Hello out there!
I’m curious to know about Postwar use of the PzIV.
I know that it was sold to Syria and used during the -60’s. Did the French army use them until they there sold to Syria? That I was told or that I have read is that the French had refurbished them before the sale.
Another user I have heard about is Spain. How long did the PzIV last in Spanish hands? Anybody how knows?
And finally that did they look like in Spanish service? Any hint of what colour and what kind of marking?
try www.google.com and enter Postwar use of Panzer IV and you should get some info on it.
Looks as though the Spaniards and the Finns used the old IV after the war. Of course, the Hetzer saw post-war service with the Swiss. If I remember correctly, there had been a few Panthers that actually ended up in Israeli service…but that remembrance may be faulty. Maybe it was the French who fielded Panthers post-1945?
I do know that there were Messerschmitt Bf-109s that served with the nascient Israeli Air Force…interesting.
And didn’t Su-76 self-propelled guns make it into Syrian service?
I know that there were French Panthers and Spanish 109’s. The Syrians did field Pz IV’s.
There’s some good info (and pics!) of Syrian PzKfw’s on the Golan Heights: http://www.pakistanidefenceforum.com/lofiversion/index.php/t49835.html
Some interesting non-WWII diorama possibilities leap to mind…