Tank Craft 51 Panzer IV Medium Tank: Operation Bagration and the Retreat in the East, 1944

Throughout the Second World War, despite the appearance of such powerful armoured fighting vehicles as the Tiger and Panther tanks, the versatile Panzerkampfwagen IV, or Pzkpfw IV, which was commonly known as the Panzer IV, provided the backbone of the Panzer regiments until the last days of the conflict. Mechanically reliable and relatively cheap to produce, the Pzkpfw IV 's large wheel base and turret circumference meant that it could be up-gunned with minimal disruption to production and the rugged hull and suspension were adapted to a number of diverse roles including self-propelled anti-tank gun, anti-aircraft tank, bridgelayer and armoured recovery vehicle. Originally designed and developed to provide support for the infantry formations of Germany's armoured divisions, the Pzkpfw IV was increasingly pressed into service as a tank killer as stronger and more well-armoured enemy vehicles were encountered. Although assembly of the Pzkpfw IV was officially terminated in late 1944, as