Aviation Naval Warfare Land Systems Small Arms By Flag By Year By Tag

SdKfz 162 Jagdpanzer IV (Panzerjager 39)

1943 WORLD WAR 2

History of SdKfz 162 Jagdpanzer IV (Panzerjager 39)

The Jagdpanzer IV (SdKfz 162) was a specialized tank destroyer used by the German Army during World War II, developed as an improved version of the StuG III series of tank destroyers (detailed elsewhere on this page). The appearance of Soviet heavy armored tanks along the Eastern Front (especially during the Battle of Stalingrad) indicated the need for armor-piercing weapons. The new Jagdpanzer IV has a 7.5 cm anti-tank gun mounted on the chassis of the Panzer IV medium tank.

Until the end of the war, the car was one of the best tank destroyers on either side of the tank destroyer. conflict. It was replaced by the 75mm armed Panzer IV/70(V) along the Vomag line.

The full name of the new tank is Sturmgeschutz New Tank with 7.5 cm PaK L/48 on chassis PzKpfW IV (SdKfz 162). However, during its service it was simply referred to as "Jagdpanzer IV".

The Jagdpanzer IV borrows the tried-and-true features of the Panzer IV and adds a flat, rigid superstructure to house the crew, ammunition depot and main gun. The gun was placed in the forward-facing superstructure and had a heavy cloak attached to its base. The driver sat on the left front of the fuselage and pushed the main gun that should have been installed in the front to the right.

The chassis and rear engine of the Panzer IV were preserved. Added lateral "rock" armor to better protect the upper track area and suspension system from damage. The spare track is mounted on the rear of the vehicle, usually above the front tilt plate.

The frontal armor protection reached 80 mm, which was especially important for war planners after Stalingrad. There are machine guns on each side of the main gun. The total weight is 28.5 tons (short).

The vehicle is powered by a 300 hp Maybach HL120 TRM engine. Road speeds reach 22 miles per hour and a combat range of up to 133 miles.

The main gun was originally the 7.5 cm (75 mm) PaK 39 L/43 anti-tank gun seen on the pre-production vehicle, although the production model was fitted with a 7.5 cm PaK 42 L/48 gun. 55 rounds were delivered on the tank.

The gun is located at the front of the vehicle, offset to the right, and its mounting hardware allows only minor adjustments - otherwise, the vehicle would rotate in the direction of fire, a tactical disadvantage in the heat of battle. Secondary armament consisted of 600 rounds of 7.92mm MG34 machine guns, although only one was installed in war casualties.

In its early form, the front corners of the vehicle's body were rounded, but this was omitted on production vehicles using a sharper, angled approach to armor. The sloped armor adds inherent ballistic protection and eliminates the shooting trap experienced by the vertical fairings of vehicles such as the earlier StuG III assault gun series.

Antimagnetic mine paste "zimmerit" was applied to the hull superstructure to counteract the effects of "sticky bombs", but this feature was not always present in production tanks of the late war period.

On the Jagdpanzer IV series, important work by Womag engineers began at the end of 1942, with the removal of the left front machine gun muzzle in March 1943. In May of the same year, Hitler saw looming designs and approvals for mass production, which began in January 1944.

Over time, when a new, larger recoil mechanism was introduced, the muzzle lost its large braking device. Late-war vehicles also lost one track wheel on each side of the hull, and "spark suppression" mufflers at the rear of the hull became standard in September 1944.

The Jagdpanzer IV went into combat service almost immediately after its launch - that's what the tank killer will be in the future. It saw the first battles on the Italian front and appeared in northern France during the invasion of Normandy. From there, it was used throughout the Eastern Front, and saw a sizable battle in the Battle of the Bulge (December 1944-January 1945) with around 137 tank killers present.

As tank killers, especially when used as defenders, these vehicles are deadly foes, but their value drops significantly when relied upon as specialized assault guns or when required to engage enemy tanks head-on one-on-one.

Production of the Jagdpanzer IV lasted from December 1943 to April 1945, with approximately 2,000 units delivered. By April 1945, only 285 examples of this type had been used. The "command vehicle" is the command version of the vehicle, with additional communications equipment and an extra crew.

Panzer IV/70(V) and Panzer IV/70(A) are related Jagdpanzer IV forks developed by Vomag and Alkett respectively. They were instead equipped with PaK 42 L/70 anti-tank guns, but were produced in limited numbers (940 and 278 respectively).