Panzer III: Panzerkampfwagen III Ausf. A to N (SdKfz 141) (Owners' Workshop Manual)

Although I have a mild interest in the history, development, and inner workings of armored fighting vehicles, I'm not a "treadhead" by any stretch of the word. Therefore, I can't really attest to the accuracy of this book. I've enjoyed Haynes' other tank manuals, and was definitely looking forward to this one. The result is a pretty solid, well rounded reference - not quite as polished or in-depth as some of the books in the series, but definitely a fine addition to the library of any armor buff.Despite being only 172 pages, this book packs in quite a lot of information without feeling suffocatingly detailed. The early chapters lay out the evolution of German tank design and doctrine in the interwar period, production problems, and the many Panzer III variants. The middle includes chapters on the internal and mechanical arrangements of the tank, the main armament and types of ammunition, and a "walkthrough" of the Tank Museum's restored Ausf.L. Finally, there's a chapter providing a concise operational history of the tank, and a chapter covering the restoration of the aforementioned Ausf.L. There are many period "in action" photographs, including a number in color. Sprinkled through are numerous tables detailing the specifications of each major model, production statistics by month and manufacturer, ammunition performance, and divisional strengths during several major campaigns. On a historical level, this book is pretty strong.On the other hand, it's a little bit shaky on a technical level. Although there are many excellent diagrams, technical details, and interior photographs, it seems to miss a certain something for a "workshop manual." What I loved about the  Tiger Manual  was all the "how it works" material - how to start the engine, how to load and fire the gun, pictures of oil-spattered guys in a workshop taking apart a transmission, etc. This book takes a less hands-on and more detached approach. The historical details and insights into tank design are fascinating, but I was expecting additional technical details to support the "workshop manual" subtitle.As much as I love this series, it's been a long time since I bestowed a five star ranking on one. This is another solid entry which just falls short of greatness. Maybe I'm getting a little burned out (I feel like I'm simultaneously Haynes' biggest cheerleader and biggest critic at this point), but I feel like Haynes needs to shake things up a little bit at this point.

It’s interesting enough with some good history and background but was expecting some in-depth views and break down of the mechanical aspects of this tank.

I am espected to see more photos and how to start the engine etc but overall nice quality pictures and fills a great lack of books with the PZ III. It is usefull and a nice addition to any Panzer lovers collection!

Wouldn't do for maintaining a Pzkw III, but helped me understand how they work.

I read this to learn more on a tank that's usually overshadowed by it's bigger brethren like the Tigers or Panthers or even the Panzer IV. Certainly was very detailed and informative and I have an appreciation for the Panzer III and it's also a favorite of mine now. Covered nearly everything there is on it.

Good book with LOTS of information. It's like a consolidation of information from a lot of books out there. You'll search a long time to find out this much.

Very detailed, easy to read, good illustrations and pictures, good explanation of experience in battle, and reasoning of updates.

If you are interested in the Panzer III, this book is for you. Well written and informative. I plan on buying the Tiger manual next,

I honestly do not know a great deal about tanks and got this book to help me with a 1/16 R/C Panzer III model to add a bit of detail to it. It is very handy, clarifying some of the 'grey' areas I'd come across from other sources. Particularly in regards models J / L and the updating of older versions. Everything is covered, including a chapter 'in action' - the part regarding a French Char B and the inability of the Panzer III's to stop it was interesting, although, understandably, for greater detail on wartime operations you may find yourself looking else where. Not a great deal on colour schemes, they were basically grey or sand with local touches, but a good selection of photographs many in colour. Just the one cutaway, as on the front and I can't find the chapter on balancing the carburettors.....

As always with this author lots of research and information, clearly written in his no nonsence style.Hadn't seen many of the photos before.

Great book on the Panzer III, bought this with the Haynes manual on the Stug. Excellent books, well worth the money.

Excellent book

This book has a lot of good technical and production information but could have been delved more into details on deployment history, and loss/recovery/refit data. The second item is probably more important as many, if not most early models lost in comabt but recoverable, were repaired and upgraded to the standards of later models by adding bolt on armour and upgunning the vehicle. This information is important to understanding how German armoured units were able to maintain at least some of their combat effectiveness even after 'loss reports' exceeded the actual numbers of vehicles assigned to the unit.