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More German materiél on this page. Above is a complete road wheel from a Panther. Clearly with traces of the original paintwork this example is of the 24 bolt rim variety. The 24 bolts per rim were an additional feature of the Ausf A and Ausf G. The first model of Panther, (Ausf D) was fitted with only 16 bolts per rim. This was found to be a major problem as rubber quickly came away from the rims.
Detail of the rubber wheel. The diameter of the wheel is 860mm.
We were recently able to help a colleague from the Netherlands positively identify a fragment of rubber to a Panther. He had unearthed a strip of rubber about 1.5m long, but no metal. There was however the diameter markings as below and also the maker "Fulda" - possibly Fuldaer Maschinenfabrik, whose 3 letter ordnance code was "FLK".
He had found the remains of a Panther abandoned in January 1945 by the Führer Grenadier Brigade.
The Diekirch Museum was able to not only confirm this, but also to tell us that the rest of the Panther had been cut up for scrap in 1946-47!
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