After the failure of the Arnhem offensive, the British 6th Tank Brigade was engaged in heavy fighting with the German forces. During this time, the 4th Armoured Battalion found a fully operational Panther of the Panzer Abt.2, Panzer Brigade 107 in a barn. The tank was put into service with the addition of Allied insignia and the name "Cuckoo", performing admirably until its fuel pump broke down whilst heading towards Kleve, Germany. Designed to replace to the PzKpfw IV, which had met its match in the new Soviet T-34, the Panzerkampfwagen V "Panther" series of heavy tanks were armed with powerful weapons and equally powerful armor protection. Thought by many to be the best German tank of WWII, the Panther featured a sloped armored turret with a long barrel 75mm main gun and an anti-aircraft 7.92mm machine gun. It was equipped with anti-magnetic paste to combat magnetic mines, and armor skirts offered further protection for the track system and crew. Approximately 5,500 Panthers were built during WWII.

Info: Corgi Showcase Sd.Kfz.171 Panther D - British Army 4th Btn Coldstream Guards, Cuckoo, Netherlands , 1944, Captured Tank