The Panzerkampfwagen III Ausführung E (Panzer III E) (Sd.Kfz. Index: Sd.Kfz. 141) is the fifth variant of the Panzerkampfwagen III medium tank family. After the first four Panzer III variants were completed, it was discovered there was still a lot of potential for development and adjustment. The Panzer III E was the next variant in line, and it included a number of improvements, including a necessary increase in armour protection. More notably, it finally addressed the fundamental problems with the previous variants' troublesome suspensions by introducing a basic torsion bar suspension design. The most notable legacy of this vehicle was that it established the production standard for all subsequent Panzer III variants. The Germans concentrated on the French 25 mm fast-firing tank gun when determining the necessary armour thickness for the new Panzer III E. They eventually decided that 30 mm of armour was sufficient. At ranges of over 500 mm at 30°, the frontal armour plate proved powerful enough to withstand the 25 mm armour-piercing rounds.
Introduced in the Closed Beta Test for Ground Forces before Update 1.41, the Panzer III E variant is a basic medium tank that looks a lot like the Panzer III B variant. It was mounted with the same 37 mm Kampfwagenkanone (KwK) 36 L/46.5 tank gun. However, by increasing the overall armour plate thickness to 20 to 30 mm, this tank's protection is significantly boosted. Despite this, it is nevertheless vulnerable to almost all vehicles in its rank from any angle, with the exception of a few very low-calibre tank guns. Playstyles are comparable to those of the Panzer III B variant.
Ammunition | Type | Armor penetration (mm) at a distance: | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
10 m | 100 m | 500 m | 1000 m | 1500 m | 2000 m | ||
APHE | 47 | 44 | 31 | 21 | 14 | 9 | |
APCR | 86 | 77 | 47 | 26 | 14 | 8 |
Belt | Belt filling | Armor penetration (mm) at a distance: | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
10 m | 100 m | 500 m | 1000 m | 1500 m | 2000 m | ||
AP/AP/AP-T | 13 | 12 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 0 |