Hetzer
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The Jagdpanzer 38(t) (Sd.Kfz.138/2) sometimes known as Hetzer ("baiter") was a German tank destroyer of the Second World War based on a modified Czech LT 38 tank chassis.
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 earlier Panzerjäger Marder and Nashorn with a sloped armour front plate of 60 mm (equivalent to about 180 mm), carried a reasonably powerful gun, was mechanically reliable and small and easily concealed. It was also cheap to build. Its main failings were the cramped working condition of the crew and the gun mounting, which had a more limited traverse to the left.
Hetzer.jpg
The Jagdpanzer 38(t) fitted into the lighter category of German tank destroyers that began with the Panzerjäger I, continued with the Marder series and ended with the Jagdpanzer 38(t). It had neither a very powerful gun (the 75 mm gun fitted was the same as the late Panzer IV marks and far less powerful than the 88 mm guns on other tanks or tank destroyers) nor particularly heavy armour. For this reason the Jagdpanzer 38(t) could not stand head-to-head with Allied heavy tanks or tank destroyers.
It should be noted that the name Hetzer ("Baiter") was at the time never used for the vehicle. The usage is a postwar mistake conferring the name of a related prototype.
The Jagdpanzer 38(t) succeeded the Marder III (based on the same chassis) in production from April 1944; about 2584 were built until the end of the war. Its purpose was to equip the Panzerjägerabteilungen of the infantry divisions, giving them some limited mobile anti-armour capability. After the war Czechoslovakia continued to build the type and exported 158 vehicles to Switzerland. Most examples in today's collections are of Swiss origin.
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| German armored fighting vehicles of World War II | |
|---|---|
| Tanks | |
| Panzer I | Panzer II | Panzer III | Panzer IV | Panther | Tiger I, II | Panzer 35(t) | Panzer 38(t) | |
| Self-propelled artillery | |
| Wespe | Hummel | Grille | Panzerwerfer | |
| Assault guns | |
| StuG III | StuG IV | StuH 42 | Brummbär | Sturmtiger | |
| Tank destroyers | |
| Panzerjäger I | Marder I , II , III | Hetzer | Jagdpanzer IV | Jagdpanther | Nashorn | Jagdtiger | Elefant | |
| Armored half-tracks | Armored cars |
| SdKfz 4 | 250 | 251 | 252 | 253 | Sdkfz 221/22/23 | Sdkfz 231/32/34/63 |
| Self propelled anti-aircraft | |
| Flakpanzer IV: Möbelwagen, Wirbelwind, Ostwind, Kugelblitz | Gepard | |
| Prototypes | |
| Maus | P-1000 Ratte | E- series | Panther II | Waffentrager | Neubaufahrzeug | |
| Proposed designs | |
| P-1500 'Monster' | Panzer VII 'Löwe' | Panzer IX | |
| German armored fighting vehicle production during World War II | |
External links
- Information about the Jagdpanzer 38 at Panzerworld (http://www.panzerworld.net/pzjag38.html)
- PzFahrer's guide to the Jagdpanzer 38 (http://www.pzfahrer.net/)
- Achtung Panzer! Jpz 38(t) site (http://www.achtungpanzer.com/hetzer.htm)de:Jagdpanzer 38(t)