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Infra-Red Night-Fighting Equipment

As the war progressed, growing Allied air superiority made daytime travel nearly impossible
for armored units. Furthermore, daytime fighting had become an increasingly dangerous
proposition. As early as 1942 an infra-red gunsight had been created for the 7.5cm Pak40
self-propelled gun (which used an IR headlamp in addition to a viewer). The reports from
troop testing were favorable, therefore it was decided that sighting devices should be
developed for tanks as well. The effect of massed armored assault under the cover of night
(as the Allies had no night-fighting capability) could have been potentially devastating.

The drawing below shows a typical IR emitter. Series production reached roughly 100 pieces
per month during the last few months of the war. At the end of the war, when 1000 IR units
were available, there were too few tanks and too little fuel to carry out the great night
operations envisioned by Guderian.

Panther Ausf. G with IR Gunsight and Headlamp

This photo shows a Panther Ausf. G equipped with the IR night-sighting device. Power for
the unit was supplied by an auxiliary 400 watt generator with a built-in 12 volt battery. The
technical specifications of the sight were:

     Lamp power: 200 watts
     Lamp diameter: 20cm
     Focal length of sight: 9cm
     Field of view: 30 degrees (approx.)
     Magnifier: 5x

Targets could be aquired to roughly 400m, though the driver could not see more than 100m
away. The range of the Panther viewer was therefore not considered adequate, so it was
designed to be used in conjunction with the Uhu in groups of five tanks.

Uhu, Sd.Kfz. 251/20

In order to increase the maximum effecive range of IR equipped tank units, the Uhu was
developed. A Sd.Kfz. 251 APC was equipped with a 60cm AA carbon-arc searchlight to
which an infra-red filter had been added. The maximum range of observation using a 10x
scissors sight was 1500m, and the light increased the maximum range of the standard IR sight
to 700m.

Some reports tell of a late-war combat involving IR Panthers that were equipped, which encountered a British
armoured division. A British unit equipped with Comet tanks was engaged in April 1945 (at night) by some solution
B-type IR Panthers. In a short one-sided firefight, the entire platoon was annihilated.

Some farsighted officers of the Fallingbostel armour school formed basic tactics for equipped tank units. They
planned to establish special night task forces. Panthers fitted with triple IR devices formed the core of these units.
These tanks had three huge armour plates welded on the engine deck, thus offering protection on the sides and
rear for three infantrymen. These troops had to protect "their" Panther with MP 44 assault rifles, which could be
fitted with IR devices in its final version.[Vampir].

The IR Panther would be followed into combat by Sd.Kfz. 251/21 "Falke" vehicles carrying a number of
infantrymen armed with MP 44s. The attack would have been backed, whenever possible, by Sd.Kfz. 251/20s fitted
with 60 cm "Uhu" IR search lights. Units that were equipped in this manner would surely have had an enormous
impact on enemy units that lacked IR devices.

In the Spring of 1944 about 1000 IR aiming devices were ready but army officials rejected their use. The ready and
working devices were stored in a salt mine in the Harz mountains. A general was quoted as saying, "We don't need
any stuff like this, our soldiers will win the war chivalrously".

An IR Panther Ausf G.