Stridsvogn KW.III Ausf.N/G - A very up-armored Hybrid Pz.III, In Norwegian service at Trandum!

[Til_Dovre_Faller]

STRIDSVOGN KW.III Ausf.N/G

INTRODUCTION

I wanted to suggest this vehicle that i have discovered! it’s an ex-German Panzerkampfwagen III that after the German forces surrendered, was captured by Norwegian forces and put into service Whitin the Norwegian army, and were largely used to guard the nations airfields across the land. These were plentiful, and of these were many hybrids both done by the Germans themselves, as well as modifications and improvements done by the Norwegians themselves. I thought this could be a cool vehicle either as a part of a Norwegian subtree within the Swedish techtree, or as a part of an potential Norwegian Danish independent techtree! This suggestion’s specific vehicle is an Ausf.N/G hybrid that saw use at Trandum camp, Norway! This is rather heavily upgraded with lots of add on armor, Zimmerit, Schürzen add-on armor, and lots of add on track armor.

HISTORY

The Pz.III came to Norway a little after the German invasion of Norway in April 1940, the Germans did not expect there to bee a need for heavier tanks, as Norway did not have any other than a couple armored trucks. Because of this the smaller and less powerful Pz.III and Stug.III were brought to Norway. During the occupation, the tanks Germany used here were sent to Germany and upgraded a number of times, and in a wide variety of variants and mixes, and when the war came to an end, the Germans surrendered all their vehicles to Norwegian and British/American forces that had fought in Norway. The British wanted to sabotage most of these vehicles, and among trying to blow up the barrels of the various tanks, they had driven over and destroyed a whole bunch of surrendered motorcycles. Most of these tanks were later on put in service in the Norwegian Army, and because of the British sabotage, the Norwegians worked on restoring these vehicles until 1948, before they were ready to be used. And because of the vehicles being damaged and parts having to be taken from here and there, those vehicles that already had been upgraded/mixed by the German army during the occupation, were even further mixed by the Norwegians during the restoration, with this vehicle potentially being one example. Then they were taken over by the army, the Panzerkampfwagen III were named and officially given the designation Stridsvogn KWIII, and the Sturmgeschütz III were given the designation Stormkanon KWIII. The majority of these tanks were put in service in so called “Airport Troops” to guard the various airports in the country.

The fate of the StuG.III are unfortunately lesser known, but thankfully the Pz.III is better documented, those remained in service until the mid/early 1950’s when they got replaced by the New M24 Chaffe tanks received tough the weapons aid programme, and lrgely replaced by 1953. After ended service those remaining Pz.III were either dug down and encased in concrete in defensive positions around some airfields in Norway, where they were used in a “Bunker” to shoot at invaders. Those were used until the 1960’s when the tanks were rendered obsolete. After this they were for some reason completely buried along with the bunker/fort they were integrated with, and almost forgotten until these people decided to save them and have them restored.

This is an Ausf.J Late, the hull and turret is pure Ausf.J and the L/60 idicates the Late variant, upgrade. It’s spotted during an autumn exercise in Oslo, Norway in the 1950’s, and it’s Definetly used in the platoon at Fornebu airport, one of the country’s most active airports then and today.

I have spent a lot of time, and have tried to identify all the Stridsvogn KWIII and Stormkanon KWIII that was used by the Norwegian army, that i have managed and been able to find pictures of. As none of the books mentioning them, has any sort of descriptions of their modifications or hybrid combinations, i’ve had to do this myselves, so there might be errors. If you see something, let me know!.

VEHICLE IDENTIFICATION

Ausf.N 75mm Turret

-Image is of an German Panzer 3 Ausf.N
-Main Gun: 75 mm KwK 37 L/24
-Turret mantlet
-Versions seen with smoke grenades, many without

Ausf.G Hull

-Image is of an German Panzer 3 Ausf.G
-Ausf.G Hull with 20mm armor plate added in front of the plate under the turret, apparently very rare conversion
-Suspension and wheels are identical
-Headlights seem rather unusual on the Norwegian

Key details on this Ausf.N/G hybrid
-Rye Field Model (RFM5037) Tracks for better traction
-Schürzen add-on armor on the turret sides 8mm thick
-Zimmerit on turret mantlet/cannon
-Add on track armor on top of turret roof above mantlet (20mm wt stats)
-Add on track armor on frontal plate in between drivers vision and mg port (20mm wt stats)
-Add on track armor on upper frontal plate (20mm wt stats)
-Add on track armor on lower frontal plate (20mm wt stats)
-Add on track armor on lowest/underside frontal plate (20mm wt stats)
-6x 90mm Smoke grenades on both sides of the turret

ARMAMENT

Spoiler

• Main Gun: 75 mm KwK 37 L/24

  • Ammunition: 64 rounds
  • Elevation: -10° to +20°
  • Note: Primarily used HE (High Explosive) and HEAT (High Explosive Anti-Tank) rounds for self-defense.

• Secondary: 2 x 7.92mm MG34 (one coaxial, one in the bow)

• 1x 7.92x57mm Mg34
  -Placement: Turret coaxial, right side of cannon
  -Cartridge: 7.92x57mm Mauser
  -Ammunition capacity: 600 rounds
  -Mass: 12.1 kg
  -Length: 1,219 mm
  -Barrel length: 627 mm
  -Action: Recoil-operated, opened rotating bolt
  -Rate of fire: 800–900 rounds/min
  -Muzzle velocity: 765 m/s
  -Effective firing range: 3,500 m with tripod and telescopic sight
  -Maximum firing range: 4,700 m

• 1x 7.92x57mm Mg34
  -Placement: coaxial hull MG, right side
  -Cartridge: 7.92x57mm Mauser
  -Ammunition capacity: 600 rounds
  -Mass: 12.1 kg
  -Length: 1,219 mm
  -Barrel length: 627 mm
  -Action: Recoil-operated, opened rotating bolt
  -Rate of fire: 800–900 rounds/min
  -Muzzle velocity: 765 m/s
  -Effective firing range: 3,500 m with tripod and telescopic sight
  -Maximum firing range: 4,700 m

• 6x(2x3) 92mm Nebelwurfgerät Smoke grenade launchers
  -Placement: 3x launchers on each side of the front of the vehicle

TECHNICAL DATA Ausf.M

Spoiler

Weight: ~19.5 tonnes (standard); this increased to around 21.5 tonnes when field-upgraded with additional armor or the heavier gun, No idea what the Schürzen adds to the vehicle
Dimensions: Length 5.38 m, Width 2.91 m, Height 2.5 m.
Material: Rolled homogeneous steel armor.
Crew: 5 total: Driver and Radio Operator in the hull front; Commander, Gunner, and Loader in the turret.
Suspension: Torsion bar suspension system with six road wheels and three return rollers per side.
Engine: Maybach HL 120 TRM 12-cylinder gasoline engine, producing 285–300 hp.
Other Features: Late production models also featured the introduction of wider, 40 cm tracks and a redesigned pivoting driver’s visor to improve protection.

ARMOR

Ausf.N Turret Armor
Front: 50 mm. Many units featured an additional 20 mm spaced armor (Vorpanzer) plate, effectively bringing frontal protection to 70 mm.
Sides: 30 mm. Starting in mid-1943, Schürzen (8 mm spaced armor skirts) were commonly added to protect against anti-tank rifles and HEAT shells.
Rear: 30 mm.
Roof: 10 mm.
Gun Mantlet: 50 mm.
Commander’s Cupola: Upgraded to 100 mm thickness on some late models to improve survivability for the commander.

Ausf.G Hull armor
Front (Hull & Superstructure): 30 mm. This was sometimes reinforced with an additional 30 mm plate in late-production models or during field upgrades.
Glacis (Angled Lower Front): 25 mm.
Sides: 30 mm.
Rear: 30 mm (an upgrade from the 21 mm on the Ausf. F).
Roof: 15 mm.
Belly: 10 mm.
-Schürzen add-on armor on the turret sides
-Zimmerit on turret mantlet/cannon
-Add on track armor on top of turret roof above mantlet (20mm RHA wt stats)
-Add on track armor on frontal plate in between drivers vision and mg port (20mm RHA wt stats)
-Add on track armor on upper frontal plate (20mm RHA wt stats)
-Add on track armor on lower frontal plate (20mm RHA wt stats)
-Add on track armor on lowest/underside frontal plate (20mm RHA wt stats)
-6x 90mm Smoke grenades on both sides of the turret

SOURCES

Spoiler

Den Sorte lue : medlemsblad for kameratforeningen Norske Dragoner hvori opptatt Hedmarks Dragonforening. august 2017 Vol. 14 Nr. 3
Nasjonalbiblioteket

Information and specs about various Pz.III variants
https://fox3000.com/pz3.htm

Images and some information
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Background and service history
Book: Motoriserte Militærkjøretøy i Norge
Copyright 2005 by Forsvarsmuseet/HMK All rights reserved
Billedbehandling/Grafisk produksjon: Mikro Marketing, Asker
Press: Gan Grafisk, Oslo
Motoriserte Militærkjøretøy i Norge Bind 1
ISBN 82-91218-43-9
The book is printed in 3,000 copies, 100 of which are leatherbound
front cover/back cover: The wheel rider squadron at Trandum 1953
Defense publications No. 3 Oslo 2005
Stridsvogn & Stormkanon KW-III (Panzer III & StuG III in Norwegian Service) - Tank Encyclopedia

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Just to show the scale of surrendered vehicles, images are from Trandum alone, then there are other parts of the country