Panzerkampfwagen IV Ausf.G, H and J 1942–45 (New Vanguard, 39)

IntroductionThe Pz.Kpfw. IV was the work horse of the German Panzer forces. Originally conceived as an infantry escort vehicle or "Begleitwagen", it was armed with a short barreled 75mm L24 gun. When Hitler invaded the Soviet Union in 1941 it quickly became apparent that a harder hitting gun was needed to defeat the heavily armored KV and T-34 tanks. The Pz.Kpfw. IV was up-gunned with a long barreled 75mm guns and served the Germans well all the way to the end of the war. It was a very capable tank, superior to most of the American and British tanks and could hold its own against all but the most heavily armed/armored Russian tanks.This book from Osprey Publishing is #39 of the "New Vanguard" series and focuses on the later, long barreled versions of the Pz.Kpfw. IV, the Ausf. G, H and J. It was co-written by Hilary Doyle and Tom Jentz, two recognized experts in their field and illustrated by Tony Bryan.The BookThe book is in the typical size and format we've come to expect from Osprey, softbound, measures 9.5" x 7" and contains 48 semi-glossy pages. The book is loaded with black and white period photos, detailed descriptions, 1/76 scale line drawings, production charts, performance tables and color plates.Section One Design and Development begins with the design and development details of the Pz.Kpfw. IV to include development history, official designations and a basic overall description of the tank and its major features.Section Two Modifications During Production Run discusses each of the variants that are the subject of this book, the Pz.Kpfw. IV Ausf. G, Ausf. H and Ausf. J. The authors detail the major modifications during production and when they were introduced, retrofitted modifications are discussed as well.Section Three Operational Characteristics goes into the technical details of the performance characteristics of the Pz.Kpfw. IV. The firepower sub-section includes information on penetration and accuracy statistics of the various types of ammunition used in the 75mm gun. Key statistics regarding the tanks mobility are briefly covered as is survivability information compared to several different comparable allied tanks.Section Four Operation History includes operational information on the Pz.Kpfw. IV in North Africa, the Eastern Front and the Western Front. Far from being comprehensive because of the size of the book, the summary information is useful to those who are new to learning about the Pz.Kpfw. IV in service.Section Five Color Plates is intermingled in the Operational History section. There is a good representation of different schemes, nicely drawn and in color:* Pz.Kpfw. IV Ausf. F2 (G) 1st SS "LSSAH" France 1942* Pz.Kpfw. IV Ausf. F2 (G) 14th Panzer Division, southern Russia June 1942* Pz.Kpfw. IV Ausf. H 2nd Panzer Division, November 1943* Pz.Kpfw. IV Ausf. J, May 1945* Pz.Kpfw. IV Ausf. G, 4th Panzer Division 1943* Pz.Kpfw. IV Ausf. J 1945 with cut away views and labels for major interior and exterior parts* Pz.Kpfw. IV Ausf. J, September 1944* Pz.Beob.Wg. IV Ausf. J, Ardennes December 1944* Pz.Befehlswagen IV Ausf. J, September 1944There is a section in the back which adds additional descriptive information for each of the color plates.Section Six Variants gives some detailed information on the Panzerbefehlswagen IV (command vehicle assigned to Pz.Kpfw. IV units) and the Panzerbeobachtungswagen IV (command/artillery observation vehicle assigned to Hummel/Wespe units).ConclusionOverall this is a great little book packed with a lot of information. The quality of the materials, photographs, line drawings and color plates is excellent. It will be a helpful addition to anyone's reference library, especially those interested in the later models of the Pz.Kpfw. IV.

This is the second volume on the German Panzer tank, known as the Panzer Mark IV. The first volume deals with the early Ausf. A through Ausf. F Models of this particular tank and development of the Mark IV from 1936 through 1942. This book deals with the later Ausf. models and brings the history of the Mark IV up through the end of the Second World War.

A very good technical over view of the work horse of the PanzerWaffe 1943-1945.

I am happy with the product

Osprey Books seems to always come through, publishing these great titles crammed with info and useful data. If you are into WW 2 armor history, add this book to your library!

Another great book from Osprey with beautiful original illustrations and lots of photos and interesting text well written

very informative book, however, I was looking for a book that had more interior pictures of the engine, fighting compartment, and drivers area. This book fell a little short in those areas.

Good resource material.

As has been said elsewhere, the quality of this series is a little variable, but this is definitely one of the better titles. In my opinion Hilary Doyle is one of the top authors in this field, and the information he presents here is not only well written, but informative in terms of the design, manufacture, use, and technical detail. Particularly fascinating is the section on suggestions and requests made by troops in the front line which resulted in modifications. As usual, the book is fairly brief but since it focusses on relatively few marks it is still good on detail. If you buy this and the excellent Squadron Signal book on the Panzer IV, you won't need much else.

This book provides a great overview of the last three ausf's of the Pzkfwg IV. As with all of the books in the New Vanguard series, the colour plates are very good inspiration for modelers subjects.

good

I was expecting more from this book. Its biggest weakness for me is the quality of the photo reproductions. These are muddy and dark in many instances and therefore make it difficult or impossible to identify some of the modifications being referred to. This includes present day shots of extant models. Also several of them are frequently used illustrations.There are a few v interesting first hand reports of combat experience. Although details of date changes of many modifications are provided, I couldn't find reference to the date of the significant change in Schurzen shape on Ausf H.

Dispense fatte molto bene (in inglese) con spiegazioni dettagliate e foto d'epoca. Per cultori di mezzi corrazzati.