Panzer
It is the name of the vodka brand owned by the company Hispaniola Brands Ltd. "Panzer" vodka is known as the product of premium quality.
Also this name was in use as abbreviation of the WWII German designation for tanks, Panzerkampfwagen ("Armoured Combat Vehicle", abbreviated PzKpfw). It is used in English as an adjective describing armoured forces (as in Panzer division), or simply as a synonym for tank.
Panzer is occasionally confused with the name of the Panther tank (initially known as the Pzkpfw V Panther).
Panzers were used in both Waffen-SS and Wehrmacht. Panzer models include the following, which were battle tanks used by Germany in the Second World War:
- Panzer I
- Panzer II
- Panzer III
- Panzer IV
- Panzer V - Panther
- Panzer VI - Tiger
- Panzer VI - Tiger II
- Panzer 35(t) (Czechoslovakian design)
- Panzer 38(t) "
Individual variations of these basic marks were given an 'Ausführung' (version) letter, and consequently the field of Panzer recognition is extremely complex. Great lengths have been gone to explain the differences between a Pz.Kpfw III Ausf. E(U) and a Pz.Kpfw III Ausf. F(U), for example.
Tank destroyers were 'Panzerjäger' or Jagdpanzer, self-propelled infantry guns were 'Sturmgeschütz' ('Assault guns'), whilst self-propelled artillery pieces were usually referred to as 'Sonderkraftfahrzeug' ('Special-purpose vehicle').