Episode 001 - Panther Part I

In this first episode we will introduce the podcast, which includes the scope and goals I wish to accomplish with this project. Secondly, this will be the first episode of a series of episodes about the  Sonderkraftzeuge 171, Panzerkampfwagen V "Panther" tank, or simply Panther Tank. This first episode details the research and development phase up to about 1943 when the Panther Ausf. D was to begin rolling off of the assembly line.  Enjoy! -John Burgess [email protected] Sources include: "Panther, Germany's Quest for Combat Dominance" by Michael and Gladys Green, "Panther and it's Variants" by Walter Spielberger, "Repairing the Panzers, Vol. 1 & 2" by Lukas Friedli, "Elements of Armament Engineering, Part Two" by Billingsly et al, "Ordinance in the Eastern Front" a discussion, led by John W. Schaefer, "Militarfahrzeuge, German Softskinned Vehicles of WW2, Vol. 10" by Walter Spielberger & Uwe Feist, "Sd,KFZ 8 & Sd.KFZ. 9, Schwerer Zugkraftwage (12t & 18t)" by Alan Ranger, "German Heavy Half-Tracked Prime Movers" by Reinhard Frank, "Panzer Tracts No. 5-1" by Thomas Jentz & Hilary Doyle, "Panzer Tracts No. 5-2"Panzer Tracts No. 5-4" by Thomas Jentz & Hilary Doyle" by Thomas Jentz & Hilary Doyle, "Panzer Tracts No. 16" by Thomas Jentz & Hilary Doyle, "Panzer Tracts No. 16-1" by Thomas Jentz & Hilary Doyle & Lukas Friedli, "Historical Study: German Tank Maintenance in World War II" by Dept. of the Army, June 1954, "Weapons of the Third Reich: An Encyclopedic Survey of all Small Arms, Artillery, and Special Weapons of the German Land Forces 1939-1945" by Terry Gander & Peter CHamberlain, "Designing the T-34: Genesis of the Revolutionary Soviet Tank" by Peter Samsonov, "Panther" by Thomas Anderson, "German Artillery of World War Two" by Ian Hogg, "Halftracked Vehicles of the German Army 1909-1945" by Walter Spielberger, "Panther Tank: Panzerkampfwagen V Panther (SdKfz 171): Enthusiasts' Manual" by Mark Healy, "German Medium Half-Tracked Prime Movers" by Reinhard Frank, "Armored Vehicles of the German Army 1905-1945" by Walter Spielberger, "Panzertruppen: The Complete Guide to the Creation & Combat Employment of Germany's Tank Force 1933-1942 Vol. 1" by Thomas Jentz, "Panzertruppen: The Complete Guide to the Creation & Combat Employment of Germany's Tank Force 1943-1945 Vol. 2" by Thomas Jentz, "Sherman: A History of the American Medium Tank" by R.P. Hunnicutt, "Panzer Tactics: German Small-Unit Armor Tactics in World War II" by Wolfgang Schneider, "Testing and Fielding of the Panther Tank and Lessons for Force XXI" by John Womack, and "World War II Ballistics: Armor and Gunnery by Lorrin Rexford Bird & Robert Livingston