Panzer
is German for armour. It is also an abbreviation of the WWII German designation for tanks, Panzerkampfwagen ("Armoured Combat Vehicle", abbreviated PzKpfw). The word Panzer (plural: Panzer) gained infamy in English during Nazi Germany's successful Blitzkrieg armoured advances of World War II. 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').
See also
Etymology
The word started as French pancier = "breastplate" (compare English paunch), and it got into German to mean any sort of armour.
Other uses of the word
- In some forms of coalminers' jargon, a panzer is a type of underground conveyor belt for carrying coal, made entirely out of metal.
- See also Erik "Panzer" Hagen.