The Panther tank, officially Panzerkampfwagen V Panther with ordnance inventory designation: Sd.Kfz. 171, is a German medium tank of World War II. It was used on the Eastern and Western Fronts from mid-1943 to the end of the war in May 1945.
Panther Ausf. D tanks, 1943. The D model can best be recognized by the drum-shaped cupola or the "Letterbox" hull machine gun slot.
Albert Speer examines a T-34 Model 1940 in June 1943
Panther tank production line
The crew of a Panther pose for photograph
A medium tank is a classification of tanks, particularly prevalent during World War II, which represented a compromise between the mobility oriented light tanks and the armour and armament oriented heavy tanks. A medium tank's classification is not actually based on weight, but off of tactical usage and intended purpose; for instance the German Panzerkampfwagen V Panther medium tank has a mass similar to contemporary Allied heavy tanks. The most widely produced, cost effective and successful tanks of World War II were all medium tank designs. Many of the medium tank lines became what are called main battle tanks in most countries.
A Soviet T-34-85 medium tank
The German Panzer IV medium tank proved to be an adaptable design which was progressively upgraded during the Second World War with extra armour and better guns fitted
Sherman medium tank from World War II, the workhorse of U.S. armoured forces
American M46 Patton medium tank in the Korean War.
