Jagdpanther

Jagdpanther
Jagdpanzer V Jagdpanther
Type	Tank destroyer
Place of origin	Nazi Germany
Specifications
Mass	45.5 tonnes (50.15 short tons)
Length	9.87 m
Width	3.42 m
Height	2.71 m
Crew	5
Armor	80 mm (frontal), 100 mm (gun mantlet)
Main armament	1x 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	250 km
Maximum speed	46 km/h

The Jagdpanther ("Hunting Panther") was a tank destroyer built by Germany during World War II based on the chassis of the Panther tank.

Development

A heavy tank destroyer design based on the 88 mm Pak 43 gun and the Panther tank chassis was ordered in late 1942 as design SdKfz 173. Production started in early 1944; at the same time Hitler specified the Jagdpanther ("hunting panther") name.

To accommodate the gun, the sides of the Panther tank were extended up to provide a roomy interior, while maintaining a very low profile. Both the Panther Ausf. G and Jagdpanther had side armor of increased elevation to enhance this effect even further and to harmonize production.

It was armed with an anti-tank version of the same long-barreled 88 mm gun as the Tiger II and a 7.92 mm MG-34 machine gun in the front glacis plate for local defence. The Jagdpanther had a good power-to-weight ratio and a powerful main gun, enabling it to destroy any type of Allied tank. The Jagdpanther's low profile meant that it was easily camouflaged. Because it was based on the existing Panther chassis, the vehicle did not suffer too many mechanical problems. It was manned by a crew of 5, a driver, radio-operator, commander, gunner, and a loader.

Two variants can be distinguished, one with a welded steel band around the main gun mantlet and the other with a bolted-on band. The versions with the bolted-on ring were equipped with Pak 43/4 gun. Early Jagdpanthers had a monobloc gun barrel and two vision openings for the driver, whereas late versions had only one.

Front of Zimmerit-coated Jagdpanther, Imperial War Museum.

Production

Around 392 Jagdpanthers were produced in 1944 and 1945. They equipped heavy antitank battalions and served mainly on the Eastern Front, although significant numbers were concentrated in the West for the Ardennes Offensive. They were first encountered in the west in very small numbers late in the Battle of Normandy, where the German 654th Heavy Antitank Battalion (schwere Panzerjäger-Abteilung) deployed about 12 Jagdpanthers against British units.

Same Jagdpanther (IWM), from the above

Survivors

One surviving Jagdpanther is in running condition. It was a wreck, discovered on a gunnery range before a four-year restoration by a British historical group, the Sdkfz Association.

Nine others survive and are displayed at various museums, including the Imperial War Museum, London, at the Deutsches Panzermuseum in Munster, Lower Saxony, at the Musée des Blindés in Saumur, France, and the United States Army Ordnance Museum, Aberdeen, Maryland.

Because of its visually striking design, the Jagdpanther was featured on the box cover art of the game Panzerblitz.

External links

• AFV Database
• Information about the Jagdpanther at Panzerworld
• Achtung Panzer!
• Jagdpanther manual (In German)
• Panthers survivors - A PDF file presenting the Panther tanks (Panther, Jagdpanther, Bergepanther) still existing in the world