A.E.C. Captured Pz.Kpfw. III Ausf. J "525"
21st Panzer Division, North Africa 1942

The Tank Museum

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A fascinating British technical drawing of a captured Panzer III dated 29th February 1942 (which is odd as 1942 was not a leap year).
Titled ‘Offside Elevation/ German Tank-Type P.Z.K.W 3’, the drawing provides a side view of a Pz.Kpfw.III Ausf.F. The drawing was made by the School of Tank Technology (STT) and includes a stamp stating that it was issued by the ‘Associated Equipment Co & Ltd’ on 30th April 1942.
Tank 525, Chassis Number 61080 was one of 96 produced by M.A.N. Werk Nuremburg between August 1939 and May 1941 and was fitted with the 5 cm Kw.K. L/42 gun and Tropen (tropical) modifications. On completion 61080 joined 5th Panzer Regiment and was shipped to Tripoli in March 1941, for service in Libya with 21st Panzer Division as part of the newly formed Deutsche Afrika Korps. Its turret markings identify 525 as belonging to the 5th Kompanie [Company], of the 2nd Zug [Platoon], and being the 5th tank of that Zug. As the technical drawing dates to early 1942, it is likely that 525 was captured during the battles of late 1941 such as ‘Operation Crusader’ (18th November-17th December 1941).
A later report ‘Notes on the Development of German Tanks Pz.Kpfw. IV and III’, by the Military College of Science, dated May 1944, recounts that 525 was shipped back to Chertsey were it underwent further testing. The accompanying photograph of 525 includes annotations which identify the Brinell hardness rating of the German armour following detailed examination. Unfortunately the tank disappears from our records by the end of the Second World War and no longer exists.
Learn more about the Panzer III in David Willey's Tank Chat: Youtube Video