Jagdpanzer IV

The Jagdpanzer IV, Sd.Kfz. 162, was a German tank destroyer based
Jagdpanzer IV
on the Panzer IV chassis and built in three main variants. As one of the
casemate-style turretless Jagdpanzer (tank destroyer, literally "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 Sturmgeschütz III was still more than adequate for its role.

Officially, only the L/48-armed vehicle was named Jagdpanzer IV. The
L/70-armed vehicle was named Panzer IV/70. In this article, both
versions are referred to in general as Jagdpanzer IV, except in the
Jagdpanzer IV at the Deutsches
variants and surviving vehicles section.
Panzermuseum
Type Tank destroyer
Place of origin Nazi Germany
Contents
Production history
Development
Produced December 1943 – April 1945
Variants
Combat history
No. built about 2,000

Comparable vehicles Specifications (Jagdpanzer IV/70(V)[1])

Related Mass 25.8 tonnes (28.4 short tons;
Survivors 25.4 long tons)
References Length 8.5 m (27 ft 11 in)
External links Width 3.17 m (10 ft 5 in)
Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)

Development Crew 4 (driver, commander,

gunner, loader)
With experience gained during the initial phases of the Battle of
Stalingrad, in September 1942 the Wehrmacht's arms bureau, the
Armor 10–80 mm (0.39–3.15 in)
Waffenamt, called for a new standard for heavy assault guns: 100 mm
Main 1x 7.5 cm Pak 42 L/70
of armor to the front, 40–50 mm on the sides, wider tracks, ground
armament 55 rounds
clearance of 50 cm, top speed of 26 km/h and the lowest possible
firing positions. The new Panzerjäger ("tank hunter") design would be Secondary 1x 7.92 mm
armament Maschinengewehr 34
armed with the same 7.5 cm gun as fitted to the Panther: the Pak 42
L/70. Initially a new chassis was planned, but that of the Panzer IV had 600 rounds
to be used. Engine Maybach HL 120 TRM
300 PS (296 hp, 221 kW)
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 Power/weight 11.6 PS (8.6 kW) / tonne
had open crew compartments. The new design had a low silhouette Suspension Leaf springs
and completely enclosed,casemate-style fighting compartment. Operational 210 km (130 mi)
range
The Jagdpanzer IV used a modified Panzer IV Ausf. H chassis, 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.
Since the Jagdpanzer lacked a turret, the auxiliary engine which powered the Panzer IV's turret traverse mechanism could be
eliminated.

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

Armament consisted of a 7.5 cm main gun, originally intended to be the Pak 42 L/70, but due to shortages older guns were initially
used, the 7.5 cm Pak 39 L/43 for pre-production, and the 7.5 cm Pak 39 L/48 for initial production variant. These were shorter and
less powerful than the Pak 42 and also carried amuzzle brake.

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 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 19–22 August 1943, after the Battle of Kursk, Hitler received reports that StuG IIIs performed better than Panzer IV within the
constraints 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 continued to be produced until the end of the conflict along
with Jagdpanzer IV. VoMAG in Plauen switched completely from Panzer IV production to Jagdpanzer IV in Spring 1944, Krupp-
Grusonwerk in Magdeburg switched to StuG IV in early 1944, just Nibelungenwerke in St. Valentin continued with Panzer IV
production.

Variants
Jagdpanzer IV 0-Serie

with 7.5 cm Pak 39 L/43: a small number of these were

built as the preproduction (0-Serie) probably in
December 1943.[1]

Jagdpanzer IV (Sd.Kfz.162[1])

with 7.5 cm Pak 39 L/48, developed under the name

Sturmgeschütz neuer Art mit 7.5 cm Pak L/48 auf The 0-Serie preproduction vehicle at
Fahrgestell PzKpfw IV, with 769–784 produced in Deutsches Panzermuseum
January 1944 - November 1944.[1]

Panzer IV/70 (V) (Sd.Kfz.162/1[1])

was one of two variants armed with the same Pak 42 L/70 gun. The (V) stands for the
designer, Vomag. The most produced version, with 930–940 built in August 1944 - April
1945.[1] Equipped with a long, powerful L/70 7.5cm anti-tank gun that could outrange
opposing Allied tank weapons, the Jagdpanzer IV /70(V) Lang proved a formidable foe
following its introduction late in World War II. The "Lang" (German for "long") in its name was
added to distinguish it from its predecessor with a shorter L/48 7.5cm gun

Panzer IV/70 (A) (Sd.Kfz.162/1[1])

 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, in July 1944 Hitler ordered an interim solution to speed up
Nibelungenwerke's transition from Panzer IV production to Panzer IV/70 production. "A"
stands for Alkett, a manufacturer of the StuG III, that was ordered to redesign the
Jagdpanzer IV superstructure to be mounted onto a standard Panzer IV chassis. The Vomag
design used a modified chassis permitting a very low silhouette, mounting the superstructure
onto the original Panzer IV chassis required additional vertical steel plates mounted onto the
chassis to counter height differences. The resulting vehicle was about 40 cm taller and
lacked the sharp edged nose of the Vomag variant. Only 278 were built by Nibelungenwerke
from August 1944 to March 1945.

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 sideskirts.

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

Early vehicles had zimmerit applied to the hull to protect against magnetic mines, 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
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. They were very successful tank destroyers but performed poorly when used
out of role as substitutes for tanks or assault guns, such as in the later stages of the
war, because there was often nothing else available.

Romania received several Jagdpanzer IV/70 tank destroyers from the Red Army
after the war ended. They were officially known as TAs T4 in the army inventory
and were used until 1950. All German armour was scrapped in 1954. Jagdpanzer IV with infantry support,
Hungary, 1944.
Jagdpanzer IV aces include SS-Oberscharführer Rudolf Roy from the 12th SS
Panzerjäger Battalion of 12th SS Panzer Division. He was killed by an American
sniper while looking out of the hatch of hisJagdpanzer IV, on December 17, 1944 during theArdennes Offensive in Belgium.

After the war, West Germany continued the Jagdpanzer concept with the Kanonenjagdpanzer, but few other fixed-casemate self-
propelled guns were built postwar. An innovative exception was the SwedishStridsvagn 103, or "S-Tank".

Along with Panzer IVs and Sturmgeschütz IIIs, Syria acquired in the 1950s six Jagdpanzer IV L/48.[2] These were used in the
conflicts with Israel until 1967.

Comparable vehicles
Hetzer
Nashorn
SU-85
SU-100
Stug III
Stug IV
Jagdpanther
M10 tank destroyer
Related
The Kanonenjagdpanzer (also known as "Jagdpanzer Kanone 90mm", or "tank destroyer, gun") was a German Cold War tank
destroyer equipped with a 90mm anti-tank gun from obsolete M47 Patton tanks. Its design was very similar to that of World War II
Jagdpanzer IV.

Survivors
Jagdpanzer IV 0-Serie

Deutsches Panzermuseumin Munster, Germany. The vehicle is a preproduction model with rounded front plates. It
was previously part of theMusée des Blindés in Saumur, France

Jagdpanzer IV L/48

Deutsches Panzermuseumin Munster, Germany. It is an early version with 60 mm armor. This vehicle is on loan
from the WTS in Koblenz, Germany, and previously belonged to theUnited States Army Ordnance Museumin
Aberdeen, Maryland. It was returned to Germany in the 1960s.
Musée des Blindés in Saumur, France. It is an early model with 60 mm armor.
Thun Tank Museum in Switzerland. It is a late model with 80 mm front armor .
In storage in a military area inBulgaria. This is a very early L/48 model, and the only surviving example with the
driver's machine gun slot welded over. It was previously part of a defensive line on the Bulgarian border
. In February
2008 it was ordered recovered by the Bulgarian Defense Minister to be either preserved in a museum in Bulgaria, or
sold to a private collector.
A wreck of Jagdpanzer IV L/48 is stored inArmoured Warfare Museum in Poznań. It was excavated in 2009 in the
vicinity of the Citadel.

Panzer IV L/70 (V)

National Museum of Military Historyin Sofia, Bulgaria.

Kubinka Tank Museum in Russia.
United States Army Ordnance Museumlocated in Aberdeen, Maryland.
Patton Museum located at Fort Knox, Kentucky. This vehicle was previously part of the Shrivenham Study Collection
in the UK.
Canadian War Museum located in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. This vehicle was previously at the Canadian Forces
Base/Area Support Unit Shilo inCanada.

Panzer IV L/70 late (A)

Musée des Blindés in Saumur, France. The vehicle was used in 1944-45 by Free French forces. The vehicle is
displayed with damage resulting from a direct hit by an armor-piercing shell.

References
1. "Jagdpanzer IV and IV/70"(http://www.achtungpanzer.com/jagdpanzer-iv-sd-kfz-162-75mm-l48-1944.htm)
, Achtung
Panzer!
2. Naud, Phillipe (2011), "Les Blindes de Damas 1948-1967", in Steel Masters nº105, May–June, 2011

External links
Jagdpanzer IV at Panzerworld
Panzer IV/70 at Panzerworld
Jagdpanzer IV/70 in Kubinka tank museum
"Jagdpz.IV". AFV Database. Archived fromthe original on 13 March 2010.
"Pz.IV/70". AFV Database. Archived fromthe original on 11 May 2009.
Jagdpanzer Photos of the Jagdpanzer IV at the Canada War Museum
 Surviving Panzer IV variants- A PDF file presenting the Panzer IV variants Jagdpanzer
( IV, Hummel, Nashorn,
Brummbär, StuG IV, Flakpanzer tanks and prototypes based on Pz IV) still existing in the world

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