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Mensaje: <blockquote data-quote="emilioteles" data-source="post: 1684828" data-attributes="member: 3144">Crew members, Gefreiter Hempl and Obergefreiter Lehrrieder in their Panzer III Ausf J (5cm KwK L/42) of 1./Panzer Regiment 35, 4.Pz.Div. in the vicinity of Seredyna-Buda in the north east of the Ukraine. 12th of March 1943. At the start of the invasion of the Soviet Union the Panzer III was the most numerous tank in the Germany army, with a total of 1,440 in service, of which 960 were serving with the light armoured companies of the seventeen Panzer Divisions that would take part in the invasion. The Panzer III was still the main German battle tank, although in the summer of 1941 it was still armed with a mix of the original 3.7cm gun and the 5cm gun introduced on the Ausf F. In 1942 the Panzer III played a major role in the last significant Germany victories on the Eastern Front. It was still an effective weapon early in 1943, during the fighting around Kharkov, but by the summer of 1943 it was becoming increasingly outclassed.Hitler had ordered the Panzer III to be equipped with the longer 5cm KWK39 L/60, but a shortage of this gun and the initial success of the L/42 meant that this was not done. When Hitler discovered this he insisted that the new gun was installed, and production of the long-gun armed Ausf J began in December 1941. Existing tanks also had the gun replaced, with the result that by June 1942 only 500 of the short-gun armed Ausf Js remained on the Eastern Front. By the summer of 1943 a combination of battle losses and conversions had reduced that figure to only 141.In the summer of 1943, Army Groups Centre and South had a total of 432 Panzer IIIs with the L/60 gun, but the battle of Kursk would be the last time it was present in such large numbers, as production of the Panzer III came to an end in August 1943. Early in 1944 the surviving Panzer IIIs were withdrawn from the front line, and moved to secondary theatres. (Colourised by Doug)<img src="https://scontent-a-dfw.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpa1/t31.0-8/1462531_614785881984541_4676905233917823671_o.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></blockquote>

Verificación: Libertador de Argentina