Although Italy and Japan produced significant numbers of tanks before and during World War II, it is the German tanks which are best known. At the outbreak of the war the Panzerkampfwagen (PzKpfw) I and PzKpfw II were the most common models, but within a few years these had been phased out of service and replaced by the PzKpfw III and PzKpfw IV. The latter had the distinction of remaining in production throughout the war. It was an excellent design that proved to be capable of being upgunned and up-armoured to meet the changing battlefield threat.
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| A German PzKpfw IV tank being held in reserve in anticipation of a call to action following the Allied landings at Normandy in June 1944. |
The Panther and Tiger arrived on the scene towards the end of the war, but these could not be produced in anything like the required numbers as a result of shortages in materials and manpower and of the effectiveness of Allied bombing on German plants, even though many of these had been dispersed early in the war. The Panther and Tiger were rushed into production without proper trials, however, and many were lost during their initial deployments as a result of mechanical breakdown rather than direct enemy action. The Tiger was, in particular, a very heavy tank and lacked mobility on the battlefield. Its armour protection and guns were first class, and this tank proved a difficult one to destroy on both the Eastern and Western Fronts.
Often four Shermans would be required to neutralize just one Tiger: two would try to draw its fire, often being knocked out in the process, while the others worked round its flanks and attacked it from its more vulnerable sides. To wards the end of WW2 Germany turned its attention to producing more and more tank destroyers as by that time the German army was on the defensive, and these vehicles were quicker, easier and cheaper to produce than tanks, such as the Panther and Tiger.
While some of the Italian tanks were fairly modern in 1939, by the early part of Italy's war they had become completely obsolete. The better armed and armoured P 40 heavy tank never entered service with the Italian army, although a few were taken over by the Germans. Japan used tanks during the invasion of China before World War II as well as during the Far Eastern campaigns from 1941.
As few Allied AFVs were available at that time the Japanese vehicles were quite adequate, the more so as their primary role was infantry fire support rather than tank against tank operations. Czech tanks are included, as many were subsequently taken over by the Germans during the invasion of France in 1940 and remained in production in Czechoslovakia after that country's occupation.
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CZECHOSLOVAKIA LT vz 35 light tank
CZECHOSLOVAKIA TNH P-S light tank
GERMANY Panzerkampfwagen I light tank
GERMANY Panzerkampfwagen II light tank
GERMANY Panzerkampfwagen III medium tank
GERMANY Panzerkampfwagen IV medium tank
GERMANY Panzerkampfwagen V Panther heavy tank
GERMANY Panzerkampfwagen VI Tiger heavy tank
GERMANY Panzerkampfwagen VI Tiger II heavy tank
ITALY Fiat L 6/40 light tank
ITALY Fiat M 11/39 and M 13/40 medium tanks
ITALY Fiat M 15/42 medium tank
JAPAN Type 95 light tank
JAPAN Type 97 medium tank