Book Review : The Panzer IV Family ( Schiffer Military History )

This book gives a brief overview of the vehicles built on the Pz.Kpfw IV chassis including the tanks themselves. Rather than getting into the develoment and history of each vehicle in depth this book simply offers a pictorial chronolgy of the various Pz.Kpfw. IV tank variants and the assault gun and FlaK gun versions mounted on the Panzer IV’s platform.

The first fifteen pages deal with the Ausf. A to Ausf. F1 variants of the Pz.Kpfw. IV tanks. Throughout this section are a total of thirty black and white photos and two line drawings. There are a number of very good, large clear photos in this section.

There is then a single page with two photos and a line drawing of the Bridgelaying version and another single page, also with two photos and a line drawing of the ammunition carrier for the Karl Gerat 60cm Mortar.

The next nine pages then deal with the Ausf. F2 ( or G ) through to Ausf. J variants. Throughout this section are a total of twenty four black and white photos and two line drawings. These include a photo of an Ausf. H looking like a moving lawn and a line drawing of the crew uniforms. 

The rest of the book is devoted to the variants built on the Pz.Kpfw. IV chassis :

• The Hornisse/Nashorn Sd.Kfz. 164, two pages, with four photos and a line drawing
• The Brummbar Sd.Kfz. 166,  two pages with four photos and a line drawing
• The 150mm Hummel Sd.Kfz. 165, two pages with three photos
• The Hummel Ammunition Carrier, one page with two photos and a line drawing
• The Sturmgeschutz IV Sd.Kfz. 167, one page with two photos and a line drawing
• The Jagdpanzer IV 75mm PaK L/48 Sd.Kfz. 162, one page with two photos
• The Flakpanzer IV Mobelwagen Sd.Kfz. 161/3, one page with two photos and a line drawing
• The Flakpanzer IV Wirbelwind, one and a quarter pages with three photos and a line drawing
• The Flakpanzer IV Ostwind, one and a quarter pages with three photos and a line drawing
• The Flakpanzer IV Kugelblitz, half a page with a single line drawing
• One page with three photos of different SPGs including the Sturer Emil and the Grasshopper.
• The Jagdpanzer IV, two pages with four photos and a line drawing

And finally two pages with seven photos and a line drawing of Pz.Kpfw. IV tanks in service with German allies.

From an historical research point of view this book really only provides an outline of what tanks and and vehicles were built on the Pz.Kpfw. IV platform and what they looked like. But beyond being a handy quick reference guide for that and possibly providing a few useful reference photos it doesn’t really have much to offer. It isn’t a bad book but I do feel like it is a bit lightweight and could have offered quite a bit more that was useful.

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