Panzer IV Ausf. H
Medium Tank · Germany
The workhorse. The long 7.5 cm gets through a Sherman or T-34 from the front, but its own flat plate doesn't return the favour: shoot first, and keep the skirts towards the enemy.
(the vehicle's description in the garage)
At a glance
| Nation | Germany |
| Role | Medium tank (MT) |
| Modelled variant | Panzer IV Ausf. H |
| Price | 610 credits |
| Team stock | 3 per five-player team (scales with team size) |
| Hit points | 860 |
| Main gun | 280 damage per AP shot, 4.6 s reload |
| Speed | 38 km/h on roads, 17.9 km/h off-road |
| View range | 230 m |
| Ability (B) | Artillery |
| Garage ratings | Armour 2/10 · Firepower 5/10 · Mobility 8/10 · Spotting 7/10 |
History
The Panzerkampfwagen IV was the only German tank built throughout the whole war, about 8,500 in all, and the workhorse of the panzer divisions. Designed as a support tank with a short 75 mm gun, it was re-armed from 1942 with the long 7.5 cm KwK 40, which let it fight the T-34 and the Sherman on even terms. The Ausf. H, the most-built version, had 80 mm frontal armour and side skirts (Schuerzen) against anti-tank rifles.
Panzer IVs fought on every front. They were at Stalingrad, with the Afrika Korps in Tunisia, at Prokhorovka, with Panzer-Lehr in Normandy, in the Ardennes around Bastogne and in the last battles of 1945. The game uses the Ausf. H.
In Armor Heads
Survivability
- Hit points: 860. Damage taken multiplier: 1.08 (effective HP 796).
- Track repair: 7 s.
| Zone | Damage multiplier (lower = thicker) | Raw shell damage to destroy through this zone |
|---|---|---|
| Hull front | 0.66 | 754 |
| Hull side | 1 | 498 |
| Hull rear | 1.32 | 377 |
| Roof | 1.7 | 293 |
| Turret front | 0.83 | 600 |
| Turret side | 1 | 498 |
| Turret rear | 1.3 | 383 |
Main gun
- Mount: turret, 360° traverse at 21°/s.
- Elevation +20° / depression -10°, at 22°/s.
- Reload: 4.6 s.
- Damage per minute (AP): 3,652.
- Accuracy: 0.075° dispersion when settled, aim time 1.52 s, move bloom 0.054.
- Gunner's sight: TZF 5f, 2.5x (binoculars 6x / 10x / 15x).
| Shell | Type | Damage | Splash | Blast radius | Muzzle velocity | Penetration threshold | Rounds | Crew shock |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Armour Piercing | AP | 280 | 20 | 2.5 m | 750 m/s | 0.54 | 28 | - |
| High Explosive | HE | 182 | 140 | 5.8 m | 550 m/s | 1 | 15 | 1 |
| 7.5 cm Pzgr. 40 APCR | APCR | 210 | 10 | 2.5 m | 990 m/s | 0.3 | bought (key 3) | - |
The penetration threshold is the thinnest zone multiplier the shell gets through: zones below it stop the shell (10 % damage for AP, 20 % for HE). See how the numbers work.
APCR (7.5 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 | 0.54 | 0.3 | 280 | 210 |
| 300 m | 0.54 | 0.39 | 258 | 164 |
| 500 m | 0.54 | 0.54 | 235 | 118 |
| 700 m | 0.54 | 0.67 | 224 | 94 |
Matchups (AP against the hull front, square-on, under 100 m)
- Its AP gets through the hull front of 28 of the other 34 vehicles. It is stopped by: Panther, M26 Pershing, Tiger II, IS-2, Churchill VII, Jagdpanther.
- 25 of the other 34 vehicles' AP get through its hull front. Safe from the front against: M3A1 Stuart, Panzer II Luchs, Panzer III Ausf. L, M32 TRV, Sd.Kfz. 250/9, T-70M, T-60, 75 mm GMC M3, Stuart V "Honey".
- Sides, rears and roofs are thinner on every vehicle; see each page's zone table.
Secondary weapons and equipment
- Roof machine gun: MG 34, the vehicle's own modelled gun on its turret, 13 rounds/s, 1 damage per round, overheats after 60 rounds. It elevates to 70° and can shoot down recon planes.
- Smoke: 2 salvos, each recharges in 40 s.
Mobility
- Running gear: tracks (pivot turns).
- Top speed 38 km/h on roads, 17.9 km/h off-road (47 %), reverse 7.6 km/h, acceleration 3 m/s².
- Turn rate 30°/s (18°/s at top speed). Mass 25,000 kg. Engine start 3 s.
Special ability (B)
Artillery: an eight-shell barrage on any point within 1,000 m, 8 s after red smoke marks it; the shells hit tank roofs and wreck buildings. Ready 90 s after the round goes live, once per round; another use costs 400 credits.
Where it appears
Players can take it on all seven WW2 maps, on either team. The AI fields it on:
- Arracourt 1944, Red (Axis side): 2x in an 8-vehicle line-up (first at position 2).
- Bastogne 1944, Red (Axis side): 2x in an 8-vehicle line-up (first at position 1).
- Kasserine Pass 1943, Red (Axis side): 2x in an 7-vehicle line-up (first at position 2).
- Prokhorovka 1943, Red (Axis side): 3x in an 8-vehicle line-up (first at position 1).
- Seelow Heights 1945, Red (Axis side): 2x in an 8-vehicle line-up (first at position 3).
- Stalingrad 1942, Red (Axis side): 2x in an 7-vehicle line-up (first at position 1).
- Villers-Bocage 1944, Red (Axis side): 3x in an 7-vehicle line-up (first at position 2).
Where it ranks (1 = best of 35)
| Stat | Rank |
|---|---|
| Hit points | 22 |
| Effective HP | 22 |
| Hull front armour (lower multiplier = thicker) | 17 |
| Turret front armour | 26 |
| Road speed | 30 |
| Off-road speed | 26 |
| Shot damage (AP) | 20 |
| Damage per minute | 11 |
| Reload (shortest first) | 14 |
| Accuracy (smallest dispersion first) | 23 |
| Aim time (fastest first) | 13 |
| Turret / gun traverse speed | 17 |
| View range | 17 |
| AP penetration (lower threshold = goes through more) | 13 |
| Price (1 = most expensive) | 21 |
The real vehicle
| Variant | Panzer IV Ausf. H |
| Length with gun | 7.02 m |
| Hull length | 5.92 m |
| Width | 3.33 m |
| Height | 2.68 m |
Sources used for the model: AFV Database Ausf.H (hull 5.92, gun overhang 1.095, width with aprons 3.33, height 2.68, tread 2.45, track 0.40): https://web.archive.org/web/20110906154753/http://afvdb.50megs.com/germany/pz4.html ; Wikipedia Panzer IV infobox Ausf.H (5.92 / 7.02 / 2.88 without skirts / 2.68): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panzer_IV ; blueprint https://www.the-blueprints.com/blueprints/tanks/ww2-tanks-germany-2/81838/view/sd_kfz_161_pzkpfwiv_ausfh/
In-game model: 7.01 m long (gun included) × 3.34 m wide × 2.84 m high (antenna excluded), 6,280 triangles, built at true scale.
Images
Renders of the in-game model in a plain nation colour (the game paints its camouflage at runtime).
