The German PzKpfw V Panther owes its appearance to the Soviet T-34
There are often disputes on the Web, during which some users prove that the Wehrmacht Panther tank is almost a copy of our T-34, while others are trying to prove that this machine has been developed since 1939.
It is worth noting that both camps are right in this discussion, but only partially.
The thing is that at the time of the invasion of Nazi Germany into the territory of the USSR, the Wehrmacht had two main tanks PzKpfw III and PzKpfw IV. They were opposed by the Soviet KV-1, KV-2 and T-34.
When in the fall of 1941 the Wehrmacht tank formations began to suffer serious losses in battle with our armored vehicles, Inspector General of the Armored Forces Heinz Guderian requested the arrival of a commission to the front that could study the damaged Soviet equipment and make adjustments to the development of new German vehicles.
Such a commission arrived on the Eastern Front in early November 1941. After studying the samples of our tanks, the main struggle for the development of a new vehicle for the army began between two companies: MAN and Daimler-Benz.
It is worth noting that both companies have been developing new tanks since 1939. However, none of the prototypes at that time met the needs of the Wehrmacht.
Already at the end of November, the 41st MAN presented a drawing of a tank hull with rational armor slope angles. At the same time, earlier German concerns persistently offered only "rectangular" designs.
At the same time, MAN developed his car strictly within the framework of German tank building.
The same cannot be said about Daimler-Benz, which really tried to copy our T-34 by installing a diesel engine on the prototype, marking the transmission at the rear and sweeping the turret forward.
However, in the process of sea trials, the brainchild of Daimler-Benz completely failed. The competition was won by MAN, and so the PzKpfw V "Panther" was born.
Therefore, it cannot be said that the "five" was exactly copied from some Soviet tank. At the same time, it is obvious that the MAN designers took their inspiration from studying our machines. In particular, this is indicated by the aforementioned concept of a hull with rational angles of inclination, which was not previously used in German tank building.
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