By that time, Krupp-Grusonwerke managed to produce 393 tanks plus two chassis which were used as ammunition vehicles for the large Karlgerät. The Panzer IV Ausf.F production lasted from April (or May, depending on the source) 1941 to February 1942. Due to the anticipated invasion of the Soviet Union, these production orders were once again changed to include 300 additional vehicles which were to be assembled at Krupp-Grusonwerke. These include Vomag and Nibelungenwerk, both of which were to produce 100 new Panzer IV Ausf.F vehicles starting from June 1940. In order to increase the production speed, other manufacturers were to be included in the Panzer IV project. Due to the great need for more modern Panzer IVs, the initial order was increased to 500 vehicles in November 1939 The outbreak of the war in September 1939 changed the initial production plans. ProductionĪt the end of 1938, In 6 (Inspektorat 6, the inspectorate for mechanization) issued a request for the production of 129 Panzer IV Ausf.F tanks, which were to be built by Krupp-Grusonwerke. It would be allocated to Panzer Divisions as a replacement for the lost vehicles in the previous campaigns. Other than these, the Ausf.F would serve the same purpose as a support tank. Some structural changes on the superstructure and chassis were also to be implemented on the new Ausf.F. When the Ausf.F entered production in April 1941, it was possible to install the thicker, single-piece armor plates without the need to use two weaker armor plates like it was initially implemented on the previous version. While it was planned to provide the Ausf.E with 50 mm thick frontal armor, this was not implemented by the time of production. The most noticeable was the relatively weak armor protection. By the time the Panzer IV Ausf.E was entering production, some deficiencies were noted for it and previous versions.
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