Life Inside A Panther Turret Bunker (Cross Section)

Panther turrets cross-section during the second world war the German Army gained Renown for their fast-paced maneuver Warfare which allowed them to overrun entire nations in short order after their initial successes however the verm found itself on the defensive though tanks and their Mobility were still a vital part of the war effort some were converted to a much more stationary role Origins and concept the idea a of using tanks as a fixed bunker is obvious at least in hindsight tanks by their nature are resilient designed to withstand considerable punishment while being able to unleash considerable Firepower of their own furthermore the first world war taught militaries around the world that tanks would be a vital component of any future conflict and vehicles were produced in considerable numbers these designs could become outdated quickly as new technologies and methodologies led to the creation of more advanced te s rather than scrap the obsolete designs many were converted into makeshift bunkers at strategic locations the First Nations to do this were the Soviet Union France and Belgium as they switched to a more defensive posture the Vermont made use of this tactic themselves creating purpose-built tank bunkers one type nicknamed a toook by the Allies after a Libyan City where they were first encountered was a simple version of this concept they were small one-man bunkers usually armed with a machine gun gun or a small mortar made from concrete and topped with a small tank turret such as captured French Renault light tanks sometimes however something more substantial was in order several defensive lines were devised by the German High command to protect German territorial gains made in the early phases of the war such as the panther wo 10 line on the Eastern Front the Atlantic Wall in northern France as well as others in Italy in Germany this need led to the development of what was called the pantum among the arsenals of Tanks used by the Germans one of the most effective was the panther medium tank the decision to use the modern Panther turret as opposed to outdated designs was due to Turret production outstripping the pace of Panther hulls rather than leave the already produced turrets in storage they were pressed into Service as stationary defenses I found out I was being charged every month for my vablet Mr deliveries when I'm not even in a battle right now this is getting ridiculous so I've been searching highla for a service that'll cancel all my unnecessary subscriptions for me and well that's where today's sponsor rocket money has helped me out rocket money is an all-in-one finance app that lets you save money and spend less they're helping customers save up to 740 bucks a year with over 500 million in cancel subscriptions I've been using it to track how much money I spend because I recently splurged and bought myself this $100,000 tank and this F35 jet plane yeah can get a little out of hand I need to chill with spending I 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support was the first variant intended to act as a cheaper and less timec consuming alternative for typical German concrete bunkers steel bases were chosen over concrete ones because steel could be installed during the upcoming freezing winter months pum would be made with prefabricated steel components welded together on site in places where the front was more static such as the Atlantic Wall the Germans made use of a second variant called the panv Benton Z or concrete base these were sturdy providing the occupants with significant protection a third variant called the sheline bow or fast construction would be made from wood and was also known as the HZ unan dimensions and sections the bunker was divided into two major sections the upper section was a square box roughly 3 m by 3 m and about a meter in height over the top of this section the turret would be mounted this compartment served as storage for ammunition and could hold up to 175 rounds of tank shells while 4,500 rounds of machine gun ammo would be stored in the turret itself the walls were up to 3 in thick providing the crew with significant protection underneath this upper chamber was a lower section it was larger than the fighting compartment around 6 ft in height and was itself divided into different compartments the first was the living compartment for the crew which consisted of a commander Gunner and loader and had folding bunk beds and a stone that doubled as a heating system which was attached to a flu for ventilation another section served as general storage mostly for machinery and other odds and ends needed to maintain the bunker and housed a 2 horsepower motor which powered the turret a 150 amp battery and a compressed air tank the compressed air was needed to vent the barrel after firing or the bunker would overheat forcing the crew to open the hatches for sufficient ventilation defeating the purpose of a sealed bunker at the rear of the compartment was an escape hatch which led to a vertical shaft equipped with a ladder for access to the outside normal entry to the bunker was through a slit trench which could measure up to 40 ft behind the installation these were often connected to a much more extensive trench system turret and Armament for the most part Panther ASD and a a turrets were used for the role of stationary bunker the Panther Tank regardless of type utilized a powerful 75 mm main gun this is the same caliber it was found on the American M4 Sherman which has a reputation as being a grossly underpowered main weapon the German counterpart however had a more powerful powder charge to propel the shell and a much longer Barrel which allowed the expanding gases of the propellant to build up to a much higher degree giving the shell a higher muzzle velocity because of this the main gun could rip through all with the toughest armored vehicles they were also equipped with a 7.92 coaxial mg34 machine gun useful for defending against infantry the turret of the the panther was heavily armored being up to 110 mm of Steel at the front and around 80 mm at the sides though this could vary based on the specific model of the tank used this armor would also be sloped which added to the protection provided by the steel in addition to using the ASD and as a panther turrets dedicated turrets were created based on the panther designs these were designated pan ostel and were simpler in design than those placed on actual tanks the name roughly translates as Panther East wall Tower as they were initially intended to be used on the Eastern Front though due to the more Dynamic nature of the fighting there most were sent against the West particularly in Italy and along the Atlantic Wall some were also improvised during the defense of Berlin in the final stages of the war Panther turrets in combat Panther turrets would be arranged in groups of 12 with interlocking fields of fire and connected to a larger defensive Network they would be positioned at strategic locations IDE on elevated ground though not at the summit but slightly lower to decrease the silhouette when properly installed the panther bunkers would have a low profile and could be camouflaged meaning they could surprise an advancing enemy and if discovered were difficult to hit the thick sloped armor meant that even direct hits could potentially glance off because the armor was thicker at the front enemies would often be forced to attempt to flank the bunker putting them into the firing line of another implacement there were some down Ides however the positions would be camouflaged but this limited their firing Arc the turret could turn a full 360° if there were no other obstructions but this would push aside any concealment that may have been placed to mask it from the enemy once discovered the lowprofile and durable construction made destroying it from the ground difficult Panther turrets were however thinner at the sides compared to the front making them vulnerable to flanking by the later stages in the war the Allies had near total air Superior prority making the turret vulnerable to air strikes as well as longrange artillery for which they had no real defense against overall the use of pantum and other similar structures was a simple and cost-effective way to utilize scarce resources to hold on to ground already captured by German forces in the later stages of the conflict German Logistics and industry was in shambles and the use of the panum and other similar structures allowed them to recycle tanks that were already produced but were no no longer operable tanks knocked out by enemy Action Mechanical failure or just a simple lack of fuel would not have to be scrapped or abandoned but could still contribute to the war effort [Music] [Music] n [Music]

Channel: Simple History

Views: 932,018

Keywords: simple history, animated history, educational, education, animation, tanks cemented, into ground, Panther Ostwallturm, Pantherturm, Stahluntersatz, steel, wooden, ft-17, maginot line, defence, defenses, french, fixed fortifications, tourelle demontable, Somua S35, Renault R35, FT-TSF, weird, strange, tech, weird tech, soviet, german, atlantic wall, Panther, turret, last ditch, deperate, West Wall defences, d-day, panzer, panther bunker, panther turret, panther pillbox, cross section

Id: CvE-r4ver5I

Length: 10min 4sec (604 seconds)

Published: Fri Apr 26 2024