Panzerkampfwagen Mark IV

    The Mark IV was a very important part of the German Army in the late 1930's thru the end of World War II. Originally developed in 1936 the Mark IV superseded the Mark II and III models of German armor. When conceived, the Mark IV was so sound and well thought out it would be a design used by other countries well into the 1950's. The Panzer IV rolled on eight road wheels where the Mark III had only six. It was powered by a V-12 Maybach Mercedes engine developing over 300 horsepower. The first 100 tanks in this model had a five speed transmission, but after that models were upgraded to a six speed gearbox. Those original models also had a 70mm main gun, but the upgraded models came with a 75mm high velocity cannon. The upgrades were just in time to battle the Russian T-34 tanks that were superior to anything Germany had at the time. The Mark IV went through 8 upgrades but was still in production at the end of the war. It had a top speed of 25mph and a range of 125 miles. Three inches of front-mounted armor protected the crew of five. 

   My model is of a Mark IV 'H' model that came off the production line in April of 1943. The factory painted all German tanks any variation of forest green to field gray, but local commanders could change the color to fit the situation and location. Tank #133 has no known record of action but the elephant markings on the front and rear means it was a member of the First Panzer Division, which saw action in Poland, Russia, North Africa, as well as the Normandy campaign.