There were no AA Panzer III's, all AA type panzer were made from the Panzer IV chassis.
Cheers,
Steven
I'm pretty sure the aircraft is a Ju-88 G series heavy night fighter. The tail looks right as does the remains of the starboard engine. The camoflague appears to be dark grey on light grey which is correct for this type. here's an example with a similar type paint but different pattern.
Regards, Ned.
Last edited by big ned; 10-27-2011 at 02:59 PM. Reason: Don't know left from right...DOH!!
'I do not think we can hope for any better thing now.
We shall stick it out to the end, but we are getting weaker of course, and the end cannot be far.
It seems a pity, but I do not think I can write more. R. SCOTT.
Last Entry - For God's sake look after our people.'
In memory of Capt. Robert Falcon Scott, Edward Wilson, Henry Bowers, Lawrence Oates and Edgar Evans. South Pole Expedition, 30th March 1912.
It looks like Ned is correct to me. Nice new haul there, especially the photos.
Mat
Steven is correct. The PzIV anti aircraft tank was called the 'Wiirblewind' (Whirlwind) and was four 20mm AA guns in an open topped turret fitted onto the IV chassis, it entered service in 1944.
If you magnify the photo of the PzIII, you can see that the turret has turned about 120 degrees to the left. The gun, mantlet and side turret armour have been blown completely away leaving the gun mount showing. The commanders cupola is also still in position. Note that the emergency escape hatch below the 1st and 2nd track rollers is open. As this can only open from the inside, it indicates that at least some of the crew probably managed to bail out of the stricken tank.
Regards, Ned.
'I do not think we can hope for any better thing now.
We shall stick it out to the end, but we are getting weaker of course, and the end cannot be far.
It seems a pity, but I do not think I can write more. R. SCOTT.
Last Entry - For God's sake look after our people.'
In memory of Capt. Robert Falcon Scott, Edward Wilson, Henry Bowers, Lawrence Oates and Edgar Evans. South Pole Expedition, 30th March 1912.
I know what you mean Steven, thats why I said 'G series' as there are around 7 or 8 different nightfigter variants and within the limits of Gizmo's pic, it's almost impossible to acurately pin down. Having said that, I'm convinced that the a/c is a nightfighter due to the type of camoflague applied to it.
Regards, Ned.
'I do not think we can hope for any better thing now.
We shall stick it out to the end, but we are getting weaker of course, and the end cannot be far.
It seems a pity, but I do not think I can write more. R. SCOTT.
Last Entry - For God's sake look after our people.'
In memory of Capt. Robert Falcon Scott, Edward Wilson, Henry Bowers, Lawrence Oates and Edgar Evans. South Pole Expedition, 30th March 1912.
Nice photos, thanks for sharing. The Wiirblewind was one of many variants the Germans produced as the war went from bad to worse. The design and manufacturing process sped up with regards to the production and output of defensive weapons, whereas earlier in the war the concentration was focused more towards offensive weapons.
Good work too Ned, well done!
Regards,
Carl
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