Foreign Panthers

The little-known career of Germany's Panther, perhaps the greatest tank of World War II, in foreign hands both during and after the war.The Panther was arguably the most successful medium tank design of World War II, demonstrated by the number of Germany's enemies that used them after, and even during the war.While some were used by the Western Allies, the Russians used the greatest number of captured Panthers against Nazi Germany, though they did not find much favor thanks to their mechanical unreliability and difficulty in acquiring spare parts. After the war, they were mostly passed on to satellite states such as Bulgaria and Romania. The French army also used them in significant numbers after the war with approximately 50 in service from 1946 to 1950, and they were a significant influence on future French tank design. Using detailed artwork and contemporary photographs, this fascinating book tells the little-known story of the Panther tank in foreign hands in World War II and beyond.

Written by Simon Dunstan, a well-respected author on armoured warfare.

CONTENTSINTRODUCTIONPANTHERS IN THE SERVICE OF AXIS ALLIESASSESSING THE THREAT: ALLIED EVALUATIONS 1943-44Soviet evaluationBritish evaluationAmerican evaluationIN COMBATThe Red ArmyResistance PanthersThe British Army: 'Deserter' and 'Cuckoo'PANTHERS IN POST-WAR SERVICEBulgariaRomaniaCzechoslovakiaThe French ArmyTHE PANTHER AS A TEMPLATEBIBLIOGRAPHY AND SOURCESINDEX