On the other hand, the armor was slightly strengthened, and from the beginning of 1943 armored screens (Schurzen) were installed on them.

The main armament has not changed significantly (it was still the KwK 40 cannon), as well as the engine and chassis. The most frequently produced versions of the PzKpfw IV were the G, H and J versions, which were very similar to the F1 and F2 versions. The F1 and F2 versions turned out to be a real revolution, in which the frontal armor was increased to 60 mm, and the main armament was changed to the great, long-barreled 75mm KwK 40 L / 43 cannon, which in 19 allowed them to fight any Allied or soviet. However, versions B and C appeared quickly, in which several significant changes were made: first of all, more powerful engines (265 HP in version B and Maybach HL 120 TRM with 300 HP in C version - which were installed in PzKpfw IV until 1945 year), and the armor of the entire car was improved.

Chronologically, the first was the A version, armed with a 75mm short-barreled gun and a 230hp engine. Numerous variants of the PzKpfw IV were created in the course of production. The competition was won by the Krupp company, whose vehicle was put into mass production - as it turned out, it was a vehicle that can be safely called the 'workhorse' of German armored forces during World War II and one of the most intensively developed and modernized Wehrmacht tanks. The PzKpfw IV was created as a result of a competition announced at the end of 1934 by the German Armaments Department for a medium tank weighing up to 18 tons and armed with a 75 mm gun. It was armed with 1 75mm KwK 37 L / 24 gun and 2 7.92mm MG 34 machine guns. The D version of the tank was powered by a single Maybach HL 120 TRM engine with a capacity of 300 HP. The first prototypes of the vehicle were created in 1936, and serial production continued in the period 1938-1945, ending with the production of about 8,600 vehicles. PzKpfw IV (Panzerkampfwagen IV) was a German medium tank from the Second World War.

World war toons pz iv