Panzerjager 1
The Panzerjager 1 (Tank Hunter 1) was the first German tank
destroyer of the war; it was built on a chassis of a Panzer 1. It mounted the
Skoda 4.7cm Pak gun; it was built to counter the French tank Char B1 that made
the early German panzer 1 and 2 became obsolete. There were 202 Panzer 1s
converted into Panzerjager 1 in 1940-1941, they were deployed in the Battle of
France, North African Campaign, and to the Eastern front.
To mount the gun, they had to remove their turret and
replaced with a shield to protect the gun and the crew, the tank carried 74
anti-tank and 10 high explosive shells. The gun shield was 14.5mm thick 14.5mm
thick on its side, the rear is unprotected because they had to risk that design
in order to mount a more powerful gun.
Marder Series
Marder 1
The Marder 1 is the first German practical tank destroyer;
the tank was armed with the 75mm PaK-40 anti-tank gun. The tank was developed
in 1942 and it first saw action during the Germans advance to the Soviet
Union, the Marder 1’s armor was thin only 5-12mm. The engine it used was a
Delahaye 103TT 70ps engine that can generate power up to 69hp or 61.5kw, the
tank was used in the Eastern front.
Again the tank has to sacrifice their hull in order to mount
a more powerful gun. The tank was good but after the first appearance of the
soviet T34 and they were out-run may time.
Marder 2
The Marder 2 was an improved version of a Marder 1; it was
based on the chassis of the Panzer 2. The Marder 2 was armed with the same gun as
the first Marder, but the armor was reinforced the frontal armor was up to 35mm
thick, 14.5mm thick on its sides and rear.
The tank was developed in 1942-44; the tank was on the
Eastern front. What made the very vulnerable is that its high silhouette and
open gun compartment can be easily targeted by snipers, despite the drawbacks
they were 863 tanks produced by Germany.
Marder 3
The Marder 3 was the latest version of the Marder series of
tanks, the tank was armed with the same Pak 40 German anti-tank gun. The Pak 40
was Germany’s most successful anti-tank gun but because of its heavyweight
some of the guns were abandoned or destroyed when the Germans fall back, the solution was to mount it on tank chassis in order to make it mobile and it was
the result of the Marder series tanks.
The tank’s armor was 10-50mm thick. The tank used a Praga Typ
TNHPS/II, water-cooled, 6 cylinder gasoline engine that can generate power from
123-148hp or 92-110kW. The tank used the leaf spring suspension since the
overlapping wheel suspension was still never produced. There were numerous
types of Marder tanks during WW2 when Germany needed a better tank.
Jagdpanzer Series
Jagdpanzer 38T “Hetzer”
The Hetzer was the new German light tank destroyer, unlike
the Marder the tank’s chassis were Panzer 38Ts modified to put a 7.5cm PaK 39
L/48. The tank’s armor was sloped on all sides to deflect shells even from an
85mm, the gun was powerful it can destroy the T34 in a good position. The
tank’s engine was the same as the original Panzer 38T as well as the suspension,
fuel capacity, and the ranges of the tank.
The Hetzer first entered service in July 1944 with the Heeres Panzerjager-Abteilung 731, one report from the Eastern front was able to describe that a company of Hetzers manages to destroy 20 enemy tanks. The Jagdpanzer 38t’s low silhouette was perfect on ambushing and deployed on defensive lines, but the tank was slow and had problems of traction because of the narrow tracks it fitted.
Jagdpanzer 4
The Jagdpanzer 4 was a German tank destroyer based on a chassis
of a Panzer 4; it was supposed to replace the StuG III. The tank was produced
in December 1943 and there were 2,000 of these were built, the tank was powered
by a Maybach HL 120 TRM 300ps that can produce power up to 296hp or 221kw.
The tank was armed with the powerful 7.5mm PaK 42L/70 and
also had 1 MG 34 one of the finest MGs ever built during the war; its armor was
good at its time 10-80mm. The tank used the same leaf spring suspension since
the overlapping wheel suspension isn’t produced yet.
Jagdpanther “Hunting Panther”
The Jagdpanzer V Jagdpanther was Germany’s most successful
tank destroyer of WW2; the tank was built from the chassis of the legendary
Panther tank. It entered service in 1944 so the result was the tank came out
too late and it still fights in the later stages of the war. Production came on
1943-1945 and there were only 415 tanks were built, although late the tank
still proves its deadly capabilities.
The tank was armed with the powerful 8.8cm PaK 43 similar to
the main gun of the King Tiger. The
Jagdpanther was preceded by 2 attempts of mounting the 8.8cm PaK 43 gun, the
first, was the Ferdinand also known as the Elefant it was built on a chassis of
Porsche failed Tiger P and the second the Nashorn also is known as the Hornisse
was built on a chassis of the Panzer IIIs and VIs. The result…. Both Ferdinand
and Nashorn proved to be too heavy and very underpowered. So the plan is to
create a new tank prototype that is built from the chassis of the Panther, the project was given to Daimler-Benz and they ordered a full-size model and
demonstrated in October 1943.
The tank’s armor thicker than the original Panther the
frontal armor was 80mm thick, 100mm thick on the mantlet, 50mm on the sides and
40mm at the rear. The tank was a little heavier than the original Panther at
45.5 tons compared to the 44.8-ton panther. The tank was powered by a Maybach
HL230 P30 (V-12 Petrol) 700ps engine that can generate power up to 690hp or
515kw, the tank has the new suspension “The overlapping wheel suspension or
dual torsion bar” but the problem was it became kluged with mud during the war.
Jagdtiger “Hunting Tiger”
The Jagdtiger is Germany’s biggest operational tank destroyer
in ww2; it was the successor for the Jagdpanther. These tanks were considered
to be a “Heavy Tank Destroyer”; it was built on a longer chassis of the Tiger
2. The tank was produced in 1944-1945. The tank was armed with the monstrous 128mm
PaK 44 L/55 the biggest gun ever put on a chassis on its time, the tank was
underpowered using the same engine as the king tiger. The tank was 71.7 tons;
its length was 10.65m including the gun and had 6 crew members.
The gun was operated by three crew members (two loaders and
one gunner) its armor was very impressive. The casemate was 250mm; the hull was
150mm and 80mm on the sides and rear of the tank. Its secondary armament was an
MG 42; the tank used the same torsion bar suspension. Again Henschel and
Porsche debated on making the Jagdtiger even better, but Porsche failed again
and Henschel was selected for production.
Sturmgeschutz series
Sturmgeschutz III
The Sturmgeschutz III was Germany’s most-produced fully
armored fighting vehicle in World War 2, it was built on a chassis of the
Panzer III a good tank of its time. The tank was the first of its kind; it was
the first tank that has no turret. The tank's turret was removed and replaced
with a fixed armored superstructure to mount a more powerful gun; the tank was
armed with the 7.5cm Stuk 40 L/48. Because the tank has to face the enemy head
on the frontal armor strengthen to 80mm thick and less on the sides, the engine
it used is the Maybach HL 120 TRM V-12 gasoline engine six-speed transmission
300ps that can generate power up to 296hp or 221kW that made the tank can go
speed up to 40km/h.
During the war a Sturmgeschutz commander Michael Wittmann manages to ambush 18 T 34s on his own and destroying 6 of them that made his career on a rise, the StuG variant he used was an Ausf B variant of the Sturmgeschutz III. There were two variant of these tanks Ausf B and Ausf G, the B has a shorter silhouette than the G, but the Ausf G has a longer gun barrel making it a feared sniper.
Sturmgeschutz IV
The Sturmgeschutz IV was the tank destroyer version of the successful Panzer IV; it was the successor of the Sturmgeschutz III tank destroyer. The tank was produced from 1943-1945, Sturmgeschutz were produced in great numbers since they didn’t come into late service. There were 1.108 tanks were produced and 31 of it was a reserve for conversion, the tank proved to be very effective especially on the eastern front. The tank was armed with the same gun as the older StuG III the 7.5cm Stuk 40 L/48; the tank used a Maybach HL 120 TRM V-12 cylinder gasoline 300ps engine that can generate power up to 296hp or 220.6kW. The tank used the Leaf spring suspension, the tank only carry 430 liters of fuel and its operational ranges is only 210km.
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