Just one month prior to the commencement of "Operation Typhoon" (the German assault on Moscow) the Waffenamt was scheduled to begin installing the long-barreled 7.5cm KwK gun on its new Mark IV Ausf G tanks. However, when the Wehrmacht encountered the superior Russian KV-1 and T-34 tanks during the summer campaigning season, a decision was made to mount the 7.5cm KwK40 L/43 gun onto as many existing Mark IVs as possible. Since the new gun fired larger rounds than the short-barreled gun mounted on the F1 tanks, ammunition storage capacity had to be increased and the crew compartment had to be re-arranged to accommodate the modifications.

The turret of the Panzer IV Ausf.J was the same as that of the Ausf.H, with a turret ring diameter of 1.60 m. The only substantial modification was the adoption of the Nahverteidigungswaffe grenade launcher (close-in defense weapon) on the right side of the smoke extractor. In vehicles manufactured after May 1944, the Maschinenpistolen Stopfen (gun ports) on the back of the turret and on the side access doors were removed, as were the vision ports. However, this modification was not carried out on all vehicles. Some Ausf.J tanks with the pistol ports came off the assembly lines in 1945 because not all the companies that produced the Panzer IV turrets had removed these details.

In June 1944, three sockets were added on the roof of the turret for the assembly of a 2-tonne winch to lift parts of the vehicle or of other vehicles in the vicinity of a Panzer IV for maintenance and replacement. The commander's cupola hatch was replaced after October 1944 with a pivoting hatch, very similar to that of the Tiger and Panther.

The cover of the smoke extractor was modified after November 1944 to allow a 360 degrees use of the Nahverteidigungswaffe. The bracket for the Orterkompass 38 type II, a navigation compass mounted, when required, outside the tank, was welded over the smoke extractor. Inside the vehicle, the steel plates did not allow the compass to find the North Magnetic Pole.

The Fliegerbeschussgerat 42 (anti-aircraft machine gun support) mounted on the commander's cupola was also modified to speed up production and to adapt to the new pivoting hatch.

This particular 1:72 scale replica of a PzKpfw IV Ausf. H medium tank with schurzen side armor skirts was attached to the 2. Panzer Division which was deployed to the Western Front during 1944. Now in stock!

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

Release Date: June 2024

Historical Account: "The Tide Turns" - In late 1943. 2.Panzer Division was sent to France for refitting after the heavy losses it suffered on the Eastern Front. The division was equipped with Panther tanks. Following the invasion of Normandy, the division was moved to Normandy in June 1944; it engaged British troops of the 50th Infantry Division and the 7th Armoured Division. From June 6th until mid July the division stood in the Caumont area engaged in daily skirmishes with British units. During Operation Epsom a group of six Panther tanks of Panzer Regiment 3 was used for a counterattack to take Cheux but that attack failed and five of their tanks were lost. Although 2.Panzer Division was very experienced, German doctrine was flawed and could not be exploited in Normandy. All German Panzer divisions in Normandy suffered severe defeats when counterattacking.

The division was relieved at Caumont by the 326th Infantry Division and sent to the Verrieres ridge southwest of Caen. During the Canadian Operation Spring a Kampfgruppe from the division (Kampfgruppe Sterz) was sent to reinforce the 272nd Infantry division at St. Andre sur Orne and St. Martin. The Kampfgruppe took St. Martin, destroying The Black Watch in the process and got involved in street fighting in St. Andre sur Orne. Kampfgruppe Zollhofer of the 9.SS Panzer Division took over and struck towards Point 67. After Operation Spring, 2.Panzer was sent to the US sector to help in halting Operation Cobra. They momentarily stopped the drive of the US 2nd Armored but were too weak to cover the entire front. The division retreated and with its last 25 tanks took part in Operation Luttich, the failed German counterattack at Mortain. It was later encircled in the Falaise pocket, but broke out with heavy losses in both materiel and troops. At Falaise it was responsible for taking and holding St-Lambert-sur-Dive but was only able to take one part of the village. Nevertheless due to the efforts of the 2.Panzer Division other German units, notably the 10. and the 12.SS, were able to cross the bridge over the Dives and escape eastwards. The division was re-organized in Germany, absorbing the depleted 352.Infantry Division. Due to the shortage in materiel, the division's complement of tanks was significantly reduced. Some tank companies only had assault guns, although one battalion received Panther tanks.