An new Paper Panther from Rye Field Model
Panther Ausf.F
Sd.Kfz.171
w/Workable Track Links & KwK 42 L/70 & Kwk 42 L100
From Rye Field Model
1/35th scale
Kit no #RM-5045
The product link on the Rye Field Models website
The Panther Ausf.F in real life.
The Panther Ausf.F design was a tank that never really came to fruition because of the simple upgrading of the already in service Panther tanks being retrofitted with several features.
Some projected blueprint drawings of the prototype that was never produced. Notice the smaller 7.5cm gun and small, angular turret that was never applied to the vehicle.
In the Autumn of 1944, production of a new variant of the Panther was planned, the Ausf. F variant. This version had stronger front armour on its hull (80 mm), its sides (50 mm), and the front part of its roof (25 mm). The Schmalturm 605 turret, developed by the company Daimler-Benz AG, was slightly smaller than the standard Panther turret. This allowed the forward armour to be reinforced up to 120 mm, at an inclination of 20°. The sides of the new turret had a thickness of 60 mm and an inclination of 25°, and the thickness of the gun mantlet reached 150 mm. Stereoscopic rangefinders produced by the company Zeiss were mounted on the sides of the turret. The vehicle was armed with a 75 mm KwK 42/1 L/70 or KwK 44/1 L/70 gun in a new mantlet.
A project was launched to equip the Panther with the longer 75 mm KwK L/100. Instead of a directional machine gun, the radio operator/gunner used an MP 44 assault rifle. Production plans stipulated that production Ausf. F tanks would only be released with road wheels with internal shock absorbers. During mass production, the tank was supposed to be fitted with a periscope sight with an optical stabilizer. Each tank could, if necessary, be equipped with an FG 1250 night vision device..
Two of the prototype Schmalturm (narrow) turrets were retrieved after the war by the Allies. The Americans took one while the British took the other and used it for ballistic tests. The remains of this turret can be found at the Bovington Tank Museum.
Here is the Schmalturm turret captured in period photos with the smaller 75mm gun mounted
...And a surviving turret now at the Bovington Museum in the UK.
In October 1944, production of the Ausf. F was set to launch in the Daimler-Benz plant in Berlin in March 1945. But by January 1945, a single Panther Ausf. G prototype with a Schmalturm turret was ready. Due to the overall difficulty of Germany's situation at the time, only a few prototypes with a narrow turret and 8 tank hulls had been constructed by the end of the war. Some sources indicate that several Ausf. F variants were completed by Daimler-Benz between April 20 and 23, 1945, and they may have been used in combat operations.
This kit from Rye Field Model:
We do not have any pictures of the kit so far, but we do have several CAD illustrations of the product and it's features. The kit come with the additional workable track links kit & a choice of either KwK 42 L/70 or Kwk 42 L100 guns.,
A walk around this kit with all of the features that this tank was to have in areal life - the Schmalturm and IR night vision equipment and both KwK 42 L/70 & Kwk 42 L100 guns in place.
It looks very similar here to the official photo of the same gear taken from a captured set att he end of WWII.
That is all we have about this kit so far - you can see more on the Rye Field Website and their Facebook Page...