Panzer III: Versatile Stalwart of The Panzer Force
See inside the Panzer III and discover the story of the most numerous German armoured fighting vehicle of World War II.
Intended as the German Army’s main gun tank, with its brother, the Panzer IV, acting as support, the Panzer III fought in Europe and North Africa but was effectively obsolete by 1942 in the face of better opposition like the Soviet T-34.
So the two changed places - an up gunned Panzer IV becoming the gun tank with the Panzer III - now with a short barreled 75mm gun- in the support role. This wouldn’t last long - but the Panzer III chassis would form the basis of the highly successful Stug III.
00:00 | Introduction
00:15 | Background
02:12 | Two Similar Designs
02:57 | Panzer III Designs
10:22 | Take a Look Inside
14:46 | An Interview with Mike Hayton
23:52 | What's it like to Drive?
26:00 | Conclusion
This video features archive footage courtesy of British Pathé.
#tankmuseum #panzeriii
It cannot be denied that German armoured vehicles looked so cool!
No doubt. Some of the most beautiful machines to ever be made.
I came here to say that, the Panzer III was the first tank that looked like a tank haha :)
My favorite tank is the Panzer III M. Now, it had 80mm of spaced armor, and the M was quite mobile. Finally, and most importantly, I absolutely love the M's aesthetics; it just looks awesome with the side skirts! In reality, the M variant came out a little too late, and wasn't up to par with mid-to-late war Allied tanks. But I still love it.
oh yeah, I've been impressed by their striking camo patterns on all their armor, since I was building tank models in the 1970's. Everybody else's tank? Solid green, always, on all of them - oh yawn, how dull. It was the Germans who made those ultra-cool camo on their tanks which of course, is the only reason I learned how to use an air-brush, to paint the dunkel-gelb patterns on my tanks -
@@krakke3188 I have said the same thing about the FT-17.
With the long barrel 5cm it's the most aesthetically pleasing tank of all times.
Yes. I like the Pz2 as well.
It is a good looking tank, but for me the Cromwell pips it.
@@sureshot8399 Cromwell is a damn good looking tank :)
Panzer III. A very underrated tank. When people talk about WW II tanks, everyone seems to focus on Panthers, Tigers, Shermans, T-34, occasional Char B. But it is easy to forget how good Panzer III was early in the war. It might not have been revolutionary so to speak, but the combination of advanced features at the time made it exceptional as far as early war vehicles go.
They also forget about Matilda II, Cromwell, Valentine
Youre completly right!
You are correct, accept in ones. Panzer III is revolutionary tank. Tank consider armament, protection, and possibility of moving. Panzer III have all that in balance. Sorry for bad english.
@@peakovacevic1533 *correct *accept *armament *protection *possibility
Grabbed land from the Channal to the gates of Moscow
Hey Tank Nuts! What did you think of our latest video? Which tank do you think was better - Panzer III or Panzer IV? Let us know below
Peener hard
Panzer IV because I prefer infantry support :))
I would like to suggest that you guys either add custom subtitles (the auto generated ones do not work well for technical terminology) or add graphics that show the "foreign" words you are using. I am German, and half the time I have no idea what German word Chris is trying to pronounce. He is making a valiant effort, but a majority of the words end up with one cheek on the English and one cheek on the German side.
This is a realy beautyful restoration, Mr Hayton did an amazing job and he is a real engineering nerd you can tell. Can we pleeeeease have more of him, if he is willing to volunteer of course.
Panzer IV with the 75 mm, although the armor remained an issue
Like it that someone has realised Chris always wears a gilet and made him a branded one
My maternal Grandad signed up in 1939 despite having two toddlers, one of which was my mum, born 1937. His pals were killed at Narvik, which he missed due to a throat infection. He never, ever, talked about his service. Ever. I know now, he was seconded to the Royal Navy in 1944 because they were short of comms guys. He ended the war in Trincomalee in Ceylon. During the entire war, he only had three home leaves. Albert Evans was his name.
The Valentine deserves a reloaded video. An underrated tank that even Soviets liked, to the point where they asked for more even in 1943.
Def needs more on it. I feel it gets overshadowed by the American tanks arriving in 41 and 42
The Valentine fit a necessary niche that the Soviets had( Recon, patrol, bad terrain ect). The production of the T-70 had stopped in mid 43 (switched to SU-76M i think) and they had lost huge numbers of them so they needed more light tanks so tadaaa!! Send us more Valentine's please... Soviets didn't like the 2pdr version because no HE round but they were quite found of the 6pdr version which did have a very serviceable one. For whatever reason they didn't like the M3A1 Stuarts they got(???) Yep underated tank for sure.
@@goughrmp British tanks weren't as bad as everyone says they were lol. Plus the US tanks arriving in 41/42 weren't that awesome either. The M3 Grant/Lee was a stopgap until they worked the numerous bugs out of the Sherman and the M3 Stuart had teething issues that didn't get ironed out until the M5 later on. I'm a huge fan of the British Cruiser tanks, engines sucked but very handsome vehicles!!
💯 agree.
@@adamjaquay4279this is why the soviets didn't like the Stuart or Lee. They Stuart they said arrived with reliability issues in the bogs and terrain of the east. The Lee they didn't like the mix typing of ammo. The Sherman were to tall and were spotted easily on the Easter front, but did great in the mountain passes along the amur river.
You can see a Lifetime of hard Work with Metal, Oily and Vehicle-Electronics on the Hands of this Aged Gentleman. He seems slim, but his Hands are big, Strong and Textured. My biggest Respect =)
Underrated comment. Big respect for worn hands.
Creeps.
Weirdo. You smell a Kink? Respect for the Working Class is no Fetish.
@@mcs699 Weirdo. You think of a Kink? Respect for the Working Class is not a Fetish.
As the quintessential Tank Museum host, Chris is the point man for yet another superb presentation. Details of technical features and the back story of the restoration are just remarkable, very well done by all involved with this production! 👍
One of the best channels on youtube and my favorite presenter. Keep it up.
In 2002, long before KZhead I stumbled on the Tank Museum. I got to sit in the Panzer III. Hooked ever since, This is an EXCELLENT video
Production value on this video is amazing! Incredible work team! Editting, sound design and content all top tier
Bro im in love with mike hayton. He is such calm and good vibe person ,ty for bringing him 🙏🏻👍
Great video, love the editing! Panzer III was a pretty good vehicle, it was probably one of the best in terms of crew comfort and effectiveness for an individual tank unit. The use of the chassis for the StuG III proves that it was highly reliable. Great to see this one still running, hope to visit the tank museum some day.
Thank you Mr. Hayton for your hard work and care for such a nice piece of history. Nice jacket as well!🤘🏻😎
I like these Tank Chat reloads as they offer a bit more context and a broader perspective.
My favorite tank, an the most underrated of the war.
The Notek rear convoy light was very well designed. With two pairs of red lamps; if you could see all four, you were too close, only one, too far away, but seeing two red lamps, you were the correct distance. Simple but effective. Much better than the British system of just shining a white lamp on the white painted final drive of the rear axle - !
The M60, and probably M1, used a similar system for use with the driver's night vision periscope, which had no depth perception. I'm trying to remember exactly what they were but it's been too long. But the Germans pretty much hit on the best concept for maintaining proper road march intervals at night.
I love these deep dives. You guys are getting so good at this; The standard by which all other are judged
The very best tank video I’ve ever seen!
I think PZ3 is probably the best interwar tank. Even if it was obsolete by 42, it still looked snazzy.
I mean it wasn't really obsolete by 1942. It was still comparable to most enemy tanks even in early 1944. And that's with its planned upgrades canceled due panther (such as the krupp suggestion for a new turret to mount the 7.5cm kwk40 L48)
Very interesting interview with Mr Hayton. A true engineer, his insight is very valuable. I would love more content with him!
This is by far the best video I've seen about the Panzer III tank. It's definitely my favorite tank, one of the main reasons it's because of its quite harmonic lines. Such an iconic design! For some reason, I think it kind of looks like the modern Israeli Merkava tank, especially the Mark IV version of it. Their turrets kind of bring that same feeling. They're not exaggerated tanks in size. And both have ways of the crew scape easily and all. I may be wrong, but I still think future tanks will have to look more and more like the Panzer III.
Amazing to have the museum “old guard” like Mike give feedback on the original restoration and the challenges. Our museums and their operational collections today are built on the shoulders of the years of hard work of experts and enthusiasts like Mike. Great video
Panzer III has always been my favorite tank of W W II. It just looks so much looks like what a tank should look like.
Really interesting video, I get the impression that Mike has forgotten more than many engineers will ever know,
So good to see Mike again, i had the chance to talk to him when he was still Workshop Manager. Man knows so much about tanks, its incredible. Thanks for the video
So glad he mentioned the Stug at the end of the video - the pinnacle of this platform
Always quality presentations from the Tank Museum
It's a beautifully designed vehicle crafty built essentially with peacetime considerations. The problems that would creep in in latter German designs are already lurking beneath it.
The video quality this channel offer is off the roof. Interviewing Mike Hayton was a master idea.
Panzer III is my favorite tank of all time. The IV is cool, but the smaller turret design of the III with the L60 gun is visually cooler to me. It fits more properly in my mind
Until this video, I had this crazy misconception that the Panzer IV was way bigger than the 3. Thanks for dispelling that! Maybe it's just the way those tanks look in War Thunder that tricked me lol. I haven't seen many WW2 tanks in person unfortunately.
Mike Hayton is a great resource! It would be good to see more of him.
Thank God Copsons back! This is Tank Museum at its finest!
I gotta say I'm loving these videos, especially this one. The narration, the choice of music, camera work. Outstanding.
Great video, nice to see Mike again. I miss seeing the Workshop videos, remember the "Matilda Diaries".
one of the least respected panzers yet probably the most important one when considering it and its derivatives stug 3 especially.
Awesome video you guys, really. Immaculate detail, not a single dull moment, and a complete overview. As always, I can't wait for the next video!
It does not have biggest gun or thickest armor. Just a well balanced tank suited for WW2 German army offensive doctrine.
At 25:05 we hear about a really nice feature of the Panzer 3 and Panzer 4 : two small lamps that warn you when the gun barrel is overhanging the side of the vehicle. It would have been nice to see also how they worked. The bottom edge of the turret, inside the tank, had four tiny metal "fingers" protruding down, and as the turret rotated they would engage, at the appropriate moment, a 4-position rotary wheel that turned the lights on and off.
Loving these Tank Chats Reloaded with Chris Copson! Keep up the great work Chris and Museum!
What an amazing interview & review, thank you all!
Great video and beautiful tank restoration.
These videos have reached an incredible quality over the years, the are proper documentaries
I love the interview you guys had with the restorer who shared some of the backstory behind getting the Panzer 3 into the condition it is in today. Depends that there is always been one of my favorite tanks. I even have a model of it at home on my shelf
I love these longer documentary type videos. Thanks!
Thank you for all the time and effort you put into these. Love learning all the little details!
Used to getting a superb presentation from Chri Copson - but bringing in Mike Hayton for an expert engineer's assessment really added an extra dimension *Take a bow guys - That was excellent*
A great presentation! Thanks very much for the piece about a much underrated and historically important tank
This is a phenomenal video. I have been watching for years, the emotional/story telling backed with visuals and narration is excellent. Posing a question also got me hooked. Every year you guys keep pushing the boat further out. Top tier. thank you
I'm not a tank expert but I'm surprised to learn it was a pre war design, it's very advanced to the point it resembles modern tanks, before this documentary I thought it was a tank designed on the base of war experience. Great video as always, thanks for sharing!
I very much enjoy the insides. Cool that you had the restorer on. Thanks.
Another tremendously good video. The PzIII gets so little love I'm glad you made this video. I have to choose which was better, III or IV? They both look good but as a turreted tank, I'd go with the PzIV as it fought from the beginning of the war until the end. But as a chassis that found numerous uses as TD, SPG, assault gun, flakpanzer, etc, the Pz III is pretty good!! It was a good workhorse.
The Pzkw IV had better armament and armor as its chassis was capable of handling it whereas the Pzkw III was not capable of heavier armor and gun. The III was great for anti-infantry use. The IV was better for dealing with a wider range of threats.
The passion and knowledge in this video is awesome. Thanks so much for sharing this!
Very fine video. Having Mike join you was an excellent move.
Amazing Video of one of my Favorite tanks, I'm a Yank and wish I could get over to see it!
Excellent video and great summary of the Panzer III. It is my favourite tank, although it was clearly outmatched against the overwhelming adversaries in a few years. But it was the key vehicle that cleared the path for the German Panzer legends, and the latter keys of design of future designs. Thanks a lot for the video, I would really like to go vist the museum in the future.👏👏
Wow, the interview with Mike Hayton really was great. It must have been a tremendous job restoring the tank given how it looked on the "before" pictures. What also struck me: It was built in Nuremberg in June of 1942 and already captured in September of 1942. A really short service life.
very excellent presentation, thanks for preserving this icon of German engineering.
this video is really well made, and I especially appreciate the details mentioned. Looking forward to see more of similar in-depth stuff on other ww2 tanks as well. Thanks
You guys do such amazing work, I am glad to be a supporter. I always love hearing from people who know so much about something and genuinely love what they are talking about.
I worked on Engines that had Oil Bath Air Filters when I was a young Apprentice in the 1970s. The AEC AV760 Was one of them and there was always a really thick layer of Crud in the Oil pan that had to be cleaned out before fresh Oil was put in, up to the fill line. I can't imagine what it must have been like in the Western Desert. These Machines were really something.
Welcome back, Chris. Nice to have a traditional Tank Museum 'proper' tank chat again. Definitely what i signed up for.
Oh hey nice, I really liked David Willey's Panzer III tank chat but thought it was too short (even though it was long for an early tank chat). I do like the Panzer III, especially the late long-barrel and the N version, so seeing it get the Tank Chats Reloaded treatment (with the improved production quality these days) is really nice! Thanks!
As always a great video, well presented. Also a shoutout to the photo and video footage: the tank museum video's always have rather unique footage you havent seen before.
The pride of lieutenant Gruber. Who'd knew he would get Helga in the end?!?
Red coloration is on point! Good job. Also very good video with great info.
Great Video. Love the work you all do :)
Fantastic as always, thank you!
Superb video! No wonder Ball bearing factories were so important lol
nicely done on the highlighting with color (pedals/instruments/etc) and other such tricks, plus many closeup pictures in context to visually explain what is being described! excellent educational video
Production value is great on this one! 👍
Great documentary. 30 min well spent. More like this, please.
Very informative and well done. Thanks!
😊 thank you for a great presentation as always.
Yay!! Tank museum is back!!
What a brilliant video. Thank you!
Really enjoyed this deep dive. Perhaps the museum could do more videos that go into the context of how their example was captured and how the tank was used in that battle?
Thank you Nr.Hayton
thank you very much for that great video. i really like the Pnazer III, although I like the Panzer IV a tiny bit more. Its amaizing how well reserved/restored these are and its great to see a piece of history up close. its a living witness of one of the most significant historical events and also a proof of masterclass engeneering
Great and informative video. Really hope that I can visit the Tank Museum soon again, almost been 7 years since I was there.
I really enjoyed this. Well done, team and great work Mike. Interesting context and a great tour of the vehicle and variants. I especially like that you highlight and colour-code features as you describe them. It must take time but it's very useful for the viewer. You can see the German lineage in so much of the technical manufacturing of the time, and today.
My Opa was a Panzer III driver. He was wounded around Minsk. After recovery he was sent to France and was captured by the British. He passed away in 2011 at 97 years old.
Interesting as usual! Thank you.
Very good,liked the highlighted parts on the tank.
Great content. Thank you.
One of my favorite tanks. I like the way it looks.
Excellent video, thanks so much.
Wonderful video! Thank you!
Panzer III had the luxury of being designed and in production before the war started. After the bullets and bombs started flying, things got much more expedient.
Great video by Chris Copson, typical of British Fairness, although the Panzer III is responsible for many British war casualties. The interview with Mike Hayton is the icing on the cake. It's possible that compliments from Germany may seem a little strange, especially when German technology is praised, but it's an example of British fairness and objectivity. And proof that we belong together when it comes to defending freedom. Thanks to Winston Churchill.
Excellent video
Quality videos this channel has
Very informative. Thank you
Great video!
Thanks for this👍
Thank you for this video and restore this wunderfull tank. My favorit german tank.
She sure is a beauty ! Thanks for sharing, appreciate it 👍 Greetings from the Netherlands 🇳🇱, TW.
Basically it was a good machine that became outdated in 1942. But it's chassis proove to be very good to make the famous sturms.
Great video👍