1. ARMOR ARRANGEMENT
The sketches on the next three pages show the armor
arrangement and armor thicknesses of the Pz. Kw. 3, Pz.
Kw. 4, and Pz. Kw. 6. A question mark following a
figure indicates that definite information regarding the
thickness of a certain plate is not yet available. Two
figures enclosed in parentheses indicate the presence of
two plates, which are separated to form "spaced
armor"; this arrangement occurs only twice, and only
in the case of the Pz. Kw. 3.
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Figure 1 [This figure
caption was corrected
in a footnote of a later issue of Intelligence Bulletin to:
"Pz. Kw. 3 with 50-mm gun (Kw. K. 39)".] |
2. SUBMERSIBLE TANKS
The delays and difficulties that the Germans have
encountered in transporting tanks across the rivers
of Eastern Europe have increased the enemy's
interest in all possible devices which might enable
standard Pz. Kw. to cross streams and rivers under their
own power.
By the summer of 1941, the weight of the Pz. Kw. 3
had already been increased by additional armor, and
it must have been clear to the Germans that future
developments in armor and armament would necessarily
involve still further increases in the weight of
this tank. While the trend toward increased weight
was a disadvantage in many ways, it was definitely
helpful in overcoming one of the biggest difficulties
that the Germans had previously encountered in adapting
standard tanks for submersion--namely, the difficulty
of getting enough track adhesion.
It therefore is not surprising that the Germans, in
the early stages of their campaign in Russia, were
actively experimenting with standard Pz. Kw. 3's modified
for submersion. It is reported that these experiments
met with a certain amount of success, and that
the modified tanks made underwater river crossings
under combat conditions. The measures employed are said
to have included the sealing of all joints and
openings in the tank with rubber and the introduction
of a flexible air pipe, the free end of which was
attached to a float. The supply of air for the crew, as
well as for the engine, was provided by this flexible
pipe, which permitted submersion to a maximum depth
of 16 feet. It took trained crews 24 hours to prepare
the tanks for submersion.
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Figure 2 |
In April 1943, a Pz. Kw. 3 (Model M) examined
in North Africa was found to have been permanently
modified for immersion, if not for submersion. Although
reports on this tank did not mention a flexible
pipe with float, such a pipe may have existed and
have been destroyed by fire. The air louvres for the
engine were provided with cover plates having rubber
sealing strips round their edges. These cover plates,
which were normally held open by strong springs,
could be locked in the closed position by hooks before
submersion. After submersion, the springs could be
released by controls inside the tank. When the tank
submerged, air for the carburetor and cooling fans was
apparently drawn from the fighting compartment.
Therefore, if a flexible pipe was used with this tank,
no doubt its purpose was to supply "replacement" air
to the fighting compartment. The two exhaust pipes
led to a single silencer mounted high on the tail plate,
with its outlet at the top. This outlet was fitted with
a spring-controlled, one-way valve, which could be kept
in the fully open position during normal operation on land.
More recently, documents and reports from Russia
have shown that the standard Pz. Kw. 6 (Tiger) is
equipped for submersion to depths of as much as 16 feet. In
this tank there is provision for hermetic
sealing of all joints and openings. The doors and
covers are provided with suitable rubber seals. The
radiators are separated from the engine by a watertight
partition so that, when the tank is submerged,
they can be cooled by water from outside the tank, after
the cooling fans have been switched off. In this case
carburetor air is drawn through a flexible pipe,
the free end of which is supported by a float, but there
appears to be no additional supply of air for the crew. A
small bilge pump is also fitted to dispose of any
water which may leak into the hull.
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Figure 3 |
It is clear that the Pz. Kw. 6 requires only a slight
amount of preparation by its crew before submersion,
and that its design must have been influenced by the
requirement that it quickly be made submersible. It is
quite possible that the Pz. Kw. 3 could be submerged to
a depth of more than 16 feet if it were fitted with a
longer air pipe. Although the Pz. Kw. 6 is not much
larger than the Pz. Kw. 3, it is nearly three times as
heavy, and track adhesion is therefore not likely to be
a serious problem.