Panther [Hardcover]

Few tanks have had as many books written about them as Germany's PzKw V "Panther", and many will be wondering if anything could be added by another. Mr. Green clearly asked himself this question and decided that the answer could only be "Yes" if a different approach were taken. In this useful volume, he goes through the Panther, crew position by crew position, system by system, in some cases component by component, and explains its function and operation in simple lay terms. Mr. Green's explanations of technical terms and characteristics of tank design are a great feature of this book. Too many other works either skip over this stuff or assume that you know it.
To assess the Panther's strengths and weaknesses, he draws extensively on British, American and Russian evaluations from both wartime and post-war analyses. These are complemented by some interesting remembrances of Panzer force veterans. Differences between the various Ausfuhrung are explained, again usually in functional terms. There are also brief chapters covering the Jagdpanther, Bergepanther and even Panther turret pillboxes.
Mr. Green was involved the restoration of the Littlefield Collection's Panther and he has made good use of his access to this vehicle. Clear and detailed color photographs are a particular strength and will be very useful to any modeler. The interior of this vehicle is particularly well covered. Color coverage also extends to other restored survivors.
One thing that this volume does not have, however, is any previously unpublished WW2-era pictures of its subject. All the period pictures will be familiar to experienced readers.
This book does not replace Thomas Jentz's authoritative book on the Panther and the accompanying Panzer Tracts, but it does provide a useful supplement and I fully recommend it.

This is a useful edition to the Panther tank bookshelf. Some of the information presented will be familiar but the Greens add a new depth of understanding of the components of the vehicle. Most interesting is a series of Allied evaluations of Panther ammo, transmission, engine, suspension, etc.
The book is loaded with new color photographs of surviving tanks, both as memorials as well as working models held by various governments and museums. There are quite a few survivors, compared to the Tiger.
I never tire of seeing photos of knocked out tanks and there is a nice selection of such photos, along with stories by crewmen and "enemy" battle reports. Presumably all the wartime photos of Panthers have been published so there is nothing new in those that are presented. They're a minority of the images, however.
Pertinent comparisons are made to the Panther's main battlefield opponents--the Sherman and the T34. Comparisons of the running gear, engine and transmissions are interesting and a discussion of Panther ammunition, compared to US and Soviet ammo is instructive. The Germans had a way of building in real quality sometimes. Sometimes not, as the discussion of the transmission showed. Many Panthers broke down and were abandoned rather than lost in combat.
It was interesting to read of the effort made to disguise several Panthers as M10 tank destroyers for the Battle of the Bulge.
Technical issues that were new to me were an explanation of "live track" vs dead track," evaluations of technical issues by the restorers of the Littlefield Panther, over-gearing of the tank, as required by the German technical office and many, many other topics.
If someone was looking for one technical book on the Panther, this would be a good candidate. I recommend it.

Once again Michael Green has produced an outstanding work on the history of armor. I believe it to be his best work to date and I am very much looking forward to his next book on the Patton tank which is scheduled to be released in September 2012. What most readers will soon realize is the great attention to detail and historical authenticity of his work. As a USMC tanker and as a company commander in combat operations in vietnam with command of 22 M48a3 Patton tanks and 3 M67 flame tanks (Company Commander of B Co. 5th tank Battalion, 5th Marine Division deployed with 1st Marine Division) during that war I was greatly interested in the development of the Panther tank which dramatically effected the design and production of our main M48 battle tank during my time of active service. Mr. Green was also part of the late and famous tank collector Jacques Littlefield's restoration of a Panther tank pulled from an eastern european Polish bog which was restored over a 5 year period to its exact specifications and detail by Mr. Littlefield's team at the Littlefield private museum at Portolo California. I would estimate that from that exacting restoration experience which has been the subject of a Military Channel production and the extensive research done by Mr. Green to guarantee absolute authenticity for the project when coupled with his great skill as a writer that "Panther" will be judged a masterpiece in military writings.
Lt.col Robert M. Johnstone USMCR.