Sperber on late panther ausf.G gun mantlet?

Hello, I want to know more on that lamp. I know that some panther were equipped like that (the 122 in berlin per example), but were all sperber panther done like this or only some of them? I’ve also seen configuration without it.


Thanks for your answer! I hope takom will release the late one without interior.

InfraRed equipped Panthers

Sounds like :snowflake:snow :snowflake: rendered the German IR system worthless.

Solution B was a total fabrication and has no basis in reality.

Maybe Das Werks will issue a version of the Takom kit without interior. They have some of the other Panther kits.

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We don’t have drawing for that Lösung B so you can speculate on what it looked like

Appears Solution B was a fabrication/fantasy based on sloppy research without any actual evidence to back it up from what’s said on the Axis History Forum and other sources.

I would love to see something credible that proved otherwise.

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The only evidence that has has surfaced to date for Solution B is a blatantly faked photograph, which therefore doesn’t count. In reality, the gunner would not have been able to use an IR scope because his telescopic gunsight would not have focused on the eyepiece.

It’s also worth pointing out that given its exposed position and lack of protection, the light on the mantlet would probably not have been fitted other than when use was imminent, so at night.

This is the best photo I know of showing the details of the mantlet mounted IR spotlight.

If you look carefully, you can see the same mounts on the mantlet of this tank (a different one) (also has the IR equipment stowage box on the rear hull):

Once you know what to key in on, you can find these fixtures on other Panthers.

Here’s a third:

The base of the light socket appears to the same as the socket portion of the standard Bosch-type headlight mount which allowed the light to be removed by unscrewing the locking collar and pulling the light and its pins from the socket.

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I knew about the 122 from the verry good panzer in berlin book, the zimmerit one is a retrofit?

Difficult to say about the Zimm’ed Panther, but I assume that given the timeline of the development of the IR equipment that retrofitting is the most likely explanation. Given the clear and detailed nature of the photo, it’s possible that the tank was one being used for technical testing of the mount arrangement, and the photo was taken to document this.

Unfortunately, I don’t know anything about the origin or source of the photo. It was just one that I downloaded some years ago from another forum.

I like that camo pattern on the Panther A dated April 21, 1945. Green over yellow?? I assume the lighter color on the turret and hull appears darker than on the Schurzen because of the Zimmerit? Interesting to note camo is applied on spare tracks and tools, too.
:smiley: