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Germany's Panzerkampfwagen IV Ausf F2, SdKfz 161/1
BW/7:

PzKpfw IV Ausf F2:

Design

As the PzKpfw IV Ausf F1 was rolling off production lines, the T-34 was encountered on the Russian front. Hitler ordered the PaK 40 antitank gun fitted into all new PzKpfw IVs.

On November 18, 1941 the Ordnance Department issued Order #917/41 gKdos Wa. Pruef. 4 to Friedrich Krupp AG of Essen and Rheinmetall-Borsig AG to design a replacement for the short barrelled75 mm gun being used.¹³

Turret

The welded turret had seats for the commander, gunner, and loader.¹³

The commander had a cupola that was towards the rear of the roof.¹³ There were five equally spaced observation ports in the cupola.¹³ The front port was lined up with the direction that the main armament would fire.¹³

In front of the side hatches was an observation port.¹³ On each side of the mantlet were observation ports.¹³ Some of the turrets were produced without the right side port.¹³

The turret roof had a signal port.¹³ At the rear of the turret were two pistol ports.¹³

To extract the fumes after firing, there was a fan in the roof of the turret.¹³

There was a DKW two cylinder two cycle 10 HP 500 cc gasoline engine that provided power for the turret traverse.¹³

Hull

The joints were austenitic steel welds and the plates were made of chromium-molybdenum steel.¹³ The hull was separated by 2 bulkheads into the driving, fighting, and engine compartment.¹³

The transmission and the final drive assemblies were housed in the driving compartment.¹³ The driver and hull gunner / radio operator had their seats located in the front.¹³

Under the fighting compartment was 105 gallons of fuel in tanks.¹³

There were two hinged and one bolted maintenance hatches in the front glacis plate.¹³

Superstructure

The welded superstructure was bolted to the top of the hull.¹³ The superstructure extended out over the sides of the hull to make room for a large turret.¹³

Hatches for the driver and hull gunner were in the roof.¹³

Main Armament

The 75 mm Kampfwagenkanone 44 (later KwK 40) was to be of L/43 caliber.¹³ The gun was mounted on a trunnion axis.¹³ Extending through the mantlet was the recoil mechanism that added more protection.¹³

75 mm later KwK 40 had muzzle velocity of 2,428 ft/sec⁸ and could penetrate 89 mm @ 30°⁸. It's AP round weighed 15 lbs and had a muzzle velocity of 2,428'/sec.¹¹ Early models had single baffle, but later models had double baffle muzzle brake.¹³

Ammunition storage was altered to allow for the larger rounds. The gunner's and commander's seat was altered to allow more room. There was an auxiliary hand crank for traverse for the loader.

Engine

The Maybach HL 120 TRM was built under license by Norddeutsche Motorenbau GmbH of Berlin-Niederschoeneweide.¹³

The engine could output 300 HP at 3,000 rpm but was restricted to 265 HP at 2,600 rpm.¹³

Air entered the engine compartment on the left.¹³ The air then went through two radiators and then over the engine by two 10 bladed fans.¹³ There was a large air filter for the engine.¹³ A propeller shaft transmitted the power to the Zahnradfabrik Friedrichshafen AG gearbox.¹³

Production

In March 1942, factories started to put the 7.5 cm gun KwK 40 L/43.^8,13

Used FuG5 radio.⁴

Usage

Eastern Front

Small number of the PzKpfw IV Ausf F2 appeared on the Eastern Front in the spring of 1942.¹³

North Africa

Were called the "Mark IV Special" by the British.^9,13 First encountered at Alam Halfa and El Alamein in September and October 1942.⁹

On June 11, 1942 there were six PzKpfw IV Ausf F2s in North Africa.¹³

At the start of the Battle of Alam el Halfa there were 27 PzKpfw IV Ausf F2s.¹³

	Panzerkampfwagen IV Ausf F2
Crew	Commander, gunner, loader, driver, radio operator¹³ 5^{1,4,5,11,13,14}
Physical Characteristics
Weight	50,706 lb, 52,000 lb 22 tons¹, 23 tons⁴, 23.2 tons¹³, 23.6 tons^5,8,13,14, 25.8 tons¹¹ 22,350 kg¹
Empty weight	22 tons¹³
Length w/gun	18' 5.5", 19.4'¹¹, 20' 10", 21' 9"^1,13,14, 22.08'⁵ 5.62 m⁴, 6.63 m^1,14
Length w/o gun	17' 9"¹³ 5.93 m
Height	8.53'¹¹, 8' 6", 8' 9.5"^1,13,14, 8.9'⁵ 2.68 m^1,4,14
Width	9' 3.75", 9' 5.5"^1,13,14, 9.5'¹¹, 9.6'⁵, 9' 7" 2.84 m⁴, 2.88 m^1,14
Width over tracks
Ground clearance	15.75"¹¹ 40 cm
Ground contact length	138.5"¹¹ 3.52 m
Ground pressure	2.86 psi¹³, 11.8 psi¹¹ 0.84 kg/cm²
Turret ring diameter	1.65 m
Armament
Main	75 mm KwK 40 L/43^4,11,13 75 mm KwK L/43¹² 75 mm^1,5 75 mm L/43⁹ 75 mm L/43 or L/48¹⁴
Secondary
MG	2: 7.92 mm MG¹⁴ 2: 7.92 mm MG34⁴ 2: MG⁵
MG - hull	1: 7.92 mm 34 MG¹³ 1: 7.92 mm MG^1,6 1: 7.92 mm MG34¹¹
MG - coaxial	1: 7.92 mm 34 MG¹³ 1: 7.92 mm MG^1,6 1: 7.92 mm MG34¹¹
Side arms
Quantity
Main	87 HEAT, smoke, APCR, APCBC, HE 87^4,6,11,13,14 PzGr 39 (APCBC), PzGr 40 (APCR), Sprgr 38A & B (HEAT), Sprgr 34 (HE), Nebel (Smoke)¹³
Secondary
MG	2,250¹³, 3,000⁴, 3,150^11,14, 3,192⁶, 3,200
Side arms
Armor Thickness (mm)	Front: 2"¹¹ Side: 1.2"¹¹ 10 - 50⁵ Hull: 60¹² Turret: 50¹²
Hull Front, Upper	30+30¹⁴, 60⁶ 50@10°^4,13
Hull Front, Lower	25@73°¹³ 50@12°⁴
Hull Sides, Upper	30+20¹⁴, 20+20@0°¹³, 30@0°⁴
Hull Sides, Lower	30@0°⁴
Hull Rear	20@12°¹³, 20@0°⁴ & 20°⁴
Hull Top	11¹⁴, 12@85°-90°⁴, 15@90°¹³
Hull Bottom	10@90°^4,13
Turret Front	2"¹¹ 50^6,14 50@11°^4,13 Mantlet: 50°¹³, 50@0°-30°⁴
Turret Sides	0.8"¹¹ 30@26°^4,13
Turret Rear	30@16°^4,13
Turret Top	10@83°-90°⁴, 10@90°¹³
Engine (Make / Model)	Maybach HL 120 TRM^1,4,11,13
Bore / stroke
Cooling	Water¹¹
Capacity	11,867 cc¹³
Cylinders	V-12^11,13
Net HP	300¹⁴, 300@3,000 rpm^11,13
Power to weight ratio	13.6 bhp/ton¹³
Compression ratio	6.5:1¹¹
Transmission (Type)	Zahnradfabrik Friedrichshafen ZF SSG 76 Aphon¹³ ZF SSG 76 ZF SSG 77 Synchromesh^11,13 6 forward, 1 reverse.^4,11,13
Steering	Clutch brake¹¹ Krupp-Wilson clutch steering brake¹³
Steering ratio
Starter	Electric and inertia¹¹
Electrical system	Starting: 24-volt¹¹ Running: 12-volt¹¹, GQL 12 volt¹³
Ignition	Magneto¹¹
Fuel (Type)	Gasoline^11,13
Octane	74¹³
Quantity	105 gallons¹³, 125 gallon¹¹ 470 liters
Road consumption	1 mpg¹¹ 100 km/235 liters
Cross country consumption	0.6 mpg¹¹
Performance
Traverse	360°^4,13 Electric^4,11,13, hand^11,13
Max speed	24.8 mph^1,13,14, 25 mph^5,8,11 40 kph^1,4,8,14
Cross country speed	10 mph¹¹, 11 mph 16 kph
Road radius	124 miles^11,14, 130 miles^1,13 200 km^4,14, 209 km¹
Cross country radius	71 miles¹³, 78 miles¹¹, 80.7 miles¹⁴ 130 km¹⁴
Turning radius	5.92 m
Elevation limits	-11° to +21° -10° to +20°¹³ -8° to +20°⁴
Fording depth	3' 3"¹², 39.4"¹¹ 1 m
Trench crossing	7'¹³, 7.2'¹¹ 2.2 m
Vertical obstacle	23.6"¹¹, 2'¹³ 60 cm
Climbing ability	30° (57%) slope¹¹, 30°¹³
Suspension (Type)	Leaf springs Quarter elliptic springs^11,13
Wheels each side	8^11,13, 8x2
Return rollers each side	4^11,13, 4x2
Tracks (Type)	Dry pin¹¹ Manganese steel¹³
Length
Width	1' 3.75"^11,13,14 40 cm^13,14
Diameter	18.5"¹³
Number of links	98¹³, 99¹¹
Pitch	4.25"¹³, 4.9"¹¹ 120 mm¹³
Tire tread
Track centers/tread	8' 0.5"¹³, 8.1'¹¹, 8' 7"¹⁴ 2.45 m, 2.62 m¹⁴

Sources:

The Encyclopedia of Tanks and Armored Fighting Vehicles - The Comprehensive Guide to Over 900 Armored Fighting Vehicles From 1915 to the Present Day, General Editor: Christopher F. Foss, 2002
Panzer Truppen The Complete Guide to the Creation and Combat Employment of Germany's Tank Force 1933-1942, Thomas L. Jentz, 1996
Panzer Truppen The Complete Guide to the Creation and Combat Employment of Germany's Tank Force 1943-1945, Thomas L. Jentz, 1996
Encyclopedia of German Tanks of World War Two, Peter Chamberlain and Hilary Doyle, 1999
Tanks of the World, 1915-1945, Peter Chamberlain, Chris Ellis, 1972
The Encyclopedia of Weapons of World War II, Chris Bishop, 1998
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German Tanks of World War II, Dr. S. Hart & Dr. R. Hart, 1998
Tanks of World War II, Duncan Crow, 1979
Battle Winning Tanks, Aircraft & Warships of World War II, David Miller, 2000
Tank Data, Aberdeen Proving Grounds Series, 1968?
Tanks - Over 250 of the World's Tanks and Armored Fighting Vehicles, Chris Chant, 2004
Armour in Profile #8: PanzerKampfwagen IV (F2), Walter Spielberger, 1967
Airfix Magazine Guide #8 German Tanks of World War 2, Terry Gande and Peter Chamberlain, 1975