Talk:Panzer III/IV

Military history: European / German / World War II

This article is within the scope of the Military history WikiProject. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the project and see a list of open tasks. To use this banner, please see the full instructions.Military historyWikipedia:WikiProject Military historyTemplate:WikiProject Military historymilitary history articles

This article has been checked against the following criteria for B-class status:
Referencing and citation: criterion met Coverage and accuracy: criterion not met Structure: criterion met Grammar and style: criterion met Supporting materials: criterion met

Associated task forces:
/
	European military history task force
	German military history task force
	World War II task force

What does this sentence actually mean?[edit]

There is a sentence currently in this article which I don't understand, and I'm hoping that someone can explain it: "The most striking change was the use of a box drive with large wheels, with a hydraulic pivoting device tower."

This sentence is in reference to some change made to the Panzer III/IV design which contrasts with the earlier Panzer III and Panzer IV designs. Beyond that, I have no idea. It could be in reference to changes in the final drive, or perhaps the braking systems? I'm stumped, but I know that this sentence needs to be clarified going forward. FlintTD (talk) 04:16, 6 September 2023 (UTC)[reply]

After tracking down a German copy of Spielberger and Wiener's book (the only source for this article at the time that sentence was first written), I located a sentence in the section on the Panzer III/IV on page 41: "Das auffallendste Merkmal der PzKpfw III n.A. und IV n.A. war ein Schachtellaufwerk mit großen Laufrädern"(sic). Google Translate translates this sentence to: "The most striking feature of the PzKpfw III n.A. and IV n.A. was a box drive with large wheels" in English. To me, it seems fairly obvious that part of the sentence I am confused about is a mistranslation of the term schachtellaufwerk as "box drive". Furthermore, the sentence in the Spielberger text directly preceding the one about schachtellaufwerk reads as follows: "8. Hydraulische Schwenkbarkeit des Turms auch beim Panzer III, dadurch geringere Belastung der Besatzung und grosere Richtgeschwindigkeit"(sic). Google Translate translates it as follows: "Hydraulic pivoting of the turrent also on the Panzer III, resulting in less strain on the crew and greater target speed." For context, this is the last point on a list of positive aspects of the Panzer III/IV proposal. I am not as confident, but still willing to bet, that this sentence is the origin of the "hydraulic pivoting device tower". I know that a Google Translate interpretation of a source is not an rigrorous research practice, however I do now believe that the above sentence which confused me was the result of two conjoined mistranslations originating from the same source material. Assuming no one has any objections, I will move forward with what I have gleaned from this small investigation. FlintTD (talk) 02:46, 12 September 2023 (UTC)[reply]