| Original caption: “A German Panzerkampfwagen Mark III tank advances through the desert during Rommel’s drive on Bir Hakeim, June 1942. The tank was superior to its British rival, the Matilda, in terms of both reliability and armament.” A Panzerkampfwagen III Ausführung (“Model”) H of the Afrika Korps advances through soft sand on the way up to the action during the Battle of Galaza. The Panzerkampfwagen III, armed with a 50 millimeter (1.96 inch) Kampfwagenkanone 38 L/42 main gun, was the most numerous battle tank in Rommel’s armored divisions during Operation Venice. Like the British, the Nazi Germans were receiving new weapons before the battle. The most important of these was a new model of the Panzerkampfwagen III tank, that the British called the “Mark III Special” and the Nazi Germans called the Ausführung L. It was armed with a long Kampfwagenkanone 39 L/60 gun similar to the successful Panzerabwehrkanone 38 L/60 anti-tank gun. The extra length of the barrel produced greater muzzle velocity and therefore greater penetrating power. By the time of the Gazala offensive these tanks were starting to arrive, although only 19 of them actually took part in the opening stages of the battle. Since the start of 1942, all Nazi German tanks delivered to North Africa enjoyed the standard provision of face-hardened armor, which cut down even further the effectiveness of British anti-tank ammunition. The new Panzerkampfwagen IV was also arriving in the theatre in growing numbers but still constituted a small part of the overall tank force. At the start of the Battle of Gazala, the Afrika Korps contained 332 tanks, of which 50 were Panzerkampfwagen IIs, 242 Panzerkampfwagen IIIs (including 19 “Specials”) and 40 Panzerkampfwagen IVs, with 77 tanks of various marks in reserve. The Italian main tanks were the Carro Armato M13/40 and the M14/41 variants, neither of which was a great threat to the British. In terms of armament, protection and performance they remained the weakest of all the armor in the desert. | |
| Image Filename | wwii0736.jpg |
| Image Size | 306.39 KB |
| Image Dimensions | 2802 x 1864 |
| Photographer | |
| Photographer Title | Kriegsberichter |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | June 1, 1942 |
| Location | |
| City | Bir Hakeim |
| State or Province | Tripolitania |
| Country | Libya |
| Archive | Imperial War Museum |
| Record Number | MH 5852 |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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