Panther tank engine, first start in tank

Here's the first start of a Maybach V-12 in a Panther Tank. The next step is to install the tracks and test drive the bare hull without the turret.
This vehicle is part of the collection of the Military Vehicle Technology Foundation. For more information check out www.milvehtechfound.com

[@MadPyrotechnicus]

Sir, I just want to congratulate you. You are the first American I have met that actually admits what you just said. Therefor, I salute you. There's hope for this generation, after all :D

[@916fanatic1]

The panthers main achilles heel was the final drives,they used spur gears and broke often.They were very difficult to replace too.Shermans used helical cut gears in the final drive and were very reliable.

[@jimmylight4866]

The HL230 uses spur gears also. The HL120 helical cut gears, much quieter.

[@LaughingGravy31]

@smirnofowner ""Overenginered and impossible to repiar in field."" Um, few tanks are repaired in the field where they got damages.That's why damaged tanks were recovered and moved to the workshop stations. The Germans were actually excellent at repairing damaged Panthers and Tigers, unless of course the front lines overran the damaged tanks. Then they had to abandon them. But make no mistake, German recovery and field workshops were excellent. The Germans actually excelleled

[@GCOLE2]

You guys should make a DVD about restoring the Panther like they did about the Tiger I in England. I'd buy it!

[@DoubleVisionandco]

This is what we call "Maybach Music" No other V12 sounds like a Maybach.

[@tobiasburen7826]

Normally with an electrical starter, but there was a mechanical System to start the tank-engine with the engine at the VW181 (Kübelwagen). The small round houl in the Backplate under the rigth exhauster was for that.

[@tonytrahan1]

now that is the peaceful sound of a finely tuned Domesday device

[@Wonkabar007]

You guys do a awesome job, restoring these beauties for all of us to enjoy.

[@Reysan7]

Just once I would love to take a ride in that panther. Superb job getting it this far!

[@Colinpark]

I was looking at this vehicle last week, the quality of the restoration is amazing, you guys do great work!!

[@Jellyflesh]

Sound of heaven =) What a feeling to fire it up after all years!! No muffler needed. Stealth is not a property of a tank unit. Maybe gasturbine ones are less unstealthy... but track and ground sounds spoils it anyway. /ex tank commander

[@maxsav007]

saw them build this on an episode of tanks overhaul, located in portala vall ca, this panther was pulled out of a river in poland in 1990 after falling through ice in 1944. In memory of jacques littlefield

[@zzp1]

Maybach engines: the best in the world!

[@Theendlesssolitude]

Respect for the Germans..

[@hripalau]

I take my hat off to these guys. Fantastic restoration!!!!

[@clovekjamajsky]

900 miles and the engine is DEAAD !

[@jzrop]

i love the show tank overhaul i just want to say keep up the good work and thank you for making these battle hardend tanks like new.

[@TheEstebanSchmidt]

nothing like bringing a panther to a golf club to carry around the iron drives.

[@314299]

Very cool, bringing history back to life!

[@AllanGilber]

spend the day rebuilding hold tanks is how i wanna live my life! i want a job like this!

[@uio890138]

The Tiger was a monster on the battlefield and Allied tankers knew it. The kill ratio was about 6:1, and that's a notable considering their mechanical problems. The Panther had thinner side armor and could be destroyed at greater ranges from the flanks. To knock out a Tiger from the flanks you had to get in much, much closer, and considering the Tiger could get a Sherman or T-34 at 1800m, this was tough to do. Facing an enemy with numerical superiority, I'll take a Tiger any day over a Panther.

[@ACTractionLTD]

you can always tell that Maybach noise, they have that meatyness to it

[@5eugenic1]

I can't wait to see your hard work pay off when you take her out for the first time! Just dont wet your pants. Good job boys.

[@bergpanther]

Fantastic work guys, keep it up, cant wait to see it in its finished state.

[@mattmurtagh6091]

Glorious engine sound.

[@horten2007]

Der Panther hat den Krieg verloren aber hier bekommt er freiwillig seinen Ruhm .

[@panzertracks]

wow sounds great! thanks for sharing

[@Jesskellya]

@surplusowner92 it wasn't necessarily that it was overly-complex, it was the fact that they had POWs and captives assemble them in the plants. They certainly did not care to make them right. The plants that consisted of German-only occupants produced working tigers II's and panthers, the ones that did not often broke down in the heat of battle. It was because of it's complexity that it was not field-repairable.

[@opmdevil]

There were Tigers in Africa. Tiger 131 was captured on 21 April 1943 in Tunisia and if I recall it right, Tunisia is in Africa.

[@slashingraven]

@MrLaughingjap You're close. It was the American-made Sherman tanks which German tank crews labeled "Tommy Cookers", due to their tendency to burst into flames when hit. The nickname was used regardless of which nation was actually operating the tank.

[@gordongate]

@HKMANIAK apart from the final drive sprockets being woefully inadequate and constantly stripping, the interlocking road wheels catching rocks and throwing the tracks, the vibration of the engine causing cracks in the fuel line fittings, the engines requiring special formula gasoline and field maintainance being harder due to inaccesibilty to essential components.

[@edumspeed]

Love the sound of that beast.

[@Mechknight73]

If only you could install rubber treads on this beast, and for a laugh, pull up at a bank. Admittedly the staff might freak out at first, but then you could point out the cameraman and that it's a prank. "No dude, I'm just here to cash a cheque. My car wouldn't start this morning."

[@punhoss]

The "Desert Fox" would be proud...

[@hoppinonabronzeleg]

The interlaced wheel pattern was superior, except in icy conditions, they had to be kept thawed out, or the wheels would shear off!!

[@roadstarman58]

The backfire through the carburetor must have been pretty common. Somewhere in all my reference material, I know there's a picture of 'letting the genie out of the bottle' as it was called by the German mechanics.

[@budmeister]

Is this the Panther that was on Tank Overhaul?

[@johnhilbrands8920]

***** yes

[@hollyshyte]

german hi-tech on its prime!!!! made for lasting! the sound is just amazing! pax

[@hamrite]

Good luck with the clutch.

[@rossmum]

They also took a long time to replace when one of the inner wheels failed, but they certainly did wonders for mobility. I guess you can't have everything, but the Germans didn't really have the luxury for long repair times or elaborate designs by 1943. Ironic, of course, since they were the most likely country to do just that while everyone else was happy with things that were cheap, easy to make, and fast to repair.

[@miguelitogg]

The Panther was a more useful weapon because it was less expensive than both Tigers, easier to build, easier to maintain and easier to transport. It had a smaller gun but because of the barrel length, it had more penetrating power. The Germans were able to make or of these and would have continued to make more but that's hard when your factories are constantly being bombed. The War became a test of production and resources and Germany simply couldn't keep up with the Americans and the Soviets.

[@lurkinsherman]

Tanks a million.

[@RadicalAwesomeness]

The panther roars again.

[@fileman73]

@Kneedragon1962 their engineering was superb but very expensive.

[@j.t.harrison3203]

JagdtygerII you are so right. It wasn't one thing that fell the Roman Empire, it wasn't a single tank design that sent nazi Germany to Hell. If you folks would stop spouting arm chair reasons for crap that happened in history that you never witnessed you might actually convince others you are as smart as you think you are. Well said, JagdtygerII.

[@Shadowofthesoldier]

i'm historian, my speciality is tanks, and i'm agreeing with your 2 arguments, but i prefer when there are more details in your texts ;) Maybe you should write "2nd WW For dummies"

[@uio890138]

Jagdtiger was an assault gun, not a tank. They could not enter a battlefield full of enemy tanks and survive. German K5-E rail guns carried 280mm guns, but they are still not tanks. The 88mm of the Tiger was the undisputed master of the armored battlefield in WW2. The Panther was lighter & armed with a smaller gun, it was a medium tank designed for a different role. Sloped armor was a benefit, but it was not a feature that gave it preference over the Tiger.

[@TiggerKat]

Dave Great job on the TLC your giving this old Girl. I saw the Tank Overhaul episode and loved it. Where in CA are you located? I'm in Oceanside and would love to see it. Are you taking donations towards her?

[@cookiewolf04a86]

WOW. How cool is that?

[@ktc8308]

Thank you for restoration team. Any website has the latest news in details?

[@balongaboy]

that thing lights up like a chevy nova

[@TheBritishLegions]

The one captured in Tunisia was intact & is at the Bovington museum

[@Hans45]

Debonair Extraordinaire that was a tiger h1 and this is a panther

[@atatyrknumber1]

@Kneedragon1962 Thank you my good sir. Your comment prevented me from needing to explain that to 4 year olds who think they know history just because they have played video games.

[@SpectreFTL]

@caddydave Are you guys the same team that did Tank Overhaul, and if so, is this the same chassis that was shown on the show? The engine sounds great, well done.

[@Weasil666]

That's what spur gears are, straight cut. Just another name for them.

[@JohnoBloke82]

the Nazi's were way ahead of their time, their technology was unbelievably advanced for their era.

[@Mr.McWatson]

It was germans... nazi was only a political party that funded technological development for 12 years. Theres about 1000 years of german development and innovation before that, why can't anyone understand the difference?

[@uio890138]

That's true to an extent, they were horrible to maintain the field, but so was everything the Germans made. While they were repairing their tanks the Russians and Americans were gaining ground with superior numbers of less sophisticated and capable tanks. The Tiger was introduced early enough to make a difference in the war, but in far, far too few numbers and with the agreed on mechanically problems to hinder them. The Panther was cheaper and was effective, but it also had mechanical problems.

[@kriegmeister3000]

Listen to that Panther Purrrrrrrr!!! :) Nice

[@panzer-head]

Note the timing light. All German vehicles need precise timing!

[@Javo2491]

what kind of gasoline do you use?? I think the original german gasoline, was not a very good one, that´s why they used torches to start the engine...

[@higfny]

@Kneedragon1962 good point. i watched a documentary where the narrator said "the best possible science and engineering, used in the worse possible way". That sums it up, doesn’t it?

[@valvoline8591]

how many liters of gas consume by this beast?

[@jobu88]

@fateephat That's partially true but not entirely, skilled German workers still worked on the high-priority weapons. Not picking a fight, you're correct they used lots of conscript workers. But even with German workers, the excessive number of man-hours was self-defeating considering Germany's industrial base. And they could never take a Panzer IV factory line down for the weeks or months required to re-tool it to make Panthers. Lots of interesting angles regarding German tank production

[@stenchthedog]

lol that is so true and the best analogy i think i,ve ever seen,,

[@EdgarEmigholz]

how do you guys know so mutch about this tank and it's V12 engine. Are you car mechanics or how did you won the knowlage about this tank and engine. In WW2 tanks ofcourse had special trained mechanics , do you read books about it or did you learned how it workds along the way?

[@Ixtzalit]

^Yes, Panthers 75 mmKwK 42 L/70 had better armor penetration then Tiger Is gun up to 1400-1600 meters. At more then 1600 meters the 88mm L/56 was better.The british punder could penetrate 192mm at 1000m. The 88mm L71 could penetrate 193mm at 1000 range with a PanzerGrnt APCR but so far is know it had perfect accuracy, but i think it depens on tank. The 88mm L71 had better armor penetration at very long range.

[@MrFredo007]

where ist this tank standing?Does anybody know this?Cool job-repairing war-tanks!!

[@mg42mg42]

This is great! Good job!!

[@12ock]

its beautiful

[@Ixtzalit]

Soveit 122mm had bad armor penetration. 88mm L/71 had the best armor penetration and exxelent accuracy.

[@欒喬釋]

It sounds very very powerful

[@raphi25895]

the noise of twelve cylinders :D

[@nash3timemvp]

great tank they would nt look outta place on the modern battlefield.anyone know if this tank is completed??

[@ASHRAFFKLEIN]

@diegomayan it make sense..thank you bro.

[@DirtySaltyBug]

What a cool job :p

[@grahamkeithtodd]

how long til you get it all together? looking forward to seening it

[@codebasher1]

Wow! just wow!

[@patsematary]

The Maybach' Simphony! :)

[@tpvalley]

they also ran out of fuel didnt they as they overstretched themselves?

[@MrPyjamarama]

yeah, Maybach still alive(maybach hp 230-p) a very good work, gon......... super

[@bcatz454]

Doesn't Leno have one of these in his motorcycle?

[@Ixtzalit]

And the 90 mm gun of the pershing was a copy of the Tiger I gun 88mm KwK 36 l 56.Super Pershings cannon was a copy of 88mm L71(Tiger II) but it couldnt be tested against enemy tanks because there was only 1 Super pershing in europe and the battle between a SupPershing and tiger II is just a myth.

[@kyokogodai-ir6hy]

@finfred Everything you wrote is true. However, the Germans put vitually any captured Allied tank into service. Of course, I am certain that the German's would have been happier adding Firefly's, than regular M4's.

[@gordongate]

@HKMANIAK , actually my point was to demonstrate the flaws in the panther as you seem to be quick to condemn every other tank of ww2.. the shermans and the T34's had standardised manufacture so spares were plenty .T34 had sloped armour which was copied, Shermans use a chevron cut drive gear for strength, we brits took a sherman and put a better gun (firefly) as well as to sort out the brewing up problem. The panther was a great tank, i love them, but it had its flaws like the others,

[@Silnius]

Jaques Littlefield, RIP Comrad!

[@LeberwurstFlash]

its not only about the size of the gun ... its also about the power .. a panther could penetrate nearly 150 mm of steel . and a tiger could only penetrate 120 mm of steel. a panther can easily take out a pershong with one shot

[@japper96]

George do you saw that flame? George?

[@SSSDiaz7]

@Kneedragon1962 your absolutely right, conquering, holding, defending and organized retreating all within 3 simultaneous campaigns North Africa, Italy, Russian front, and then the Western Front when the Americans landed in Normandy.

[@Jodie842]

Plus the Germans didn't implement a war economy until after Stalingrad (late '43). They tried to fight the war on a peacetime economy, producing tanks in odd numbers.

[@TheStraightThinker]

@surplusowner92 Also, we won majorly because there were so many of us. They were clearly outnumbered.

[@utar88utar]

yeah, i want panther too :]

[@bogomir67]

@JagdtygerII As a German, I have to say to your comment.... ...RIGHT ON!!!

[@oklofobloo]

Some of the vehicles had some ridicilous problems. If i remember right most of the panthers had an transmission that couldnt take the beating. So some of the panthers couldnt even use their full engine potential. But still their tanks were truly amazing and can i say overpowered compared to any other tanks. But the production numbers just werent enough.

[@eaxnitro]

Poland's gonna get it now....

[@pascalvotan7413]

How did the german's start it? With a electrical starter or a inertia starter?

[@ASHRAFFKLEIN]

Somebody told me..some tanks engine using water instead of diesel. is it correct?

[@rampking1]

"Stopped the 4 engine bomber program"? Goring who was the architect of the mighy Luftwaffe, had 1943* as the target year for the completion his air force. Second of all, it was the decisions of Ernest Udet and Erhard Milch that were the primary reasons for the demise of the "Ural bomber", the idea being the Luftwaffe should be a tactical air force and the war would be short. Btw, the He-280 jet fighter flew on 4/21941 yet both Udet and later Milch QUESTIONED the value of a jet fighter!

[@eduardorubio5711]

Wow is this your work?

[@volhov1]

The "Desert Fox" haven't one of PzKfw V...he could operate only with PzKfw III.-s....

[@footmarshian]

wow what a sound ;-)