A remarkable set of photos has surfaced, depicting a highly detailed scale model of a Panther Ausf. D. At first glance, it may seem like an ordinary display model, but closer inspection reveals something far more intriguing.
The model features a horizontal muffler with UK-valve exhaust, a feature only found on the earliest production Panthers. A cable protruding from the rear hints that this model may have been remotely controlled, a feature otherwise only known from a Maus scale model, demonstrated to Hitler in May 1943.
Even more notable is the astonishing level of detail in the engine compartment. Although not very easy to see, this space appears to be fully equipped: complete with the Maybach HL 210’s three air filters and a rear-mounted radiator and fuel tank. In other shots, components appear to have been removed, revealing the compartment’s side walls with the correct openings for the fan drive shafts and exhaust cooling, matching the layout of an actual Panther. This suggests that the model maker had access to original blueprints or perhaps even a real tank. It’s clear that this model is not just outward appearance.
The backside of the photos are stamped “Gaupropagandaamt Oberdonau, Fotostelle” (Regional Propaganda Office Upper Danube, Photo Department). Combined with the fact that this model was apparently shown to Hermann Göring, this points to their likely origin at Eisenwerke Oberdonau, the Linz-based steelworks, part of Göring’s Reichswerke industrial complex.
Eisenwerke Oberdonau played a key role in the Panther-Programm, supplying major armour components such as welded hulls and turret bodies to the assembly firms. These components bear the manufacturer’s mark kmy, which can still be found stamped into surviving Panther hulls or turrets – an example being the Breda Panther: kmy 212583. Their turrets are known to have featured distinctive parrallel-cut side plates.
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