Hello and welcome back to another Forgotten Hope 2 update.
Today we are showing off our Panzer 3 for the early war. A considerable downgrade perhaps from the Ausf. J that you are used to, the Ausf. E and F were the most numerous of the type in France.
The Panzer III began life in 1934 to fill the need for a tank that would be able to exploit breakthroughs and be capable of fighting other armoured vehicles. The initial specification called for a 5.0cm gun, however it was felt that standardising on the same 3.7cm anti-tank gun just adopted by the infantry would be best. Several companies submitted designs, with Daimler-Benz's prototype being accepted in 1937. In May that year the first Ausführung As rolled off the production line.
Ausführungs A through D were all tests of various coil and leaf spring suspension systems, and were limited in production to a handful of each. The first model to see wider production was the 1939 produced Ausf. E, featuring a torsion bar suspension with 6 large road wheels. Armour and engine power were also increased over the previous models.
The Ausf. F would follow later that same year. It featured a shot deflector to protect the turret ring, a slightly upgraded engine with new magnetos and cooling system, a smoke grenade system was added to the rear and the false gunsight on the turret was removed.
96 of the Ausf. E and 636 of the Ausf. F were produced by early 1940. They would later be up-armoured and be fitted with 5.0cm guns. Ours were modified from Rad's original Panzer III models, with the turret by FHSWman and other changes and textures by Stubbfan and Matt Baker.
With the current events in Ukraine, we feel that it is important to highlight the good work of Médecins Sans Frontières in helping people in need. If you wish to donate to them, please follow the link above.
That's all for this week, but be sure to come back next time for another update. Until then, feel free to visit our Discord, our public forums, our Twitter, our subreddit, and/or Facebook pages to discuss this update and other news.
