Panzer III Colours 4

ART BY Carlos de Diego Vaquerizo

39- Pz. Kpfw. III Ausf. L (Sd. Kfz. 141/1), 60. Inf. Div.
(mot.), Southern Stalingrad, U. S. S. R., October 1942. During the spring of 1942, the 60 Infanteriedivision (mot.) (60th Motorized Infantry Division) received other that a few backup subunits, a Panzerabteilung from the 18. Pz. Div. The illustration shows a camouflaged armored vehicle with colors Braun RAL 8020, Grau RAL 7027 and Grün RAL 6007, having on its fenders the emblem of the 60. Inf. Div. (mot.), two small yellow crosses one on top of each other. This was one of the units that was annihilated in the Stalingrad siege. During the spring of 1943 several Infanteriedivisionen (mot.) were reformed, at least in theory, with a Panzerabteilung (armored vehicle battalion) a Panzerjägerabteilung (armored vehicle hunters) and an Aufklärungsabteilung (reconnaissance battalion), and from that moment on were renamed Panzergrenadierdivisionen; around this date a new formation was created; the 60. Pz. Gren. Div. a, which was finally called the Pz. Gren. Div. "Feldherrnhalle".

40- Pz. Kpfw. III Ausf. J (Sd. Kfz. 141), SS-Pz. Gren. Div. "Wiking", Caucasian region U. S. S. R., November 1942. Between September 1942 and November of that year, the Waffen SS "LSSAH", the "Das Reich", "Totenkopf" and "Wiking" divisions were upgraded to panzergrenadierdivisionen. As it has been mentioned, much war material that was intended for Northern Africa ended up on the Eastern Front, so in 1942 many vehicles with a tropical camouflage were seen on the Caucasian region. This Panzer III has been camouflaged before it got out of the factory with the official camouflage pattern approved in March, which is basically a Braun RAL 8020 base with Grau RAL 7027 spots occupying approximately 1/3 of the armored surface. The Swastika that identified the "Wiking", a "Sonnenrad" (a sun shaped rune), can be seen in the frontal right sided fender and in the rear left fender. On top of the spares wooden box on the turret there is a painted Swastika for aerial ID purposes.