The following article is taken from the US wartime publication Intelligence Report. It provides a clear account of the duties of the crew from a widely used publication.
CREW AND COMMUNICATIONS OF GERMAN MARK IV TANK
Tactical and Technical Trends, No. 12, November 19th, 1942
The duties of the various crew members of the Mark IV tank are generally similar to those performed by the crews of our own medium M3 and M4 tanks. A German training pamphlet captured in Libya gives the following details on the crew duties and communications of the Mark IV.
a. Duties of the Crew
The crew consists of five men: a commander, gunner, loader, driver, and radio operator. The latter is also the hull machine-gunner.
(1) Tank Commander
The tank commander is an officer or senior NCO and is responsible for the vehicle and the crew. He indicates targets to the gunner, gives fire orders, and observes the effect. He keeps a constant watch for the enemy, observes the zone for which he is responsible, and watches for any orders from the commander's vehicle. In action, he gives his orders by intercommunication telephone to the driver and radio operator, and by speaking tube and touch signals to the gunner and loader. He receives orders by radio or flag, and reports to his commander by radio, signal pistol, or flag.
The Commander was the most important component of the crew. He was the eyes and ears and the decision maker.
(2) Gunner
The gunner is the assistant tank commander. He fires the turret gun, the turret machine gun, or the submachine gun as ordered by the tank commander. He assists the tank commander in observation.
(3) Loader
This crew member loads and maintains the turret armament under the orders of the gunner. He is also responsible for care of ammunition, and when the cupola is closed, gives any necessary flag signals. He replaces the radio operator if the latter becomes a casualty.
(4) Driver
The driver operates the vehicle under the orders of the tank commander or in accordance with orders received by radio from the commander's vehicle. So far as possible he assists in observation, reporting through the intercommunication telephone the presence of the enemy or of any obstacles in the path of the tank. He watches the gasoline consumption and is responsible to the tank commander for the care and maintenance of the vehicle.
(5) Radio Operator
He operates the radio under the orders of the tank commander. In action, and when not actually transmitting, he always keeps the radio set to "receive." He operates the intercommunication telephone and takes down any useful messages he may intercept. He fires the machine gun mounted in the front superstructure. If the loader becomes a casualty, the radio operator takes over his duties.
Panzer crew member and Panzer IV Ausf. B
b. Communications
The following means of communication may be used:
(1) External: radio, flag, hand signals, signal pistol, and flashlight.
(2) Internal: intercommunication telephone, speaking tube, and touch signals.
For the radio, the voice range between two moving vehicles is about 3 3/4 miles and CW about 6 1/4 miles.
The flag is used for short-range communications only, and the signal pistol for prearranged signals, chiefly to other arms.
The radio set, in conjunction with the intercommunication telephone, provides the tank commander, radio operator, and driver with a means for external and internal voice communication, the same throat microphones and telephone receiver headsets being used for both radio and telephone.
When the control switch on the radio is set at EMPFANG (receive) and that on the junction box of the intercommunication telephone at BORD UND FUNK (internal and radio), the commander, radio operator, and driver hear all incoming radio signals. Any one of them can also speak to the other two, after switching his microphone into circuit by means of the switch on his chest.
For radio transmission, the switch on the set is adjusted to TELEPHONIE. The telephone switch may be left at BORD UND FUNK. Either the tank commander or the radio operator can then transmit, and they and the driver will all hear the messages transmitted. Internal communication is also possible at the same time, but such conversation will also be transmitted by the radio.
If the radio set is disconnected or out of order, the telephone switch may be adjusted to BORD (internal). The tank commander and driver can then speak to one another, and the radio operator can speak to them, but cannot hear what they say. The same applies when a radio receiver is available but no transmitter, with the difference that incoming radio signals can then be heard by the radio operator.
The signal flags are normally carried in holders on the left of the driver's seat. When the cupola is open, flag signals are given by the tank commander, and when it is closed, the loader raises the circular flap in the left of the turret roof and signals with the appropriate flag through the port thus opened.
The signal pistol is fired either through the signal port in the turret roof, through the cupola, or through one of the vision openings in the turret wall. The signal pistol must not be cocked until the barrel is already projecting outside the tank. It is only used normally when the vehicle is stationary. Its main use is giving prearranged signals to the infantry or other troops.
When traveling by night with lights dimmed or switched off altogether, driving signals are given with the aid of a dimmed flashlight. The same method is also employed when tanks are in a position of readiness and when in bivouac.
Orders are transmitted from the tank commander to the gunner by speaking tube and by touch signals. The latter are also used for messages from the commander to the loader, and between the gunner and loader.
A British Crusader passes an abandoned Panzer IV tank, Libyan desert 1941
The panzer IV was vulnerable to close assault particularly in the air intakes and the Allies were quick to recognise this-
‘When enemy armoured force vehicles are attacked at close quarters with incendiary grenades, the air louvres are very vulnerable. It is therefore important that differentiation be made between "inlet" and "outlet "ducts, since obviously a grenade thrown against an exhaust opening will be less effective than one aimed at an inlet, which will draw the inflammable liquid into the vehicle. If the engine is not running, all openings are equally vulnerable.
Horse drawn transport passing the wreck of a Panzer IV, Kowno, June 1941.
In general, it may be said that in the Pz Kw II and III tanks the best targets are the flat top-plates of the rear superstructures, since the air intakes are located there. The side louvres in these tanks are invariably protected by a vertical baffle. On the Pz Kw IV, the left side ports are intake and thus more vulnerable than the right-hand exhaust ports.’
Faced with these and other threats on the battlefield the German designers were quick to improve the armour on the Panzer IV, but by 1943 the Allies were aware of these developments.