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The panther was obviously intended to be the mainstay of German armor. Tiger ii was a specialty vehicle. Since panther development started first, it is remarkable to me the Germans didn't make tiger ii standardize on panther parts, but instead try to develop a new version of panther to standardize on tiger ii parts.
Also, I understand panther ii hull kept the exact same external dimensions as panther I, but were smaller on the inside because of the thicker armor. As a result many standard panther i parts can't fit inside the panther ii. If they had only kept all the interior dimension the same, but made panther ii very slightly larger outside, they could have had the thicker armor and used all the standard parts already developed for panther I.
Panther ii just seems like a study in abysmal wartime planning.
The Hull was different from a Ausf. D and A. using thicker armor using less plates. The inside of the Panther II is very slightly larger and very similar to the Panther G. The whole idea was to make manufacture more simple. The IDEA was to make it EASIER to build with suppliers having to manufacture less different parts. Much as the US did with the Sherman.
The Pz. IV was the mainstay of the German Army through most of the war to the end. It was not simple to build even though the last version was a lot more simple than the early models.
The Panther II was the basis for the later Panther G. The Panther II would have been a better tank than the Panther G, but Germany needed tanks now not 6 months from now, development of the Panther II was to slow for the immediate needs of the Eastern Front. So the Panther II program was shelved.
The Panther in any form was never the mainstay of the German Army. Like the Tiger they never could get as many as they needed.
