WWII Myths – Multitude of German AFV types

Something that is mentioned often online and in popular history books is that the Germans built too many different types of armored vehicles during WWII. If only they had concentrated production on a handful of types they would have produced more AFV’s than they historically did.

For example ‘Why the Allies won’ by Richard Overy says in page 201

‘At one point in the war there were no fewer than 425 different aircraft models and variants in production. By the middle of the war the German army was equipped with 151 different makes of lorry and 150 different motor-cycles. With such a variety it was difficult to produce in mass.’

I have already covered aircraft production here, so this time let’s take a look at tanks and self propelled guns.

I have posted the German production statistics here, using as a source the book ‘Waffen und Geheimwaffen des deutschen Heeres 1933 – 1945’

Using that table and calculating what percentage of total production each vehicle’s production represents we get:

 

At first glance the myth seems to hold true! There are many different ‘types’, each representing a small percentage of production. Even the most well known vehicles do not stand out production wise.

For example the Stug III L/48 is at 16.9%, the Panther at 12.5%, the Pz III L/42 at 4.8%, the Pz IV L/48 at 12.5%.

Is that the end of the discussion? Definitely not! The problem for people who claim that the Germans produced too many types is that they are making a mistake in the way different vehicles are counted.

If two different AFV’s share most of their parts then they may be counted separately but in reality they are the same vehicle.

For example the Stug III that was built in large numbers was simply the same vehicle as the Pz III but with a fixed turret. The same was true for the Pz IV and the Stug IV/Jagdpanzer IV.

If we add up the Pz III, Pz IV, Panther and their fixed turret variants Stug III, Stug/Jagd IV/air-defense versions and JagdPanther then we get 74% of total AFV production. Notice that I haven’t added the Hummel and Nashorn that were built with parts from both the Pz III and the Pz IV, if we add them too then the percentage is 77%.

Panzer 38 production adds another 13.3%. This vehicle was produced throughout the war, first as a tank and then as a self propelled gun not because the Germans were awed by its performance but rather because they had captured the production facilities in Czechoslovakia and couldn’t use them for other purposes.

Even the lowly Pz II was built as a self propelled gun during the war in order to use the existing tank production facilities.

Considering all of the above it is obvious that the Germans built the same basic vehicle types during the war. Instead of introducing new types they simply modified existing types.

In 1940-42 production was centered on the Pz III, Pz IV and Stug III. Since Pz III and Stug III were basically the same vehicle that’s two main types plus the Pz 38.

In 1943-45 the Pz IV and Stug III/IV were joined by the Panther, while the Pz III was no longer built as a tank. So instead of two basic vehicle types we have three ( Pz IV-Stug IV- Jagdpanzer IV, Stug III, Panther) plus the Pz 38 in its SPG variant.

The situation per year is as follows, regarding the top three vehicles by production percentage (counting each vehicle separately):

For 1940

	1940
Pz III	47%
Pz 38	17%
Pz IV	13%
Sum	77%

For 1941

	1941
Pz III	46%
Pz 38	19%
Stug III	14%
Sum	79%

For 1942

	1942
Pz III	43%
Pz IV	16%
Pz II	14%
Sum	73%

 

For 1943

	1943
Stug III	26%
Pz IV	25%
Panther	16%
Sum	67%

For 1944

	1944
Stug III	24%
Panther	20%
Pz IV	18%
Sum	62%

 

For 1945

	1945
Hetzer	27%
Stug III	25%
Jagd IV	14%
Sum	66%

 

If we count vehicles according to general type (so Pz III=Stug III, Pz IV=Stug IV=Jagd IV, Pz 38= Marder III= Hetzer, etc etc ) we get:

For 1940

	1940
Pz III	0.48
Pz 38	0.17
Pz IV	0.13
Sum	0.78

 

For 1941

	1941
Pz III	0.60
Pz 38	0.19
Pz IV	0.13
Sum	0.92

 

For 1942

	1942
Pz III	0.57
Pz IV	0.16
Pz II	0.14
Sum	0.87

For 1943

	1943
Stug III	0.31
Pz IV	0.26
Panther	0.16
Sum	0.73

Note that If we add Nashorn and Hummel then the we get 79%.

For 1944

	1944
Pz IV	0.33
Stug III	0.25
Panther	0.22
Sum	0.80

For 1945

	1945
Pz 38	0.29
Stug III	0.25
Pz IV	0.24
Sum	0.78

Verdict

It is true that the Germans built several different armored vehicle types during WWII. They did so mainly because they already had the production facilities for some of these types and they couldn’t afford to retool them. Instead obsolete tanks like the Pz III and Pz 38 were produced as self propelled guns.

However even under these circumstances three vehicles the Pz III, Pz IV and Panther (plus their fixed turret variants) accounted for most of the German AFV production, at 77%. Add the Pz 38 and you go to 90%.

The idea that they could have produced more if they concentrated on one type (like the Soviets did with the T-34 or the Americans and their M-4 Sherman) is not correct. Production was limited by the existing facilities and the low priority that was given to AFV production in the German war economy.