This article lists production figures for German armored fighting vehicles during the World War II era. Vehicles include tanks, self-propelled artillery, assault guns and tank destroyers.
Where figures for production in 1939 are given, they refer to September 1939 onwards; that is, they only count wartime production.
Total production
+Production of armoured fighting vehiclesSteven Zaloga. "Armored Champion: The Top Tanks of World War II". Stackpole Books, May 15, 2015. Appendix 2: German AFV Production. Pre-war 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 Wartime Total Panzer I 1,893 - - - - - - - - 1,893 Panzer II 1,223 15 99 265 848 803 151 - 2,181 3,404 Panzer 38(t) 78 153 367 678 652 1,008 2,356 1,335 6,549 6,627 Panzer III 98 157 1,054 2,213 2,958 3,379 4,752 1,136 15,649 15,747 Panzer IV 210 45 368 467 994 3,822 6,625 1,090 13,311 13,522 Panzer V Panther - - - - - 1,849 4,003 705 6,557 6,557 Panzer VI E Tiger I - - - - 78 649 641 - 1,368 1,368 Panzer VI B Tiger II - - - - - 1 428 140 569 569 Elefant - - - - - 90 - - 90 90 Total 3,502 370 1,888 3,623 5,530 11,601 18,956 4,406 46,274 49,777
During World War II, Germany also produced: 3,024 reconnaissance vehicles 2,450 other armoured vehicles 21,880 armoured personnel carriers 36,703 semi-tracked tractors 87,329 semi-tracked trucks 347,490 military trucks and lorries 226,337 military cars 97,470 military motorcycles 245,389 train waggons
Notes: Figures include tank production and chassis production used for other variants (for example, Panzer III figures include StuG III assault gun production, etc.). Panzer III figures for 1942 and 1943 excludes 700 Panzer III Ausf N models converted from older variants. Germany also produced 44,259 armored half-tracks and 3,607 armored cars during the war.
Panzer I
Panzer I Pre-war: 1,893 hulls had been produced. 1,867 were fitted with turrets, and the rest used as command vehicles. These lightly armed and armoured tanks were intended as training vehicles but were used in combat as the war came sooner than the military had anticipated.
Panzer II
Panzer II Pre-war: 1,223.
1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 TotalPanzer II 15 9 223 302 77 7 - 633Panzer IIF "Flamingo" - 90 42 23 - - - 155Marder II - - - 511 212 - - 723Wespe - - - - 514 144 - 658Sturmpanzer II - - - 12 - - - 12Total 15 99 265 848 803 151 - 2,181
Variants: Panzer II (f) - flamethrower tank (converted from older types) Marder II - 75 mm PaK 40 L/46 or captured Soviet 76.2 mm gun on Panzer II chassis (Sd.Kfz. 131/132) (some converted from older types) Wespe - 105 mm light field howitzer on Panzer II chassis (Sd.Kfz. 124) Sturmpanzer II - 150 mm heavy infantry gun on Panzer II chassis
Panzer 38(t)
The Panzer 38(t) was a pre-war Czech tank design, following the Occupation of Czechoslovakia, the Czechoslovak industry became an extension of Germany's. Pre-war: 78.
1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 TotalPanzer 38(t) 153 367 678 198 - - - 1,396Marder III Sd.Kfz. 138 - - - 110 783 323 - 1,216 Marder III Sd.Kfz. 139 - - - 344 - - - 344Grille - - - - 225 346 - 571Jagdpanzer 38(t) "Hetzer" - - - - - 1,687 1,335 3,022 Total 153 367 678 652 1,008 2,356 1,335 6,549
Variants: Marder III (7.5 cm PaK 40/3 auf Panzerkampfwagen 38(t), Sd.Kfz. 138)) - mobile anti-tank guns formed by mounting 75 mm PaK 40 L/46 gun on Panzer 38(t) chassis Marder III (Panzerjäger 38(t) für 7.62cm PaK36(r), Sd.Kfz.139) - reworked Soviet 76.2 mm guns on Panzer 38(t) chassis Grille - 150 mm heavy infantry gun on Panzer 38(t) chassis (figures include munition-carrying versions of the Grille) (Sd.Kfz. 138/1) Jagdpanzer 38 (Sd.Kfz. 138/2), "Hetzer") - 75 mm PaK 39 L/48 gun on a widened Pz 38(t) chassis (Sd.Kfz. 138/2)
Panzer III
Panzer III Pre-war: 98.
1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 TotalPanzer III A-F 157 396 - - - - - 553Panzer III G-J - 466 1,673 251 - - - 2,390Panzer III J/1-M - - - 1,907 64 - - 1,971 Panzer III N - - - 450 250 - - 700Panzer III (f) - - - - 100 - - 100Sturmgeschütz III A-E - 192 540 93 - - - 825Sturmgeschütz III F-G - - - 695 3,011 3,849* 1,038 8,593StuH 42 - - - 12 204 903 98 1,217Total 157 1,054 2,213 2,958 3,379 4,752 1,136 15,649
* not including 173 converted Panzer III.
Totals do not include any Panzer III N models as these were converted from 3 (J), 447 (L), 213 (M) and 37 other Panzer III variants.
Variants: Panzer III A-F - armed with 37 mm gun Panzer III G-J - armed with 50 mm L/42 gun Panzer III J/1-M - armed with 50 mm L/60 gun Panzer III N - armed with 75 mm L/24 gun (converted older types) Panzer III (f) - armed with flamethrower Sturmgeschütz III ausf A-E (StuG III, Sd.Kfz. 142) - Sturmgeschütz III. Assault gun armed with 75 mm L/24 on Panzer III chassis StuG III ausf F-G - Sturmgeschütz 40. Assault gun armed with 75 mm L/43 or L/48 on Panzer III chassis (Sd.Kfz. 142/1) Sturmhaubitze 42 (StuH 42, Sd. Kfz. 142/2). StuG III with 105 mm light field howitzer
Panzer IV
Panzer IV Pre-war: 211.
1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 Total Panzer IV A-F1 45 268 467 124 - - - 904 Panzer IV F2-J - - - 870 3,013 3,126 385 7,394 Sturmgeschütz IV - - - - 30 1,006 105 1,141 Jagdpanzer IV - - - - - 769 - 769 Jagdpanzer IV/70 - - - - - 767 441 1,208 Sturmpanzer IV - - - - 66 215 17 298 Hornisse - - - - 345 133 16 494 Hummel - - - - 368 289 57 714 Möbelwagen - - - - - 205 35 240 Wirbelwind - - - - - 100 6 106 Ostwind - - - - - 15 28 43 Total 45 268 467 994 3,822 6,625 1,090 13,311
Variants: Panzer IV A-F1 - Panzer IV with short 75 mm L/24 gun Panzer IV F2-J - Panzer IV with long 75 mm L/43 or L/48 gun StuG IV (Sd.Kfz. 167) - Assault gun. Modified superstructure of Sturmgeschütz III Ausf. G on Panzer IV chassis; armed with 75 mm L/48 gun Jagdpanzer IV (Sd.Kfz. 162) - Tank destroyer with 75 mm L/48 gun on Panzer IV chassis Jagdpanzer IV/70 (Sd.Kfz. 162/1) - Tank destroyer with 75 mm L/70 gun on Panzer IV chassis Sturmpanzer IV ( (Sd.Kfz. 166, "Brummbär") - with 150 mm field howitzer on Panzer IV chassis Hornisse (Sd. Kfz. 164, 88 mm PaK43/1 auf Geschützwagen III/IV, later known as Nashorn) Hummel (Sd.Kfz. 165) - 150 mm field howitzer on Geschützwagen III/IV chassis Möbelwagen (Flakpanzer IV Sd.Kfz.161/3) - Anti aircraft. Single 37mm FlaK 43 gun on Panzer IV chassis Wirbelwind (Flakpanzer IV) - Anti aircraft. quadruple 20mm FlaK 38 guns in armoured turret on Panzer IV chassis, Ostwind (Flakpanzer IV) - Anti Aircraft. Single 37mm FlaK 43 in armoured turret on Panzer IV chassis, with
The Panzer IV was originally armed with a low-velocity short-barreled (L/24) 75 mm gun. In 1942 this was upgraded to a 75 mm L/43 gun, and in 1943 to a 75 mm L/48 gun. For the purposes of the above table, both these guns are classed as "long" and displayed on the same row (Ausf. F2-J).
Panther (Panzer V)
The Panther (Panzer V Panther, Sd.Kfz. 171) was a medium tank armed with a 75 mm KwK 42 L/70 gun. It was intended to replace the Panzer III and IV. The Jagdpanther (Sd.Kfz. 173) was a Jagdpanzer ("hunting tank") variant with the more powerful 88 mm L/71 PaK43 gun on modified Panther chassis. A successor to the Ferdinand and Nashorn, these were used by heavy anti-tank battalions.
+Panther tank production 1943 1944 1945 TotalPanther 1,848 3,777 507 6,132 Jagdpanther 1 226 198 425Total 1,849 4,003 705 6,557
Variants:
Tiger (Panzer VI)
1942 1943 1944 1945 Total Tiger I 78 649 623 - 1,350 Sturmtiger - - (18) - (18) Tiger II - 1 377 112 490 Jagdtiger - - 51 28 79 Total 78 650 1,051 140 1,919
Notes: Tiger I (Panzer VI E/H, Sd.Kfz. 181) was armed with an 88 mm L/56 gun Sturmtiger - assault tank based on Tiger I chassis. Armed with 380 mm rocket mortar converted from battle damaged tanks Tiger II (Panzer VI B, Sd.Kfz. 182, also known as Königstiger) was armed with an 88 mm L/71 gun Jagdtiger (Sd.Kfz. 186) - Based on Tiger II chassis. Tank destroyer armed with a 128 mm PaK 44 gun (L/55)
Ferdinand/Elefant
The Ferdinand/Elefant (Sd.Kfz. 184, and known as Panzerjäger Tiger (P)) used the chassis of Porsche's VK 4501 (P) which had been produced before the design was rejected, due to its complex Porsche-designed powerplant, in favour of the Henschel design which became the Tiger. Two over-stressed Maybach HL120 water-cooled V-12 engines were installed instead to drive the generators and electric motors for the final drives. On top of this chassis, a forward-facing 88 mm L/71 gun was mounted.
1943 1944 Ferdinand Sd.Kfz. 184 90+1 PrototypeElefant Sd.Kfz. 184 48 rebuilt from remaining Ferdinand
Other vehicles During the war, Germany produced: 3,024 reconnaissance vehicles 2,450 other armoured vehicles 21,880 armoured personnel carriers 36,703 semi-tracked tractors 87,329 semi-tracked trucks 347,490 military trucks and lorries 226,337 military cars 97,470 military motor-cycles 245,389 Train waggons
Development of tank manufacturing German manufacturing of tanks began in 1934, in violation of the Treaty of Versailles.Liddell Hart 1948 p. 91 German industry had not produced arms in many years, and time was required to develop the necessary techniques for hardening steel and for the development of tooling to produce arms. The first tank type produced was the two-man, Panzer I light tank, designed and produced by the Krupp works as a training vehicle. It was not designed for use in combat; instead, the main battle tank of the German army was to be the Panzer III but delays in its development and manufacture led to the production of an interim vehicle, the Panzer II, which began production the following year. It was not clear yet how tanks would be used in the next war, nor was it apparent that tank-versus-tank combat would be important; some military theorists envisioned tanks operating in support of infantry. The cavalry arm of the Heer saw the major function of tanks to be that of reconnaissance.Lucas p. 114 This was in marked conflict with the ideas of the armoured warfare proponents of Germany, chiefly Heinz Guderian, Wilhelm Ritter von Thoma, and Walther von Reichenau.Liddell Hart 1948 p. 23 It was not until 1937–38 that the first Panzer III and Panzer IV medium tanks began to appear.
Noting that Germany was the third largest producer of automobiles in the world, Guderian projected that Germany would be competitive with its major adversaries, a rather optimistic projection since Germany had great difficulty replacing vehicle losses throughout the war, the United States had been considered a non-combatant, and it ignored Soviet production capacity.
Early in development the Heer settled on the concept of the tank having a commander who was in radio communication with his superiors. Thus the basic design of the main battle tanks called for a larger turret that would house the tank commander, gunner and loader, while a driver and a machine gunner were down in the hull. Guderian insisted on the tank commander being in radio communication with both his platoon and with the members of his own tank crew. Though the Panzer III was conceived as the main battle tank of the Wehrmacht, the Wehrmacht did not anticipate being at war with Europe's major powers in 1939, and few were available at the start of the war.Bond p. 225 Excluding Czech-built tanks, on 1 September 1939 the invasion of Poland was undertaken with the German armoured force of 3,195 tanks evenly split between the Pz I training tank and the Pz II light tank; of the main battle tanks, only 98 Pz IIIs were in service during the invasion of Poland, along with 211 Pz IVs, with 215 tanks of various models also available as command tanks after being modified by having their main armament removed and extra communications equipment installed.Ogorkiewicz p. 212
Manufacturing control