Ammunition tank III
The ammunition tank III was a German tank from the Second World War , which was used for transport purposes.
concept
After the Panzerkampfwagen III turned out to be hopelessly out of date from 1942 and the OKW realized that the production of two vehicles with similar performance data (Panzer III and Panzer IV ) was uneconomical, the vehicles were gradually removed from the front line.
Most of the still usable vehicles were converted into assault guns and support vehicles such as pioneer, recovery or ammunition tanks.
One of the simplest modifications was the ammunition tank III . The turret of the main battle tank was removed and the slewing ring was closed with a hatch or tarpaulin. Various solutions are known here, as many vehicles were also created through troop conversions.
In the interior, new or additional mounts for ammunition were created. The bow machine gun and radio equipment were mostly retained, provided they were not required by the workshop units for combat vehicles.
Many vehicles were equipped with the widened " east chains " to compensate for the increased weight caused by the ammunition.
For the ammunition tank III it is not possible to provide uniform information on performance and armor, as almost all versions (from version G onwards) were used as the basis for this vehicle.
See also
literature
- FM von Senger and Etterlin : The German tanks 1926–1945. Revised and supplemented by F. Kosar for the 3rd edition. Bernard & Graefe Verlag, Bonn 2000, ISBN 3-76375-988-3 .
- Walter J. Spielberger: The Panzerkampfwagen III and its variants. 2nd Edition. Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart 1984, ISBN 3-87943-336-4 ( military vehicles 3).
- Wolfgang Fleischer : Panzerkampfwagen III the tanks of the Blitzkriege. Podzun-Pallas-Verlag, Wölfersheim-Berstadt 2001, ISBN 3-7909-0732-4 ( Waffen-Arsenal 187).
- Michael Jerchel, Waldemar Trojca: The Panzerkampfwagen III at war. Concord Publications, New Territories / Hong Kong 1997 ( Armor at war series ).