aircraft weapons ("flakpanzers" in German) were used in the war.
An assault gun is an armoured fighting vehicle similar to a tank, but typically does not have a rotating turret, and may have an open roof.
They are not intended to fight other AFVs, but instead directly support infantry during assaults on prepared positions.
During World War II Germany built many more assault guns than tanks, because of their relative cheapness and simplicity.
