Jagdpanzer IV

Jagdpanzer IV/48 (Sd.Kfz. 162) 0 Serie pre production vehicle on display at the [Deutsches Panzermuseum Munster] , Germany.

The Jagdpanzer IV, Sd.Kfz. 162, was a tank-destroyer based on the Panzer IV chassis built in three main variants. As one of the casemate-style turretless Jagdpanzer ("Hunting tank") designs, it was developed against the wishes of Heinz Guderian, the inspector general of the Panzertruppen, as a replacement for the Sturmgeschütz III (StuG III). Guderian objected against the needless, in his eyes, diversion of resources from Panzer IV tank production, as the Stug III and Sturmgeschütz IV were still more than adequate for their role.

Development

After the Battle of Stalingrad, in September 1942, the Wehrmacht's arms bureau, the Waffenamt, called for a new standard for assault weapons; 100 mm of armor to the front, 40–50 mm on the sides, wider tracks, ground clearance of 50 cm, top speed of 26 km/h, and the lowest possible firing positions. The new Panzerjager ("tank hunter") design would be armed with the same 7.5 cm gun as fitted to the Panther: the Pak 42 L/70. Initially, a new chassis were planned, but that of the Panzer IV had to be used. Previous efforts to mount bigger guns on smaller chassis resulted in the Marder series as well as StuG IIIs. The Marder series were tall and had open crew compartments. The new design had a low silhouette and completely enclosed fighting compartment.

The Jagdpanzer IV used the Panzer IV chassis 7 (known as BW7), but the almost-vertical front hull plate was replaced by sloped armor plates. Internally, the layout was changed to accommodate the new superstructure, moving the fuel tanks and ammunition racks[clarification needed]. Since the Jagdpanzer lacked a turret, the engine which originally powered the Panzer IV's turret could be eliminated.

German tank destroyer Jagdpanzer IV/70 (V) displayed at the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa, Ontario.

The new superstructure had 80 mm-thick sloped armour, which gives greater armor protection than a vertical armor of 100 mm. To make the manufacturing process as simple as possible, the superstructure was made of large, interlocking plates which were welded together.

Armament consisted of a 7.5 cm main gun, originally intended to be the PaK 42 L/70, but shortages meant that for the pre-production and the first production run, different older guns were used: the 7.5 cm PaK 39 L/48. These were shorter and less-powerful than the PaK 42.

Installing the much heavier PaK 42 meant that the Jagdpanzer IV was nose heavy, especially with the heavy frontal armor. This made them less mobile and more difficult to operate in rough terrain, leading their crews to nickname them Guderian-Ente "Guderian's duck". To prevent the rubber rims of the roadwheels from being dislocated by the weight of the vehicle, some later versions had steel roadwheels installed on the front.

The final prototype of the Jagdpanzer IV was presented in December 1943 and production started in January 1944, with the PaK 39 L/48 armed variant staying in production until November. Production of the PaK 42 L/70 armed variants started in August and continued until March/April 1945.

On August 19–22, 1943, after the Battle of Kursk, Hitler received reports that StuG IIIs performed better than Panzer IVs, within certain restraints of how they were deployed. It was thus intended to stop production of the Panzer IV itself at the end of 1944 to concentrate solely on production of the Jagdpanzer IV, but the Panzer IV was in production all the way until the end of the conflict, along with Jagdpanzer IV.

Variants

Jagdpanzer IV with infantry support, Hungary, 1944

• Jagdpanzer IV with 7.5 cm PaK 39 L/43: a small number of these were built as the pre-production (0) series.
• Jagdpanzer IV with 7.5 cm PaK 39 L/48, official name Sturmgeschütz neuer Art mit 7.5 cm PaK L/48 auf Fahrgestell PzKpfw IV. Some 780 or so were produced in 1944.
• Jagdpanzer IV/70 (V) (Sd.Kfz.162/1) was one of two variants armed with the PaK 42 L/70 gun. Some 940 were built in 1944 and 1945. The (V) stands for the builder, Vomag.
• Jagdpanzer IV/70 (A) (Sd.Kfz.162/1) was the other PaK 42 L/70 armed Jagdpanzer IV. In order to send Pak 42 L/70-armed vehicles to the front as soon as possible, Hitler ordered an interim solution in July 1944. Alkett, a manufacturer of the StuG III, Alkett, was to immediately produce the Jagdpanzer IV to its own design. These differed in that its superstructure was mounted directly on the original Panzer IV chassis, and as such, lacked the sharp-edged nose of the Vomag variant. It was also taller. Only 278 were built in the period from August 1944 to March 1945. The (A) in the designation came from Alkett. This variant is also known as the Zwischenlosung: in translation, the "intermediate solution".

Minor modifications and improvements were made throughout the production runs of all variants, as well as several field improvements, the most common being the addition of armor side-skirts.

Originally, the Jagdpanzer IV/48's gun had a muzzle brake installed, but because the gun was so close to the ground, each time it fired, huge dust clouds would rise up and betrayed the vehicle's position, leading many crews to remove the muzzle brake in the field. Later variants dispensed with the muzzle brake.

Early L/48 and L/70-armed vehicles had zimmerit applied to the hull to protect against anti-tank grenades, but this was discontinued after about September 1944. Later vehicles had three return rollers rather than the original four, and adopted the twin vertical exhausts typical of the late Panzer IV series. Some late vehicles also had all-steel road wheels on the first couple of bogies on each side.

Combat history

Deutsches Panzermuseum Munster in Munster (Örtze) (German Tank Museum)

The Jagdpanzer IV served in the anti-tank sections of Panzer and SS Panzer divisions. They fought in Normandy, the Battle of the Bulge, and on the Eastern Front (WWII). They were very successful tank-destroyers, but performed badly when used out of role as substitutes for tanks or assault guns, as most tank-destroyers were. In the later stages of the war however, they were increasingly used as tank substitutes, because there was often nothing else available. Romania received several Jagdpanzer IV tank-destroyers from the Red Army after the war ended. They were officially known as TAs T4s in the army inventory and were used until 1950. All German armor was scrapped in 1954.

One of the more notable Jagdpanzer IV aces was SS-Oberscharführer Roy from the 12th SS Panzerjäger Abteilung of the 12th SS Panzer Division. He was killed by an American sniper while looking out of the hatch of his Jagdpanzer IV on December 17 1944, during the Ardennes Offensive in Belgium.