The Canadian War Museum recently restored
one of Second World War’s best tanks:
the rare German Panzer V (or Panther) tank.
Designed to combat highly effective Soviet tanks
such as the T-34 and the KV-1,
the Panther showcased superior firepower, mobility,
and frontal armor protection,
although its complex drive and suspension systems
left it vulnerable to mechanical failure.
From 1943 to 1945,
Germany produced 6,000
of these fearsome Panthers,
which served Italy’s eastern front
and in northwest Europe.
This captured Panther was
part of a Victory-in-Europe Day parade
in Ottawa on May 8, 1945,
and was later sent to a Canadian Forces Base
in Borden, Ontario, where it remained for 60 years.
The military donated the tank
to the Canadian War Museum in 2005
where, after a two-year, 4,000-hour,
restoration project,
it was placed on public display
in January 2008.