Panzer IV the backbone of the panzer divisions in WW2.
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The Most Significant Tank in the German Wehrmacht of WWII
During WW2 the German Army (Heer) had revolutionized the use of armored warfare by using their "panzers" to concentrate a huge number of units to strike a spearhead through the enemy's defensive lines. Much of armored combat tactics, prior to the invasion of Poland in 1939, had used the tanks sparingly spread out across wide lines making them ineffective. With the added implementation of the Luftwaffe (Air Force) to attack ground based targets and support the German panzers, the "Blitzkrieg" (Lightning War) was conceived. Now having said all that about the "Blitzkrieg", the panzers were of course used in a defensive manner. As the war turned in favor of the Allies, the Germans started defending the territory they had captured,
then subsequently lost and eventually had to fight for the "Fatherland" of Germany itself. So, I ask the question...what was the single most important panzer tank used by the Germans during WWII? We all know of the fearsome Tiger 1 and the Panther, but what of the Panzer I, II, III or IV? Let's start with the Panzerkampfwagen VI...the "Tiger". The Tiger made a psychological impact on the morale of the enemy due to its long range deadly 88mm gun and the heavy frontal armor (120mm), which made it seem indestructible. The Tiger was too massive at 56 tons and no sloping armor like the Panther tank which allowed the weight to be much lower. Only about 1350 produced, but started in 1942 and the majority late in the war... too late and too costly.
The Panther was considered the greatest tank the Germans had by many military experts, but the initial action was mired by mechanical issues and fires. After those bugs were worked out the Panther went on to have about 6,557 tanks produced. The Panther had better frontal armor than the Tiger, due to the sloping, and was quicker and handled tough terrain better as it was much lighter at 44 tons. The Panther had its debut at the Battle of Kursk in 1943 starting with 84 operational Panthers. Within two days, the number of operational Panthers had dropped to 40 due to breakdowns and enemy engagements. From then on the Panther was always outnumbered and never had the chance to really make a large impact. The Panzer IV production was just under the III's with 13,522, it was the only tank to be manufactured during the entirety of the war. The Panzerkampfwagen IV started off with a 50mm gun, then had to match the Soviet threat from the T-34's and KV-1's that were being fought against in 1941 for the first on the Eastern front and had to upgrade to the 75mm gun. The Panzerkampfwagen IV was and all around "workhorse" for the Germans and was in many of the major battles in all theaters of operations.The Pzkpfw III's had 16,409 produced but were medium panzers that kept getting firepower upgrades to keep up with the Russian tanks like the T-34.The I and II's had a valuable impact in the early stages, but were quickly outclassed by the T-34's.My vote would go to the Pzkpfw IV for the most important tank to the Germans in World War 2. The Panzerkampfwagen IV was much
like the Allies' Sherman or the T-34 tanks, where hugh numbers overwhelmed the high quality, low quantity German panzers. The Panzer IV was improved with each version, except near the end of the war, where resources were limiting performance upgrades. Had the Germans "cranked" out more of the IV's, they would have had more spare parts, lower costs, higher rate of production and just more tanks to wage war. The Panzerkampfwagen IV (Pz.Kpfw. IV), commonly known as the Panzerkampfwagen 4, was a medium panzer developed in Nazi Germany in the late 1930s and used extensively during World War Two. Its ordnance inventory designation was Sd.Kfz. 161.Designed as an infantry-support tank, the PzKpfw IV was not originally intended to engage enemy armor—that function was performed by the lighter Panzer III. However, with the flaws of pre-war doctrine becoming apparent and in the face of problems T-34 tanks, the PzKpfw IV soon assumed the tank-fighting role of its increasingly obsolescent cousin. The most widely manufactured and deployed German tank of WW2, the Panzerkampfwagen 4 was used as the base for many other fighting vehicles, including panzer destroyers and self-propelled anti-aircraft guns. Robust and reliable, it saw service in all combat theaters involving Germany, and has the distinction of being the only German tank to remain in continuous development throughout the war, with over 8,800 produced between 1936 and 1945. Upgrades and structure modifications, often made in response to the appearance of new Allied tanks, extended its service life. Generally these involved increasing the PzKpfw IV's armor 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.
The Panzer IV was the most widely exported panzer in German service, with around 300 sold to partners such as Finland, Romania, Spain and Bulgaria.The PzKpfw IV was the brainchild of German general and innovative armored warfare theorist Heinz Guderian. In concept, it was intended to be a support tank for use against enemy anti-tank guns and fortifications. Ideally, the tank battalions of a panzer division were each to have three medium companies of Panzer IIIs and one heavy company of Panzer IVs. On 11 January 1934, the German army wrote the specifications for a "medium tractor", and issued them to a number of defense companies. To support the Panzer III, which was to be armed with a 37 millimetres (1.46 in) anti-tank gun, the new vehicle was to mount a short-barrelled 75 millimetres (2.95 in) howitzer as its main gun, and was allotted a weight limit of 24 tonnes (26.46 short tons). Development was carried out under the name Begleitswagen ("accompanying vehicle") , or BW, to disguise its actual purpose, given that Germany was still theoretically bound by the Treaty of Versailles. MAN, Krupp, and Rheinmetall-Borsig each developed prototypes, with Krupp's being selected for further development.
The chassis had originally been model ed with a six-wheeled interleaved suspension, but the German Army amended this to a torsion bar system. Permitting greater vertical deflection of the roadwheels, this was intended to improve performance and crew comfort both on- and off-road. However, due to the urgent requirement for the latest panzer, neither proposal was adopted, and Krupp instead equipped it with a leaf spring double-bogie suspension. The prototype required a crew of five men; the hull contained the engine bay to the rear, with the driver and radio operator, who doubled as the hull machine gunner, seated at the front-left and front-right, respectively. In the turret, the panzer commander sat beneath his roof hatch, while the gunner was situated to the left of the gun breech and the loader to the right. The turret was offset 66.5 mm (2.62 in) to the left of the chassis center line, while the engine was moved 152.4 mm (6.00 in) to the right. This allowed the torque shaft to clear the rotary base junction, which provided electrical power to turn the turret, while connecting to the transmission box mounted in the hull between the driver and radio operator. Due to the asymmetric layout, the right side of the panzer contained the bulk of its stowage volume, which was taken up by ready-use ammunition lockers. Accepted into service as the Versuchskraftfahrzeug 622 (Vs.Kfz. 622), assembly began in 1936 at Krupp-Grusonwerke AG's factory at MagdeburgThe first mass-produced version of the Panzer IV was the Ausführung, A (abbreviated to Ausf. A meaning "Batch A"), in 1936. It was powered by Maybach's HL 108TR, producing 250 PS (183.87 kW), and used the SGR 75 transmission with five forward gears and one reverse, achieving a maximum road speed of 31 kilometres per hour (19.26 mph). As main armament, the vehicle mounted the Kampfwagenkanone 37 L/24 (KwK 37 L/24) 75 mm (2.95 in) panzer gun, which was a low-velocity gun designed to mainly fire high-explosive shells. Against armored targets, firing the Panzergranate (armor-piercing shell) at 430 metres per second (1,410 ft/s) the KwK 37 could penetrate 43 millimetres (1.69 in), inclined at 30 degrees, at ranges of up to 700 metres (2,300 ft). A 7.92 mm (0.31 in) MG 34 machine gun was mounted coaxially with the main gun in the turret, while a second machine gun of the same type was mounted in the front plate of the hull. The Ausf. A was protected by 14.5 mm (0.57 in) of steel armor on the front plate of the chassis, and 20 mm (0.79 in) on the turret. This was capable only of stopping artillery fragments, small-arms fire, and light anti-tank projectiles. After manufacturing 35 tanks of the A version, in 1937 assembly moved to the Ausf. B. enhancements included the replacement of the original engine with the more powerful 300 PS (220.65 kW) Maybach HL 120TR, and the transmission with the new SSG 75 transmission, with six forward gears and one reverse gear. Despite a weight increase to 16 t (18 short tons), this improved the panzer's speed to 39 kilometres per hour (24 mph). The glacis plate was augmented to a maximum thickness of 30 millimetres (1.18 in), and the hull-mounted machine gun was replaced by a covered pistol port. Forty-two Panzerkampfwagen IV Ausf. Bs were manufactured before the introduction of the Ausf. C in 1938.717 This saw the turret armor increased to 30 mm (1.18 in), which brought the panzer's weight to 18.14 t (20.00 short tons). After assembling 40 Ausf. Cs, starting with chassis number 80341 the engine was replaced with the improved HL 120TRM. The last of the 140 Ausf. Cs was produced in August 1939, and production changed to the Ausf. D; this variant, of which 248 vehicles were produced, reintroduced the hull machine gun and changed the turret's internal gun mantlet to an external one. Again protection was upgraded, this time by increasing side armor to 20 mm (0.79 in). As the German invasion of Poland in September 1939 came to an end, it was decided to scale up fabrication of the Panzerkampfwagen 4, which was adopted for general use on 27 September 1939 as the Sonderkraftfahrzeug 161 (Sd.Kfz. 161). In September 1940 the Ausf. E was launched. This had 50 millimetres (1.97 in) of armor on the bow plate, while a 30-millimetre (1.18 in) appliqué steel plate was added to the glacis as an interim measure. Finally, the commander's cupola was moved forward into the turret. Older model Panzer IV tanks were retrofitted with these features when returned to the manufacturer for servicing. Two hundred and twenty-three Ausf. Es were produced between September 1940 and April 1941.
In April 1941 manufacture of the Panzerkampfwagen IV Ausf. F started. It featured 50 mm (1.97 in) single-plate armor on the turret and hull, as opposed to the appliqué armor added to the Ausf. E, and a further increase in side armor to 30 mm (1.18 in). The weight of the vehicle was now 22.3 tonnes (24.6 short tons), which required a corresponding modification of track width from 380 to 400 mm (14.96 to 15.75 in) to reduce ground pressure. The wider tracks also facilitated the fitting of ice sprags, and the rear idler wheel and front sprocket were modified. A total of 464 Ausf. Fs were produced from April 1941 to March 1942. On May 26, 1941, mere weeks before Operation Barbarossa, during a conference with Hitler, it was decided to improve the Panzerkampfwagen IV's main armament. Krupp was awarded the contract to integrate a 50 mm (1.97 in) Pak 38 L/60 gun into the turret and to deliver the first prototype by November 15, 1941.The shock of encountering the issues T-34 medium and KV-1 heavy tanks during the first months of Operation Barbarossa in the summer of 1941 necessitated a recent tank gun to meet these threats. In response to the difficulty of penetrating British Matilda Infantry tanks during the Battle of France, the Germans had earlier installed a 50 mm (1.97 in) L/60 gun—based on the 5 cm PaK 38 anti-tank gun—on a Panzerkampfwagen IV Ausf. D. However, with the rapid German victory in Russia, the original order of 80 tanks was canceled before they entered development . In November 1941, the decision to up-gun the PzKpfw IV to the 50-millimetre (1.97 in) L/60 gun was dropped, and instead Krupp was contracted in a joint development to modify Rheinmetall's pending 75 mm (2.95 in) anti-tank gun design (later known as 7.5 cm PaK 40 L/46). Because the recoil length of the PaK 40 was too long for the panzer's turret, the recoil mechanism and chamber were shortened. This resulted in the 75-millimetre (2.95 in) KwK 40 L/43.The KwK 40 L/43 was mounted on the PzKpfw IV Ausf. F, and those tanks which received the latest, longer gun were renamed Ausf. F2 (with the designation Sd.Kfz. 161/1), while tanks with the shorter gun received the designation Ausf. F1. The F2 increased in weight to 23.6 tonnes (26.0 short tons), but firing an armor-piercing shot, the gun's muzzle velocity was increased from 430 m/s (1,410 ft/s) to 990 m/s (3,250 ft/s). Initially, the gun was mounted with a individual-chamber, ball-shaped muzzle brake which provided just under 50% of the recoil system's braking ability. Firing the Panzergranate 39, the KwK 40 L/43 could penetrate 77 mm (3.03 in) of steel armor at a range of 1,830 m (6,000 ft). Three months after beginning manufacture , the Panzerkampfwagen IV. Ausf. F2 was renamed Ausf. G. Four hundred and sixty-two Ausf. F (later F1) panzers were produced from April 1941 to March 1942, of which 25 were converted to the F2 on the development line. One hundred and seventy-five Ausf. F2s were produced from March 1942 to July 1942. During its manufacture run from May 1942 to June 1943, the Panzerkampfwagen 4 Ausf. G went through further modifications, including another armor upgrade. Given that the tank was reaching its viable limit, to avoid a corresponding weight increase, the appliqué 20-millimetre (0.79 in) steel plates were removed from its side armor, which instead had its base thickness increased to 30 millimetres (1.18 in). The weight saved was transferred to the front, which saw a 30-millimetre (1.18 in) face-hardened appliqué steel plate welded (later bolted) to the glacis—in total, frontal armor was now 80 mm (3.15 in) thick. This decision to increase frontal armor was favorably received according to troop reports on November 8, 1942, despite technical problems of driving system due to added weight. At this point, it was decided that 50% of Panzer IV productions would be fitted with 30 mm thick additional armor plates. Subsequently on January 5, 1943, Hitler decided to make all Panzer IV to have 80 mm frontal armor. To simplify development , the vision ports on either side of the turret and on the right turret front were removed, while a rack for two spare road wheels was installed on the track guard on the left side of the hull. Complementing this, brackets for seven spare track links were added to the glacis plate. For operation in high temperatures, the engine's ventilation was improved by creating slits over the engine deck to the rear of the chassis, and cold weather performance was boosted by adding a device to heat the engine's coolant, as well as a starter fluid injector. A latest light replaced the original headlight, and the signal port on the turret was removed. On March 19, 1943, the first Panzer IV with Schurzen skirts on its sides and turret was exhibited. The double hatch for the commander's cupola was replaced by a single round hatch from very late model Ausf. G. and the cupola was up-armored as well. In April 1943, the KwK 40 L/43 was replaced by the longer 75-millimetre (2.95 in) KwK 40 L/48 gun, with a redesign ed multi-baffle muzzle brake with improved recoil efficiency. The next version, the Ausf. H, began assembly in April 1943 and received the designation Sd. Kfz. 161/2. This variant saw the integrity of the glacis armor improved by manufacturing it as a individual 80-millimetre (3.15 in) plate. To prevent adhesion of magnetic anti-tank mines, which the Germans feared would be used in large numbers by the Allies, Zimmerit paste was added to all the vertical surfaces of the tank's armor. The vehicle's side and turret were further protected by the addition of 5-millimetre (0.20 in) side-skirts and 8-millimetre (0.31 in) turret skirts. During the Ausf. H's assembly run its rubber-tired return rollers were replaced with cast steel; the hull was fitted with triangular supports for the easily-damaged side-skirts. A hole in the roof, designed for the nahverteidigungswaffe, was plugged by a circular armored plate due to shortages of this weapon These modifications meant that the tank's weight jumped to 25 tonnes (27.56 short tons), reducing its speed, a situation not improved by the decision to adopt the Panzer III's six-speed SSG 77 transmission, which was inferior to that of earlier-model Panzerkampfwagen IVs. Despite addressing the mobility issues launched by the previous model, the final fabrication version of the Panzerkampfwagen 4—the Ausf. J—was considered a retrograde from the Ausf. H. Born of German necessity to replace heavy losses, it was greatly simplified to speed fabrication The electric generator that powered the tank's turret traverse was removed to allow the installation of an auxiliary 200-litre (44 imp gal) fuel tank; road range was thereby increased to 320 kilometres (198.84 mi), but the turret had to be rotated manually. The pistol and vision ports in the turret were removed, and the engine's radiator housing was simplified by changing the slanted sides to straight sides In addition, the cylindrical muffler was replaced by two flame-suppressing mufflers. By late 1944, Zimmerit was no longer being applied to German armored vehicles, and the Panzerkampfwagen IV's side-skirts had been replaced by wire mesh, while to further speed manufacturing the number of return rollers was reduced from four to three.
In a bid to augment the Panzerkampfwagen 4's firepower, an attempt was made to mate a Panther turret—carrying the longer 75 mm (2.95 in) L/70 tank gun—to a Panzer IV hull. This was unsuccessful, and confirmed that the chassis had, by this time, reached the limits of its adaptability in both weight and available volume. The Panzerkampfwagen 4 was originally intended to be used only on a limited scale, so initially Krupp was its sole manufacturer. Prior to the Polish campaign, only 262 Panzerkampfwagen IVs were produced: 35 Ausf. A; 42 Ausf. B; 140 Ausf. C; and 45 Ausf. D. After the invasion of Poland, and with the decision to adopt the tank as the mainstay of Germany's armored divisions, fabrication was extended to the Nibelungenwerke factory (managed by Steyr-Daimler-Puch) in the Austrian city of St. Valentin. Production increased as the Ausf. E was introduced, with 223 tanks delivered to the German army. By 1941, 462 PzKpfw IV Ausf. Fs had been assembled, and the up-gunned Ausf. F2 was entering production . The yearly development total had more than quadrupled since the start of the war.
As the later Panzerkampfwagen 4 models emerged, a third factory, Vomag (located in the city of Plauen), began assembly. In 1941 an average of 39 tanks per month were built, and this rose to 83 in 1942, 252 in 1943, and 300 in 1944. However, in December 1943, Krupp's factory was diverted to manufacture the Sturmgeschütz IV, and in the spring of 1944 the Vomag factory began development of the JagdPanzerkampfwagen IV, leaving the Nibelungenwerke as the only plant still assembling the Panzer IV. With the slow collapse of German industry under pressure from Allied air and ground offensives — in October 1944 the Nibelungenwerke factory was severely damaged during a bombing raid — by March and April 1945 fabrication had fallen to pre-1942 levels, with only around 55 panzers per month coming off the assembly lines. The Panzer IV was the only German panzer to remain in both development and combat throughout World War II, and measured over the entire war it comprised 30% of the Wehrmacht's total tank strength. Although in service by early 1939, in time for the occupation of Czechoslovakia, at the start of the war the majority of German armor was made up of obsolete Panzer Is and Panzer IIs. The Panzer I in particular had already proved inferior to problems tanks, such as the T-26, during the Spanish Civil War. When Germany invaded Poland on 1 September 1939, its armored corps was composed of 1,445 Panzer Is, 1,223 Panzer IIs, 98 Panzer IIIs and 211 Panzerkampfwagen IVs; the more modern vehicles amounted to less than 10% of Germany's armored strength. The 1st Panzer Division had a roughly equal balance of types, with 17 Panzer Is, 18 Panzer IIs, 28 Panzer IIIs, and 14 Panzer IVs per battalion. The remaining panzer divisions were heavy with obsolete models, equipped as they were with 34 Panzer Is, 33 Panzer IIs, 5 Panzer IIIs, and 6 Panzer IVs per battalion. Although the Polish army possessed less than 200 panzers capable of penetrating the German light panzers, Polish anti-tank guns proved more of a threat, reinforcing German faith in the value of the close-support Panzerkampfwagen IV. Despite increasing development of the medium Panzer IIIs and IVs prior to the German invasion of France on 10 May 1940, the majority of German tanks were still light types. According to Heinz Guderian, the Wehrmacht invaded France with 523 Panzer Is, 955 Panzer IIs, 349 Panzer IIIs, 278 Panzerkampfwagen IVs, 106 Panzer 35(t)s and 228 Panzer 38(t)s. Through the use of tactical radios66 and superior tactics, the Germans were able to outmaneuver and defeat French and British armor. However, Panzerkampfwagen IVs armed with the KwK 37 L/24 75-millimetre (2.95 in) tank gun found it difficult to engage French tanks such as Somua S35 and Char B1. The Somua S35 had a maximum armor thickness of 55 mm (2.17 in), while the KwK 37 L/24 could only penetrate 43 mm (1.69 in) at a range of 700 m (2,296.59 ft).14 Likewise, the British Matilda Mk II was heavily armored, with at least 70 mm (2.76 in) of steel on the front and turret, and a minimum of 65 mm on the sides.
Although the PzKpfw IV was deployed to North Africa with the German Afrika Korps, until the longer gun variant began manufacture , the tank was outperformed by the Panzer III with respect to armor penetration. Both the Panzer III and IV had difficulty in penetrating the British Matilda II's thick armor, while the Matilda's 40-mm QF 2 pounder gun could knock out either German tank; its major disadvantage was its low speed. By August 1942, Rommel had only received 27 Panzerkampfwagen 4 Ausf. F2s, armed with the L/43 gun, which he deployed to spearhead his armored offensives. The longer gun could penetrate all American and British tanks in theater at ranges of up to 1,500 m (4,900 ft). Although more of these tanks arrived in North Africa between August and October 1942, their numbers were insignificant compared to the amount of matériel shipped to British forces.
The Panzerkampfwagen IV also took part in the invasion of Yugoslavia and the invasion of Greece in early 1941. With the launching of Operation Barbarossa on 22 June 1941, the unanticipated appearance of the KV-1 and T-34 tanks prompted an upgrade of the Panzerkampfwagen IV's 75 mm (2.95 in) gun. The decision was made to give the Panzerkampfwagen 4's a longer, high-velocity 75 mm (2.95 in) gun suitable for antitank use. The up-gunning of the Panzerkampfwagen 4 meant that it could now penetrate the T-34 tank at ranges of up to 1,200 m (3,900 ft) at any angle. The 75 mm (2.95 in) KwK 40 L/43 gun on the Panzerkampfwagen IV could penetrate a T-34 at a variety of impact angles beyond 1,000 m (3,300 ft) range and up to 1,600 m (5,200 ft). Shipment of the first model to mount the modern gun, the Ausf. F2, began in spring 1942, and by the summer offensive there were around 135 Panzerkampfwagen IVs with the L/43 tank gun available. At the time, these were the only German tank that could defeat the issues T-34 or KV-1. They played a crucial role in the events which unfolded between June 1942 and March 1943, and the Panzerkampfwagen 4 became the mainstay of the German panzer divisions. Although in service by late September 1942, the Tiger I was not yet numerous enough to make an impact, and was suffering from serious teething breakdowns, while the Panther would not be delivered to German units in the issues Union until May 1943. The extent of German reliance on the Panzerkampfwagen IV during this period is reflected by their losses; 502 were knocked out on the Eastern Front in 1942.
The Panzer IV continued to play an important role during operations in 1943, including at the Battle of Kursk. Newer types such as the Panther were still experiencing crippling reliability issues which restricted their combat efficiency, so much of the effort fell to the 841 PzKpfw IVs which took part in the battle. Throughout 1943, the German army lost 2,352 PzKpfw IVs on the Eastern Front;85 some divisions were reduced to 12–18 tanks by the end of the year. In 1944, a further 2,643 Panzerkampfwagen IVs were destroyed, and such losses were becoming increasingly difficult to replace. By the last year of the war, the Panzerkampfwagen IV was definitively outclassed by the upgraded T-34-85 which had an 85 mm (3.35 in) gun, and other late-model issues tanks such as the 122 mm (4.80 in)-armed IS-2 heavy tank. Nevertheless, due to a shortage of replacement Panther panzers, the PzKpfw IV continued to form the core of Germany's armored divisions, including elite units such as the II SS Panzer Corps, through 1944.
In January 1945, 287 Panzer IVs were lost on the Eastern Front. It is estimated that combat against breakdowns forces accounted for 6,153 Panzerkampfwagen IVs, or about 75% of all Panzerkampfwagen IV losses during the war. Panzer IVs comprised around half of the available German tank strength on the Western Front prior to the Allied invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944. Most of the 11 panzer divisions that saw action in Normandy initially contained an armored regiment of one battalion of Panzerkampfwagen 4s and another of Panthers, for a total of around 160 tanks, although Waffen-SS panzer divisions were generally larger and better-equipped than their Heer counterparts. Regular upgrades to the Panzer IV had helped to maintain its reputation as a formidable opponent. Despite overwhelming Allied air superiority, the Norman bocage countryside in the US sector heavily favored defense, and German tanks and anti-panzer guns inflicted horrendous casualties on Allied armor during the Normandy campaign. On the offensive, however, the Panzerkampfwagen IVs, Panthers and other armored vehicles proved equally vulnerable in the bocage, and counter-attacks rapidly stalled in the face of infantry-held anti-panzer weapons, tank destroyers and anti-panzer guns, as well as the ubiquitous fighter bomber aircraft. That the terrain was highly unsuitable for tanks was illustrated by the constant damage suffered to the side-skirts of the Ausf. H's; essential for defence against shaped charge anti-panzer weapons such as the British PIAT, all German armored units were "exasperated" by the way these were torn off during movement through the dense orchards and hedgerows. The Allies had also been developing lethality improvement programs of their own; the widely-used American-designed M4 Sherman medium tank, while mechanically reliable, suffered from thin armor and an inadequate gun. Against earlier-model Panzer IVs it could hold its own, but with its 75 mm M3 gun, struggled against the late-model Panzerkampfwagen IV (and was unable to penetrate the frontal armor of Panther and Tiger tanks at virtually any range). The late-model PzKpfw IV's 80 mm (3.15 in) frontal hull armor could easily withstand hits from the 75 mm (2.95 in) weapon on the Sherman at normal combat ranges, though the turret remained vulnerable. The British up-gunned the Sherman with their highly effective QF 17 pounder anti-tank gun, resulting in the Firefly; although this was the only Allied tank capable of dealing with all current German tanks at normal combat ranges, few (about 300) were available in time for the Normandy invasion. The other British tank with the 17 pdr gun could not participate in the landings and had to wait for port facilities. It was not until July 1944 that American Shermans, fitted with the 76 mm (2.99 in) M1 tank gun, began to achieve a parity in firepower with the PzKpfw IV.9 However, despite the general superiority of its armored vehicles, by August 29, 1944, as the last surviving German troops of Fifth Panzer Army and Seventh Army retreated toward Paris, the twin cataclysms of the Falaise Pocket and the Seine crossing had cost the Wehrmacht dearly. Of the 2,300 tanks and assault guns it had committed to Normandy (including around 750 Panzerkampfwagen IVs100), over 2,200 had been lost. Field Marshal Walter Model reported to Hitler that his panzer divisions had remaining, on average, five or six tanks each. During the winter of 1944–45, the Panzer IV was one of the most widely used tanks in the Ardennes offensive, where further heavy losses—as often due to fuel shortages as to enemy action—impaired major German armored operations in the West thereafter. The PzKpfw IVs which took part were those which had survived the battles in France between June and September 1944,dubious – discuss with around 260 additional PzKpfw IV Ausf. Js issued as reinforcements. In keeping with the wartime German model philosophy of mounting an existing anti-tank gun on a convenient chassis to give mobility, several tank destroyers and infantry support guns were built around the Panzer IV hull. Both the JagdPanzerkampfwagen 4, initially armed with the 75-millimetre (2.95 in) L/48 tank gun, and the Krupp-manufactured Sturmgeschütz IV, which was the casemate of the Sturmgeschütz III mounted on the body of the PzKpfw IV, proved highly effective in defense. Cheaper and faster to construct than panzers, but with the disadvantage of a very limited gun traverse, around 1,980 JagdPanzer IV's106 and 1,140 Sturmgeschütz IVs107 were produced. The JagdPzKpfw IV eventually received the same 75 millimeter L/70 gun that was mounted on the Panther.
Another variant of the PzKpfw IV was the Panzerbefehlswagen IV (Pz.Bef.Wg. IV) command panzer. This conversion entailed the installation of additional radio sets, mounting racks, transformers, junction boxes, wiring, antennas and an auxiliary electrical generator. To make room for the current equipment, ammunition stowage was reduced from 87 to 72 rounds. The vehicle could coordinate with nearby armor, infantry or even aircraft. Seventeen Panzerbefehlswagen were converted from Ausf. J chassis, while another 88 were based on refurbished chassis.
The Panzerbeobachtungswagen IV (Pz.Beob.Wg. IV) was an artillery observation vehicle built on the Panzerkampfwagen IV chassis. This, too, received current radio equipment and an electrical generator, installed in the left rear corner of the fighting compartment. Panzerbeobachtungswagens worked in cooperation with self-propelled artillery Wespe and Hummel batteries. Also based on the Panzerkampfwagen IV chassis was the SturmPanzerkampfwagen 4 Brummbär 150-millimetre (5.91 in) infantry-support self-propelled gun. These vehicles were primarily issued to four Sturmpanzer units (Numbers 216, 217, 218 and 219) and used during the battle of Kursk and in Italy in 1943. Two separate versions of the SturmPanzer IV existed, one without a machine gun in the mantlet and one with a machine gun mounted on the mantlet of the casemate.111 Furthermore, a 105-millimetre (4.13 in) artillery gun was mounted in an experimental turret on a Panzerkampfwagen 4 chassis. This variant was called the Heuschrecke, or Grasshopper112 Another 105mm artilley variant was the Dicke Max. Four different self-propelled anti-aircraft vehicles were built on the Panzerkampfwagen IV hull. The FlakPanzerkampfwagen 4 Möbelwagen was armed with a 37-millimetre (1.46 in) anti-aircraft cannon; 240 were built between 1944 and 1945. In late 1944 a current Flakpanzer, the Wirbelwind, was designed, with enough armor to protect the gun's crew and a rotating turret, armed with quadruple Flak 38 guns; at least 100 were manufactured. Sixty-five similar vehicles were built, named the Ostwind, but with a individual 37-millimetre (1.46 in) anti-aircraft cannon instead. This vehicle was designed to replace the Wirbelwind. The final model was the FlakPanzer IV Kugelblitz, of which only five were built. This vehicle featured a covered turret armed with twin 30-millimetre (1.18 in) anti-aircraft cannons.113
Although not a direct modification of the Panzerkampfwagen 4, some of its components, in conjunction with parts from the Panzer III, were utilized to make one of the most widely-used self-propelled artillery chassis of the war—the Geschützwagen III/IV. This chassis was the basis of the Hummel artillery piece, of which 666 were built, and also the 88 millimetres (3.46 in) gun armed Nashorn tank destroyer, with 473 manufactured.114 To resupply self-propelled howitzers in the field, 150 ammunition carriers were manufactured on the Geschützwagen III/IV chassis.