By 1943 as Panzer IVs up-gunned to longer barrel-harder hitting armaments, its short-barrel 7.5cm KwK40 L/24 gun (KwK referred to German designation KampfwagenKanone or Combat Vehicle Canon or simply Tank Gun) were reinstalled onto wheeled or halftrack vehicles for infantry fire-support against fortified posts such as houses, pillboxes, other emplacements.

Above photo shows American GI inspecting German 8-rad SdKfz 233 schwerer Panzerspahwagen (heavy cross-country fire support armored car) with 7.5cm gun in open top fighting compartment. Front tow cables indicate vehicle was towed to this collection point, probably due to lack of fuel as Germans experienced critical fuel shortages in last few months of WW2.

Rollover : SdKfz 251/9 mittlerer Schutzenpanzerwagen (medium armored troop vehicle) halftrack armed with 7.5cm gun. Halftracks offered more cross-country abilities than wheeled vehicles. One difference between German SdKfz 251 (also called the Hanomag) versus American M3 halftracks was that latter had powered front wheel steering while the German variant relied solely on its rear tracks for movement. Hanomags were the main armored troop carriers for mechanized German forces, soldiers riding in these vehicles were called Panzergrenadiers (Armored Grenaders), akin to US version of Mechanized Armored Infantrymen. Panzergrenadier - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panzergrenadier

Note Hanomag's stowage bins have been thoroughly rummaged by Allied troops for intelligence and war souvenirs. Next to 7.5cm gun is MG42 machine gun with a phenomenal rate of fire at 1200 bullets/minute, Soviets call this gun HITLER'S SAW since one could not hear individual rounds being fired, only a constant roar like a saw mill or mini-jet exhaust. MG42 was so intimidating that US War Department (changed name to Department of Defense in 1947) made a recruitment/propaganda film for incoming GIs on how not be afraid of the weapon, which only cast more fear into average American enlisted men. Maschinengewehr 42 - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MG42

One means of experiencing MG42 awesome firepower is to play First-Person-Shooter WW2 combat simulation games, such as Call of Duty. In one game instance, player is American paratrooper in Normandy 1944, commandeers MG42 position to hold off German reinforcements in quaint French church (inset). Call of Duty - www.gamespot.com/pc/action/callofduty/screenindex.html