In many respects, the Panther tank was viewed as the finest armored fighting vehicle of the Second World War. Based in large part upon the Soviet's highly successful T-34 medium tank, the PzKpfw V Ausfuhrung G was built by several manufacturers including MAN, Daimler-Benz and MNH. Mounting a fearsome 7.5cm KwK42 L/70 cannon and two 7.92mm MG34 machineguns, the Panther Ausf. G represented the third and certainly the most impressive installment in the Panther series.

The weight of the production model was increased to 43 tons from the original plans for a 35 ton tank. Hitler had personally reviewed the final designs and insisted on an increase in the thickness of the frontal armor - the front glacis plate was increased from 60mm to 80mm and the turret front plate was increased from 80mm to 100mm.

Once the problems caused by the vulnerability of the engine and the transmission were solved, it proved to be a very effective fighting vehicle. The crew was made up of five members: driver, radio operator (who also fired the bow machine gun), gunner, loader, and commander.

This particular 1:32 scale replica of a Panther tank was attached to 9.SS Panzer Division 'Hohenstaufen' then deployed to Belgium during late 1944. Sold Out!

Dimensions:
Length: 10-1/2-inches
Width: 4-1/4-inches

Release Date: April 2012

Historical Account: "Hohenstaufen"- The 9.SS Panzer Division "Hohenstaufen" was mainly formed from conscripts, many of them from the RAD. It first saw action at Tanopol in April 1944 where it took part in rescuing German troops from the Kamenets-Podolsk pocket. It was then sent to Normandy to oppose the Allied landings. The unit retreated into Belgium before being sent to rest near Arnhem where they soon had to fight Allied paratroopers landing there as part of Operation Market-Garden. It was then transferred to Germany and later fought in the Ardennes and Hungary before ending the war in Austria in April 1945.