History: On 2
October 1942, the order was issued to develop a heavy assault gun by using the
long 8.8cm Pak L/71 mounted on the Panther chassis. A wooden mock-up was
completed by October 1943, and the prototype was shown to Hitler on 16 December
1943. Production started at MIAG in January 1944, and at MNH in November 1944,
and continued until March 1945. Originally, there were two designations listed,
the above and 'Sturmgeschütz fur 8.8cm StuK43 auf Fgst Panther I (Sd Kfz 172)', but
no further record of this model has been located.
Specific features:
The fighting compartment was designed by extending the upper hull and side
plates of the normal Panther chassis. The 8.8cm PaK43/3 was installed in a gun
mount in this sloping front plate. Earlier production vehicles had the gun
mount welded to the superstructure front plate; later production vehicles had a
protruding gun mount which was bolted in place. The driver was provided with a
periscope in the front superstructure next to the gun mount, while all other
crew vision was by periscopes mounted in the superstructure roof. Close defence
was provided by a 'Nahverteidigungsgerät' (close-defence weapon) mounted in
the superstructure roof, and a machine-gun in a hull mount in the
superstructure front. The suspension was unchanged from that installed on the
Panther, but the drivetrain was improved by the installation of a heavy-duty
transmission.
Combat service:
The first Jagdpanthers were issued to the 559th and 654th Panzerjägerabteilungen
in June 1944. Only the latter unit only a company strength of from ten to
fourteen Jagdpanthers. The largest collection of Jagdpanthers built during the
war were assembled in December 1944 to participate in the Ardennes offensive.
From January 1945 until the end of the war, they were also issued to the tank
detachments of seven different Panzer divisions, to The Fuhrer Grenadier
Division and to a Panzer brigade.
Type | Tank destroyer |
---|---|
Place of origin | Nazi Germany |
Service history | |
In service | 1944-1945 (Nazi Germany) 1945-1960s (France) |
Production history | |
Produced | 1944–1945 |
Number built | 415 |
Variants | G1, G2 |
Specifications | |
Weight | 45.5 tonnes (100,300 lb) |
Length | 9.87 m (32 ft 5 in) |
Width | 3.42 m (11 ft 3 in) |
Height | 2.71 m (8 ft 11 in) |
Crew | 5 |
|
|
Armor | 80 mm (3.14 in) frontal 100 mm (3.93 in) mantlet 45mm side 40mm rear |
Main
armament |
1 × 8.8 cm Pak 43/3 or 43/4 L/71 57 rounds |
Secondary
armament |
1 × 7.92 mm Maschinengewehr 34 600 rounds |
Engine | Maybach HL230 P30 (V-12 petrol) 700 PS (690 hp, 515 kW) |
Power/weight | 15.4 PS/tonne |
Suspension | dual torsion bar |
Operational
range |
160 km (99 miles) |
Speed | 46 km/h (28.6 mph) |
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