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Source: Author's collection.
Somewhere on the Eastern Front, the abandoned remains of a Panzerkampfwagen IV Ausf B medium tank slowly sinks into the Russian mud. The photograph was one of many contained in a soldier's personal photo album entitled “Meine Dienstzeit” (“My Service Period”) though who the soldier was and who he served with was not given in the album. The tank belonged to the 2. Zug, 2. Kompanie, Panzer-Regiment 4, 13. Panzer-Division. This is denoted by the tactical number 222 on the turret with the third number two denoting it was the second tank in the platoon (Zug). That the tank was with the 13. Panzer-Division is denoted by the circle with the cross on the hull side. It is likely the soldier passed the wreck and snapped a picture of it since there was no other tank pictures in the album.
Production of the PzKpfw IV Ausf B started in April 1938 and by September 1938, a total of 42 had been produced before it was superseded by the Ausf C model. Built by Krupp-Gruson, the PzKpfw IV Ausf B was powered by a Maybach HL120TR engine connected to a 7-speed gearbox (6 forward, 1 reverse) and was enough to provide the tank with a top road speed of 25mph. Enough fuel was carried to give a maximum operational range of 124 miles. For armament, the tank was fitted with a 7.5cm KwK 37 L/24 gun with a co-axial 7.92mm MG 34 machine-gun. Curiously, the hull mounted MG 13 machine-gun that had been fitted to the previous Ausf A model was removed and replaced with only a visor and a pistol port. 80 total rounds of ammunition was carried for the KwK 37 and was often a mixture of armor piercing (Panzergranate), high-explosive (Sprenggranate), and smoke (Nebelgranate) shells. The machine-gun was provided with 2,400 rounds of belted ammunition. The turret had a 360 degree rotation which was electrically driven (with a manual backup) while the gun had a maximum elevation of 20 degrees and a maximum gun depression of 10 degrees. For protection, the PzKpfw IV Ausf B had 30mm of armor on the turret front at a 10 degree slope, 15mm on the turret sides at a 25 degree slope, and 15mm and no sloping. The gun mantlet added another 30mm of armor to the front of the turret. The superstructure front was 30mm thick at a 7 degree slope, 15mm of armor on the sides with no sloping, and 15mm at the rear with a 10 degree slope. The hull front had 30mm of armor at a 12 degree slope, 15mm on the sides with no sloping, and 15mm thick on the rear at a 10 degree slope. The turret top armor was 10mm thick, the top of the superstructure was 12mm thick, and the underside of the hull was 5mm thick.
When the 13. Panzer-Division, under the command of Generalleutnant Walter Düvert, went into Russia on June 22, 1941, it had twenty PzKpfw IV tanks on hand in various makes out of an authorized strength of twenty-eight. A little over a month later, a report dated August 28, 1941 listed only nine tanks left operational with another ten being completely written off. The division was under the 1. Panzerarmee, Heeresgruppe Süd and saw considerable action during the Battle of Kiev which took place from August 23, 1941 to September 26, 1941. Although it was a significant defeat for the Russians, the Germans still suffered 61,239 casualties and would account for the August report on medium tank strength for the division. Of the PzKpfw III medium tanks the division had, prior to combat, the authorized strength was seventy-one tanks of which the division had its full allotment. But after the initial battles in and around Kiev, the report listed only thirty-seven tanks operational with another ten having been written off.
The tank seen here doesn't appear to have suffered combat damage but without being able to see the front, it is difficult to say for sure. It may have experienced a mechanical breakdown or threw a track and with the rapid advance, it may have been left behind for a later recovery. In the meantime, it appears to have been scavenged to a small degree, mainly with the spare road-wheels having been taken from their location on the fender as where they were can just be made out to the right of the 13. Panzer-Division symbol.
