Very good book. However, the Panther's achilles heal was actually the thickness of her side armor(50mm). Her mechanical problems were remedied soon after the battle of Kursk. But whatever she may have given up in armor,her powerful KwK/42 (L/70) 7.5cm main gun more than made up for it. This gun actually had more penetrating power than the main gun on the Tiger I . The Panther could engage and destroy frontal plate armor on all T-34 versions at 2,000 meters while the Soviet counterpart had to get to 500 meters to do the same to the Panther. It was the combined tactics of the Soviets to outnumber the Panzers five and six to one and then "get in close" regardless of losses that ultimately doomed the Panther and all the great german tanks . This is an advantage in numerical superiority and not mechanical superiority. One on One, the Panther was the most deadly tank of WWII. I would respectfully disagree with the outcome of the Author.

"Panther vs. T-34" gives readers the story of the epic showdown between two legendary tanks. The Russian T-34 met the German panther for the first time in the brutal battles in Southern Russia and the Ukraine. By the end of 1943, the flawed but powerful panthers had destroyed droves of Soviet tanks, but ultimately Soviet strenght prevailed. The book is thin, but contains quite a bit of information in a very readable form. The production of the vechicles is described as are the armored battles in which they faced each other. Additional features include brief descriptions of tank commanders and two interesting computer generated images of the tanks targeting one another. The book has numerous photos of the vechicles, including some I haven't noticed in other books. There is only one piece of artwork depicting an engagement, but it is very well done (much more detailed than the one featured in the "Duel" book featuring the firefly and tiger I). Overall, I recommend it to anyone interested in World War II armored vechiles or the epic tragedy called the Eastern Front.

I don't like very much the book because I expected more tecnical data bettwen these two AFV's

An excellent overview of both machines in 1943. I was quite impressed with the quality of the writing & art work. What impressed me even further was the inclusion of a bibliography. Many Osprey titles suffer from the lack of one; which leads the reader to wonder where the author got his information. Not this one though, Dr.Forczyk has obviously researched his subject carefully.

A must for anyone interested in the history of these two AFVs.

Robert Forczyk's PANTHER VS. T-34: UKRAINE 1943 is a pick for any military library focusing on equipment and action. A blend of first-person perspectives and digital artwork chart the progress of the two greatest tanks of World War II. Three new to the `Warrior' imprint are picks for military libraries specializing in early combat history.

This thin volume, containing a mere 73 pages of text, is a mini-encylopedia of information, insight, and analysis on these two feared weapons of World War II: the German Panther and Soviet T-34 tanks.

The book provides an excellent (if not unparalleled for a book of this size and cost) review of the design, development, strengths, and flaws of each of these fighting vehicles. It discloses the politics (as well as the favoritism and nepotism) that hindered the design and development of each vehicle, with the result that both were initially knowingly sent into battle with major weaknesses. (Indeed, the Panzers were sent to the front despite the refusal of Heinz Guderian, Inspector for Panzer Troops, to certify them as combat ready. Guderian was over-ridden by a Nazi bureaucrat working under Speer who was anxious to please Hitler and had promised Hitler that Panzers in sufficient numbers would be available for Operation Citadel (the attack on the Kursk salient) by May 1943. Despite this promise, the attack was repeatedly delayed while the Panzers (and Tigers) underwent further testing and refinement until Hitler finally ordered that Operation Citadel would begin on July 5th no matter what.)

The book also ably discusses in detail the specifications for each tank during the period covered (June-December 1943), with excellent line drawings of the main guns (75 mm for the Panther, 76mm for the T-34), and additional drawings of each vehicle from one side, the front, and the rear. (There are no drawings of the interiors of either vehicle, but there are some interesting ones of the views offered to the gunner of the Panther and the commander/gunner of the T-34 as he looked through the sights of his gun, as well as a two-page spread of a battle scene between these tanks from the German point of view.) An interesting chapter on the training of the crews for each tank is also included.

A third of the book contains a well-written discussion and analysis of five major engagements between these two vehicles in 1943, including Kursk and Kharkov, that includes first-hand perspectives of veterans of the conflicts.

All in all, an engaging and well-written look at these two fighting machines, one in its infancy and the other in its prime (at least until the advent of the Panther). The Panthers had a far greater kill ratio over the T-34s but the Panthers were far less reliable mechanically and far less mobile than the T-34s. (The Germans lost far more Panthers to mechanical breakdowns and hasty retreats than they did in actual combat as Hitler had a standing order to destroy any Panthers that might fall into enemy hands.) In the last six months of 1943 the Soviets could build 1,300 T-34s a month, while the Germans could only produce 200 Panthers a month in the same period. (I.e., for each Panzer the Germans built, the Soviets were able to build more than six T-34s in the same amount of time.)