Hey Guys - purchased the RFM Panther Ausf. A-G for my father & wanted to get some advice on detailed reference books I should get him.

I love Panzer Tracs anf the "Achtung Panzer" series, but wanted to throw it out there to the experts to see if there is a definitive book(s) to get..... he's a mechanical turbomachinery engineer so the more insane, the better

Hi Brian,

"Panther, Germany's Quest for Combat Dominance" by Michael and Gladys Green from Osprey has a lot of information in it. There is also a similar Panther book from Thomas Anderson. They are both current and available. These books concentrate on the technicalities rather than painting and marking. "Panther Tanks" by Dennis Oliver from Tankcraft is good on the latter, but only for Normandy. Hope this helps.

Thanks -- just ordered the Anderson book!

Anything that has interior close ups and photos and blueprints?

The Panther Project series of books are great for detailed closeup views of interior and components.
Based on restoration work to bring a few panthers back to running order, so there are photos of stuff that would otherwise be hard to see.

I have a copy of Hiroshi Ichimura's excellent book, 'Panzers in Saumur No.2' (published by Dai Nippon Kaiga). It contains lots of walkaround photographs and diagrams of most of the Panther versions (Ausf.A, Ausf.G, Ausf.D, Ausf.F, Bergepanther and Jagdpanther), as well as the 15cm Panzerwerfer Maultier and the Nebelwerfer.
It is a fairly old book, but you may be able to find a copy on E-bay or a similar site, or even from the Saumur Tank Museum: SAUMUR MUSEE DES BLINDES, EAABC, 49409 SAUMUR, FRANCE

Great ideas gentlemen - Im checking them out as we speak

I included a list in my RFM Panther G kit review.

These books are highly recommended if you are looking for good reference material.

1 Panzer Tracts No. 5-3: Panzerkampfwagen “Panther” Ausfuehrung G
2 Germany’s Panther Tank: The Quest for Combat Supremacy
3 Panther: External Appearance and Design Changes
4 Feist Books: Panzerkampfwagen Panther
5 The Panther Project Vol 1: Drivetrain and Hull
6 The Panther Project Vol 2: Engine and Turret

You can add Panzer Tracts 5-1 for the Ausf. D and 5-2 for the Ausf. A.

1, 2 and 3 from Mark’s list are my first port of call for Panther information. There is a lot of bogus stuff out there which was superseded by those.

In that case I would recommend you Walter Spielberger's Panther and Variants. Although a bit old and probably surpassed today, I find them more oriented to engineers than to modellers...