The Bergepanzerwagen V (Sd.Kfz. 179), often referred to as the "Bergepanther", was an

Armoured recovery vehicle An armoured recovery vehicle (ARV) is typically a powerful tank or armoured personnel carrier (APC) chassis modified for use during combat for military vehicle recovery (towing) or repair of battle-damaged, stuck, and/or inoperable armoured f ...

used by the German army in WWII. It was a variant of the

Panzerkampfwagen V Panther The Panther tank, officially ''Panzerkampfwagen V Panther'' (abbreviated PzKpfw V) with Sonderkraftfahrzeug, ordnance inventory designation: ''Sd.Kfz.'' 171, is a German medium tank of World War II. It was used on the Eastern Front (World War ...

(Sd.Kfz. 171).

Development and production

The idea of a Bergepanther came about in 1943 because of problems with the recovery of heavy and medium tanks. The development was carried out by

MAN A man is an adult male human. Prior to adulthood, a male human is referred to as a boy (a male child or adolescent). Like most other male mammals, a man's genome usually inherits an X chromosome from the mother and a Y chromo ...

. The half-track vehicles used up to then for recovery (e.g.

Sd.Kfz. 9 The Sd.Kfz. 9 (also known as "Famo" ) was a German half-track that saw widespread use in World War II, and the heaviest half-track vehicle of any type built in quantity in Nazi Germany during the war years. Its main roles were as a prime mover f ...

) were rarely able to successfully recover a Panther or a

Tiger The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is the largest living cat species and a member of the genus ''Panthera''. It is most recognisable for its dark vertical stripes on orange fur with a white underside. An apex predator, it primarily preys on ...

; towing with another Tiger or Panther was strictly forbidden as this could lead to the loss of both tanks. The first Bergepanthers were almost completed Panthers of the Ausf. D, in which the manufacturer MAN only omitted the

turret Turret may refer to: * Turret (architecture), a small tower that projects above the wall of a building * Gun turret, a mechanism of a projectile-firing weapon * Objective turret, an indexable holder of multiple lenses in an optical microscope * Mi ...

Henschel Henschel & Son (german: Henschel und Sohn) was a German company, located in Kassel, best known during the 20th century as a maker of transportation equipment, including locomotives, trucks, buses and trolleybuses, and armoured fighting v ...

Daimler-Benz The Mercedes-Benz Group AG (previously named Daimler-Benz, DaimlerChrysler and Daimler) is a German multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is one of the world's leading car manufactur ...

and DEMAG later took on the production one after the other. The specially produced hull of the Bergepanther was largely similar to that of the Panzerkampfwagen Panther, although the modifications of the Ausf. G were adopted for it at the end of 1944. The crew consisted of at least three soldiers, with the device being operated by two soldiers in the vehicle. Square wooden and metal structures replaced the turret, and a

winch A winch is a mechanical device that is used to pull in (wind up) or let out (wind out) or otherwise adjust the tension of a rope or wire rope (also called "cable" or "wire cable"). In its simplest form, it consists of a spool (or drum) attach ...

with 40 tonnes-force (392 kilonewtons) capacity was installed in the hull of the tank. The Bergepanther also had a simple crane boom with a load capacity of 1.5 tonnes-force. The Bergepanther was quite reliable in its area of responsibility and, thanks to its armour, could also be used under enemy fire. Even the heavy Tiger I and its variants could be recovered without any problems by a Bergepanther with a winch. After the Second World War, the British described the Bergepanther as "usable" based on their own experiments. In addition to the on-board machine gun, which could be attached to supports to the right or left of the combat area, the Bergepanther received a bow mount to accommodate a

2 cm KwK 30 The 2 cm KwK 30 L/55 ''(2 cm Kampfwagenkanone 30 L/55)'' was a German 2 cm cannon used as the main armament of the German Sd.Kfz.121 Panzerkampfwagen II light tank and various reconnaissance vehicles. It was used during the Spanish ...

automatic cannon. However, it was already obsolete in the course of 1944. With the conversion to the hull shape of the Panther G, the Bergepanther received the usual MG ball cover on the radio operator's side. The machine-gun support on the driver's side was also omitted. From 1943 to 1945 around 339 Bergepanther of all designs were produced by the companies

(Berlin-Marienfelde plant) and DEMAG. Of the vehicles designated as a Bergepanther, a total of around 297 Bergepanthers were built from September 1943 onwards with the special Panther tub, which enabled the cable winch and the spur to be accommodated. Of these 297 Bergepanthers, at least 88 were delivered without a winch and spur. Apart from the 42 vehicles called Bergepanther up to September 1943, which were essentially only Panther Ausf. D hulls as tugs, the company Seibert Stahlbau in Aschaffenburg carried out the conversion of the damaged Ausf. Ds to Bergepanthers from August 1944 to March 1945. These vehicles also had neither a winch nor a spur and thus resembled the first Bergepanthers from MAN and Henschel. The cover with the hatch covers for the driver and radio operator had been omitted. They were provided with all other recovery equipment and tools that could also be found on the Bergepanther. The Seibert company produced (approximately) 61 Umbau-Bergepanthers. A total of around 113 vehicles from the repair work were delivered. It can be seen here that the vehicles referred to as Bergepanther were mostly just turretless tow vehicles that were delivered until the end of the war. Furthermore, a significant part of the Bergepanthers with the special tub for winch and spur attachment was probably only used as a towing vehicle due to the lack of winches.Jentz, Doyle: ''Panzer Tracts No. 16-1, Bergepanther Ausf. D, A, G.'' Boyds MD 2013. These facts, which only became publicly known in 2013 through the latest publication on the subject of Bergepanthers, may have contributed to the fact that "early" Bergepanthers were incorrectly identified in various earlier publications, including photos from the end of the war.

References

{{reflist Armoured vehicles German Army (1935–1945)