Panzer III J/1

{{Vehicle
 * id=14
 * Tips=*Always stay mobile with the PzIII. Your fast-reloading gun allows for quick hit-n-run strategies against unwary opponents. Using the tank's small size and quiet sound profile, sneak behind enemy lines (such as the woods behind O2 Runway on Forward Airfield) and pop out at random intervals to put the pain on enemy tanks, backing off into the woods to repair and avoid enemy AT infantry. The PzIII works best with Gunner badge to emphasize its' strengths with a fast reload, turning the PzIII into a fast-firing HE spud gun that can sweep away oncoming infantry with ease.


 * When playing against Soviets, always keep your ears open for PTRD gunfire. Enemies will often attempt to get close to ensure penetrating shots at close range, so be sure to keep HE on standby to deal with them.


 * When they are available, always use bush lines to move your tank. The PzIII is small enough to more or less completely fit within the bushes (I.E. it won't stick out the top like a tall M3 Lee or Panther would), making it extremely hard to spot for enemy planes.


 * If there are no enemy tanks to fight at the moment and you need to deal with lots of infantry, consider switching to your bow MG, as you pay no costs for firing it (similar to bombs for planes).

General Use:
The Panzerkampfwagen III Ausf. J/1 is an early German offense-based tank, with a fast-loading 50mm high-velocity cannon and thicker frontal armor than its' light-tank predecessors. While it doesn't have enough armor to stand up to heavier Medium tanks, it can protect you from shells of lower-velocity guns such as the T-28 Model 1934's KT-28, and standard AP of the M3 Lee's 75mm cannon and its' 37mm turreted gun.

While this tank isn't the fastest or best armored, its' true strengths lie in its gun, its' price, its' size, and its' sound profile. The PzIII makes for a great disposable stealth tank; its' fast-firing gun allows it to quickly coat the battlefield with HE shells, and its' high velocity allows it to effectively engage ranged targets without the need for zeroing except in the most extreme cases. The PzIII, when used with Fast Gunner Silver or higher, can out-DPS tank destroyers such as the Hellcat at close range in three shots, allowing it to effectively assassinate more reclusive targets without giving them a chance to react (Be wary of long-range engagements, however; the shell flight time may give the target enough time to get off a second shot before your third shell can reach them). Aiding in its' assassin-like role, it has one of the quietest engines in the game, immediately behind the SU-85 and possibly the Hellcat. This allows it to get close to its' targets without being detected, taking advantage of its' naturally fast reload time to punish tanks with several shots to their tank's side or rear before they are able to bring their frontal armor to bear.

Additionally, the tank is extremely cheap, at roughly 118 credits a spawn (only beaten by the M3 Lee at 101 credits, and the T-28 Model 1934 at 88 credits a spawn). This makes it an effective "disposable" tank, where the driver can afford to take greater risks with his vehicle without incurring much of a credit loss (for example, in a match with many enemy AT soldiers where running a more expensive Panther would likely cause a loss of credits for the tanker. This also assumes that the tanker can afford to lose vehicle resources for that match). While it is never wise to necessarily rush into an infantry-laden zone with an armored vehicle, driving a Panzer III will punish new drivers less if they are to lose their vehicle than driving, say, a StuG or Panther. It also has MUCH cheaper HE shells than its larger-caliber brethren, which works very well with the 50mm cannon's spammable nature.

DOWNSIDES: UPSIDES: }}
 * Thin armor when compared to most medium tanks (the sides and rear are vulnerable to PTRD fire)
 * Unsloped armor
 * Not very fast
 * Not great damage per shell
 * Penetration is good, but not enough to effectively punch through frontal armor of most tanks (Without APCR, even the front of an SU-85 can be an issue)
 * The bow MG gunner cannot go into third person to effectively defend the tank from approaching infantry
 * Cheap to spawn, Cheap to shoot (even for HE)
 * Quiet
 * Fastest reloading cannon of all Medium tanks
 * Great DPS when it is able to penetrate. Absolutely smokes Tank Destroyers.
 * Small (hard to see, harder to hit at range)
 * Most effective entry-tier Medium tank at fighting other tanks.

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