Jagdtiger Tank Destroyer

Jagdtiger ("Hunting Tiger") is the common name of a German heavytank destroyer of World War II. The official German designation wasPanzerjäger Tiger Ausf. B as it was based on a lengthened Tiger IIchassis. The ordnance inventory designation was Sd. Kfz. 186. TheJagdtiger was the heaviest armored fighting vehicle operationally used during World War II. The vehicle carried a 128 mm PaK 44 L/55 main gun, capable of out-ranging and defeating any fielded Allied tank. It saw service in small numbers from late 1944 to the end of the war on both the Western and Eastern Front. Tiger ace Otto Carius commanded a company of Jagdtigers. His post-war memoir provides a rare combat history of the Jagdtigers which had been under his command. Although 150 were ordered, only between 77 to 88 were produced. Due to an excessive weight the Jagdtiger was continuously plagued with mechanical problems. Today, three Jagdtigers survive in museums.

Development

With the success of the StuG III, Marder I, Marder II, and Marder III in the tank destroyer role, the military leadership of Nazi Germany decided to use the chassis of existing armored fighting vehicles as the basis for self-propelled guns. German tank destroyers of World War II mostly used fixed casemates instead of moveable turrets to significantly reduce the cost of mounting large caliber guns. 

In early 1942 a request was made by the Army General Staff to mount a 128 mm gun on a self-propelled armored chassis. On 18 May 1942 Adolf Hitlerordered that the 128 mm gun be utilized in the tank destroyer role, rather than for infantry support. Firing tests of the 128 mm gun showed to have a high percentage of hits; lower caliber heavy shells such as the 88 mm and 105 mm were also tested.
By early 1943 a decision was made to install a 128 mm gun on a Panther or Tiger I chassis as a heavy assault gun. The Panther chassis was considered unsuitable after a wooden mockup of the design was constructed. On 20 October 1943 another wooden mockup was constructed on a Tiger II chassis, and presented to Hitler in East Prussia. Two prototypes were produced; a version with the eight road wheel Porsche suspension system (number 305001) and a version with the Henschel nine overlapping wheel suspension system (number 305002),^[2] as used on the production Tiger II. They were completed in February 1944. It was originally designated as Jagdpanzer VI, but was later named the Jagdtiger. It received the inventory ordnance number Sd.Kfz.186.

Specifications
Weight	71.7 tonnes (158,000 lb) (Henschel suspension)
Length	10.65 m (34 ft 11 in) including gun
Width	3.6 m (11 ft 10 in)
Height	2.8 m (9 ft 2 in)
Crew	Six
Armor	250 mm (9.84 in)
Main armament	1 × 12.8 cm PaK 44 L/55
Secondary armament	1 × 7.92 mm Maschinengewehr 34
Engine	V-12 Maybach HL 230 P30 700 PS (690 hp, 515 kW)
Power/weight	9.76 PS/tonne
Suspension	torsion bar
Operational range	Road: 120 km (75 mi) offroad: 80 km (50 mi)
Speed	34 km/h (21 mph)

Source : Wikipedia