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).
- 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 | 80 mm at 10° (81 mm) | 0.66 | 754 | 25 |
| Hull side | 30 mm | 1.03 | 483 | 34 |
| Hull rear | 20 mm at 10° (20 mm) | 1.22 | 408 | 34 |
| Roof | 10 mm | 1.68 | 296 | 34 |
| Turret front | 50 mm at 10° (51 mm) | 0.81 | 614 | 30 |
| Turret side | 30 mm at 25° (33 mm) | 0.98 | 508 | 33 |
| Turret rear | 30 mm at 10° (30 mm) | 1.02 | 488 | 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 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 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 1.9 s when the plate stops it and 3 s when it bursts through. It is big enough to knock crew members out of their seats even when the plate stops it.
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".
- From the side, 34 of them get through its hull side; from behind, 34 get through its hull rear (every zone is in the table above).
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): 3x in an 8-vehicle line-up (first at position 1).
- 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 8-vehicle line-up (first at position 4).
- Prokhorovka 1943, Red (Axis side): 2x 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 a 7-vehicle line-up (first at position 1).
- Villers-Bocage 1944, Red (Axis side): 3x in an 8-vehicle line-up (first at position 1).
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 | 25 |
| 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).
