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.

The 1/72 scale model represents a tank from an unidentified unit fighting in Germany as the Third Reich was crumbling towards defeat. The tank is finished in a most interesting late-war camouflage scheme that really stands out. Dragons craftsmen have custom-painted the tank with a web of over-sprayed sand color that makes the vehicle look quite different to any other Panther. In keeping with this period, there are no tactical markings on the vehicle. This Panther Ausf.G with steel road wheels has been accurately reproduced, and it represents something different thanks to its unique camouflage finish. Sold Out!

Dimensions:
Length: 4-3/4-inches
Width: 2-inches

Release Date: June 2012

Historical Account: "To Build, To Destroy" - The MAN design for the Panther tank embodied more conventional German thinking with the transmission and drive sprocket in the front and a turret placed centrally on the hull. It had a gasoline engine and eight torsion-bar suspension axles per side. Because of the torsion bar suspension and the drive shaft running under the turret basket, the MAN Panther was higher and had a wider hull than the DB design. The slightly earlier, Henschel designed Tiger I heavy tank's use of a "slack-track" Christie-style pattern of large road wheels with no return rollers for the upper run of track, and with the main road wheels being overlapping and interleaved in layout, were design concepts broadly repeated with the MAN design for the Panther.