When was the Panzer IV F2 introduced? It seems that for Barbarossa events the F1 should be used, but the F2 might need to be heavily limited or even not used.
(from Wikipedia...yeah... I know)By 1941, 462 Panzer IV Ausf. Fs had been assembled, and the up-gunned Ausf. F2 was entering production.
(from Historyofwar.org http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/weapons_panzer_IV.html )The biggest change to the design of the Panzer IV came late in 1941, after the German invasion of Russia. None of the German tank guns could easily penetrate the armour of the Soviet KV-1 or T-34 tanks, and a desperate program of upgrades was put in place. The most successful of these saw the development of a long-barrelled 75mm gun, the KwK40 L/43.
When the Panzer IV Ausf F2, armed with this gun, entered service in the summer of 1942 the Panzer IV finally became the powerful main battle tank that it is remembered as.
(from achtungpanzer.com http://www.achtungpanzer.com/panzerkampfwagen-iv.htm )From April of 1941 to March of 1942, 487 of another variant Ausf F1(F) were producedby Krupp-Gruson along with Vomag and Nibelungenwerke. Ausf F1 was the last of Panzerkampfwagen IVs based on the short version chassis and armed with 75mm L/24 gun. In March of 1942, 25 of Ausf F1s were later converted to Ausf F2s. Ausf F also featured new turret design, drive sprocket and idler. Ausf F was also fitted with 400mm wide tracks instead of old 360mm wide one.Overall, Panzerkampfwagen IV Ausf A to F1 were designated Sd.Kfz.161 and were all armed with short 75mm KwK 37 L/24 gun.
In March of 1942, next variant Ausf F2 was produced, followed by Ausf G in May.Current research shows that in reality designation Ausf F2 was not used whendescribing Ausf F armed with 75mm L/43 gun and instead tanks known as Ausf F2 were in fact early Ausf G tanks.Ausf F2 and Ausf G variants were based on the long version PzKpfw IV chassis and were armed with newer 75mm KwK 40 L/43 gun (that was able to compete with Soviet T-34s armed with 76.2mm gun). When encountered in North Africa, British nicknamed Ausf F2 (early Ausf G) - "Mark IV Special", since it was superior to any American or British tank at the time. The installation of the new gun increased the overall weight of the tank and reduced its speed.Both Ausf F(F1) and Ausf F2 were identical except for their armament.Ausf F2’s new 75mm L/43 gun was mounted with single baffle muzzle brake.
