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.
The Panzer II is the common name used for a family of German tanks used in World War II. The official German designation was Panzerkampfwagen II.
This article lists production figures for German armored fighting vehicles during the World War II era. Vehicles include tanks, self-propelled artillery, assault guns and tank destroyers.
The Panzerkampfwagen 38(t), originally known as the ČKD LT vz. 38, was a tank designed during the 1930s, which saw extensive service during World War II. Developed in Czechoslovakia by Českomoravská Kolben-Daněk (ČKD), the type was adopted by Nazi Germany following the annexation of Czechoslovakia. With the German Army and other Axis forces, the type saw service in the invasions of Poland, France and the USSR. Production ended in 1942, when its main armament was deemed inadequate. In all, over 1,400 Pz. 38(t)s were manufactured. The chassis of the Pz. 38(t) continued to be produced for the Marder III (1942–1944) with some of its components used in the later Jagdpanzer 38 (1944–1945) tank destroyer and its derivative vehicles.
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.
Nashorn, initially known as Hornisse, was a German Panzerjäger of World War II. It was developed as an interim solution in 1942 by equipping a light turretless chassis based on the Panzer III and Panzer IV tanks with the 8.8 cm Pak 43 anti-tank gun. Though only lightly armoured and displaying a high profile, it could penetrate the front armour of any Allied tank at long range, and its relatively low cost and superior mobility to heavier vehicles ensured it remained in production until the war's end.
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.
The Sd.Kfz. 124 Wespe, also known as Leichte Feldhaubitze 18/2 auf Fahrgestell Panzerkampfwagen II (Sf.), is a German self-propelled gun developed and used during the Second World War. It was based on a modified Panzer II chassis.
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.
The Marder I "Marten" was a German World War II tank destroyer, armed with a 75 mm Pak-40 anti-tank gun. Most Marder Is were built on the base of the Tracteur Blindé 37L (Lorraine), a French artillery tractor/armoured personnel carrier of which the Germans had acquired more than 300 units after the Fall of France in 1940.
The 7.62 cm FK 36(r) and Pak 36(r) were German anti-tank guns used by the Wehrmacht in World War II. The first guns were conversions of the Soviet 76 mm divisional gun M1936 (F-22). Later in the war, the Soviet USV and ZiS-3 76 mm divisional guns were also converted.
