Panzer III Ausf. E/F
A group of early version Panzer III advanced to southern Greece along the railroad.
Numbers of Pz. III’s travelled along the railroad. The very front one in picture was a Pz. III Ausf. G with 50mm L/42 barrel, while the rest two behind were Pz. III Ausf. E/F with 37mm L/46.5 barrel.
In April 1941, German troops advanced to Balkan and Greece. The British armies have destructed many bridges and motorways before they retreated, so most of German Pz. Divisions could only advance to frontlines via railroads.
In April 1941, German troops advanced to Balkan and Greece. The British armies have destructed many bridges and motorways before they retreated, so most of German Pz. Divisions could only advance to frontlines via railroads.
A close-up photo showed the Pz. III Ausf. E with tactical NO. 125 affiliated to 2 Pz. Div. in northern Greece. A white spade could be seen on side of turret and a white parallelogram was painted on the side vision port of driver.
The Pz. III type E and F are almost identical, sometimes it is very hard to distinguish them from reference photo. One of the differences are that Pz. III F has the radiators on lower front hull, while Pz. III E hasn’t; another difference is the old version periscope for Pz. III E was not employed by Pz. III F (however, we can still see some old version periscopes were installed on Pz. III F from reference).
The Pz. III type E and F are almost identical, sometimes it is very hard to distinguish them from reference photo. One of the differences are that Pz. III F has the radiators on lower front hull, while Pz. III E hasn’t; another difference is the old version periscope for Pz. III E was not employed by Pz. III F (however, we can still see some old version periscopes were installed on Pz. III F from reference).
One of Panzer III Ausf. E's during the invasion of Greece in early 1941. Its tactical NO. was 435, but affiliation of this Pz. III E was unclearly; at least I did not find or figure out any divisional insignia painted on the tank.
Eventually, I found this photo on Internet. It is the source of Dragon 9040's boxart.
This Panzer III Ausf. E was from 31 Rgt. of 5 Pz. Div.. It is very clearly to see its tactical NO., division insignia, and regiment emblem (Red Devil's head). The photo should be taken in Balkan campaign during 1941, because of the regiment emblem was first introduced and applied in early 1941. One point I was curious that all three crewmen still worn the uniforms of French campaign.
This Panzer III Ausf. E was from 31 Rgt. of 5 Pz. Div.. It is very clearly to see its tactical NO., division insignia, and regiment emblem (Red Devil's head). The photo should be taken in Balkan campaign during 1941, because of the regiment emblem was first introduced and applied in early 1941. One point I was curious that all three crewmen still worn the uniforms of French campaign.
The box art of Dragon 9040.
It shows a Pz. III E from 5 Pz. Div. in Greece. So far I have not find any photo of 5 Pz. Div. in Balkan or Greece.
It shows a Pz. III E from 5 Pz. Div. in Greece. So far I have not find any photo of 5 Pz. Div. in Balkan or Greece.
Start
Presenting the lower hull.
The smoke candles were not molded in Dragon red box series.
Attaching the fenders and some upper structure.
Placing the turret onto superstructure.
It is the first time for me to brush and chip the German Grey.
Almost finished.
Modify some chips and place the tow cable.
Done ~~~
Comentários
17 27 February 2022, 06:43
Gauge1TrainsDKNice build - did you encounter any fit issues or insensible assemblies? How about flash?
6 March 2023, 02:40
J DThanks for your feedback, Gauge1TrainsDK.
I did not find any fitting issue when I built up Dragon RedBox Series (i.e. 9040 & 9032), the assembly works were easy. However, one of the major drawbacks were the quality of plastic was really poor (the plastic was very thin and crispy due to the aging problem, in addition, they were not sharp enough), a lot of polishing & sanding works were required if you really want to build the model perfect.
I would suggest you to get a Dragon Smartkit 6631 if you want make the Pz. III Ausf. E. The Dragon 9040 is always the backup option unless you can find some aftermarket products for upgrade (PE parts and metal gun barrel).
6 March 2023, 08:48
Gauge1TrainsDKThanks - I appreciate the detailed response, which is what I also try to give if someone asks questions like that. Best regards!
7 March 2023, 01:31
Album info
To increase my collections of Panzer III family.
