Jagdpanzer IV

The Jagdpanzer IV , Sd. Kfz. 162, was a German Hunter of tanks based on the frame of the Panzerkampfwagen IV which was built in three principal versions during the Second world war. It was developed in spite of the opposition of Heinz Guderian, General inspector of Panzertruppen, to replace the StuG III. Guderian considered it useless to distract from the resources of the production of Panzer IV because, according to him, StuG III and StuG IV played their part still fully.

Development

Nevertheless at the end of 1942, the Waffenamt , the office of the Wehrmacht charged with the armament, required the study of a project of tank destroyer based on the panzer IV, which would be armed with the gun of 75 mm with which the Panther was already provided: PaK 42 L/70.

Contrary to other tank destroyers preceding like those by the series Marder, this gun was intended to be directly integrated into the hull of Jagdpanzer in order to preserve a silhouette to him as low as possible.

Jagdpanzer IV preserved the bedplate of Panzer IV, but the vertical frontal shield of origin was replaced by a strongly tilted nose. The interior provision was arranged in order to take account of the new superstructure by moving the fuel tanks and the residences with ammunition. As Jagdpanzer did not have a turret, it was possible to eliminate the auxiliary engines which in the beginning were intended to drive it.

The armament consisted of a principal gun of 75 mm which owed at the origin being PaK 42 L/70. Ruptures of provisioning caused however that for the pre production and the beginning of the production, a gun of the older type, namely the 75 mm PaK 39 L/48 was used. The latter had a tube shorter and less powerful than PaK 42.

On later versions, PaK 42, much more massive, caused which Jagdpanzer IV suffered from an overload to before ascribable also to its heavy frontal shielding. This made it less mobile and more difficult to operate in difficult ground, which brought the crews using it to call it Guderian-Graft (the duck of Guderian).

The final prototype of Jagdpanzer IV was presented in December 1943 and its setting in production began in January 1944, the version equipped with PaK 39 L/48 being produced until November. The production of the version armed with PaK 42 L/70 began in August and continued until March or April 1945.

It had been envisaged to stop the production of Panzer IV itself at the end of 1944 to concentrate only on the production of Jagdpanzer IV, but it does not seem that occurred.

Versions

Jagdpanzer IV equipped with the 75 mm PaK 39/L43: built in a small number of specimens as a series of pre production
Jagdpanzer IV equipped with the 75 mm PaK 39/L48, official designation Sturmgeschütz neuer Art put 7,5 cm PaK L/48 at Fahrgestell PzKpfw IV. Approximately 780 specimens produced in 1944
Jagdpanzer IV/70 (V) (Sd.Kfz. 162/1) was one of the two versions equipped with PaK 42 L/70. It was built by it approximately 940 in 1944 and 1945. (V) indicates the manufacturer, Vomag.
Jagdpanzer IV/70 (A) (Sd.Kfz. 162/1) was the other version equipped with the gun PaK 42 L/70. It differed from the preceding one in what the superstructure was assembled directly on the frame of Panzer IV and which it thus did not present the strongly tilted nose of the other versions. It was built by it only 278 between 1944 and 1945. The (A) appoints the manufacturer, Alkett.

Minor modifications and improvements were made throughout the production of the various versions like on the specimens already used on the ground. Most common the installation of armor-plated side skirts concerned.

Engagements

Jagdpanzer were useful in the sections anti-tank device of armor-plated divisions of Wehrmacht and the Waffen-SS. They fought in Normandy, during the Bataille of the Ardennes and on the face of the East. They were very effective tank destroyers, but appeared on the other hand much less useful when they were used like substitutes of tanks or like guns of attack.

Towards the end of the war they nevertheless were used more and more as substitutes of the tanks because there was not often more anything else of available. Ultimately, Jagdpanzer was regarded as a success; after the war, the West Germany continued the use of this concept with the Kanonenjagdpanzer.

External bonds

Jagdpanzer IV and Panzer IV/70 At Achtung Panzer!
Jagdpanzer IV At Panzerworld
Panzer IV/70 At Panzerworld
Jagdpanzer Photographs of Jagdpanzer IV in Canada War Museum

References

Random links: