Stridsvogn KW.III Ausf.J (Early) 50mm L/42 - Served an Norwegian airfield platoon in the 1950's!

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STRIDSVOGN KW.III Ausf.J (Early) 50mm L/42

20260113_110845

INTRODUCTION

I wanted to suggest this vehicle that i have discovered! it’s an 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!

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.

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!.

DETAILS OF THIS SPECIFIC VEHICLE

Screenshot 2026-01-10 190507

Key details of this topic’s specific vehicle
-Iisence numer: Partial - 57-H
-Track add on armor, lower frontal plate, in game spec to 20mm RHA effect

Ausf.J Upgrades from earlier variants
-Hull Front and Rear: The flat 30 mm armor of earlier models (Ausf. D through H) was upgraded to a solid 50 mm plate on the front and rear of the hull.
-Turret: The armor on the front, sides, and rear of the turret remained 30 mm, but an additional internal plate was added to the front, increasing local thickness to a maximum of 57 mm in some places.
-Other changes: The design of the armored front brake vents was changed, and an armored extractor fan was added to the turret roof.
-Main Gun upgrad The Ausf. J was equipped with the 5 cm KwK 38 L/42 cannon as standard, which had significantly better penetration and destructive power compared to the earlier 3.7 cm KwK 36 L/45 gun used on models up to the early Ausf. G.
Coaxial Machine Gun: Models from the Ausf. F onwards, when fitted with the 5 cm main gun, had a single coaxial 7.92 mm MG 34, down from the two present in earlier variants.

Ausf.J Upgrades from early to late
-5 cm KwK 39 L/60 gun (a longer barrel)
-50 mm base armor plus additional 20 mm spaced armor plates on hull and turret front
-Longer main gun barrel, additional bolt-on armor plates visible

ARMAMENT

Spoiler

  • 1x 5cm KwK 38 L/42
    Caliber: 50 mm.
    Barrel Length: 42 calibers (210 cm or ~83 inches).
    Weight: ~400 kg (881.8 lbs).
    Ammunition: Fixed rounds, e.g., 50mm x 289mm R.
    Shell Weight (Pzgr. 39 APC-HE): ~2.07 kg (4.56 lbs).
    Rate of Fire: Up to 20 rounds per minute (semi-automatic breech).

  • 1x 7.92x57mm Mg34
    -Placement: Hatch mounted MG
    -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: 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 smoke grenade launchers of unknown caliber
    -Placement: 3x on each side of the turret

TECHNICAL DATA Ausf.J (Early)

Spoiler

Length: 5.49 Meter
Width: 2.95 Meter
Height: 2.50 Meter
Weight: 23 tons
Crew: 5
Propulsion: Maybach HL 120 TR V-12 265hp
Max Speed: 40 km/h

ARMOR
Up to 50mm

SOURCES

Spoiler

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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This post was made by
Til_Dovre_Faller

1 Like
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good post defenders of the airfields!