- Yes
- No
In August of 1940 FAMO received an order to produce a new tank suspension with interleaved roadwheeles for the Pz III, to improve its capabilitys and fix some flaws such as shedding of the rubber rims at high speed, by using far bigger roadwheels. Famo recived 21 Pz III to aid in developent.
1 beeing an Ausf. G and the rest Pz III Ausf. G hulls with Ausf. H turrets.
The returnrollers were removed and they recived 850mm roadwheels, as well as some got new escape hatches, as they where now behind the wheels.
While it was successfull in increasing the ground clearance and by that off road traverse, it didnt increase the weight reserves, so it wasnt possible to increase armor nor armarment and cince it was rather late, it was discontinued in favor of keeping the standart production up.
It would find its place at the lower rank with very similar capabilitys to the Pz III Ausf. F, while having a different running gear offering a bit more protection.
The Gun:
Armarment: 5 cm KwK 38 L/42 with 99 rounds and a Mg 34
360° Traverse at 14°/sec with -10° to +20° elevation.
Ammo:(Click to show)
Ap:
Pzgr.39 (APC) 2,06 kg 17g Np.10 (28,9g TNTe) 685m/s 80mm/10m
Pzgr.40 (APCR) 0,925 kg 21x75mm 335g Core 1050 m/s 118mm/10m
(Yes the drawing sayes 0,9kg, however pretty much all captured stock was 0,925kg.)
He:
Sprgr.38 (HE (No Tracer)) 1,82 kg 200g Fp.02 und Np.10 (256g TNTa) 450 m/s
The Vehicle:
| Armour | Front (Slope angle) | Sides | Rear | Roof |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hull | 30 mm (11°) Front plate | |||
| 25 mm (85°), 30 mm (53°) Front glacis | ||||
| 30 mm (22-72°) Lower glacis | 30 mm | 10 mm (74°), 20 mm (33-70°) Top | ||
| 20 mm (11-66°) Bottom | 10 mm | |||
| Turret | 30 mm (14-30°) Turret front | |||
| 35 mm (5-52°)Gun mantlet | 30 mm (17-26°) | 30 mm (0-23°) | 10 mm | |
| Cupola | 50 mm + 30 mm | 10 mm |
Crew: 5
Game Mode Max Speed (km/h) Weight (tons) Engine power (horsepower) Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton)
Forward Reverse Stock Upgraded Stock Upgraded
Arcade 79 14 19.8 465 572 23.48 28.89
Realistic 71 12 265 300 13.38 15.15
Source:
Panzer Tracts 3-2 by Thomas L. Jentz and Hilary Louis Doyle
Panzer III Thomas Anderson
Panzer III & Its Variants Walter J. Spielberger