PzKpfw IV (Panzerkampfwagen IV) was a German medium tank from World War II. The first prototypes of the vehicle were created in 1936, and serial production continued from 1938 to 1945, resulting in the production of approximately 8,600 vehicles. The D version of the tank was powered by a single Maybach HL 120 TRM engine with an output of 300 hp. It was armed with one 75 mm KwK 37 L/24 gun and two 7.92 mm MG 34 machine guns.
The PzKpfw IV was created at the end of 1934 as a result of a competition announced by the German Armaments Department for a medium tank weighing up to 18 tons and armed with a 75 mm cannon. The competition was won by the company Krupp, whose vehicle was put into mass production—as it turned out, it was a vehicle that can safely be called the "workhorse" of the German armored forces during World War II and one of the most intensively developed and modernized Wehrmacht tanks. During its production, many variants of the PzKpfw IV were created. Chronologically, the first was the A version, armed with a 75 mm short-barreled cannon and a 230 hp engine. However, versions B and C quickly appeared, in which several significant changes were made: first, more powerful engines (265 hp in version B and the Maybach HL 120 TRM with 300 hp in version C—which was installed in the PzKpfw IV until 1945), and all the vehicle’s armor was improved. The F1 and F2 versions turned out to be a real revolution, in which the frontal armor was increased to 60 mm, while the main armament was replaced with the excellent long-barreled 75 mm KwK 40 L/43 cannon, which in 1942 and 1943 allowed them to fight any Allied or Soviet force. The most commonly produced PzKpfw IV versions were the G, H, and J versions, which were very similar to the F1 and F2 versions. The main armament did not change significantly (it was still the KwK 40 cannon), nor did the engine and chassis. On the other hand, the armor was slightly reinforced, and from the beginning of 1943, armor skirts (Schurzen) were installed on them. Many other vehicles were built on the PzKpfw IV chassis, such as the StuG IV assault gun, the Nashorn tank destroyer, or the Wirbelwind self-propelled anti-aircraft gun. PzKpfw IV tanks were used on almost all fronts of World War II—from the September campaign in 1939 to the campaign in France in 1940, the Barbarossa and Typhoon operations in 1941, the Battle of Kursk in 1943, to the final operations of the German army against the USSR and Western Allies in 1944–1945.
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