Jagdpanzer (JgPz) is the name given in German to an armored, tracked tank destroyer, although it may also be used for other kinds of self-propelled guns. Translated from German, Jagdpanzer meaning "hunting tank".
It typically refers to anti-tank variants of existing tank chassis with a well-armored casemate superstructure that mount an anti-tank gun with limited traverse in the front. [1] These vehicles were classified by the western Allies of World War II as a tank destroyer. [2]
The Jagdpanzer designs followed on from the more lightly armored Panzerjäger ("tank hunter") designs, which took an anti-tank gun and mounted it on top of a tank chassis with supplementary armor fitted around the gun crew. However, the armor typically had an open rear and top, almost never providing the crew with full protection from the elements. In addition, much experience was gained from the Sturmgeschütz series of assault guns for infantry support, which already used heavily armored casemates, completely enclosing the vehicle's crew. Although they were associated with artillery and infantry support, they were often used in the anti-tank role. [3]
On the battlefield when the Germans had to retreat, their line of retreat would preferably pass the location of their anti-tank units, who would use their superior firepower to stop the enemy, perhaps even open the possibility of a counter-attack. Due to the lack of a turret and the armor being concentrated at the front, the ideal combat situation for Jagdpanzer units was in the planned ambush, and the skill of the commander of such units lay in correctly choosing and preparing such places long before needed.
The list below comprises some of the Jagdpanzer-type tank destroyers made by Germany.
| Name | Production start | Country of origin | Quantity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elefant/Ferdinand, officially 'Panzerjäger Tiger (P)' | March 1943 |  Nazi Germany | 91 |
| Mareșal tank destroyer | July 1943 |  Kingdom of Romania | 6–17 |
| Jagdpanther | January 1944 | Nazi Germany | 415 |
| Jagdpanzer IV | December 1943 | Nazi Germany | 2,000 |
| Jagdtiger | February 1944 | Nazi Germany | 70–88 |
| Jagdpanzer 38(t) [a] [4] | March 1944 | Nazi Germany | 2,827 |
After the war, the name Jagdpanzer was kept in use in the Bundeswehr for a number of armored vehicles used for anti-tank duties. This included the Kanonenjagdpanzer , a casemate vehicle intended for infantry support. [5] and the Raketenjagdpanzer series. [6] The first Raketenjagdpanzer was the Raketenjagdpanzer 1 built on the chassis of the SPz Lang HS.30 and armed with SS.11 missiles. The Raketenjagdpanzer 2 was built on the same chassis as the Kanonenjagdpanzer, but was equipped with two SS.11 launch-rails instead of carrying a gun.
Later, the Raketenjagdpanzer 2 and the Kanonenjagdpanzer were upgraded to Jaguar 1 and Jaguar 2 tank destroyers, armed with HOT or TOW missiles. [7]
An armoured fighting vehicle or armored fighting vehicle (AFV) is an armed combat vehicle protected by armour, generally combining operational mobility with offensive and defensive capabilities. AFVs can be wheeled or tracked. Examples of AFVs are tanks, armoured cars, assault guns, self-propelled artilleries, infantry fighting vehicles (IFV), and armoured personnel carriers (APC).
An assault gun is a type of armored infantry support vehicle and self-propelled artillery, mounting a infantry support gun on a protected self-propelled chassis, intended for providing infantry with direct fire support during engagement, especially against other infantry or fortified positions, secondarily also giving some armored protection and anti-armor capability. Assault guns were pioneered by the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany during the 1930s, initially being self-propelled guns with direct fire in mind, with Germany introducing the first purpose-built assault gun, the Sturmgeschütz III, in 1940.
A tank destroyer, tank hunter or tank killer is a type of armoured fighting vehicle, predominantly intended for anti-tank duties. They are typically armed with a direct fire artillery gun, also known as a self-propelled anti-tank gun, or missile launcher, also called an anti-tank missile carrier. The vehicles are designed specifically to engage and destroy enemy tanks, often with limited operational capacities.
Self-propelled artillery is artillery equipped with its own propulsion system to move toward its firing position. Within the terminology are the self-propelled gun, self-propelled howitzer, self-propelled mortar, and self-propelled rocket artillery. They are high-mobility vehicles, usually based on continuous tracks carrying either a large field gun, howitzer, mortar, or some form of rocket/missile launcher. They are usually used for long-range indirect bombardment support on the battlefield.
Anti-tank warfare originated during World War I from the desire to develop technology and tactics to destroy tanks. After the Allies deployed the first tanks in 1916, the German Empire introduced the first anti-tank weapons. The first developed anti-tank weapon was a scaled-up bolt-action rifle, the Mauser 1918 T-Gewehr, that fired a 13.2 mm cartridge with a solid bullet that could penetrate the thin armor used by tanks at that time and destroy the engine or ricochet inside, killing occupants. Because tanks represent an enemy's strong force projection on land, military strategists have incorporated anti-tank warfare into the doctrine of nearly every combat service since. The most predominant anti-tank weapons at the start of World War II in 1939 included the tank-mounted gun, anti-tank guns and anti-tank grenades used by the infantry, and ground-attack aircraft.
The Jagdpanzer 38, originally the Leichter Panzerjäger 38(t), known mostly post-war as Hetzer, was a German light tank destroyer of the Second World War based on a modified Czechoslovakian Panzer 38(t) chassis.
The Jagdtiger is a German casemate-type heavy tank destroyer (Jagdpanzer) of World War II. It was built upon the slightly lengthened chassis of a Tiger II. Its ordnance inventory designation was Sd.Kfz. 186.
Elefant was a heavy tank destroyer used by German Panzerjäger during World War II. Ninety-one units were built in 1943 under the name Ferdinand using VK 45.01 (P) tank hulls which had been produced for the Tiger I tank before the competing Henschel design had been selected.
Marder III was the name for a series of World War II German tank destroyers. They mounted either the modified ex-Soviet 76.2 mm F-22 Model 1936 divisional field gun, or the German 7.5 cm PaK 40, in an open-topped fighting compartment on top of the chassis of the Czechoslovakian Panzer 38(t). They offered little protection to the crew, but added significant firepower, which was able to destroy the thick-armored T-34s, compared to contemporary German tanks. They were in production from 1942 to 1944 with three variants, the Marder III, Marder III H, and Marder III M, and served on all fronts until the end of the war, along with the similar Marder II. The German word Marder means "marten" in English.
Panzerjäger is a term used for an anti-tank vehicle, as well as anti-tank units. The term was first used in the Wehrmacht, and also post-war by the German Federal Republic Bundeswehr. The term Panzerjäger was used in the Bundeswehr as a designation of rank.
Sturmgeschütz meaning "assault gun" was a series of armored fighting vehicles used by both the German Wehrmacht and the Waffen-SS formations during the Second World War (1939–1945). The main StuGs were the StuG III and StuG IV based on the Panzer III and Panzer IV medium tank chassis respectively.
The Jagdpanzer IV / Sd.Kfz. 162, was a German tank destroyer based on the Panzer IV chassis and built in three main variants. As one of the casemate-style turretless Jagdpanzer designs, it was developed against the wishes of Heinz Guderian, the inspector general of the Panzertruppen, as a replacement for the Sturmgeschütz III. Guderian objected against the needless diversion of resources from Panzer IV tank production, as the StuG III was still more than adequate for its role.
A casemate is a fortified gun emplacement or armoured structure from which guns are fired, in a fortification, warship, or armoured fighting vehicle.
Armoured warfare or armored warfare, is the use of armoured fighting vehicles in modern warfare. It is a major component of modern methods of war. The premise of armored warfare rests on the ability of troops to penetrate conventional defensive lines through use of manoeuvre by armoured units.
The Raketenjagdpanzer 2 or Raketenjagdpanzer SS-11 was a West German tank destroyer employed from 1967 to 1982 and equipped with Nord SS.11 guided anti tank missiles. It was developed at the same time as the Kanonenjagdpanzer and the Marder, and shares a similar chassis with them.
The Kanonenjagdpanzer (KanJPz) was a West German Cold War tank destroyer. Its design was very similar to that of the World War II Jagdpanzer IV.
The Raketenjagdpanzer 4 Jaguar 2 was a West German tank destroyer equipped with anti-tank guided missiles. It was only operated by the Bundeswehr.
Tanks were an important weapons system in World War II. Although tanks in the inter-war years were the subject of widespread research, few were made, in just a few countries. However, during World War II, most armies employed tanks, and thousands were built every month. Tank usage, doctrine, and production varied widely among the combatant nations. By war's end, a consensus was forming on tank doctrine and design.
The Raketenjagdpanzer 1 is an anti-tank guided missile-armed tank destroyer that entered service in 1961. It was built on the chassis of the Hispano-Suiza HS.30, which was also used on the Schützenpanzer SPz 12-3, and armed with twin French SS.11 antitank guided missile launchers. Only one of the missile launchers is visible from the outside at any time, however, as the other is retracted into the hull to be reloaded when the first is ready to fire.
