#eta320 #tankhistory #tanks #tank #documentary #history
I’ve chosen the Panzer IV to look at today, not just because it’s a rare tank to see up close here in the states, but it’s also just such an interesting tank to me, because amongst all of the German WWII tanks people love to fawn over, the panzer IV is kind of the most low key… it’s not the famous and feared Tiger, it’s not the cute and lovable workhorse Panzer III, and it’s not the competition for first MBT/peak of German engineering Panther. It’s just sort of, the Panzer IV.
So naturally, I wanted to do a deep dive, and figure out what, if anything, actually makes the Panzer IV special. And hopefully, we learn a little something about ourselves along the way :). In this video, I’ll be going from the inception of the Panzer IV, all the way to its end, going variant by variant explaining all of its details and shortcomings, and to provide for the common tanker a compressive video. This is, a slightly confusing guide, to the Panzer IV!
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This has easily blossomed into my largest project yet, not just in length, but in terms of sheer complexity. Where my T-34 video was a lot of work in the recording, this video was a lot of work in the editing. I really do think this is my best video yet, and I can only hope it was worth the wait!
Thank you for watching!
If you like what you see, check out my other videos, and my other channels.
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Research Sources:
Books –
– “Encyclopedia of German Tanks of World War Two” by Peter Chamberlain and Hilary Doyle
– “Panzer IV & Its Variants” by Walter J. Spielberger
– “Panzer Tracts No. 4-3 Panzerkampfwagen IV Ausf.H/Ausf.J, 1943 to 1945” by Hilary Doyle, Lukas Friedli & Thomas Jents
Online Sources –
http://panzerivuniverse.phelpscomputerservices.com/Specs.htm
https://www.tankarchives.ca/2017/01/pzkpfwiv-ausf-d-through-e.html
https://tanks-encyclopedia.com/ww2/germany/panzer_iv.php
https://tanks-encyclopedia.com/ww2/nazi_germany/panzer_iv_ausfbc
https://tanks-encyclopedia.com/ww2/nazi_germany/panzer_iv_ausfe
https://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?t=64566
https://thenewrobotech.neocities.org/pnzr4
Czech Rebuild Panzer IV’s
https://www.mmowg.net/czech-medium-tank-t-4075/
https://wwiiafterwwii.wordpress.com/2016/09/04/panzers-in-the-golan-heights/
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0:00 Intro
1:54 Thank You Patrons!
3:13 Intro
4:00 Chapter 1: Genesis
10:19 Chapter 2: Ausführung durch Ausführung
40:59 Chapter 3: Over performer, Underachiever
58:07 Final Thoughts
source
Hey all! Thank you so much for watching!
This has blossomed into my biggest project yet, and I couldn’t be happier with the results. Of course as always criticism and extra tips are always appreciated.
List of Corrections (will keep updating):
– “Vorpanzer” is not pronounced with a typical ‘V’ like in English, but more like an ‘F’ sound. In the future I will consult translators!
– The Panzer IV J did not actually switch to 3 return rollers until the summer of 1944
-Finland did use their Panzer IV’s in combat during WWII
Cant wait for the next episode of tornados, technicals, and tanks!
Loved the video Eta, have a great day
Germans: This vehicle has one more box of MG ammo somewhere in the corner. Ausf B!
AFAIK they didnt use electric starter because it struggled to spin the engine until the oil was heated up. So, if you drove your tank and choked the engine, you could just turn it back on with electric starter. But starting cool engine with it, well, I dont think so.
so Tank stuff is basically:
Americans in WW2 : Were the tank was build
Germans in WW2: The production line/order
I don't belive you mentioned the change in mounting of the kwk40 L/43 changing to the kwk40 L/48 very small detail but it did add and extra 10-20mm to penetrationg capability and was mounted on late ausf g's through to the ausf J's at the end. Great video man. Really loved this video on an overall underapreciated tank and I'm glad you put it in the light. ❤❤
35:00 Honestly if the HEAT warheads were defeated by that, spaced armor would be extremely popular, more so than early compositive.
Like nobody would be allowed to say "Cope cages" for current day tanks.
38:55 "Die deutsche Spieluhr"
Thank you for this amazing work. I hope one day you'll tackle the monstrous task of doing a comprehensive guide to T-54/55 variants
Thanks for making this awesome video
The Panzer IV is my favorite tank of all time so I quite enjoyed learning more about it from you 😀
I acknowledge all of the Panzer IV's flaws and that its competition (M4, T-34, etc.) were better than it in quite a few ways, but I love the Panzer IV because it was the way it was, not because it was a "good" tank.
Also Vorpanzer just means "forward armor" and is basically just extra spaced armor on the tank. Panzer III L-N's additional front spaced armor can also qualify as "Vorpanzer" and there was even a protoype of the Tiger that was supposed to have "Vorpanzer"
Inconvenience caused by minor changes to the Panzer IV throughout the production probably killed more German troops than Alliance did.
Scheiße Hans, offen dein eyes. Wir ist in tight straße und die cannon ist defekt. Du bist zu blind zu sehen die blau licht?
Was blau licht???
49:10 I want it
the panzer 4 along with the stugs have always been some of my favorite german tanks
I had my own rabbithole about a shell for the Pz.IV short 75 gun- War Thunder gives the StuG IIIA and Pz.IV F1 a better HEAT shell than any of their later successors- the Hl.Gr.38(C), with a purported 98mm of penetration. After these, only the Hl.Gr.38(B) is available, with a penetration that's worse by ~20mm.
I was -mystified-, but weeks of digging makes it apparent that the Wehrmacht just ran out of these rounds before even finishing the invasion of Poland, and they never got replenished
Love the video as usual! You are absolutely my favorite tank youtuber by far!
You should make Merch like a mug or something if you do I will totally buy it.
While not a book, I would like to recommend the video series, "The German War Files", which has several videos, each dedicated to a type of war machine in the German land arsenal. The Panzer I-II, III, IV, V, VI, Stug, and Hummel apiece have a video. The documentary series is rather dry and British, but I prefer it that way. There isn't much attention paid to specifications, but rather to the career of each type – where they served, how well they fared, logistic issues, and so on. There are no interviews or CGI battles, just an Attenborough-like narrative.
To finish off my watching eta320 whilst using a pressure cooking saga, my ceiling is back to normal.
10/10 would watch eta320 whilst pressure cooking again.
Nibelungenwerke. Pronounced like the Nibelungen Myth, the "national myth" of germany. N-e-b-ä(google the pronunciation, its pretty much just saying a with american accent but stopping halfway through)-u-n-g-ä-n-v-ä-r-k-ä. its extremely intuitive for german native speakers and the absolute endboss for people who dont know the language.
Great video overall, congratulation!
I don't want to be that guy, but you put a picture of a bulgarian pz iv. when you talked about hungary. I saw this picture so many times mislabeled, probably it was a taken in hungary after the bulgarians swicthed sides.
eta320 helped jcshlatt in 1999 to hide bodies in NY
27:00 I believe it’s pronounced vah-len-tin not 100% tho
heh, vore panzer (I'm sorry)
Man, i hear the into music and all i can think of is deadly twister…. i miss those simpler times….
"I've heard cheaper to produce, but more expensive in material costs."
To me, it seems like the Panther has more "premium" materials compared to the Panzer IV, but in the components they do share (and by that I mean rivets, bolts and the like) the Panther uses less of them. I've heard that, cost-wise, the hull of the Panther costed as much as an entire Panzer IV (Ausf. H); This could indicate a difference in the building materials- a more effective, but expensive alloy being used in the Panther but also accompanied by simplified production (as you said, the Panzer IV had numerous "handcrafty" quirks that slowed mass production that either weren't present or were minor enough to affect very little of the production time.)
Germans can't keep the names for their tanks but then there's the US which name their Infantry weapons, planes and tanks all the same fucking designation xDD
We have a design of the Panzer IV with a Tiger's 8.8 cm gun, the Panther's Shaultrum, and a enlarged and enhanced hull with spaced armor and sideskirts. (Pardon my German, I haven't been there in forever)