Panzerkampfwagen III (5 cm Kw.K.39 L/60) (Sd. Kfz. 141/1)
Ausführung L & M

Serial production of the Panzerkampfwagen III - battle tank III - (5 cm Kw.K.39 L/60) (Sd. Kfz. 141/1) was started in December 1941 with 40 finished exemplars. About 1,470 vehicles of this Ausführung L (8. Serie Z.W.), which was designated Ausführung J mit 5 cm Kw.K. L/60 until the end of March 1942, were manufactured until around October 1942. During the production period, numerous simplifications and improvements were introduced. Beginning in December 1941, an additional Vorpanzer - additional spaced armour - was fixed to the upper hull front and the gun mantlet. It lasted until August 1942 until all vehicles could be equipped with this additional armour at the hull and the turret.

From September 1942 to Februar 1943, about 516 vehicles of the Ausführung M (8. Serie Z.W.) were made. The fordability was improved by adding a new raised silencer with one-way valve. The side air intakes had now closable watertight covers. The Schürzen - armoured skirts - on the turret and the sides of the hull were retrofitted to many vehicles beginning in May 1943. (Photo: German federal archive via Wikimedia Commons; License: Creative Commons BY-SA-3.0-gb)

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