The Panzerkampfwagen IV (Pz.Kpfw. IV) Sd Kfz 161, commonly known as the Panzer IV, was a medium tank developed in Nazi Germany in the late 1930s and used extensively during the Second World War. Its ordnance inventory designation was Sd.Kfz. 161.
A Panzer IV Ausf.A undergoing testing during 1938.
Designed as an infantry-support tank, the Panzer IV was not originally intended to engage enemy armor as this function was intended to be performed by the lighter Panzer III. However, by 1941, the flaws of pre-war doctrine had become apparent and in the face of the Soviet T-34 tanks, the Panzer IV soon assumed the tank-fighting role instead of the obsolete Panzer III which was too small to cope with a high velocity main armament. The Panzer IV chasis was robust and strong enough to accept a number of upgrades in armour and armament. As a result it was destined to become most widely manufactured and deployed German tank of the Second World War. The Panzer IV was used as the base for many other fighting vehicles, including the Sturmgeschütz IV tank destroyer, the Wirbelwind self-propelled anti-aircraft weapon, and the Brummbär self-propelled gun, amongst others.
Panzer IV Ausf.H, Russia 1944
Robust and reliable, it saw service in all combat theaters involving German forces, and has the distinction of being the only German tank to remain in continuous production throughout the war, with over 8,800 produced between 1936 and 1945. Upgrades and design modifications, often made in response to the appearance of new Allied tanks, extended its service life. Generally these involved increasing the Panzer IV's armour protection or upgrading its weapons, although during the last months of the war with Germany's pressing need for rapid replacement of losses, design changes also included retrograde measures to simplify and speed manufacture.
PzKpfw IV Ausf. D