Panzer IV Ausf G - aerial

[SimonCornes]

I am converting an F2 into an early Ausf G. I have read that the aerial
was attached to the rear right hull. Does anyone have a photo or can confirm where it goes? Obviously the F2 aerial is mounted half way along the hull side and retracts into a wooden trough but I’m guessing the early G might have a fixed mount? I have the instructions for the Tamiya Ausf J and that fits onto the left rear side (like the H) so I’m guessing the early G mirrors that?

[HengRong]

Hi,

It is not a big task converting an Ausf. F2 to a G. as they are practically the same tank. The aerial stays in exactly the same place as it is now. Ausf H production seen the aerial moved to the left rear side, not the right.

The simplest way to get yourself an accurate Ausf. G is to remove the smoke candle rack from the rear plate, remove the vision ports from the turret sides and upgrade your muzzle brake to a double baffle one for the L43. For the record, some Ausf. G's were seen with turret vision ports and others have been seen still sporting the single baffle 'acorn' muzzle brake. I have never seen an Ausf. G though with the smoke candle rack still fitted to the rear plate. Your split hatch commanders cupola is still suitable for early Ausf. G also.

I hope this helps.

Cheers.

[HengRong]

Also mate, Ausf H and J's are very different tanks which seen many changes from the Ausf. G. I wouldn't recommend looking at the instructions for the Tamiya kit as its not relevant for your build.

Cheers.

[SimonCornes]

Hi,

It is not a big task converting an Ausf. F2 to a G. as they are practically the same tank. The aerial stays in exactly the same place as it is now. Ausf H production seen the aerial moved to the left rear side, not the right.

The simplest way to get yourself an accurate Ausf. G is to remove the smoke candle rack from the rear plate, remove the vision ports from the turret sides and upgrade your muzzle brake to a double baffle one for the L43. For the record, some Ausf. G's were seen with turret vision ports and others have been seen still sporting the single baffle 'acorn' muzzle brake. I have never seen an Ausf. G though with the smoke candle rack still fitted to the rear plate. Your split hatch commanders cupola is still suitable for early Ausf. G also.

I hope this

Cheers.

Many thanks for that - hadn’t noticed the smoke candle issue! My main problem though is with the aerial trough because it gets in the way of the side schurzen brackets so it would make sense to relocate the aerial to the right rear corner, but…….?

[jarndice]

A bit of Panzer 4 history,
The Ausf F was the short barrel infantry support tank,
Its role as an infantry support tank was changed when it was upgraded to the long barrel along with other updates,
Given that it was to all intents and purposes a different Tank and for reasons I have never discovered it was given the designation Ausf F2,
And so the problems started,
The logistics chain was run by clerks in offices far away from the fighting and most of them had probably never seen a Tank so when a request for a spare part came on the desk if it said Ausf F or Ausf F2 the clerks were interpreting that to be the same piece of equipment,
With a resupply chain already bogged down the spares for the Ausf F2 were not arriving at the forward workshops or if they were they were for the Ausf F,
And so the designation was changed to Ausf G,
Approximately 50 Ausf F2s were built before the change over to the new title, In other words an F2 and a G are identical and only the late model G had Schurzen armour around the Turret and all Ausf Gs had the Aerial mounted midway down the tank body alongside the aerial trough,
The main gun on the Ausf G and earlier models of PZ4 had an Aerial deflector which when coming into contact with the aerial would push it into the aerial trough,
The Ausf H and J did not have the deflector because the aerial had been relocated to the Left rear flank.
I hope that helps.
The side mounted aerial will not always to be found on dealers sites under PZ4 but it may well be found under Panzer111 as it is common to both Tanks.

[SimonCornes]

A bit of Panzer 4 history,
The Ausf F was the short barrel infantry support tank,
Its role as an infantry support tank was changed when it was upgraded to the long barrel along with other updates,
Given that it was to all intents and purposes a different Tank and for reasons I have never discovered it was given the designation Ausf F2,
And so the problems started,
The logistics chain was run by clerks in offices far away from the fighting and most of them had probably never seen a Tank so when a request for a spare part came on the desk if it said Ausf F or Ausf F2 the clerks were interpreting that to be the same piece of equipment,
With a resupply chain already bogged down the spares for the Ausf F2 were not arriving at the forward workshops or if they were they were for the Ausf F,
And so the designation was changed to Ausf G,
Approximately 50 Ausf F2s were built before the change over to the new title, In other words an F2 and a G are identical and only the late model G had Schurzen armour around the Turret and all Ausf Gs had the Aerial mounted midway down the tank body alongside the aerial trough,
The main gun on the Ausf G and earlier models of PZ4 had an Aerial deflector which when coming into contact with the aerial would push it into the aerial trough,
The Ausf H and J did not have the deflector because the aerial had been relocated to the Left rear flank.
I hope that helps.
The side mounted aerial will not always to be found on dealers sites under PZ4 but it may well be found under Panzer111 as it is common to both Tanks.

Right, so the aerial was either mounted half way along the right side and used the trough or was fitted on the left rear corner (H & J). So if you have side schurzen fitted then the brackets need to be adapted to fit around the aerial and the trough? As for the deflector fitted to the barrel, was that the case with the long barrel gun fitted to the G? I have seen photos of tanks with a split commanders hatch (not H or J therefore) without the aerial deflector. I have the side trough - although too heavy so will need to be replaced with card. Also the aerial but its just the lower mounting/pivot so will need a wire rod adding.
I have already made a mould of the Taigen P.IV muzzle brake and cast a resin copy to replace the bulbous single baffle brake on the F2 - requiring an aluminium tube sleeve adaptor to fit to the non-scale HL barrel and then filler to blend the adaptor into the brake.

[jarndice]

A bit of Panzer 4 history,
The Ausf F was the short barrel infantry support tank,
Its role as an infantry support tank was changed when it was upgraded to the long barrel along with other updates,
Given that it was to all intents and purposes a different Tank and for reasons I have never discovered it was given the designation Ausf F2,
And so the problems started,
The logistics chain was run by clerks in offices far away from the fighting and most of them had probably never seen a Tank so when a request for a spare part came on the desk if it said Ausf F or Ausf F2 the clerks were interpreting that to be the same piece of equipment,
With a resupply chain already bogged down the spares for the Ausf F2 were not arriving at the forward workshops or if they were they were for the Ausf F,
And so the designation was changed to Ausf G,
Approximately 50 Ausf F2s were built before the change over to the new title, In other words an F2 and a G are identical and only the late model G had Schurzen armour around the Turret and all Ausf Gs had the Aerial mounted midway down the tank body alongside the aerial trough,
The main gun on the Ausf G and earlier models of PZ4 had an Aerial deflector which when coming into contact with the aerial would push it into the aerial trough,
The Ausf H and J did not have the deflector because the aerial had been relocated to the Left rear flank.
I hope that helps.
The side mounted aerial will not always to be found on dealers sites under PZ4 but it may well be found under Panzer111 as it is common to both Tanks.

Right, As for the deflector fitted to the barrel, was that the case with the long barrel gun fitted to the G? I have seen photos of tanks with a split commanders hatch (not H or J

The Panzer 4 Ausf F2/G was fitted with an aerial deflector,
The Heng Long PZ4 has it on a seperate sprue along with the aerial trough for you to fit.
The latest Taigen Panzer 4 Turret which is of the Ausf G (The definative in my opinion) has the deflector ready fitted on the barrel and it needs removing if you are converting to an Ausf H or J.
The Ausf G had the split cupola hatch which is one of the main identifiers of the late Ausf G from the Ausf H which had a one piece hatch, (The one piece hatch is available on the Tamiya PZ4 Ausf J on two separate sprues)
A note on the PZ4 aerial deflector. There were two quite different designs fitted over the years of production and it was purely a matter of which factory built the Tank,
For that reason the Taigen aerial deflector and the Heng Long aerial deflector are both different and both totally correct