Review of Sd.Kfz. 171, Panzer V "Panther" Ausf. A/D/G
Top Drawings no. 7043 Polish-English Publication
Authors: Dmitry Mironov & Lakasz Gladysiak
Kagero Publications
ISBN: 978-83-65437-54-9
By Ray Mehlberger
MSRP: $ 24.95
ISBN: 978-83-65437-54-9
By Ray Mehlberger
MSRP: $ 24.95
HISTORY:
The Panther was a German medium tank deployed during World War II on the Eastern and Western Fronts in Europe from mid-1943 to its end in 1945. It had the ordnance inventory designation of Sd.Kfz. 171. Until 27 February 1944, it was designated as the Panzerkampfwagen V Panther when Hitler ordered that the Roman numeral "V" be deleted. Contemporary English language reports sometimes refer to it as the Mark V.
The Panther was intended to counter the Soviet T-34 and to replace the Panzer III and Panzer IV. Nevertheless, it served alongside the Panzer IV and the heavier Tiger I until the end of the war. It is considered one of the best tanks of World War II for its excellent firepower and protection, although its reliability was less impressive.
The Panther was a compromise. While having essentially the same engine as the Tiger I, it had more efficient frontal hull armour, better gun penetration, was lighter and faster, and could traverse rough terrain better than the Tiger I. The trade-off was weaker side armour, which made it vulnerable to flanking fire. The Panther proved to be effective in open country and long range engagements, but did not provide enough high explosive firepower against infantry.
The Panther was far cheaper to produce than the Tiger I, and only slightly more expensive than the Panzer IV. Key elements of the Panther design, such as its armour, transmission, and final drive, were simplifications made to improve production rates and address raw material shortages. The overall design remained somewhat over-engineered.
The Panther was rushed into combat at the Battle of Kursk despite numerous unresolved technical problems, leading to high losses due to mechanical failure. Most design flaws were rectified in the German retreat, though the bombing of production plants, increasing shortages of high quality alloys for critical components, shortage of fuel and training space, and the declining quality of crews all impacted the tanks's effectiveness.
Though officially classified as a medium tank, its weight is more like that of a heavy tank, as its weight of 44.8 tons puts it roughly in the same category as the American M26 Pershing (41.7 tons), British Churchill (40.7 tons) and the Soviet IS-2 (46 tons) heavy tanks.
THE BOOK:
Kagaro is a publisher based in Lublin, Poland.
This book is soft-cover of 20 pages in 8 1/4" x 11 3/4" page format. It comes in a re-sealable clear envelope.
The cover art shows 2 Panthers posed against a black background that has a white line drawing of the top of the engine deck of a panther.
The Panther in the foreground is in a base of sand with pale green spots. It has a black outlined Panther figure on the sides of the turret below a black no. 445 and a small German cross on the forward end of the sides of the hull.
The Panther behind it is overall sand with a white flEur-de- lis insignia and a white patch on the forward end of the sides of the hull. It has a vertical rectangular patch on the sides of the turret that has vertical bars of red, white, red.
One corner of the cover art says the book contains mask foils free. These are self-adhesing masks for painting the German crosses on a Panther model. Neat !
The book contains line drawings of the Panther variants.
The first drawing is a 5-view of a Ausf. A in 1/35th scale, followed by a 5-view of the Ausf. A in 1/48th scale and again a 5-view in 1/72nd scale.
Next is two more above views of the Ausf. A in no particular scale, but large.
Then there is a 5-view of the Ausf. D.
There are 8 color profiles next of the Panther. 3 Ausf. D's, 3 Ausf. A's and 2 Ausf. G's.
Captions under these is in Polish and English as is the text in the book.
The back cover of the book has an additional color profiles of the Ausf. G.
This is followed by line drawings of the Ausf. D version as a 5-view in 1/48th scale, 1/72nd scale and a couple above shots in no particular scale.
Next is a 5-view line drawing of the Ausf. G in 1/35th scale, 1/48th scale and 1/72nd scale. With 2 above views in no particular scale.
There are 3 loose line drawing plans inserted into this book.
They are 26" x 19 1/2" format, printed on both sides.
The first one is 5-view of the Ausf. D in 1/16th scale.
The second one is a 5-view of the Ausf. G in 1/16th scale.
The third one is a 5-view of the Ausf. A in 1/16th scale.
The die-cut mask stickers complete the books contents.
This is one neat set of line drawings and profiles.
Highly recommended. It will be of great interest to AFV modelers and armor inthusiasts alike.
I want to thank the folks at Casemate, who are the North American distributors of Kagero Publications for this review sample and Kagero also.
A full listing of all Kagero titles can be viewed at:
The Panther was a German medium tank deployed during World War II on the Eastern and Western Fronts in Europe from mid-1943 to its end in 1945. It had the ordnance inventory designation of Sd.Kfz. 171. Until 27 February 1944, it was designated as the Panzerkampfwagen V Panther when Hitler ordered that the Roman numeral "V" be deleted. Contemporary English language reports sometimes refer to it as the Mark V.
The Panther was intended to counter the Soviet T-34 and to replace the Panzer III and Panzer IV. Nevertheless, it served alongside the Panzer IV and the heavier Tiger I until the end of the war. It is considered one of the best tanks of World War II for its excellent firepower and protection, although its reliability was less impressive.
The Panther was a compromise. While having essentially the same engine as the Tiger I, it had more efficient frontal hull armour, better gun penetration, was lighter and faster, and could traverse rough terrain better than the Tiger I. The trade-off was weaker side armour, which made it vulnerable to flanking fire. The Panther proved to be effective in open country and long range engagements, but did not provide enough high explosive firepower against infantry.
The Panther was far cheaper to produce than the Tiger I, and only slightly more expensive than the Panzer IV. Key elements of the Panther design, such as its armour, transmission, and final drive, were simplifications made to improve production rates and address raw material shortages. The overall design remained somewhat over-engineered.
The Panther was rushed into combat at the Battle of Kursk despite numerous unresolved technical problems, leading to high losses due to mechanical failure. Most design flaws were rectified in the German retreat, though the bombing of production plants, increasing shortages of high quality alloys for critical components, shortage of fuel and training space, and the declining quality of crews all impacted the tanks's effectiveness.
Though officially classified as a medium tank, its weight is more like that of a heavy tank, as its weight of 44.8 tons puts it roughly in the same category as the American M26 Pershing (41.7 tons), British Churchill (40.7 tons) and the Soviet IS-2 (46 tons) heavy tanks.
THE BOOK:
Kagaro is a publisher based in Lublin, Poland.
This book is soft-cover of 20 pages in 8 1/4" x 11 3/4" page format. It comes in a re-sealable clear envelope.
The cover art shows 2 Panthers posed against a black background that has a white line drawing of the top of the engine deck of a panther.
The Panther in the foreground is in a base of sand with pale green spots. It has a black outlined Panther figure on the sides of the turret below a black no. 445 and a small German cross on the forward end of the sides of the hull.
The Panther behind it is overall sand with a white flEur-de- lis insignia and a white patch on the forward end of the sides of the hull. It has a vertical rectangular patch on the sides of the turret that has vertical bars of red, white, red.
One corner of the cover art says the book contains mask foils free. These are self-adhesing masks for painting the German crosses on a Panther model. Neat !
The book contains line drawings of the Panther variants.
The first drawing is a 5-view of a Ausf. A in 1/35th scale, followed by a 5-view of the Ausf. A in 1/48th scale and again a 5-view in 1/72nd scale.
Next is two more above views of the Ausf. A in no particular scale, but large.
Then there is a 5-view of the Ausf. D.
There are 8 color profiles next of the Panther. 3 Ausf. D's, 3 Ausf. A's and 2 Ausf. G's.
Captions under these is in Polish and English as is the text in the book.
The back cover of the book has an additional color profiles of the Ausf. G.
This is followed by line drawings of the Ausf. D version as a 5-view in 1/48th scale, 1/72nd scale and a couple above shots in no particular scale.
Next is a 5-view line drawing of the Ausf. G in 1/35th scale, 1/48th scale and 1/72nd scale. With 2 above views in no particular scale.
There are 3 loose line drawing plans inserted into this book.
They are 26" x 19 1/2" format, printed on both sides.
The first one is 5-view of the Ausf. D in 1/16th scale.
The second one is a 5-view of the Ausf. G in 1/16th scale.
The third one is a 5-view of the Ausf. A in 1/16th scale.
The die-cut mask stickers complete the books contents.
This is one neat set of line drawings and profiles.
Highly recommended. It will be of great interest to AFV modelers and armor inthusiasts alike.
I want to thank the folks at Casemate, who are the North American distributors of Kagero Publications for this review sample and Kagero also.
A full listing of all Kagero titles can be viewed at: