Officially, the Panther was not particularly beloved by the Red Army. 4th Tank Army commander Lieutenant-General Lelyushenko wrote to GABTU KA:
“At this time, I do not think it reasonable to create units from captured Panther tanks.
…
The tanks are difficult to use and repair. There are no spare parts, which complicates service. In order to fuel them, a constant supply of high quality aircraft gasoline is needed.
…
Futhermore, the army does not have ammunition for the model 1942 75 mm tank gun in sufficient quantities, as ammunition from the model 1940 gun is unusable in the Panther tank. I recommend the T-4 type tank as more suitable for covert operations, as it is simpler in use and maintenance, and widely used in the German army.”
Ironically, the 4th Tank Army was the only one that CAMD RF contains records for gathering any Panther tanks for the formation of a captured tank unit, according to M. Svirin’s research.
Scientists, engineers, and military analysts did not see anything exceptionally interesting in the Panther either. The information compendium titled “New types of German tanks and assault guns, part 1: Tanks” assembled after Kursk dedicated only 19 pages to the newfound Panther tanks, 29 of which were examined by the commission. In comparison, the 9 PzKpfw. III Ausf. M tanks took up 47 pages. Combat reports on the tanks were devoid of the typical fluff about “heroic actions of the defenders”, and are rather bland in comparison to what you would see written about a Tiger or a Ferdinand. (M. Svirin, “Pantera” PzKpfw V, Exprint, 1995)
“At this time, I do not think it reasonable to create units from captured Panther tanks.
…
The tanks are difficult to use and repair. There are no spare parts, which complicates service. In order to fuel them, a constant supply of high quality aircraft gasoline is needed.
…
Futhermore, the army does not have ammunition for the model 1942 75 mm tank gun in sufficient quantities, as ammunition from the model 1940 gun is unusable in the Panther tank. I recommend the T-4 type tank as more suitable for covert operations, as it is simpler in use and maintenance, and widely used in the German army.”
Ironically, the 4th Tank Army was the only one that CAMD RF contains records for gathering any Panther tanks for the formation of a captured tank unit, according to M. Svirin’s research.
Scientists, engineers, and military analysts did not see anything exceptionally interesting in the Panther either. The information compendium titled “New types of German tanks and assault guns, part 1: Tanks” assembled after Kursk dedicated only 19 pages to the newfound Panther tanks, 29 of which were examined by the commission. In comparison, the 9 PzKpfw. III Ausf. M tanks took up 47 pages. Combat reports on the tanks were devoid of the typical fluff about “heroic actions of the defenders”, and are rather bland in comparison to what you would see written about a Tiger or a Ferdinand. (M. Svirin, “Pantera” PzKpfw V, Exprint, 1995)
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