Panzer III Ausf. L
Medium Tank · Germany
A nimble medium with the long 5 cm: quick to reload and accurate, but it only gets through medium plate from the side. Spaced plate helps the front; hunt flanks and light tanks.
(the vehicle's description in the garage)
At a glance
| Nation | Germany |
| Role | Medium tank (MT) |
| Modelled variant | Panzer III Ausf. L |
| Price | 585 credits |
| Team stock | 3 per five-player team (scales with team size) |
| Hit points | 850 |
| Main gun | 180 damage per AP shot, 3.7 s reload |
| Speed | 40 km/h on roads, 17.6 km/h off-road |
| View range | 230 m |
| Ability (B) | Recon Plane |
| Garage ratings | Armour 2/10 · Firepower 4/10 · Mobility 8/10 · Spotting 7/10 |
History
The Panzerkampfwagen III was planned as the German army's main battle tank and carried the panzer divisions through the victories of 1939-41. The Ausf. L of 1942 carried the long 5 cm KwK 39 L/60 gun and extra spaced armour plate on the front of the hull and the mantlet. About 650 Ausf. L were built.
By 1942 the turret ring was too small for a bigger gun, and the Panzer III was outclassed by the T-34 and KV-1. It still made up a large part of the German tank force at Stalingrad in the autumn of 1942 and in Tunisia in early 1943, and the Leibstandarte still had some at Prokhorovka in July 1943. Production of the Panzer III tank ended in 1943, but its chassis lived on in the StuG III assault gun.
In Armor Heads
Compared with the other 34 WW2 vehicles, it is top 5 for reload (#5 of 35).
Survivability
- Hit points: 850. Damage taken multiplier: 1.07 (effective HP 794).
- Tracks: a hit on the running gear breaks a track 45 % of the time (the hit does no damage); the crew repairs it in 7 s.
| Zone | Real plate | Damage multiplier (lower = thicker) | Raw shell damage to destroy through this zone | AP of the other 34 vehicles that gets through |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hull front | 70 mm at 9° (71 mm) | 0.7 | 709 | 27 |
| Hull side | 30 mm | 1.03 | 482 | 34 |
| Hull rear | 50 mm at 10° (51 mm) | 0.81 | 613 | 30 |
| Roof | 10 mm | 1.68 | 296 | 34 |
| Turret front | 70 mm | 0.7 | 709 | 27 |
| Turret side | 30 mm at 25° (33 mm) | 0.98 | 507 | 33 |
| Turret rear | 30 mm at 12° (31 mm) | 1.02 | 487 | 34 |
Real plate: the thickness of the real vehicle's armour there, and its slope from vertical with the line-of-sight thickness in brackets; each zone's multiplier is worked out from it (see how the numbers work). The last column counts square-on hits under 100 m.
Main gun
- Mount: turret, 360° traverse at 15°/s.
- Elevation +20° / depression -10°, at 22°/s.
- Reload: 3.7 s.
- Damage per minute (AP): 2,919.
- Accuracy: 0.075° dispersion when settled, aim time 1.52 s, move bloom 0.054.
- Gunner's sight: TZF 5e, 2.5x (binoculars 6x / 10x / 15x).
| Shell | Type | Damage | Splash | Blast radius | Muzzle velocity | Penetration threshold | Rounds | Crew shock |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Armour Piercing | AP | 180 | 20 | 2.5 m | 835 m/s | 0.69 | 28 | - |
| High Explosive | HE | 117 | 90 | 4.5 m | 550 m/s | 1.3 | 14 | 0.64 |
| 5 cm Pzgr. 40 APCR | APCR | 135 | 10 | 2.5 m | 1130 m/s | 0.39 | bought (key 3) | - |
The penetration threshold is the lowest zone multiplier (the thickest armour) the shell still gets through: zones below it stop the shell (10 % damage for AP, 20 % for HE). See how the numbers work.
HE and the crew: every direct hit shakes the crew (slower reload and traverse, a wider aim circle) for about 1.8 s when the plate stops it and 2.5 s when it bursts through. Under 75 mm, it only shakes the crew when the plate stops it: it knocks crew members out only when it bursts through.
APCR (5 cm Pzgr. 40 APCR) is bought in the garage, not issued: 3 rounds for 200 credits, at most 6 carried, from a team stock of 3 per player for the whole match (never resupplied). It gets through far thicker plate than the AP up close but loses its punch quickly with range:
| Range | AP needs | APCR needs | AP damage | APCR damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100 m | 0.69 | 0.39 | 180 | 135 |
| 300 m | 0.69 | 0.5 | 155 | 105 |
| 500 m | 0.69 | 0.7 | 130 | 76 |
| 700 m | 0.69 | 0.87 | 117 | 61 |
Matchups (AP against the hull front, square-on, under 100 m)
- Its AP gets through the hull front of 16 of the other 34 vehicles. It is stopped by: Tiger I, M4 Sherman, Panther, T-34/76, T-34-85, Panzer IV Ausf. H, Sherman Firefly, M26 Pershing, Tiger II, IS-2, Churchill VII, KV-1, StuG III Ausf. G, SU-100, Jagdpanther, ISU-152, M32 TRV, Jagdpanzer 38 Hetzer.
- 27 of the other 34 vehicles' AP get through its hull front. Safe from the front against: M3A1 Stuart, Panzer II Luchs, M32 TRV, Sd.Kfz. 250/9, T-70M, T-60, Stuart V "Honey".
- From the side, 34 of them get through its hull side; from behind, 30 get through its hull rear (every zone is in the table above).
Secondary weapons and equipment
- No working roof machine gun.
- Smoke: 2 salvos, each recharges in 40 s.
Mobility
- Running gear: tracks (pivot turns).
- Top speed 40 km/h on roads, 17.6 km/h off-road (44 %), reverse 8 km/h, acceleration 3.3 m/s².
- Turn rate 33°/s (20°/s at top speed). Mass 22,700 kg. Engine start 3 s.
Special ability (B)
Recon Plane: a recon plane flies a line you draw on the map (up to 800 m) and spots every enemy within 75 m of it for 10 s. Ready 60 s after the round goes live, once per round; another use costs 250 credits.
Where it appears
Players can take it on all seven WW2 maps, on either team. The AI fields it on:
- Kasserine Pass 1943, Red (Axis side): 4x in an 8-vehicle line-up (first at position 1).
- Prokhorovka 1943, Red (Axis side): 1x in an 8-vehicle line-up (first at position 7).
- Stalingrad 1942, Red (Axis side): 3x in a 7-vehicle line-up (first at position 2).
Where it ranks (1 = best of 35)
| Stat | Rank |
|---|---|
| Hit points | 23 |
| Effective HP | 23 |
| Hull front armour (lower multiplier = thicker) | 20 |
| Turret front armour | 20 |
| Road speed | 23 |
| Off-road speed | 27 |
| Shot damage (AP) | 28 |
| Damage per minute | 23 |
| Reload (shortest first) | 5 |
| Accuracy (smallest dispersion first) | 20 |
| Aim time (fastest first) | 10 |
| Turret / gun traverse speed | 27 |
| View range | 14 |
| AP penetration (lower threshold = goes through more) | 28 |
| Price (1 = most expensive) | 23 |
The real vehicle
| Variant | Panzer III Ausf. L |
| Length with gun | 6.28 m |
| Hull length | 5.52 m |
| Width | 2.95 m |
| Height | 2.5 m |
Sources used for the model: historyofwar.org (6.28 m with gun, 2.95 m wide, 2.50 m high, 20 mm spaced plate on mantlet and superstructure front) https://www.historyofwar.org/articles/weapons_panzer_III_ausf_L.html ; armedconflicts.com (2950 mm width, 2500 mm height, 400 mm track, 6167 mm with gun) https://origin.armedconflicts.com/topic/view/6405 ; Wikipedia (hull 5.56 m, 2.90 m, 2.5 m) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panzer_III ; hull 5.52 m = Ausf. J-M hull length; blueprints the-blueprints.com 22553 / 22554 / 79905
In-game model: 6.28 m long (gun included) × 2.97 m wide × 2.49 m high (antenna excluded), 6,028 triangles, built at true scale.
Images
Renders of the in-game model in a plain nation colour (the game paints its camouflage at runtime).
