Let's Take A Look: Sturmgeschütz Panther

This article will feature a potential premium tank destroyer that could be added into World Of Tanks. I will be going over its history, stats, and how it would compare to other tanks of its class and tier. This tank is in no way confirmed to be introduced, this is merely a historical overview and a fan proposal. This post is dated as of patch 0.9.10

Notice: This article uses third-party sources for its information. While I have no reason to doubt the credibility of these sources, it's possible their information is not completely accurate. That said, I try to use numerous sources so I can cross-reference them and curb misinformation.

Pictured: early Jagdpanther prototypes. Notice the pistol ports on the sides of the tank, which would be absent on the production Jagdpanther. The StuG Panther would have looked remarkably similar to this early prototype [1; pg. 7]. Click the image for a larger view

Short Summary: The Sturmgeschütz Panther (Sd.Kfz.172) was one of the first conceptual designs for a heavy armored vehicle that could mount the 8,8 cm Pak 43. This early vehicle was based on the early VK 30.02 (MAN) Panther design and utilized Panther II components. It wouldn’t be until May 4^th, 1943 when the vehicle would adapt the Panther I chassis and adopt the Panzerjäger namesake, and seven more months until it became known as the Jagdpanther. During these early stages of development, the Sturmgeschütz Panther had thicker armor than the production Jagdpanther and a slightly modified superstructure.

I’ve made it no secret that the largest aspect of this blog is proposing new (German) tanks that can be introduced into World Of Tanks. The historical articles are a side effect of this effort, as part of my resource gathering so these tanks I propose are as historically accurate as possible, and to a further extent offer better representations of tanks already in the game. I’ve created my own “patches” so these changes can be made logically (provided Wargaming even considers them).

The first “patch” contains a full Sturmgeschütz branch, with eight new regular vehicles in addition to changes to several preexisting ones. But we start now with a Tier VII premium tank destroyer, the Sturmgeschütz Panther. This tank was the first conceptual design of what would become the Jagdpanther.

Let's Take A Look: Mittlerer Kampfwagen fuer Ausland (MKA)

Short Summary: In 1936, Germany was having difficulty selling their heavier tanks to foreign countries. The idea came around to develop lighter versions of these vehicles which would then be exported. One of the projects to come out of this was the Mittlerer Kampfwagen fuer Ausland (Medium Tank for Other Countries), or simply MKA. The tank was inspired by early Panzer III models, but it would also serve as the groundwork for the earliest Panzer IVs. It featured a 4,5 cm cannon and was to weigh twelve tons. But by 1939, only one MKA prototype had been completed and the project was soon cancelled.

The MKA can perhaps be best described as a curious crossover between an early Panzer III and an early Panzer IV. Designed to be exported overseas, only one prototype would be built before the project was cancelled. Nonetheless, I believe this tank has reason to be in World Of Tanks. I see it as a necessary addition to the game, not only because of its historical merits, but it would have a crucial role in cleaning up the rather messy German tech tree.

Keep reading for a more in-depth look at the MKA, as well as some proposed stats for its introduction and where it could be found among the German tech tree.