German Equipment of World War II Quiz

Answer: No, the Königstiger had a longer barrel

The longer barrel of the Königstiger made it even more effective against armored targets, as it increased the speed of the projectile. The Jagdpanther used this same version of the "88", the L/71 (71 calibers long,) as opposed to the L/56 mounted in the Tiger I.

Answer: Soviet Union (Russia)

Although a Russian 76.2 mm gun was used for an early version of the Marder III. Various French vehicles, like the H39, were used for the Marder I. The Marder II was based on the German PzKpfW II. The Marder III was based on the Czech PzKpfW 38 (t), in two versions: with the gun compartment in the center of the vehicle or in the rear. All three Marders eventually featured the 75mm PAK 40 gun.

Answer: General Purpose Machine Gun (GPMG)

The MG34 was the first of its kind in this respect. It could fill the LMG role by using a single or double drum with a ca. 70 round ammo belt in each. It filled the MMG role mounted on its bipod, fed by an ammo belt. And it had a specifically designed tripod for the HMG role, in a fixed position with spare barrels and plenty of ammo nearby.

Other nations of WWII used separate weapons for these roles, such as the Soviets with the DP-27 LMG, the SG-43 MMG, and the DShK HMG.

Answer: It was modified so that it took less resources to produce.

The armor used a different kind of steel, but the thickness was the same in all places. The gun was the same 75mm gun as the previous model. To my knowledge PzKpfW IV's were never manufactured in France or Italy, and certainly the Ausf J was not modified for this purpose. One of the modifications was the amount of return rollers for the tracks, which was reduced from 4 to 3.

This also makes the Ausf J easily recognizable.

Answer: short barreled 75mm (same as on early PzKpfW IV)

The PzKpfw III turret ring could not take the long barreled 75mm, let alone the 88mm. The long barreled 75 was used on the StuG III (PzKpfW III chassis), but it did not have a turret. Being fitted with the short barreled 75mm, meant a reversal of roles for the PzKpfW III.

At the beginning of the war the PzKpfW III was the tank for use against armor, and the PzKpfW IV was the tank for infantry support. The long barreled 50 mm was used on the previous PzKpfW III versions, but its anti-tank performance was no longer sufficient at that stage of the war.

Answer: The armor was much too thin.

The remaining vehicles were overhauled to correct the MG and vision mistakes, and used in a more defensive role in Italy, now known as Elefants. They were still not an overall success - the main problem being the enormous weight of the vehicle, which restricted the use of bridges and made towing of a slightly damaged vehicle nigh impossible, meaning it often had to be abandoned.

The armor of the vehicle was actually very thick, amongst the thickest armor of any operational German WWII AFV. This obviously also contributed to its large weight.

Answer: Junkers Ju 88

Interestingly enough, the Ju 88 was already in production in 1936, but not used in Spain. The Bf 109, the Ju87, and the He 111 would go on to serve in the Nationalist Spanish Air Force after the Civil War, and stayed in service for some time after WWII was over, with Spain producing new aircraft itself. A limited amount of Ju 88s was acquired by Spain after the Civil War.

Answer: PzKpfW 38 (t)

The Hetzer was actually used by the Swiss Army for many years after WWII. Many vehicles on display today are from this origin. PzKpfW IV was used for the Jagdpanzer IV and the Panzer IV (70) tank destroyers (amongst other conversions). PzKpfW II and PzKpfW 35 (t) were not used for "jagdpanzer" (tank destroyer) conversions, but they were used for other types of self-propelled guns, as were most German chassis.

Answer: Graf Zeppelin

The Bismarck was of course the famous German battleship that sunk the HMS Hood. Von Richthofen was the famous German flying ace of WWI, so it would have made some sense to name the aircraft carrier after him.

The Graf Zeppelin was built almost to completion, but unclear naval doctrine on its deployment, other war priorities, and Hitler's lack of enthusiasm left the project unfinished - probably to the frustration of Admiral Dönitz, as he considered how many U-boats could have been built instead.

Answer: The first version had a "shot trap" on the front side.

The first version is often called the "Porsche turret", with the second version being called the "Henschel turret". Actually both versions were designed by Krupp, so the designations were incorrect. A shot trap was a part of the armor where an incoming, non-penetrating projectile could get "stuck".

The Panther tank actually had a shot trap in the same location. Both turrets featured the same 88mm gun.