▲ "Panther" Brittany
During the turbulent Second World War, Germany developed an impressive range of tank armored vehicles, including the very classic "Panther" medium tank. And there was such a "Panther" tank, which once confronted the Allies in the hands of German tank crews, and later became the main equipment of French tank crews. The tank, which bears its own name, is called the "Panther" Brittany, and after being restored by the museum, it is now the star of various exhibitions, and the "Tiger" 131 is no less popular. This article will share with you the story of "Black Panther" Brittany.
The birth of the "Black Panther".
▲ "Panther" medium tank V2 prototype
The "Panther" medium tank project dates back to 1938, when the Germans intended to develop a new medium tank to replace the III and IV tanks. Krupp, Daimler-Benz and MAN all came up with their own designs (VK 20 series), but they were all abandoned. Finally, in May 1942, a review was carried out and the design of the M.A.N. was chosen.
▲ The tank gun equipped with the "Panther".
On August 4, 1942, the M.A.N. began assembling the V1 prototype body, the first of which had no turret. The turret used on the second prototype (V2) is derived from the turret developed for the VK45.01 (H2). During the prototype demonstration in Kumosdorf, Albert Speer drove the VK30.02(M)V2 prototype for an hour and a half, and he spoke highly of the car's handling. The test results showed that the differential worked well on rough terrain, and the tank could drive normally without relying on braking and steering when cornering. In January 1943, after many design modifications, the tank officially began mass production under the name "Black Panther", and became an iconic weapon of the German army in World War II.
"Panther" Brittany
▲ "Black Panther" Brittany was abandoned on the battlefield
The story of the "Panther" Brittany has a certain fictional overtone, but this "Panther" tank is indeed real. It is now generally accepted that the "Panther" Brittany was one of many tanks abandoned by the Germans during the Siege of Falais. The Siege of Falaise took place in August 1944 and was a battle fought deep into the interior of France against the Germans after the Allied landings in Normandy. Approaching the city of Falais in the province of Calvados in Normandy and the four nearby French towns of Deloux, Argenton, Vimoutier, and Chambiois, the Allies surrounded and eliminated the German 7th and 5th Panzer Corps.
▲ Guy Besnier and the French crew are recovering the tank
After the siege of Falais, Lieutenant Guy Besnier of the 1st Mobile Reconnaissance Group of the Free French Army (he was a reserve cavalry lieutenant and a French Resistance fighter) organized a team and began collecting abandoned equipment from the Germans. At the end of August 1944, Besnier's team marched south, crossing the Loire, and in the October battle, Besnier was promoted to captain. At the end of October, more French volunteers from Lower Normandy joined Besnier's ranks. Now he had 183 men under his command, and some of the volunteers told Bethnier that there were still some abandoned German tanks in Normandy, and Bethnier was very interested in this and led the team to carry out the recovery work.
"It's a very, very good day," said Dauphine.
Besnier's team arrived in Normandy in January 1945 and began repairing no less than 15 tanks/armoured vehicles that had been salvaged from the battlefield. It was a difficult task, and sometimes even creepy, because some of the tanks still contained the remains of German tank crews. Eventually, however, Besnier and his forces managed to recover 1 Tiger tank, 2 Panther tanks (1 A and 1 G), 11 IV tanks, 2 assault guns, and 1 tank destroyer. These vehicles are named after French regions or towns, such as the "Panther" G named "Dauphine" and the "Tiger" called "Bretagne".
▲ Ushered in the victory of the war
In March 1945, Besnier's unit was reorganized from the 1st Mobile Reconnaissance Group to the Besnier Independent Tank Squadron, and the restored tanks were repainted. The French turned these German tanks into their own, painted the tanks with blue, white and red insignia, the Lorraine Cross. This is a very peculiar force, they were sent to Machecoul in the Loire-Atlantic region. Until the end of the war, they did not fight the Germans again, because Besnier's fighters were busy training the next generation of French tank crews.
▲ "Black Panther" Brittany, which can still be used today
Based on the story of the recovery of the tank by the Besnier squadron, the Somuel Tank Museum in France named one of the "Panther" tanks in the museum's collection "Black Panther" Brittany, and with financial support, the tank was restored and painted with a special exterior paint. At present, the "Black Panther" Brittany is the star of various tank events and war reenactment activities, after all, it is a real World War II German-made tank, and it is not at all comparable to those prop tanks.