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Description
Full designation: Beobachtungspanzer V ausf. G Artillerie Panther

A weird, random variant of the Panther I came up with. Designed for use in German artillery units, the Artillerie Panther was a Panther G hull with the turret removed and replaced with a rotating observation platform that is completely German and was totally not ripped off a Nagmachon APC when I made it...

Entering service in January 1944, two companies of Artillerie Panthers were sent to the Korsun–Cherkasy Pocket in Ukraine just in time for the German breakout attempt during the Korsun-Shevchenkovsky Offensive, being the first use of the Panther G hull in combat (regular Panther Gs would enter service in March/April 1944).

Despite doing its job well, about half of the Artillerie Panthers were destroyed during the Soviet onslaught, with the four surviving vehicles being captured by Soviet forces. As production continued, the first German armored observation battalion, the 1st Panzer-Überwachung Bataillon, was formed and saw its first use with the 6th Panzer Army during Unternehmen Wacht am Rhein ("Operation Watch on the Rhine"), more commonly known as the Battle of the Bulge. This would be the last use of the Artillerie Panther in battle, as all but two would be either destroyed or captured while in the Ardennes. Miraculously, the two surviving Artillerie Panthers from the Ardennes Offensive would make it back to Germany but were ultimately destroyed by American tanks during the Allied assault on Cologne.

At the end of the war, the captured hulls would be brought back to the countries of America, Britain, and the Soviet Union. Most would be destroyed after light evaluation, but a few would survive. Three would survive to the present day. One in the Kubinka Tank Museum outside Moscow in Russia, one in the Bovington Tank Museum in Southwest England, and one in the now-defunct U.S. Army Ordnance Museum at the Aberdeen Proving Grounds in Aberdeen, Maryland.

Credit to Forrest Gump for his Panther G hull and Marvin Schneck for his Nagmachon turret. Both can be found on JuniorGeneral.org.

Description
Full designation: Beobachtungspanzer V ausf. G Artillerie Panther

A weird, random variant of the Panther I came up with. Designed for use in German artillery units, the Artillerie Panther was a Panther G hull with the turret removed and replaced with a rotating observation platform that is completely German and was totally not ripped off a Nagmachon APC when I made it...

Entering service in January 1944, two companies of Artillerie Panthers were sent to the Korsun–Cherkasy Pocket in Ukraine just in time for the German breakout attempt during the Korsun-Shevchenkovsky Offensive, being the first use of the Panther G hull in combat (regular Panther Gs would enter service in March/April 1944).

Despite doing its job well, about half of the Artillerie Panthers were destroyed during the Soviet onslaught, with the four surviving vehicles being captured by Soviet forces. As production continued, the first German armored observation battalion, the 1st Panzer-Überwachung Bataillon, was formed and saw its first use with the 6th Panzer Army during Unternehmen Wacht am Rhein ("Operation Watch on the Rhine"), more commonly known as the Battle of the Bulge. This would be the last use of the Artillerie Panther in battle, as all but two would be either destroyed or captured while in the Ardennes. Miraculously, the two surviving Artillerie Panthers from the Ardennes Offensive would make it back to Germany but were ultimately destroyed by American tanks during the Allied assault on Cologne.

At the end of the war, the captured hulls would be brought back to the countries of America, Britain, and the Soviet Union. Most would be destroyed after light evaluation, but a few would survive. Three would survive to the present day. One in the Kubinka Tank Museum outside Moscow in Russia, one in the Bovington Tank Museum in Southwest England, and one in the now-defunct U.S. Army Ordnance Museum at the Aberdeen Proving Grounds in Aberdeen, Maryland.

Credit to Forrest Gump for his Panther G hull and Marvin Schneck for his Nagmachon turret. Both can be found on JuniorGeneral.org.