Girls und Panzer (TV)

In the first scene, the types of tanks driven by the girls (in as seen order) other than the Churchill and 4 Matilda IIs are : 1. The green tank with large white lettering is a Japanese Type 89 light tank (Though Google Translate says it's a formula eighty-nine type based on the series' website), 2. The yellow tank is a German Panzer 38(t), 3. The pink tank is an American M3 Lee, 4. The red tank destroyer is a German STUG III, 5. The main character's tank is a German Panzer IV.

The interior of the PzIVD is well laid out in the animation and in the credits. It even has the smoke dischargers above the rear exhaust in the right place. I even like how they got the crimp in the front glacis plate correct. I would have preferred the late G or H model myself, but a D is very reliable. Plus, thank goodness electrical starter because mosf the time the crew used a crank start to build up centrifugal force to save on batterie power.

The Panzer III in the opening parade of the Panzerfahren Girls is not a G, it is a late model J. The G had an 3.7cm L/45 main gun whereas the late J has a longer 5cm L/60.

Team C's brightly painted StuG III sports a number of references to historical quotes. The front of the tank has "Veni, Vidi, Vici", which translates to "I came, I saw, I conquered", a phrase attributed to Julius Caesar. The back of the tank has "Vergiesst Schweiss, aber kein blut" that translates to "Shed sweat, but not blood", known to have been quoted by Erwin Rommel.

The Pravda High School used several T-34/76, T-34/85, a JS-2 Stalin and a KV-2 tank. Katyusha also used her namesake vehicle "Katyusha" rocket launcher as her transport.

The background music that plays around 7:55 of episode 9 is an instrumental rendition of the classic Russian song Polyushka Polye (translating as Meadowland). Another Russian song heard is the Cossack's Lullaby which is sung by Nonna.

The characters 'Darjeeling' and 'Orangepekoe' are named for types of tea, in continuation of St Gloriana being a caricature of the British stereotype and thus, always enjoying their tea. This is taken to the extent that Darjeeling's personal motto ends with 'I will never spill a drop of my tea!'

Regarding the Saunders School's tanks, rather interestingly, they used the Firefly variant of the Sherman tank. However, contrary to the the school's caricature of the American military, no American formation was ever (intentionally) outfitted with Fireflies, as it was a British conceived variant, putting the Ordnance QF 17pdr on the Sherman chassis and used almost exclusively by British armoured formations.

In OVA Episode 2 "Survival War!", there are repeated (and censored) references to the luncheon meat SPAM, interspersed with shots of a longship and some of the girls in Viking attire. This is a parody of the "Spam" sketch from Episode 25 of the BBC television comedy "Monty Python's Flying Circus", originally aired in 1970.

Miho Nishizumi's family name is referred to a real life person who is called Lt. Kojiro Nishizumi who participated and died during the Sino-Japanese War. Coincidentally, his tank is also the same model used by Ooarai's Duck Team the Type 89.

The Sensha-do presentation in episode 1 features the following tanks in order of appearance: the British Mark IV Female variant, the German A7V, the British medium Mk. A "Whippet", and the PzKpfw III Ausf. J.

In episode 1, the floating city which the main characters lived in resembles an Imperial Japanese Navy Shokaku Class Aircraft Carrier.

In episode 1, Miho have mentioned about both Saori and Hana's birthday. Saori's birthday is June 22 which is the same month and day as in World War Two history when the Germans launced "Operation Barbarossa" their invasion of Soviet Union and Hana's birthday is December 16 which is the same month and day when the Germans launched "Operation Watch on the Rhine" or the "Battle of the Bulge" in Ardennes Belgium.

In episode 1, one of the girls in the library is shown reading character designer Takeshi Nogami's book, "Moeyo! Sensha Gakkou (Tank School) Sensha no Subete wo Moe Moe Lecture".

In episode 2, the tank in which instructor Ami Chouno arrives in is a Mitsubishi Type 10, the latest model of main battle tank in JGSDF service.

In episode 2, during the tank cleaning scene, Erwin makes a reference to the "Normandy DD Tank". This is a reference to the amphibious M4 Shermans used during the Normandy invasion of 1944.

In episode 2, one of the girls in the library is shown reading the book Moeyo! Sensha Gakkou, another title about tanks by illustrator Nogami Takeshi, who is also working on character design for Girls Und Panzer.

In episode 2, inside the shop there's some scale model kits resembles Tamiya 1/35 scale tank kits.

In episode 2, after finding all of the tanks, Oryō commented that her Sturmgeschütz III looked like an elephant. She might be referring to the Panzerjäger Tiger that looks similar in appearance and that it was renamed to "Elefant" after being modified.

The tune that Akiyama Yukari was humming while unpacking her bag in episode 2 is "Johnny Comes Marching Home", a traditional song dating back to the American Civil War.

The background music used during the disembarking scene in episode 3, and used as the leitmotif for the St. Gloriana Girls Academy, is a rendition of "The British Grenadiers", a traditional marching song for the British military.

The umpires shown in episode 3 are wearing gorgets closely resembling those used by the Feldgendarmerie, which served as Germany's Military Police from 1810 to 1946.

In episode 3, around 04:09 Mako is seen reading a booklet named "PzIV Fibel". It is a parody of a well known booklet named "Tiger Fibel" which means "Tiger Primer". The purpose of the booklet is to used as a manual for German tank crews as Tiger-I tank crew has Tiger Fibel. Just like the front cover of the PzIV Fibel which there's a cartoon character of a tank crew holding his bicep the Tiger Fibel also has a similar cartoon.

Around 16:30 in episode 4, a sign can be seen with art depicting a man holding up a rifle while overlooking combat over a bridge. This is a reference to one of the art covers for the 1977 WWII movie "A Bridge Too Far", which starred an ensemble cast of A-list actors including Sean Connery, Gene Hackman and Anthony Hopkins.

The song used to introduce the Saunders school in episode 4 is a rendition of "The Battle Hymn Of The Republic", another traditional patriotic song dating back to the American Civil War.

In episode 4, the tanks seen used en masse by the Saunders School are M4A3 Shermans. Another new tank seen in the episode is the British A15 Crusader II, at around 21:20 alongside the other British tanks.

In episode 4, from 08:56 onwards where Ooarai Girls School team lured the St. Gloriana team into urban warfare there are scenes have been taken from actual real places or landmarks of Ooarai, Ibaraki Prefecture.

In episode 4, in what is probably one of the very few inaccuracies in the portrayal of the tanks featured so far, Darjeeling orders her troop to speed up when chasing the PzKpfW IV through the canyon. This would've been very difficult for the Matilda II's, and even the Churchill, as their max speed was only 15mph or so (compared to the PzKpfW IV's max speed of approx 25mph).

Yukari makes reference to "Sergeant Oddball" in episode 5. That's a character played by Donald Sutherland in the movie "Kelly's Heroes".

Yukari's room in episode 5 has a large poster of a realistically drawn male German tank commander with an eyepatch. That particular art is the cover for the war manga "Black Knight Story" by renowned mangaka Motofumi Kobaya, whose best known for his works Apocalypse Meow and Cat Shit One.

In episode 5, Yukari's room is full of scale models which includes a Cromwell Cruiser Tank, M36 Jackson, Sd.Kfz.223, Pz.Kpfw. II Ausf. F, Pz.Befelswagen I, FlakPz. 38 Gepard and Sturmpanzer Brummbar. There's also includes model kits from Dragon Models, Italeri, Tamiya and Trumpeteer.

In episode 5, Maho and Erika has an Sd.Kfz. 222 and Darjeeling has a S.A.S. Land Rover Pink Panther. At the start of the competition Anzu is driving a British Daimler Dingo Scout Car.

In episode 5, there's a railway gun named "Leopold" modified as a widescreen viewer showing the battle between the Ooarai Girls Academy and Saunders University. In World War Two history this railway gun which was part of the K5 series made by Krupp was used to bombard Anzio during the Allied Forces' Italian Campaign.

In episode 6, during it's later part there's some scene which shows the other schools competing on the sensha-do. The Pravda High School and Black Forest Peak High School. The Pravda High School which uses Soviet World War Two era Tanks is named after the Slavic word of "The Truth". The Black Forest Peak High School ( Kuromorimine in Japanese) where Miho's sister Maho study from is named after the wooden mountain range in Baden-Württemberg, south western Germany.

In episode 6, Maho provide a helicopter ride for Mako to visit her grandmother in the hospital. They used a Focke-Achgelis Fa 223 Drache or "Dragon".

In episode 6, after the battle they used the Sd.Kfz. 9 to recover the damaged Type 89 and M3 Lee. During World War Two these German halftracks are used to recover damage tanks. When recovery of heavier tanks like Panther or Tiger-I it usually required to used 2 to 4 of this halftrack.

The marching song played in episode 6 is "The Army Goes Rolling Along", the official anthem of the US Army.

In episode 7, around 10:15 there's a reminiscent scene when Miho is used to command a Tiger-I tank before she transfered to Ooarai Girls Academy. Her Tiger-I Early Version has a white number 217 on the turret is based on the real life tank of Panzer Ace Otto Carius but Otto used the Mid Production Version instead of the Early Version shown in the anime. This actual Tiger-I tank of Otto Carius have been used in his heroic action in a village called Malinava in Latvia.

The Italian tanks used by Anzio in episode 7 include the Carro Armato P26/40 Heavy Tank, the Semovente 75/18 self-propelled gun and the Carro Veloce L3/33 tankette.

In episode 7, while searching for other lost tanks Mako found a gun barrel outside the abandoned classrooms. This gun barrel is called 7.5cm KwK 40 L/43 which are used on Panzer IV Ausf. F2/G. It's muzzle break is an earlier design used on the F2 version.

In episode 7, while searching for other lost tanks Yukari and the girls from history club found a Renault Char B-1 bis half sunken in a swamp. In World War Two history the French Army used this tanks to defend their country against the German Blitzkrieg during 1940. Many have been captured by the Germans and some are modified with flame-thrower.

The song sung by Pravda in episode 8 is called 'Katyusha', a popular Russian folk song written during the Second World War about the eponymous girl who longs for her husband serving in the army.

In episode 8, the floating city which Pravda used resembles a Soviet/Russian Navy Kiev Class Aircraft Carrier.

In episode 8, after surrounded by Pravda tanks in a small town the Oarai tanks have hidden inside a large building then Katyusha send a messenger to Ooarai to surrender. Around 20:55 Momo have mentioned the word "Nuts!"as a reply to the messenger. That message is a reference of the famous word of Gen. Anthony McAuliffe's reply to the Germans when they have been surrounded in a town called Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge in World War Two.

In episode 8, just as Katyusha is leaving (on Nonna's shoulders) the meeting with the Ooarai tank crews, she calls Miho 'pirozhki', which is Russian for 'little pie'.

In episode 9, during the ending song it shows the upcoming new characters of the Ooarai Girls High School Team (Nekota/Nekonya, Momoga and Piyotan). Those characters are riding on a Imperial Japanese Army Type-3 Chi-Nu Tank. In World War Two history the Type 3 Chi-Nu deployed only for mainland defense and never used in combat.

The song sung by Yukari and Erwin in episode 9 is called "Yuki no Singun" ("Snow March"), a traditional Japanese Military marching song.

In episode 10, Anko Team's Panzer IV have onced again upgraded from Panzer IV Ausf. F2 to Panzer IV Ausf. H with Schurzen (Skirt Armor) and additional Applique armor.

In episode 10, the floating city which Black Forest Peak High School (Kuromorimine in Japanese) used resembles the Kriegsmarine Graf Zeppelin Class Aircraft Carrier.

In episode 10, around 14:32 the girls from Usagi Team are watching the movie "Kelly's Heroes". They're watching a funny scene where Sgt. Oddball's Sherman tank fired the rear end of a Tiger-I tank with red paint instead of an AP shell, but ironically the girls became unexpectedly emotional.

In episode 10, just before the final match Katyusha told Miho "Smash them like Operation Bagration" just to motivate Miho. In World War Two history Operation Bagration is one of the greatest Soviet offensive operation occured during 1944 which defeated the German Army Group Centre. This operation is named after Georgian Prince Pyotr Bagration.

In episode 10, just prior to the scene featuring clips from Kelly's Heroes (at around 14:30), a stack of DVDs is shown on the table. The open DVD case with its restyled art represents Kelly's Heroes (1970) while the DVD on top of the stack is slightly modified mirror image poster art for Battle of the Bulge (1965). Below that are DVDs for Patton (1970), and The Bridge at Remagen (1969). The bottom DVD references the Russian IS-2 tank, a tank known to have engaged German King Tiger tanks. All of the listed movies notably feature World War 2 era tank warfare.

The large tank that appears in Episode 11 is the Panzer VIII Maus, a German prototype super heavy tank developed in WW2 that never saw service. It holds the distinction of being the heaviest fully-enclosed armored vehicle ever made, weighing in at nearly 200 tons.