Panzer IV

Panzerkampfwagen IV
A Panzer IV Ausf G. in desert colors, bearing the palm tree insignia of the 15th Panzer Division of the Afrika Korps
Type	Medium tank
Place of origin	Nazi Germany
Service history
In service	1939–1945 (Nazi Germany) 1954–1967 (Syria)
Used by	Nazi Germany Romania Turkey Hungary Bulgaria Italy Finland Spain Croatia Syria
Wars	World War II, 1948 Arab–Israeli War, Six-Day War
Production history
Designer	Krupp
Designed	1936
Manufacturer	Krupp, Vomag, Nibelungenwerk
Unit cost	≈103,462 Reichsmark
Produced	1936–45
No. built	≈8,553
Variants	StuG IV, Jagdpanzer IV, Wirbelwind, Brummbär
Specifications (Pz IV Ausf H, 1943)
Weight	25.0 tonnes (27.6 short tons; 24.6 long tons)
Length	5.92 metres (19 ft 5 in) 7.02 metres (23 ft 0 in) gun forward
Width	2.88 m (9 ft 5 in)
Height	2.68 m (8 ft 10 in)
Crew	5 (commander, gunner, loader, driver, radio operator/bow machine-gunner)
Armor	Front 80 mm (3.1 in) Side 30 mm (1.2 in) Sideskirts 5 mm (0.20 in) Rear 20 mm (0.79 in)
Main armament	7.5 cm (2.95 in) KwK 40 L/48 main gun (87 rds.)
Secondary armament	2 × 7.92 mm MG 34 machine guns (3,150 rds.)
Engine	12-cylinder Maybach HL 120 TRM V12 300 PS (296 hp, 220 kW)
Power/weight	12 PS (8.8 kW) / tonne
Transmission	(Synchromesh ZF SSG 77) 6 forward and 1 reverse ratios
Suspension	Leaf spring
Fuel capacity	470 l (120 US gal)
Operational range	200 km (120 mi)
Speed	38 km/h (24 mph) to 42 km/h (26 mph) max speed, 25 km/h (16 mph) max sustained road speed 16 km/h (9.9 mph) off road

The Panzerkampfwagen IV (PzKpfw IV), commonly known as the Panzer IV, was a German medium tank developed in the late 1930s and used extensively during the Second World War. Its ordnance inventory designation was Sd.Kfz. 161.

The Panzer IV was the most widely manufactured German tank of the Second World War, with some 8,500 built. The Panzer IV was used as the base for many other fighting vehicles, including the Sturmgeschütz IV assault gun, Jagdpanzer IV tank destroyer, the Wirbelwind self-propelled anti-aircraft gun, and the Brummbär self-propelled gun.

The Panzer IV saw service in all combat theaters involving Germany and was the only German tank to remain in continuous production throughout the war. Upgrades and design modifications, intended to counter new threats, extended its service life. Generally, these involved increasing the Panzer IV's armor protection or upgrading its weapons, although during the last months of the war, with Germany's pressing need for rapid replacement of losses, design changes also included simplifications to speed up the manufacturing process.

The Panzer IV was partially succeeded by the Panther medium tank, which was introduced to counter the Soviet T-34, although the Panzer IV continued as a significant component of German armoured formations to the end of the war. The Panzer IV was the most widely exported tank in German service, with around 300 sold to Finland, Romania, Spain and Bulgaria. After the war, Syria procured Panzer IVs from France and Czechoslovakia, which saw combat in the 1967 Six-Day War. 8,553 Panzer IVs of all versions were built during World War II, with only the StuG III assault-gun/tank destroyer's 10,086 vehicle production run exceeding the Panzer IV's total among Axis armored forces.