German armored fighting vehicle production during World War II This article lists production figures for German armored fighting vehicles during the World War II era . Vehicles include tanks , self - propelled artillery , assault guns and tank destroyers . Where figures for production in 1939 are given , they refer to September 1939 onwards ; that is , they only count wartime production . Total production . Notes : Panzer I . Panzer I Pre - war : 1 , 893 hulls had been produced . 1 , 867 were fitted with turrets , and the rest used as command vehicles . These lightly armed and armoured tanks were intended as training vehicles , but were used in combat as the war came sooner than the military men had anticipated . Panzer II . Panzer II Pre - war : 1 , 223 . Variants : Panzer 38 ( t ) . Panzer 38 ( t ) Pre - war : 78 . Variants : Panzer III . Panzer III Pre - war : 98 . Totals do not include any Panzer III N models as these were converted from 3 ( J ) , 447 ( L ) , 213 ( M ) and 37 other Panzer III variants . Variants : Panzer IV . Panzer IV Pre - war : 211 . Variants : The Panzer IV was originally armed with a low - velocity 75 mm L / 24 gun . In 1942 this was upgraded to a 75 mm L / 43 gun , in 1943 to a 75 mm L / 48 gun ; both these guns are classed as " long " in the table . Panzer V ( Panther ) . Variants : Panzer VI ( Tiger ) . Notes : Ferdinand / Elefant . Notes : Development of tank manufacturing . German manufacturing of tanks began in 1934 when Adolf Hitler untethered Germany from the restrictions of the Treaty of Versailles . German industry had not produced arms in many years , and time was required to develop the necessary techniques for hardening steel and for the development of tooling to produce arms . The first tank type produced was the two - man , air - cooled Pz I light tank , which mounted two machine guns in a rotating turret . Designed and produced by the Krupp works , it was developed as a training vehicle and was the first tank the panzer formations were given to complete exercises and develop their methods . It was not expected to be used in combat . The main battle tank of the German army was to be the Panzer III , with the Panzer IV as a supplemental vehicle to aid in overcoming strong points . Delays in its development and manufacture led to the production of an interim vehicle , the liquid - cooled Panzer II . This unit mounted a 20 mm gun and began production the following year . It was not clear yet how tanks would be used in the next war , nor was it apparent that tank - versus - tank combat would be a major operation that tanks would have to perform . Some military theorists envisioned tanks operating in support of infantry . The cavalry arm of the Heer saw the major function of tanks to be that of reconnaissance . This viewpoint was in marked conflict with the ideas of the armoured warfare proponents of Germany , chiefly Heinz Guderian , Wilhelm Ritter von Thoma , and Walther von Reichenau . It was not until 1937 – 38 that the first Panzer III and Panzer IV medium tanks began to appear . It was projected that the panzer forces would be equipped with their intended vehicles by some time after 1940 . Early in developement the Heer settled on the concept of the tank having a commander who was in radio communication with his superiors . Thus the basic design of the main battle tanks called for a larger turret that would house the tank commander , gunner and loader , while a driver and a machine gunner were down in the hull . Guderian insisted on the tank commander being in radio cummunication with both his platoon and with the members of his own tank crew . Thus the tanks had both a high frequency radio and an intercom system to allow communication over the din of battle . Though the Panzer III was conceived as the main battle tank of the Wehrmacht , the Wehrmacht did not anticipate being at war with Europe ' s major powers in 1939 , and few were available at the start of the war . Excluding Czech built tanks , on 1 September 1939 the invasion of Poland was undertaken with the German armoured forcee of 3 , 195 tanks evenly split between the light Pz Is and Pz IIs , with 1 , 1445 Pz Is , 1 , 226 Pz IIs . Of the main battle tanks , only 98 Pz IIIs were in service during the invasion of Poland , along with 211 Pz IVs , with 215 tanks of various models also available as command tanks after being modified with extra communications equipment . Control of manufacturing . The production of tanks in Germany began in 1934 . Due to the insertion of the Nazi Party into the procurement process and political considerations that had nothing to do with the goal of providing arms for the military , the companies that ended up gaining the contracts for tank production had limited actual experience in mass production . Ford and Opel , two manufacturers with considerable knowledge and ability in assembly line techniques , were not allowed to participate in the bidding process . Germany in general and the German tank production industry in particular was not prepared for the total war that Germany was entering in 1939 . In contrast to the Messerschmitt 109 fighter aircraft , which was designed by Willy Messerschmitt with the production of large numbers of the aircraft in mind , tank design and production in Germany in 1939 was a work of craftsman . German industry anticipated supporting the military in brief conflicts , and production of civilian use vehicles was not set aside till 1943 . In the run up to the outbreak of war , the large companies engaged in production did not have space set aside for expanding their production lines . In consequence , unlike allied manufacturers , German tank manufacturers never came to a point where they were stock piling and storing excess finished products . Though these companies did expand with the increased demand of the ongoing war , it was not until the assignment of Albert Speer as Minister of Armaments that true efforts were made to bring mass production techniques to the German tank production industry . During the period before the war , all companies with the exception of Alkett ( which was under the control of Rhine - Metal Borsig , a subsidiary of the government - controlled Hermann Göring Works ) were privately owned stock companies with the stock available for purchase by the public . All these companies , with the exception again of Alkett , produced tanks in addition to their normal peacetime manufacture of trucks , locomotives , and other heavy equipment . From 1935 onward , the government progressively increased its control over industries engaged in rearmament . The Nazi Party ' s Four Year Plan introduced in 1936 placed Hermann Göring in leadership of the state ' s efforts to bring industry into state control . Through threat and coercion Göring was able to expand the Nazi Party ' s control of private industry involved in steel and armament production . By 1938 , this control included the rationing of essential raw materials , factory inventories , labor hours , rates of pay , working conditions , building and machine tool expansion , plant locations and stock dividends . All companies were forced to join the Economic Board of the tank industry which handled all questions affecting the industry . Location of German tank manufacturing industry . The tank manufacturing industry in Germany was not concentrated in any one geographic location . Major plants were located in Nurnberg , Kassel , Brunswick , Magdeburg , and Berlin . There was , however , some geographical concentration of tank component manufacturers , such as engines and gears in Friedrichshafen , hulls , turrets , and guns in the Ruhr , rubber treads in Hanover , and instruments in Berlin . These locations , if interdicted , represented a potential choke point to German tank manufacturing . German tank problem . During the course of the war the Allies made sustained efforts to determine the extent of German productivity , and approached this in two major ways : conventional intelligence gathering and statistical estimation . In many cases statistical analysis substantially improved on conventional intelligence . In some cases conventional intelligence was used in conjunction with statistical methods , as was the case in estimation of Panther tank production just prior to D - Day . The allied command structure had thought the Panther tanks seen in Italy were an unusual heavy tank , and would only be seen in northern France in small numbers , much the same way as the Tiger I was seen in Tunisia . The US Army was confident that the Sherman tank would perform well against the German Panzer Mk III and IV tanks which they expected to meet . Shortly before D - Day , rumors indicated that large numbers of Panther tanks were being used in the panzer divisions . To ascertain if this were true the Allies attempted to estimate the number of Panther tanks being produced . To do this they made use of the serial numbers printed on captured or destroyed German tanks . The principal numbers used were gearbox numbers , as these fell in two unbroken sequences . Chassis and engine numbers were also used , though their use was more complicated . Various other components were used to cross - check the analysis . Similar analyses were done on tires , which were known to be sequentially numbered . The analysis of Panther tank wheels yielded an estimate for the number of wheel molds that were in use . A discussion with British road wheel makers then estimated the number of wheels that could be produced from this many molds , which yielded the total number of Panthers that were being produced each month . Analysis of road wheels from the two tanks obtained yielded an estimate of 270 Panthers produced in February 1944 , substantially more than had previously been suspected . German records after the war showed production for the month of February 1944 was 276 . The statistical approach proved to be far more accurate than conventional intelligence methods , and the phrase German tank problem became accepted as a descriptor for the statistical analysis used .