Stridsvogn KW.III Ausf.M/J - Norwegian Panzer III used in Dragoon Regiment 2 at Eggemoen, Norway

[Til_Dovre_Faller]

STRIDSVOGN KW.III Ausf.M/J

INTRODUCTION

This is an Panzer 3 that has been put into Norwegian service post ww2, it is an Ausf.M Early Production featuring the Short barreled 50mm cannon of the Ausf.J Early Production. This is definitely one of the modifications done by Norway when they were fixed and put into service, and would be a little more unique vehicle to be added either as a part of a Norwegian subtree within the Swedish techtree or in an future Norwegian 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.

This Ausf.M/J hybrid was used around Eggemoen Camp near Oslo, Norway, where the image is taken.

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 BREAKDOWN AND IDENTIFICATION

Hull and turret: Ausf.M Early Production
-Missing splash guard on the commander’s cupola, this was added on later production variants
-Missing mounting brackets on the turret for the schurzen spaced armor on the turret, something that were added in later production
-With the introduction of the Schürzen the vision ports in the turret hatches were dropped, this one still has them
-An easy way to rule out the Ausf.L is that Bosch headlights were mounted on the fenders with the Asuf.M model, as well as the tailplate was completely redesigned.

Cannon: Ausf.J Early Production
-The Ausf.J was the last model of the panzer 3 to be designed for the L/42 50mm cannon, and the late production variant of this was up-gunned to the better and longer L/60 cannon and given the designation Ausf.J1 (Basically Late Production). The cannons are interchangeable, as they are basically the same gun, and with the British forces sabotage taken into account, this makes sense.

Key details about this specific Ausf.M (Some might be Norwegian modifications etc)
-Lisence plate number: Unknown
-Add on amor/tracks lower frontal plate, 20mm RHA armor protection (wt stats)
-Add on amor/tracks Upper frontal plate, 20mm RHA armor protection (wt stats)
-Add on amor/tracks frontal plate, in between drivers view/hatch and coax hull mg, 20mm RHA armor protection (wt stats)
-Roadwheel on left fender, 15mm structural armor (Wt stats)
-It’s fitted with an short L/42 50mm cannon wich was unusual for the Ausf.M as it was produced with the longer L/60 50mm cannon, indicating that this is an later modification where it has received the cannon from an Ausf.J Early Production and is highly likely an Norwegian post war modification
-20mm armor plate/spaced on mantlet.

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: 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: ~22.7 to 23 tonnes.
Main Armament: 5 cm KwK 39 L/60 rifled gun with 84 to 92 rounds.
Secondary Armament: Two 7.92 mm MG 34 machine guns (one coaxial, one bow-mounted).
Armor:
Hull Front: 50 mm + 20 mm spaced armor plates.
Turret Front: 57 mm + 20 mm spaced armor.
Sides: 30 mm.
Engine: Maybach HL 120 TRM water-cooled gasoline engine, 300 hp.
Performance:
Max Speed: ~40 km/h (25 mph) on roads.
Operational Range: 155 km (96 miles) on roads; 95 km off-road

ARMOR
Main Plate: 50 mm of face-hardened or rolled homogeneous armor on the hull and turret front.
Appliqué (Spaced) Plate: An additional 20 mm plate was mounted with an air gap in front of the driver’s superstructure and the gun mantlet.
Effective Thickness: This combination provided approximately 70 mm to 77 mm of effective protection against many light and medium Allied/Soviet anti-tank guns.
Side and Rear Protection
Hull/Turret Sides: 30 mm of rolled homogeneous armor.
Hull Rear: Varied between 30 mm and 50 mm depending on the specific section (upper/middle/lower).
Schürzen (Side Skirts): The Ausf.M was factory-fitted with 5 mm thin steel plates on the hull sides and 8 mm plates surrounding the turret.
Purpose: These were primarily intended to stop 14.5 mm rounds from Soviet anti-tank rifles, which were capable of penetrating the 30 mm side armor at close range. They also helped prematurely detonate High-Explosive (HE) and early HEAT rounds.
Secondary Components
Roof: 10 mm to 18 mm thick, providing minimal protection against air attacks or high-angle artillery.
Floor (Belly): 15 mm thick, designed to offer some resistance against anti-tank mines.
Commander’s Cupola: 50 mm of cast armor

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
Redirecting...

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

POLL

Would you like to see this in-game?

• Yes
• No

This post was made by

Til_Dovre_Faller