Panzer III Medium Tank

The Panzer III Medium Tank was the main German battle tank for the first two and a half years of the Second World War, only beginning to lose that status after the appearance of the Panzer IV Ausf F2 in March 1942. Until then the Panzer III had been the only German designed tank armed with a gun designed to penetrate enemy armour.

The Panzerkampfwagen III Ausf A was the first developmental version of the Panzer III, but even though only ten were produced the type still saw active service in Poland in 1939.
The Panzerkampfwagen III Ausf B was the second development version of the Panzer III, produced during 1937 with a different suspension system.
The Panzerkampfwagen III Ausf C was the third development version of the Panzer III, and featured another attempt to improve the suspension, the main weak point in the earlier designs. The Panzerkampfwagen III Ausf D was the fourth and final development version of the Panzer III, and saw a final attempt to improve the suspension system first adopted on the Ausf B.
The Panzerkampfwagen III Ausf E was the first mass produced version of the Panzer III, after four pre-production series.
The Panzerhampfwagen III Ausf F was the second mass-production version of the Panzer III and the first to be built in significant numbers.
The Panzerkampfwagen III Ausf G was very similar to the previous Ausf F, although most of the production run received the larger 5cm KwK L/42 gun.
The Panzerkampfwagen III Ausf H had been intended to be the first version of the Panzer III to use the 5cm KwK gun when 759 were ordered in January 1939, but the use of that gun on the majority of Ausf Gs and the imminent arrival of the improved Ausf J meant that only 308 would be produced.
The Panzerkampfwagen III Ausf J (5cm KwK L/42) saw the frontal armour of the Panzer III increased in thickness from 30mm to 50mm, and was produced with the 5cm KwK L/42 from the start.
The Panzerkampfwagen III Ausf J (5cm KwK39 L/60) was produced after Hitler insisted on the use of a longer gun in the Panzer III.
The Panzerkampfwagen III Ausf L was the first of two interim versions of the Panzer III produced while attempts to fit a larger gun to the tank were under way.
The Panzerkampfwagen III Ausf M was the second of two interim versions of the tank produced while attempts to fit a larger gun to the tank were under way and was virtually identical to the Ausf L, but with the addition of fording equipment, which allowed it to wade through four or five feet of water
The Panzerkampfwagen III Ausf N was the final production version of the standard Panzer III, and the only version to be armed with the 7.5cm KwK L/24 gun.

The Panzerbefehlswagen III Ausf D1 was the first of a series of command tanks based on the Panzer III, produced when it became clear that the kleine Panzerbefehlswagen was not large enough for the role.
The Panzerbefehlswagen III Ausf E was the second command tank to be based on the Panzer III. It was based on the standard Panzer III Ausf E but with the same modifications as on the earlier Panzerbefehlswagen III Ausf D1
The Panzerbefehlswagen III Ausf H was the third version of command tank based on the Panzer III, and was based on the standard Panzer III Ausf H.
The Panzerbefehlswagen III Ausf J or Panzerbefehlswagen mit 5cm KwK L/42 was the first in the series of command tanks based on the Panzer III to retain the tank’s main gun.
The Panzerbefehlswagen III Ausf K/ Panzerbefehlswagen mit 5cm KwK39 L/60 was the last in the series of command tanks based on the Panzer III, and the only one to be custom built with its 5cm main gun intact.

The Panzerkampfwagen III (Fl) was a flamethrower equipped tank based on the Panzer III Ausf M, produced early in 1943.
The Panzerkampfwagen III als Tauchpanzer (diving tank), or Tauchpanzer III, was a version of the Panzer III modified to operate underwater for up to twenty minutes.