SERVICE HISTORY
AFTER EARLY BATTLEFIELD ISSUES DUE TO RAPID DEVELOPMENT AND DEPLOYMENT, THE PZKPFW. V PANTHER MEDIUM TANK BECAME A FORMIDABLE ADVERSARY
About 250 Ausf. D Panthers entered service in January 1943 and took part in the epic
Battle of Kursk that summer. Many of these were lost to mechanical breakdown. Larger engines, redesigned armour skirts and a reengineered turret were added in a production run that ended in September 1943. A total of approximately 850 Ausf. D Panthers were manufactured before giving way to the improved Ausf. A, and about 2,200 of these were built with maximum armour protection upgraded to 120mm (4.72-inch) thickness. The most numerous Panther variant, the Ausf. G, entered production in the spring of 1944, and nearly 3,000 were completed by 1945, incorporating an upgraded exhaust system, a rotating periscope to improve the driver’s field of vision, and tapered armour on the upper hull.
Once its mechanical difficulties were sorted out, the Panther became a fearsome battlefield presence on both the Eastern and Western fronts, as evidenced at the French village of Le Lorey in late July 1944, when Oberscharführer (technical sergeant) Ernst Barkmann, the most prolific Panther ace of World War II, waited in ambush as an American armoured column slowly approached.
As the 15 American M4 Sherman medium tanks and support vehicles came into view, Barkmann coolly waited for just the right moment and opened fire with his devastating 75mm cannon. Swiftly, he destroyed the first two Shermans in the column and then blasted a fuel truck towards the rear. Barkmann pounced on the remaining Shermans as they attempted to move past the burning vehicles, shooting up two more. As the Americans regrouped, they called for tactical air support, and a swooping fighter-bomber damaged the lone Panther. However, Barkmann made good his escape after destroying nine Shermans and several other support vehicles in a matter of minutes. For his incredible exploits, Barkmann received the Knight’s Cross.
“BARKMANN MADE GOOD HIS ESCAPE AFTER DESTROYING NINE SHERMANS AND SEVERAL OTHER SUPPORT VEHICLES IN A MATTER OF MINUTES”