- Yes
- No
I would like to suggest the Panzer III Ausf. G which would be a fit between the Ausf. F and J (and H if that also comes to the game some day) It would be a sidegrade to the Ausf. H, with a higher top speed, but a different kind of mounting the 30mm additional hull armor.
History:
The Pz III Ausf. G was build between March 1940 and early 1941, while it was very similar to the Ausf. E and F, it had minor improvements for reliability included.
While the Ausf. H was the first to come with the 5 cm KwK 38 L/42 and add on armor from the factory, the Ausf. G was also mainly rearmed and uparmored, however because of the different Fahrersehklappe (Drivers View port) and MG Kugelblende (Hull MG Mount) it required a different mounting with different spaceing for the add on armor and it still used the more complicated Semi Automatic transmission, like the Ausf. E and F have in game, with far higher Top speed.
The 5 cm KwK 38 L/42 was first mounted after the battle of France, befor that it also had the 3,7 cm KwK L/45, maybe, cince it has a higher velocity and reload speed, it can be implemented as an optional modification, as the Pzgr., Pzgr. 40 and Sprgr. 40 can still be usefull, while the 5 cm Pzgr. 39, Pzgr. 40 and Sprgr. 38 would be more powerfull, but longer reload.
The Pz III Ausf. G fought on all fronts in its year of use.
coming into action befor the Battle of France in which all Panzer IIIs were of the type E, F and G still armed with the 3,7 cm KwK L/45 and only “a hand full” of Panzer IV armed with the L/24 were availabe a few for each Panzerdivision. Resulting that the Allied forces had better armored tanks opposed to the available guns, which required the greater use of alternative guns such as the 8,8 cm Flak, 7,5 cm FK 16 n.A., 7,5 cm FK 18 as well as the 10,5 cm LeFH 16 L/22 and 18 L/28. The drawbacks however didnt leave the Pz IIIs without a chance and it still shined with its other advantages such as 3 man turret, flexible tactics, speed and air supiority. Nonetheless overall 795 tanks were lost of all types, which highlighted the drawbacks of the Pz IIIs, the relatively thinn armor of 30mm all around and the insufficient penetration of the 3,7 cm gun. These were taken (relatively) care of with the introduction of the Ausf. H which recived bolt on hull armor front and back of additional 30mm and the 5 cm KwK 38 L/42 directly from the start and factory and the Ausf. G also reciving those upgrades. This helped in the next major operation in a different location, Africa.
The war in Africa from 1941-1943 was an ambitious operation where the main versions of Pz III were the Ausf. G and H armored with bolt on armor and armed with the L/42 increased the effectiveness, however was not a “fix it all”. Cince fall of 1940 the italian side with Greece and later Egypt didnt look all that good. However with exception to the heavyer tanks such as the Matilda II and stronger AT guns such as the 6 pounder it showed its strength in the open spaces of the desert against the cruser tanks and 2 pounder guns until the later better versions emerged.
In game it would be a mixture of playstyle of the Ausf. F an J, having the same armor as the Ausf. F, but with 60mm Hull armor, giving it more survivability agianst american 37mm, british 40mm and russian 45mm guns, especially when angled, while also still retaining the mobility of the Pz III Ausf. F, however without the extra turret armor, but speed of the older Transmission as seen on E and F. (Armarment wise, both 3,7 and 5 cm options to choose as modification would be nice, to also have a Uparmored Pz III Ausf. E playstyle like.
The Ausf. G can be easily identified in comparisson to the Ausf. H, as it still used the 2 piece driver visor, while the H used the new 1 piece Fahrersehklappe 30.
| Armour | Front | Sides | Rear | Roof |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hull | 30 + 30 mm (12°) Front plate | |||
| 25 mm (86°), 30 + 30 mm (52°) Front glacis | ||||
| 30 + 30 mm (23-69°) Lower glacis | 30 mm | 50 mm (14-46°) Top | ||
| 30 + 30 mm (10-66°) Bottom | 15 mm | |||
| Turret | 30 mm (10-25°) Turret front | |||
| 35 mm (12-62°) Gun mantlet | 30 mm (20-25°) | 30 mm (12-15°) | 10 mm | |
| Cupola | 50 + 30 mm (spherical) | 10 mm |
Guns:
5 cm KwK 38 L/42
-10° + 20° 360° at 14°/sec
99 rounds of
5 cm Pzgr 39 (APC) 2,05 kg 17g Np.10 (28,9g TNTe) 685 m/s 80mm/10m
5 cm Pzgr 40 (APCR) 0,9 kg 1050 m/s 116mm/10m
5 cm Sprgr. 38 (HE) 1,82 kg 450 m/s 217,6 g TNTa
OR (to choose from)
3,7 cm KwK 36 L/45
-10° + 20° 360° at 14°/sec
131 rounds of
3,7 cm Pzgr. (Aphe) 0,685 kg 13g PENT (22,1g TNTe) 745 m/s 47mm/10m
3,7 cm Pzgr. 40 (Apcr) 0,37 kg 0g 1020 m/s 86mm/10m
3,7 cm Sprgr. 40 (He) 0,665 kg 45g PENT (76,5g TNTe) 780m/s
The Vehicle:
Speed:
forward / back:
AB 79 / 14 km/h
RB and SB 71 / 12 km/h
Number of gears:
10 forward
4 back
Weight: 19.8 t
Engine power:
AB 572 hp
RB and SB 300 hp
Source:
Walter J. Spielberger: Panzer III und seine Abarten
Thomas Anderson: Panzer III
Panzerkampfwagen III. Der Panzer der Blitzkriege
Panzer Tracks about the Pz IIIs