A retreating German armored column in Transdanubia (Dunantul), Hungary; March 1945.

German retreat

Front view of a PzKpfw III G carrying the mark of the 4th Panzer Division destroyed in Russia, 1941.  The copula shows damage from a non-penetrating hit, and the glacis shows a patch of closely-grouped, non-penetrating machine-gun hits.  The real damage, however, was done by a small-caliber penetrating hit, probably from a Soviet anti-tank rifle, which, small though the projectile seems to have been, would have caused carnage within the tank.  Best regards, JR.

Destroyed Panzer III.

PzKpfw Ausf. A Panther tank among the backroads of Normandy, 1944.  Note the 16-ton jack (winde) mounted horizontally beneath the exhaust pipes.  Apart from the capacity limitations of this jack, its mounting in this standard position was problematic since it blocked access to the circular crew engine access hatch, requiring it to be removed before the engine could be inspected.  It would appear, from many Panther photos, that this essential piece of equipment elsewhere on the vehicle.  In late models of the Panther Ausf. G, these problems were rectified by adopting a more powerful 22-ton jack mounted vertically between the exhaust pipes.  Best regards, JR.