<h2>Armour</h2> <p>The Panzer III first rolled off the line with Ausf A through C, all sporting a mere 15 mm of rolled homogeneous armour on the hull and turret sides, dipping to 10 mm on top and 5 mm underneath—a scheme that German crews quickly found too thin for comfort.</p><p>By Ausf D, E, F and G the fronts, sides and rears leapt to 30 mm, and the Ausf H added a second 30 mm face-hardened layer to hull front and rear for extra punch-resistance.</p><p>That armour got another boost with the Ausf J’s solid 50 mm front plate, and from J¹ through L and M a 20 mm offset homogeneous plate was bolted over the hull front and turret. The Ausf M even wore Schürzen skirts—5 mm on the sides of the hull and 8 mm on the turret—to help break up shaped-charge jets.</p><p>These upgrades put the Panzer III’s frontal arcs out of reach for many light and medium Allied and Soviet anti-tank guns at typical battle ranges, though its flanks and rear remained vulnerable to close-in fire, especially from anti-tank rifles and heavier anti-tank weapons. </p> <h2>Firepower</h2> <p>The Panzer III’s tale starts in the mid‐1930s when designers set out to field a true tank fighter armed with a 50 mm gun, only to bow to infantry demands for ammunition commonality by fitting the 37 mm PaK 36 instead—though they wisely made the turret ring large enough for that future 50 mm piece.</p><p>When war broke out in 1939–40, Ausf A through early G machines rolled off with the 3.7 cm KwK 36 L/45, which proved perfectly adequate against the lightly armoured foes of Poland and France. But as opponents beefed up armour, the Panzer III kept pace: from Ausf F to J it swapped in the 5 cm KwK 38 L/42, and by J¹ to M crews were firing the longer‐barrel 5 cm KwK 39 L/60 for extra punch at range.</p><p>By 1942 Germany turned the Panzer IV into its main medium tank, but the III found a new niche as a close‐support platform. The Ausf N even carried a low‐velocity 7.5 cm KwK 37 L/24 howitzer—salvaged from earlier IVs—to lob high‐explosive shells for infantry aid rather than slug it out with enemy armour.</p><p>Throughout its run the Panzer III’s secondary weapons stayed simple and effective: early A–G models mounted two coaxial MG 34 machine guns and a hull MG 34, while F and later versions trimmed down to one coaxial plus the hull mount to make room for bigger main guns.</p><p>In the spirit of experimentation, a lone Ausf L prototype received a tapered‐bore 75/55 mm Waffe 0725 cannon, highlighting how that oversized turret ring kept the Panzer III adaptable right up to its final variants.</p> <h2>Mobility</h2> <p>The Panzer III first rolled out in Ausf A through D form with a Maybach HL 108 TR under the hood—a 12-cylinder, 250 PS powerhouse that pushed the tank to about 35 km/h on road.</p><p>By Ausf E and beyond German engineers swapped in the beefier Maybach HL 120 TRM engine, cranking output up to 300 PS. Depending on whether it wore the standard gearbox or carried extra armour, the later Panzer III could cruise closer to 40 km/h.</p><p>Fuel stowage grew in step with consumption: initial models tucked away 300 L, Ausf E–G carried 310 L, and all later versions held 320 L. On a full tank an Ausf A–J could cover about 165 km on road; the heftier variants trimmed that to roughly 155 km, while off-road every model managed around 95 km.</p><p>These steady upgrades—more power, a bit more fuel and tweaked suspension for the extra weight—kept the Panzer III competitive in mobility throughout its wartime career, whether racing to a breakthrough or grinding across rough terrain.