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SdKfz 173 Jagdpanther (Panzerjager V Jagdpanther)

1944 WORLD WAR 2

History of SdKfz 173 Jagdpanther (Panzerjager V Jagdpanther)

The Jagdpanther was the "missing link" in the complete German dominance of the battlefield during World War II. Jagdpanther already has an established line of Tiger II and Panther tanks in its inventory - an impressive addition to any tank group if the estimated total wartime production is reached.

In fact, the cheetah itself was a lethal component, and could be an armored vehicle design for warfareonly through consistent Allied day and night bombardment operations targeting key assembly facilities.

The Jagdpanther is known for its use of the well-known armor-killing 88mm (8.8cm) gun mounted in a solid hull structure. In this configuration, the Cheetah certainly looks like a tank destroyer, and its thick, sloping frontal armor gives the machine a very solid profile. Despite its weapons and protective armor, the cheetah is actually one of the rare armored vehicles, with all the important qualities melded together for the perfect combination of speed, mobility, firepower and protection - like the T-34 that won the war Medium tanks are Soviets. Selecting the 88mm main gun alone is enough to defeat all friendly armor at a longer range than the enemy gun. The vehicle is defended by one machine gun - a 7.92mm MG34 or MG42 series machine gun.

There were five crew members, including the driver (sitting in the hull), the vehicle commander, the gunner, the loader and the machine gunner. The aircraft is loaded with 57 rounds of 88mm main battery and 600 x 7.92mm machine gun ammunition.

The 88mm shell is a mix of high-explosive and anti-tank shells and can be used against both soft and hard targets.

In appearance, the Cheetah retains some of the general appearance of the Panther medium tank. The hull is clearly leopard-shaped, including large wheels and wide track links. The sloping slab is thick and well-shaped, leading to the roof of the superstructure, which itself is flat. With no turret position, the entire vehicle had to rotate to face the target.

In a way, the cheetah is a mobile bunker. A cannon shroud was mounted to the bottom of the barrel, which was locked with a massive muzzle brake to deal with the violent recoil inherent in the main gun.

In contrast to the American tank destroyers used in the war, the Germans ensured that the cheetah's fighting compartment was completely enclosed to protect the artillery from shell fragments, artillery jets and bad weather.

The Jagdpanther evolved from the proven German war formula in which the existing tank chassis of the main battle tank was specially developed for tank killing. This made possible temporary combinations of main guns and hulls (like the previous Panzer III, Panzer IV and Tiger II tanks). What is unique about this new German creation, however, is that the Cheetah is a purpose-built tank killer and therefore fully meets the specifications of this system from the outset.

Shown for Hitler himself in 1943, the car impressed the dictator with its looks and promised specs, so much so that the original name "Panzerjager Panther" soon became the more recognizable "Jagdpanther". The car appeared on the front lines in early 1944, and Hitler managed a personal stake in its development.

On the battlefield, the cheetah is undoubtedly well deserved - it appears in limited numbers but still changes the game. Adequate armor protection for all types of Allied tanks is already an issue for the deployed M4 Sherman, Matilda, Valentine and Cromwell tanks, and the massive blow of the Cheetah 88mm gun will only exacerbate the problem. On the Eastern Front with the Soviet Union, the Soviets could at least fight the cheetahs with their new IS-2 heavy tanks and their 122mm guns.

Jagdpanthers themselves can engage armored targets at ranges of about 500 meters and penetrate them with lethal efficiency an astonishing feature to say the least.

However, by the time the war entered 1945, only 382 Cheetahs had been producedmuch lower than expected, and so few in number that they had limited impact in the war. As the Allies advanced on all fronts and got closer to vital German manufacturing facilities, the cheetahs were less and less fearful on the battlefield.

The watchman is certainly a force to be reckoned withif it hits production goalsthe mobile weapons platform will continue to give Allied commanders more thought.

At the end of the war, a Jagdpanther variant with a 128mm main gun was simulated, but no further.