The name
Hetzer was at the time not commonly used for this vehicle. It was the designation for a related prototype, the
E-10. The
Škoda factoryfor a very short period confused the two names in its documentation and the very first unit equipped with the vehicle thus for a few weeks applied the incorrect name until matters were cleared. However, there exists a memorandum from
Heinz Guderian to
Hitler claiming that an unofficial name,
Hetzer, had spontaneously been coined by the troops. Post-war historians basing themselves on this statement made the name popular in their works, the vehicle was never named as such in official documents.
Development
The
Jagdpanzer 38(t) was intended to be more cost-effective than the much more ambitious
Jagdpanther and
Jagdtiger designs of the same period. Using a proven chassis, it avoided the mechanical problems of the larger armoured vehicles.
It was better armored than the thinly armoured earlier
PanzerjägerMarder and
Nashorn with a
sloped armour front plate of
60 mm sloped back at 60 degrees from the vertical (equivalent in protection to about
120 mm), carried a reasonably powerful 75mm gun, was mechanically reliable, small and easily concealed. It was also cheap to build.
The Jagdpanzer 38(t) succeeded the open-top
Marder III (based on the same chassis) in production from April 1944; about 2584 were built until the end of the war. The older
Marder III Panzerjäger series retained the same vertically sided chassis as Panzer 38(t). In the
Jagdpanzer 38(t), the lower hull sides slope 15 degrees outward to make roughly hexagonal shape when viewed from front or rear. This increased the available interior space and enabled a fully enclosed
casemate-style fighting compartment. Because of the fully enclosed armor, it was 5 tonnes heavier than the
Marder III. To compensate for the increased weight, track width was increased from 293 mm to 350 mm.Initial production Jagdpanzer 38(t) did not sit even with the ground because gun, transmission and thicker frontal armor weighed the front down. Leaf springs were strengthened from June 1944 which leveled the posture of the vehicle. From May–July 1944, accessibility was improved in the form of more hatches: commander's smaller hatch opening to the rear, then right rear corner for radiator access, and left rear corner for fuel tank access. From August 1944 lighter inner and outer mantle reduced the weight by 200 kg. These are more conical looking mantle than half cone shaped initial mantles. Also from August 1944, new rear idler wheels were introduced. These had 8, 6, and 4 (not necessarily in that order)
lightening holes instead of 12. These simplified the manufacturing process. In September 1944, front 16 spring leaves were increased in thickness to 9mm per leaf, rear 16 leaves maintained 7mm each in thickness. Also in September side Schurtzen's front and rear tips were bent inward to prevent them from catching bushes and get dismounted. It was discovered that driver's periscope housing acted like a shot trap, preventing incoming shells from bouncing off the front glacis. The protruding housing was removed, instead periscope was inserted into vertical cuts to the front armor from October 1944. Also from October 44, flame reducing muffler was introduced. These reduced visibility and backfire. Commander's head cushion was added to the hatch from October 1944. At the same time, road wheel's rims were riveted instead of using bolts. To cope with heavy front, and the necessity to traverse the vehicle to aim, gear ratio was lowered to 1:8 instead of 1:7.33 to reduce the stress on final gears from January 1945. Button-down Jagdpanzer 38(t) was blind to the right side. Since 20mm side armors (same as late model Panzer II's side armor) were only adequate to protect the crew from fairly small caliber guns, it was important to face the threat forward. Hence, commander's field of view was planned to be improved by installing a rotating periscope in Jagdpanzer 38(t)-Starr, just as Sturmgeschutz III and Elefant had evolved from a single pair of periscopes to all around vision blocks. However, Jagdpanzer 38(t)-Starr came too late to see the action in the field.The
Jagdpanzer 38(t) equipped the
Panzerjägerabteilungen (
tank destroyerbattalions) of the infantry divisions, giving them some limited mobile anti-armor capability. After the war
Czechoslovakia continued to build the type (versions ST-I and ST-III for training version, about 180 units built) and exported 158 vehicles (version G-13) to
Switzerland. Most vehicles in today's collections are of Swiss origin.
By order of Adolf Hitler in November 1944, a number of
Jagdpanzer 38(t)s were refurbished straight from the factory with a Keobe flamethrower and accompanying equipment instead of the normal gun. The flame projector, encased in a metal shield reminiscent of that of a gun barrel, was easily prone to damage. Fewer than 50 of these vehicles, designated
Flammpanzer 38, were completed before the end of the war, but they were used operationally against Allied forces on the Western Front.
Further variants were a
Jagdpanzer 38(t) carrying the
150 mm sIG 33/2 Howitzer, of which 30 were produced before the end of the war, and the
Bergepanzer 38(t), a light recovery vehicle of which 170 were produced. Plans were made to produce other variants, including an assault gun version of the
Jagdpanzer 38(t) carrying a 105 mm StuH 42 main cannon, a version mounting the
7.5 cm KwK 42 L/70 gun from the Panther, and an anti-aircraft variant mounted with a
flak turret. The war ended before these proposed models were put into production. Prototypes were also developed for the Jagdpanzer 38(t) Starr, this was a simplified version of the Jagdpanzer 38(t) and also a step towards the
E-10. The design removed the recoil absorber from the main
7.5 cm PaK 39 gun, instead attaching the gun to the chassis, and using the Jagdpanzer 38(t)'s bulk and suspension to absorb the recoil. 10 were built, but never issued. 9 converted back to normal Jagdpanzer 38(t) and Hitler ordered the remaining prototype destroyed rather than let it be captured at the end of the war.
| Specifications |
|---|
| Weight | 15.75 tonnes (34,722 lb) |
|---|
| Length | 6.38 m (20 ft 11 in) |
|---|
| Width | 2.63 m (8 ft 8 in) |
|---|
| Height | 2.17 m (7 ft 1 in) |
|---|
| Crew | 4 |
|---|
|
| Armor | 8-60 mm (0.31-2.36 in) |
|---|
Main
armament
| 1x 7.5 cm PaK 39 L/48
41 rounds |
|---|
Secondary
armament
| 1× 7.92 mm Maschinengewehr 34
1,200 rounds |
|---|
| Engine | Praga 6-cylinder petrol, 7.8 litres
160 PS (158 hp, 118 kW) at 2,800 rpm |
|---|
| Power/weight | 10 PS/tonne |
|---|
| Transmission | 5 + 1 Praga-Wilson Typ CV |
|---|
| Suspension | leaf spring |
|---|
| Ground clearance | 40 cm (1 ft 4 in) |
|---|
| Fuel capacity | 320 litres (85 US gal) |
|---|
Operational
range
| 177 km (110 mi) |
|---|
| Speed | 42 km/h (26 mph) |
|---|
Source : Wikipedia
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.
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.
