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GERMANYS PANTHER TANK

caused by dnvmg m the deep. heavy mud encountered m the Spring

The fol Iow mg exper ience was obtamed durmg the period from 6 March to l5April 1944 with the Panzerkamptwagen V ot the I Abteilung/Panzer-Regiment 2

May bach HL 230 P30 Motors. In generał, the newer motors have a sigmficantly longer hfespan than the first senes The longest dis tance achieved by a motor is 1700 to 1800 kilo-meters m 3 ot the 7 Panthers that are still available The motor failures that did occur were all ot the same naturę, bear-mg damage and broken connectmg rods.

Motor Fires Motor fires also significantly decreased The proven causes ot motor fires at present are

1 Oil leaks from the valve covers due to poor gaskets. The oil drops on the hot exhaust where it igmtes.

2. In $everal cases. a heavy overflowmg from the carbu-retors was noticed The spark plugs became wet and didn t fire. The unburnt fuel was then discharged to the exhaust header and feaked through the gaskets This caused fire to spread on the outside ot the motor

Transmissions The transmissions also achieved an m-creased lifespan However. in several cases the 3rd gear failed at about 1500 kilometers so that a new transmission needs to be mstalled This damage may be caused by overtaxing the 3rd gear durmg the muddy period that lasted almost a quarter year Since there was no chance to obtam new transmissions. three Panthers with damaged 3rd gears remamed m action and still succeeded m travelmg an additional 250 kilometers In this case. the driver had to Shift from 2nd to 4th gear In several cases the mam clutches were damaged durmg the long muddy period and had to be replaced The longest distance dr wen without transmission failure is 1500 to 1800 kilometers by 4 of the 7 Panthers that are still available The large play m the steering gear may also be traced to extensive drwmg m mud Because of the comparatweły com-plicated adjustment of the steering mechamsm and short tech-mcal training. m all cases the dr wers can not be expected to correctly adjust the brakes by themselves. Since in most cases. Panthers with steering problems must remam m ser-vice. this results in finał dr we damage and mcreased brake wear

Finał Drives A very large percent of Panthers broke down through damage to the fmal drwes. As an example. sińce the first of March. 13 finał drwes were replaced m 30 Panthers. morę on the left than the right Bolts on the large gear inside the fmal dr we shear off. Finał drwes can not hołd up to steer-mg in reverse in heavy soil.

Above and opposite below Befehls-Panther Ausf A (Tactical No 0) with Panzer-Grenadier-Division "Grossdeutschland" (BA)

CHAPTEB 10: OPERATIONAL HI8T0RY

panther Ausf A (Tactical No 231) with the twm pipes parallel to the lett exhaust pipę and the jack still mounted horizontally across the naine access hatch The cylindrical Container for the gun cleanmg rods has been retocated to a position across the hull rear by the ^eid unit (BA)

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