Jagdpanther in World War II. How does the German Panther tank work?

Sd.Kfz. 171, Panzerkampfwagen V, Panther - all these are different names for one tank, more often called Pz.Kpfw V Panther. It’s difficult to say something about this car without repeating myself. The tank, inspired by an encounter with the Soviet T-34, was a collection of contradictions. It seems like a powerful 75 mm gun, but the side armor of early models was “available” even anti-tank rifles. It seems to have good dynamics for an almost 45-ton vehicle, but the cross-country ability leaves much to be desired. The design concept is definitely not bad. But low reliability and “childhood diseases” were cured only a year after the start of production.

Be that as it may, the Panther became the second most popular German tank of World War II after the Pz.Kpfw IV. This despite the fact that its cost was 176 thousand Reichsmarks (By the way, the “Tiger” cost the German treasury 250 thousand)!

Location of components and assemblies of the Panther

Recently, I created a post about the Tiger heavy tank. But today we will look at the interior of the German medium tank "Panther" through the eyes of its crew members.

The Panther was a relatively easy tank to control - this was facilitated by amplifier controls.

Driver mechanic

"View from the driver's seat. The transmission is located on the right, under the dashboard"

Behind the 85-mm armor plate on the left is the driver of the Panther. Under his leadership, the impressive machine was driven by a Maybach HL 210 P30 engine (later - HL 230 P45 - with increased torque). The tank was easy to control relative to enemy vehicles. The levers required little effort due to the hydraulic drive with feedback, and the 7-speed transmission was semi-automatic. The means of observation also changed: on early models, the front plate had an observation hatch for the driver (nicknamed the “mailbox”), which was later abolished, leaving a hatch in the roof of the hull with telescopic observation devices.

"View of the dashboard. In the lower right corner is the ignition switch"

Unlike the “Tiger”, here the turn was carried out using the usual levers for tracked vehicles, and not the steering wheel.

"The machine was turned by means of two levers"

“On early modification vehicles (as in the photo), the driver, in addition to the periscopes, had a viewing window in the frontal part of the hull, which weakened the armor of this area.”

"View of the driver's seat of the not fully assembled Panther. Here you can better see the size of the frontal armor zone weakened by the viewing device."

Gunner-radio operator

"To the left of the radio operator is the radio station Fu 5"

This crew member had at his disposal a Fu 5 radio station, the range of which in telegraph mode exceeded 9 kilometers. The shooter was armed with an MG-34 machine gun, which on the first Panther models was located in a yoke mount, but since 1943 it was replaced with a traditional ball mount - with a KZF sight. 2.

"MG-34 machine gun with KZF.2 sight sight"

Gunner

"View of the gunner's seat from the commander's hatch"

The operator of the 75 mm KwK 42 gun was located in the turret on the left. His main tool was the TZF-12 binocular sight, which was characterized by low reliability. Later it was replaced by the monocular TZF-12a.

"Under the rotating floor of the fighting compartment there is a power take-off shaft, which is responsible for turning the turret"

It is worth noting that the Panther’s gun had better armor-piercing properties than the Tiger’s 88-gun.

"The photo shows a late modification of the tank, equipped with a Tzf-12 monocular sight"

Charging

"The loader's position was located to the right of the breech of the gun"

To the right of the breech of the gun was the loader's place. He had access to 79 (later - 82) shells, the location of which varied from modification to modification. The Ausf.D had 18 shells under the turret on both sides. Later, their number was increased to 24. Three shells were stowed between the driver and the turret, and under the rotating floor of the fighting compartment.

"Stacking shells in the Panther's hull. Unfortunately, there are no more sane photographs of this part of the vehicle"

An interesting feature is that with the turret installed in the direction of travel, the loader only had access to the shells on the starboard side.

Tank commander

"View of a late model commander's cupola. The hatch opening to the side no longer contributed to the ricochets of shells into the fighting compartment"

Located at the rear of the turret, the commander had access to all crew members. Observation of the battlefield was carried out by the commander's periscope panorama. Like the Tiger, the Panther has undergone changes to the commander's cupola. Since 1943, it received a streamlined turret with a hatch that opened to the side.

"The commander observes the battlefield through a periscope panorama"

The tank had one transmitter and two receivers - this allowed it to communicate with other vehicles and with the crew without reconfiguration. In order not to disturb the radio operator, two sockets with terrible German technical abbreviations (Z.EMPF. FERNH. and Z. SENDER MIKR) were connected with a cable on the receiver.

"View of the commander's seat."

February 19, 2020 The next winners were determined based on the results of audience voting. Look .

Unknown Jagdpanther

Vladislav Belinski aka Vlad Belinski

viewing photos in a separate window
viewing photos in lightbox mode

Introduction.

Modeler's equipment.

About 1.5 years ago I purchased the Tamiya Jagdpanther with the goal of eventually building a model for real, otherwise this is my favorite self-propelled gun of all time, I tried to build it 3 times (2 times from Italian wood and once from the Tamiya set), but there is still no sensible model. It seems like a fairly well-known self-propelled gun, but the cat cried for materials on it. Only one book based on it was published in Russian from the “Military Technical Series” number 100. This is a translation of Western publications with magnificent graphics stolen from the Japanese publication “Ground Power”.
The Tamiya model is referred to as a late model and the instructions suggest the possibility of installing an exhaust system from Panther A. I began to delve into the specifics of the hardware and realized that there were many more questions than answers to them. The process of collecting information and systematizing it took almost a year.
Naturally, the article was planned along with a comparative review of Tamiya and Dragon, as well as the construction of the model. But everything somehow didn’t work out and I began to acquire interesting boxes that have recently fallen upon lovers of German armor, and I realized that the finished model is still very far away, and errors continue to wander from edition to edition and my colleagues are asking for help, so I’ve matured to write an article.

Yadpanther from the 654th tank destroyer battalion. They are usually called late, although not everything is so simple. This is a typical MID or to be completely correct it is a late G1. A new gun mantlet that went into production in September 1944, while the body is still early and there is even a cutout for the left periscope of the driver. The number of projectile marks on the frontal armor is impressive.

The beginning of the way. Prototypes.

I could barely resist starting to describe all the technical advantages and outstanding performance characteristics of this self-propelled gun and decided to limit myself only to information interesting for modelers.
And so let's start in order.
There were two prototypes: V101 and V102.

Therefore, the prototypes had the same features.">> One of the first production cars (presence of Zimmerit). It can be seen that at the beginning of production the over-engine plate from Panther A was used, so a blind plug was installed on the snorkel air intake. The exhaust system is from an early Panther A (there are no additional ventilation pipes around the left exhaust pipe. The jack is installed lying under the exhaust pipes (15 ton jack). Consequently, the prototypes had the same features.

Characteristic air intakes for Jagdpanthers from prototypes and on all G1s, both early and late. The front ones are narrow - unique to Jagdpanthers. They were even narrower than standard G-bars, with only 2 crossbars, so it looks like 6 windows and not 8 as on standard G-bars. The rear ones are standard from Panther A. Round grilles above the fans are like on Panther A.

Jagdpanther Ausf.G1.

The official name of Jagdpanther has changed 18 times. Until finally, on February 27, 1945, the name Jagdpanther G1 was adopted. Changes were made gradually, sometimes old parts surfaced on newer machines, so in my opinion the main difference between the later G1 and G2 is the rear part of the body. I'll try to sort it all out. The most numerous were G1, they went into production in January 1944 and left the assembly line until the end of February 1945. Their main distinguishing feature- this is the rear part of the hull from the Panther Ausf.A. It’s probably more correct to say the engine compartment is from the Panther Ausf.A, and from here flow the roof of the engine compartment from the Panther Ausf.A, with some changes, and the exhaust system from the A-shka.
I would divide Ausf.G1 Jagdpanthers into early and late.
The earlier classification is no longer correct due to new facts. The old classification divided Yadpanthers into early and late. The early ones included zimmered Jagdpanthers with an early gun mantlet and a monoblock gun barrel. And to the later ones without Zimmerit with a new gun mantlet and a composite barrel. Here I want to dwell on one more misconception or even stupidity. Some authors write that on early machines the mask was welded. Personally, this immediately raised doubts in me; no matter how closely I looked, I didn’t see any welding there, but when the Internet burst into our lives, everything immediately became clear. There were photos of the interior on the Internet where it is clearly visible that the old mask was bolted on, not from the outside but from the inside. Those. The authors were not even tormented by the question: how was it possible to change the gearbox then?
Hulls for Jagdpanthers were produced by a single factory, Brandenburger Eisenwerke. The hull serial numbers were the same as the Jagdpanther serial numbers. The latest hull serial number known today is 300795. Which suggests that even half of them were not completed into a completed Jagdpanther.
The serial numbers of the hulls and the Jagdpanthers themselves were not always the same. For example, Jagdpanther with serial number 300099 had hull 300185, Jagdpanther 300100 had hull 300177, Aberdeen G1 with serial number 303018 (MNH Jagdpanthers had numbers starting from 303001) had hull 300294.
But nevertheless, at first a backlog of housings with a 16 mm roof (50 pieces) was used, only after that they switched to housings with a 25 mm roof (starting with housing 300051). We also completed all the G1 cases first and only after that we switched to the G2 cases.
Hulls with a 16 mm roof can be easily distinguished by the turret (or whatever it is) with a rotating roof and viewing devices. Its upper part was curved and the roof rose and went over the sides of the turret. And on the turret mounted on the 25 mm roof of the cabin, the roof was recessed and was at the same level as the upper cut, the rounded shape disappeared.
On a hull with a 16mm roof, the cutout for the movable protection of the cutout in the roof for the gun sight was deeper and therefore wider. And on the 25mm roof the protection is raised and the cutout under it is barely noticeable.

The insides of an early Jagdpanther from the Royal War Museum in London. It is clearly visible that the mask was bolted from the inside.

I would classify as early G1 cars those produced from January 1944 to September 1944. And to the late G1 from September to December 1944. Because in September there were 2 serious changes - the abandonment of the Zimmerit, and a new fixed part of the gun mantlet, which was fastened with 8 external bolts. Moreover, this mask can be divided into early and late. At first, the new mask had almost the same configuration as the old one, and from October 1944, the lower part became more massive and the lower bolts were recessed into it (probably this was done to protect them).

Serial release began in January 1944 at the factories of the MIAG company, although the first machines can hardly be called production, because the monthly output could be counted on one hand. And in June 1944, the Americans successfully bombed MIAG, as a result the production base was seriously damaged and production fell again; in June only 6 Jagdpanthers were built. In October 1944, the Allies again bombed very successfully and production fell again. It became clear that MIAG could not cope with the order and MNH was involved in the production, which in November 1944 produced its first hunting panthers. In December, MBA joined the release. We will talk about these December hunters later; they deserve special attention from the brother modeler.

The first production machine FG300001. Since all the Zimmerit cars were produced by MIAG, the Zimmerit pattern on all of them was the same - squares. Please note that in addition to the rain strip, rain visors are also installed above the periscopes.
16mm roof with a characteristic turret.

Turret installed on a 25mm roof.

Production vehicles did not have loopholes in the sides of the wheelhouse, were covered with zimmerit (applied before September 1944), and almost immediately lost the second periscope of the driver. The cutout for it was welded with a plug; the rainproof strip initially had a triangular shape and even covered the welded cutout.
Zimmerit also deserves a separate discussion. Repeatedly we had to confront entrenched misconceptions. The starboard side (the side of the gunner-radio operator and commander) had the least Zimmerit. It was applied to the upper part of the cabin (and not to the lower part like the Elephants) to the frames with the entrenching tool. It was also not there under the spare tracks on board the engine compartment, but was only present on that part of the side that was not covered by the spare tracks (the very tip of the side) and it covered the area under the fender to the lower edge of the side. Zimmerit was applied to the stern of the hull and to the luggage boxes. Sometimes the stern sheet of the cabin was not covered with zimmerit; here we need to rely on the available photos of the prototype. The front plate was completely covered with zimmerit except for the gun mantlet. Left side (drive side): the side of the wheelhouse is in front - the zimmerit went to the frame with the entrenching tool, behind this frame it went down to the fender, then there was a container with a banner (the zimmerit went above it and below, but was absent in the place where the container touched the side ), behind it it again zimmers to the spare tracks and then on the rear edge of the side, and of course under the fender. I'll try to explain this with photographs.

The very first and only unit fully equipped with Jagdpanthers was the 654 Schwere Heeres Panzerjäger Abteilung. Therefore, it was a very powerful combat unit, and it was constantly replenished; in total, about 100 combat vehicles passed through the battalion, i.e. Almost every 4th Jagdpanther fell into this part. Also cars belonging to 654 separate battalion had a very characteristic feature - the entire entrenching tool was transferred to the stern and roof of the engine compartment, and the cylindrical container for the banner was transferred to the roof of the engine compartment. Moreover, the frames to which this instrument was attached were even cut off. I think it would be interesting to provide two sketches showing how the instrument was placed on the Yadpanthers of the 654th separate battalion.

On the early Jagdpanthers, the entrenching tool was attached as on the G Panthers, the only difference was that in the fender shelf (on the left side) there was no cutout for a shovel, and therefore, in order for it to fit, the frame itself had to be pulled up with the rear part towards the top.

Although the picture shows a late G1, it still has the frame of the entrenching tool fastenings raised up, this suggests that the car came out of the MIAG gate

Another interesting detail, for me personally it was a small discovery, because this was not written anywhere. It turns out that at first the feed boxes were attached like on Panther A, i.e. large hooks for the upper cut of the feed sheet.

Jagdpanther from the 654th battalion, photograph taken on August 28, 1944. This is the 42nd Hunter released (FG300042). The car still does not have additional ventilation pipes around the left exhaust pipe; it is clearly visible that the luggage box weighs on the upper section of the stern sheet.

Now let's talk about the weapon. At first, Jagdpanthers were equipped with guns with a monolithic barrel and an old (large) muzzle brake. Those. the gun was the same as on the Ferdinand. Since the summer of 1944, the gun barrel became composite, at first the muzzle brake remained old and only later a new (small) muzzle brake similar to the Royal Tiger appeared.

Photo selection of early G1.

Late G1.

Late G1 is my favorite theme. I would include Jagdpanthers produced after September 1944 among these vehicles. It was at this time that the hunters lost their zimmerit and acquired a new mask, or rather its fixed part, which received 8 external bolts. It seems that due to production failures, so many parts (both old and new) accumulated that they surfaced in a wide variety of combinations. In addition, MNH joined the release in November, and MBA in December. Which added even more options. In short, these are the most colorful cars. So let's try to figure this out.

A new gun mantlet appeared in September 1944.

Since October 1944, the mask has changed again, the lower part has become more massive and the lower bolts have sunk into it.

In October 1944, they decided not to install a rear shock absorber; tests showed that its absence did not affect the driving performance of the self-propelled gun. MNH received this instruction on October 7 and carried it out starting with the second Jagdpanther assembled in November 1944, serial number 303002. Since the hulls themselves had been ready a long time ago, they had holes for its mounting bracket. There are 2 options for plugging this hole. In the first version, a standard bracket was inserted into the hole and welded from the inside (the standard head remained on the outside). In the second version, an armored plug was inserted into the hole and welded from the outside (a small cap, welded around the perimeter, stuck out from the outside, Aberdeen MNH G1 303018).
In October, MIAG began welding 3 bonnets under Behelfskran on the roof of the hull. MNH started welding them much later. The MBA Jagdpanthers released in December still didn’t have them either. MNH and MIAG welded them differently (see features of MNH Jagdpanther).

Now let’s look at the variety of combinations of different parts on specific machines.

The December cars produced by MBA deserve special attention. Since the components came from MIAG, they probably cleaned up their backyards, which is what can explain such an early case with a plug in place of the left periscope.

Kagero publishing house, in my opinion, is more competent than AJ Press. At least there are no complaints about the drawings of this hunter. But in the book AJ Press Tank Power 024 - "SdKfz. 173 Jagdpanther" it is not at all similar (a jamb on a jamb).

Jagdpanther Ausf.G2

The main difference between the G2 and the G1 is the new body. The body was modified to fit the engine compartment of the Panther G. Since the rectangular ventilation grilles of the Panther G were wider than the narrow (front) grilles of the Jagdpanther G1, the roof of the G2 engine compartment was longer than that of the G1. Therefore, it was necessary to reduce the angle of inclination of the aft sheet of the armored cabin so that the front grilles would fall into place. But the rear ones were the opposite, so the opening for the rear grilles was narrowed by welding on a narrow armor plate. The roof of the engine compartment itself was similar to the Panther one, but was not completely identical. There were no holes drilled in it for the bolt heads. The bolts themselves were positioned slightly differently and their heads stuck out. Also, the armored cap above the air duct in place of the snorkel was secured with only 4 bolts and not 8.
There are errors here again. The most common is that on a Jagdpanther with a roof from a Panther G, with a high hood for heating the fighting compartment, they install an exhaust system from a Panther A (with two additional ventilation pipes). Even Tamiya offers this option on its model. I think this is a gross mistake and this could not have happened! Now the next thing is that from December 1944 it is believed that the roof of the engine compartment appeared like on the early Panthers G. I think that this is unlikely since by December on the Panthers G a high heating hood for the fighting compartment had already been installed for 2 months and an air duct was installed in the engine compartment for extraction warm air. Moreover, as MNH correspondence shows, where they reported on changes in the production process, on February 25, 1945 they were still producing the G1. So they most likely switched to G2 somewhere in March 1945 from hull 300301. Therefore, I think that G2 Jagdpanthers immediately received this cap. But the exhaust pipes could be used either with or without flame arresters, depending on the availability of them in the warehouse.
Another feature of the G2 was the transfer of the entrenching tool from the sides of the deckhouse to the stern. I just don’t know whether this was done immediately with the transition to G2 or at first the tool was installed on the sides of the cabin. In those photographs where it is clearly visible that this G2 entrenching tool is already on the stern, I have not yet come across a photo where the G2 tool is on the sides. Therefore, on the G2 model I would move the instrument to the stern.

There are very few photographs of Jagdpanther G2, and there were very few of them.

I almost forgot to mention the stops for the aft hatch of the wheelhouse. At the beginning of production and on later G1s, these stops had rubber dampers. On the last G2 there were no dampers, but the stops themselves were higher, as if compensating for the height of the rubber damper. I don’t know whether this change occurred immediately with the transition to G2 or at the very end of production.

Features of Jagdpanther produced by MNH.

MNH became involved in Jagdpanther production in November 1944. And immediately characteristic differences appeared. Since MNH by this time was producing Panther Gs, it began to equip the Jagdpanthers with fenders from the Panther G. Both manufacturers assembled them from two parts, but MIAG welded these parts themselves from 2 sections, and MNH from 3. Moreover, in the left front part, the MNH had a cutout for a bayonet shovel, while the MIAG did not have one. Therefore, MIAG always installed the left frame under the entrenching tool with the top turned up so that the shovel would fit.
Another characteristic feature are bonks for the base of the crane on the roof of the building. They had different shapes, and were also installed differently. At MNH they had the shape of a cylinder; on the roof, 2 pieces were installed in the front and one in the back. For MIAG, the upper part of the cylinder had the shape of a truncated cone and they were oriented the other way around - 2 were installed at the back and one at the front. Moreover, in November, MIAG was already welding these bonks, but the MNH hunters did not yet have them.
Jagdpanthers produced by MNH did not have a rear hydraulic shock absorber, so instead of the head of the bolt securing it, a plug was installed.
On February 27, 1945, MNH reported that it had stopped installing luggage racks on the aft deck due to constant interruptions in their supply. Its fastenings on the aft deckhouse plate were removed. The G1 was still in production. So we can say with confidence that the MNH G2s did not have a 3rd drawer. The photos show that MIAG installed this box on the G2 as well.
To top it all off, instead of the support roller, MNH began installing a metal groove on the G2.

Let me make a reservation right away that this is not G2, but a late G1. Machine from 654 sPzJgAbt. I looked at this photo a hundred times and only recently noticed that the aft luggage box is typical only for MNH cars. Instead of cross-shaped stamping there are 5 vertical stripes. Consequently, such boxes appeared much earlier than simplifications, because in the picture the car was produced in October-December 1944.

Command vehicle from the 559th battalion (AJ Press). The Japanese edition contains photos of this car in excellent quality and in A4 format, and again the Polish artist did an excellent job, even conveying the shape of the spots in detail. This car is now in England where it has been beautifully restored, but painted incorrectly.

Late G1 and G2.

I combined the later G1 and G2 together because they were painted according to the new rules. From mid-September 1944, following the abandonment of Zimmerit, a new order was received on the painting of Panthers and Jagdpanthers. Tanks are no longer painted in the base color Dunkelgelb RAL-7028. The camouflage had to be applied directly to the primer; in the absence of Dunkelgelb RAL-7028 paint, Dunkelgray RAL-7021 paint was allowed to be applied. Obviously, based on this, colored side panels have become widespread where the Jagdpanthers are entirely painted dark gray. I still very much doubt this. Analysis of the photograph shows that all Jagdpanthers of this period had a camo that was mainly 3-color and rarely 2-color.
MNH used their standard striped camo. The stripes were fairly even.
MIAG used 3 color camo with wavy spots.
On October 31, 1944, MNH received an order to stop painting the inside of tanks. Those. the inside of the body remained only primed, and the internal equipment remained in the same form as it had been received from related enterprises. Today we can say for sure that the MNH hunter 303018, produced in November-early December 1944, was not painted inside and even half of the outside of the body remained unpainted (the primer was one of the camo colors).
On February 15, 1945, MNH reported that it had begun painting the interior Ivory again. The roof, sides and bulkheads were painted, everything else remained just primed. The G1 was still in production.
On February 15, 1945, MNH reported that if paint supplies were cut off, it would switch to a dark green base color as of March 1, 1945. If supplies of the old paint continue, the old paint scheme will be used until May 30, 1945. But from June 1, 1945, MNH was obliged to switch to a new paint scheme.

The Polish edition "Militaria" and our "Frontline Illustration" very often overlap, they publish the same photographs and sidebars. I don’t know who is cheating who, but the mistakes are the same. In particular, this side panel demonstrates a real car, but the artist took a drawing of an early Jagdpanther as a basis, so modellers are now wondering whether there was such a car (it’s probably very tempting to make an early G1 without a cymm).

Conclusion.

I hope that this article will help modellers understand the features of this magnificent, but little-lit machine. Moreover, Dragon released the magnificent early G1, and now announced the late G1. And Tamiya produces a good G2. So now you can build any modification. Naturally, I do not pretend to be the ultimate truth and will be glad to receive constructive comments and additions.
When working on the article, the following literature was used.
1. "Yagdpanther and other Panther-based vehicles." Military technical series number 100.
2. Special issue on Jagdpanther by Ground Power publishing house "Jagdpanther" N1 2006.
3.AJ-Press Tank Power 024 - "SdKfz. 173 Jagdpanther".
4.Photos from the book "The Combat History of Schwere PanzerJäger Abteilung 654" Karlheinz Münch. I express my deep gratitude to forum member Edward who kindly shared photographs from this book.
5.Panzer Tracts No.9-3 Jagdpanther, Thomas L.Jentz and Hilary Louis Doyle.
6. Internet spaces.

When it comes to military operations, we imagine an army armed to the teeth, the presence large number guns, as well as special vehicles capable of covering long distances. The 20th century is remembered by humanity for two bloody world wars, in which the participating countries tried to show their superiority in weapons.

Tanks and their modifications were of particular importance. Of course, armored vehicles were not so easy to destroy, but opponents tried to invent a convenient and easy-to-use assistant for tanks, so that all parties to the conflict would not be left without attention. The Germans came up with a wonderful machine that went down in history as the Jagdpanther.

History of creation

When the German army was faced with the problem of the lack of good and durable tanks (the opponents had much more advanced ones), it was decided to create the latest weapons. This is what the Panther tank became.

Later, when production of the tank was put into production, factories (by order from above, naturally) began to create vehicles based on the . This is what the Jagdpanther tank became. So, let's figure out what it is.

This is self-propelled artillery installation. Its main task on the battlefield was to destroy enemy tanks. The mass of the Jagdpanther was very large. Why was it created at all?

This is what it's all about. On the eve of the big war (that is, before 1941), the Germans were already faced with a problem - french tanks They absolutely did not succumb to the German Pak 35 cannon. Agree, when it comes to conquering territory, the presence of superior technology determines the winner. Something urgently needed to be decided.

Engineers and designers created a more modern Pak 38 cannon, but it was not able to penetrate the armor of the French army tanks. The Germans were unable to use it entirely on French territory - several dozen guns were manufactured and delivered to the front after the surrender of France.

That's why baptism of fire the cannon had already reached the Eastern Front. And here again bad luck. Soviet T-34s turned out to be just as impenetrable - punching a hole is only possible with close range, but the soldiers were not very keen to let the enemy closer.

The German military leadership convened a meeting and decided to create a more powerful machine. Gunsmiths presented a model of the Pak 40 cannon, but the fascist army had to wait for it for almost 2 years - only in 1942 did it appear on German tanks and was recognized as the most powerful anti-tank weapon of the war. Of course, the German command did not stop there, and the Pak 43 model was proposed, which has the ability to disable the tank at a distance of up to 3 kilometers.

Later this gun was installed on, which successfully attacked the positions of Soviet troops on Kursk Bulge and other battles. But it also had disadvantages: its excessive mass made it difficult to navigate bridges and other bottlenecks. The soldiers managed to easily throw an incendiary mixture at the tank, disabling the vehicle. Therefore, it was necessary to create the ideal vehicle - not too heavy and not too light, with maneuvering capabilities and the presence of thick armor. And such a tank appeared. It was the Jagdpanther.

It was originally planned that the Rak 43 cannon would be located directly on the battlefield. But it soon became clear that its large dimensions did not allow it to be moved. Therefore, the Wehrmacht began to look for various options for a mobile installation. On August 3, 1942, a solution was found: the designers proposed using the Panther chassis to move the Rak cannon. The Krupp company received the contract to create the installation, but its designers were late in providing the drawings, and soon another transport company, Daimler-Benz, dealt with this issue, although Krupp continued to be responsible for the production of the Pak 43 and the supply of the gun to the Jagdpanther.

The final design was handed over to Hitler on his birthday, he approved it and handed it over to a special commission for review. As soon as Daimler began building cars, it turned out that the plant did not have enough workspace, so production was soon transferred to the MIAG company, which was based in Braunschweig. In October 1942, the final version of the tank was handed over to Hitler, and in November mass production of the Jagdpanther began.

First self-propelled units were sent to the front in December 1943. Production delays were due to continuous improvements to the model. Also, there were bombings of German cities, which also did not contribute to the rapid production of machines. There was a shortage of labor - men went to the front. However, even such modest results were impressive: the installation was equipped with the latest 88 mm cannon, with accuracy from a distance of about 3 km. Initially, the barrel was single-block, but this fact showed the rapid wear of the cannon tube, and it was decided to replace it with a double-block barrel. There were 4 periscopes on the tower. The Maybach engine consisted of 12 cylinders and ran on gasoline, which German army and the country in particular was much more profitable - there were interruptions in diesel fuel. The ammunition capacity contained 60 shells.

The crew consisted of 5 people: tank commander, gunner, driver, loader and radio operator-machine gunner. Two hatches at the top of the tank were intended for the commander and gunner, while a hatch at the rear served as an entrance for the crew and replenishment of ammunition. On earlier models, the driver used two periscopes to provide a better view ahead, and five pistol ports, which could also be used to view the surrounding battlefield. In later models the holes were removed and one of the periscopes was welded shut. The commander and gunner had four periscopes at their disposal to survey the surroundings - two fixed and two capable of turning.

Jagdpanther in battle

The first time the Jagdpanther tried its hand in combat was on July 30, 1943 in France. The battle involved the Germans and British tanks. Reality has confirmed: the Jagdpanther is much stronger than the Churchills. Three German installations were able to destroy as many as 11 British tanks before help arrived in the form of new reinforcements.

The command planned to use the installations in the offensive in the Ardennes. Moreover, the Jagdpanther has already developed a reputation as a real beast that can “take down” a tank of any strength and thickness of armor. However, this was the Western Front, and not everything was so smooth on the Eastern Front. Many Jagdpanthers were destroyed by the hands of their crews. There was a shortage of fuel and spare parts. Deliveries of new tanks were slow; due to the rush, the vehicles were not tested, which subsequently gave rise to more big problems with mechanisms.

Gradually the number of Jagdpanthers decreased, which could not but affect the balance of power and the margin of victory. At the end of the war, there were only about 50 vehicles in the German army. They were dispersed throughout the entire theater of military operations, but they could not change anything - there were too few of them. The captured vehicles remained as a trophy for the allies.

Now Jagdpanthers can be found in museums in Germany, Great Britain, Russia, the USA, Switzerland and France.

"Jagdpanther" was, of course, the best option conversion of the Pz.Kpfw V Panther medium tank. According to experts, it became one of the best anti-tank self-propelled guns of the Second World War. In many respects it was superior to all allied self-propelled guns. Despite this, the excellent German tank destroyer did not leave a significant mark on military campaigns. past war. This is partly explained by the small production (about 390 units), as well as overcoming all production defects only towards the end of production on 30-40% of the last cars.

Having in their arsenal an excellent 88-mm long-barreled gun, developed on the basis of a proven anti-aircraft gun, German engineers made more than one attempt to install it on a tank chassis. This is how the self-propelled guns Ferdinand and Nashorn were born. The first of them was very heavy and difficult to manufacture, and the second could not boast of serious armor. The most suitable option for installing a new gun seemed to be the chassis of a medium tank PzKpfw V "Panther". The decision to create a new self-propelled gun on its basis was made on August 3, 1942, while work was underway on the creation of the base tank. Initially, the implementation of the project was going to be entrusted to the Krup company, which at that time was already working on installing a new 88-mm gun on the chassis of the PzKpfw IV tank, but in mid-October 1942, further development of the self-propelled guns was transferred to Daimler-Benz.

On January 5, 1943, at a meeting of the technical commission of the Daimler-Benz concern, a number of requirements for the future self-propelled guns were determined. Initially, the tank destroyer was supposed to be unified with the Panther II tank being developed, but after the Ministry of Armaments made a decision on May 4, 1943 to temporarily freeze the Panther II project, the self-propelled gun developers, in order to unify it with the Panther medium tank, had to introduce a number of serious changes into the existing design changes.

As a result of all this, as well as the transfer of production to the MIAG factories, the first example of this very necessary vehicle for the front, which received the designation Jagdpanther, was demonstrated to Hitler only on October 20, 1943 and immediately received his approval. A well-protected armored tank with a perfect ballistic profile was installed on the remaining almost unchanged chassis of the Panther tank. A significant drawback could have been the limited aiming angle in the horizontal plane if the tank destroyer had not had an excellent control system, which made it easy to deploy the self-propelled guns and ensured high accuracy in pointing the gun at the target. In terms of its characteristics, the gun that was installed on the Jagdpanther was superior to all Allied tank guns. A similar gun was installed only on the PzKpfw VI Tiger II heavy tank. The armor-piercing shells of this gun penetrated armor 193 mm thick at a distance of 1 kilometer.

The first self-propelled guns began to arrive in Wehrmacht units in February 1944. Initially, it was believed that these vehicles would be produced in the amount of 150 self-propelled guns per month, but due to the constant bombing of the Allied aircraft and the fact that the self-propelled gun was created on the basis of the main and, perhaps, the best tank of the Wehrmacht, the production of which was given the highest priority, the German By April 1945, the factories managed to produce only 392 Jagdpanther self-propelled guns. We can say that the troops of the anti-Hitler coalition were lucky, since the Jagdpanther was one of the best tank destroyers of World War II, extremely effectively fighting against Allied tanks.

Design Features

"Jagdpanther" was the most effective German fighter tanks. This tank destroyer successfully combined good armor protection, firepower, and excellent mobility.

The body of the self-propelled gun was welded from rolled heterogeneous steel plates; its weight was about 17 tons. The walls of the hull and wheelhouse were located at different angles, which contributed to the dissipation of the kinetic energy of the projectiles. In order to increase strength, the welds were additionally reinforced with grooves and tongues. The forehead of the hull had 80 mm armor and was located at an angle of 55 degrees. The sides of the cabin had 50 mm armor. and were located at an angle of 30 degrees.

To manufacture the Jagdpanther self-propelled gun, the standard Panther tank hull was used. In the front part of the hull there was a gearbox, to the left and right of it were the driver and gunner-radio operator. Opposite the place of the latter, an MG-34 machine gun of 7.92 mm caliber was mounted in a ball mount. The driver controlled the self-propelled gun using levers that turned the final drives on or off. The view from the driver's seat was carried out through a single or double periscope located on the frontal part of the hull. The radio station was located on the right wall of the car body. The radio operator could observe the terrain only with the help of the optical sight of his course machine gun. The machine gun's ammunition capacity was 600 rounds, which were contained in 8 bags in belts of 75 rounds each to the right and left of the gunner-radio operator's position.

The central part of the vehicle's body is occupied by the fighting compartment, which houses the breech of the 88-mm StuK 43/3 gun and racks with 88-mm rounds. The workplaces of the remaining crew members are also located here: the gunner, loader and commander. The fighting compartment is closed on all sides by a fixed wheelhouse; on its roof there are 2 round hatches for the crew. In the rear wall of the cabin there is a rectangular hatch, which is used for loading ammunition, ejecting spent cartridges, dismantling the gun and evacuating the crew.

At the rear of the hull there was an engine compartment, separated from the fighting compartment by a fire bulkhead. The engine compartment and the entire rear part of the hull 1 in 1 repeated the serial “Panther”.

The Jagdpanther self-propelled guns were equipped with a fairly powerful Maybach HL230P30 engine. This 12-cylinder V-shaped (cylinder camber 60 degrees) liquid-cooled carburetor engine at 3000 rpm developed a power of 700 hp, allowing the 46-ton self-propelled gun to accelerate to 46 km/h. The engine had four carburetors, which were supplied with fuel using Solex fuel pumps. Additionally, the car had a manual emergency fuel pump. Fuel was placed in 6 tanks total capacity 700 liters. The range on the highway reached 210 km.

The engine worked in conjunction with a mechanical, semi-automatic gearbox with preselection. The gearbox had 7 forward speeds and reverse. The gearbox was controlled hydraulically using a lever located to the right of the driver’s seat.

From its “progenitor” – the PzKpfw V “Panther” medium tank – the Jagdpanther self-propelled gun inherited exceptional smoothness. Chassis The tank has a “checkerboard” arrangement of road wheels (Kniepkamp design), which ensures a more uniform distribution of pressure on the ground and good smoothness. Along with this, such a design is very difficult to manufacture and especially to repair, and also has a very large mass. To replace just one roller from the inner row, it was necessary to dismantle from 1/3 to half of all outer rollers. Each side of the self-propelled gun had 8 large-diameter road wheels. As elastic elements The suspension used double torsion bars, the front and rear pair of rollers had hydraulic shock absorbers. The driving rollers are front.

The main armament of the Jagdpanther tank destroyer was an 88-mm StuK 43/3 cannon with a barrel length of 71 caliber (6,300 mm). The total length of the gun was 6595 mm. Vertical aiming angles ranged from -8 to +14 degrees. The horizontal aiming angles were 11 degrees in both directions. The mass of the gun was 2265 kg. The gun was equipped with a hydraulic recoil mechanism. The normal recoil of the gun was 380 mm, the maximum 580 mm. If the recoil exceeded 580 mm, it was necessary to take a break from shooting. The gun was equipped with an electric trigger; the release button was located near the gunner's position. The gun's ammunition load was 57 shells. Armor-piercing, sub-caliber and high-explosive fragmentation shells were used for firing. The shots were located along the sides and on the floor of the fighting compartment. In the stowed position, the gun barrel was given an elevation of 7 degrees.

The Jagdpanther tank destroyer was initially equipped with SflZF5 sights; later vehicles were equipped with WZF1/4 sights. The SflZF5 sight is a telescopic sight with one lens. It provided the gunner with 3x magnification and had a field of view of 8 degrees. The sight was calibrated to 3,000 meters when firing PzGr39/1 armor-piercing shells and up to 5,300 meters when firing PzGr 40/43 sub-caliber shells. Maximum range firing range was 15,300 meters. The WZF1/4 scope was also telescopic, but provided 10x magnification and had a field of view of 7 degrees. The sight was calibrated to 4,000 meters for PzGr39/1 shells, 2,400 meters for PzGr40/43 and 3,400 meters for high-explosive shells.

The self-propelled gun's additional armament is a 7.92 mm MG-34 machine gun with 600 rounds of ammunition. The machine gun is located in a ball mount to the right of the gun. Optical sight machine gun provides 1.8x magnification. The machine gun has declination/elevation angles of -10 +15 degrees and a firing sector of 10 degrees (5 to the left and to the right). Spent cartridges and empty machine gun belts are collected in a special bag secured under the machine gun. In addition, the Jagdpanther was additionally armed with the Nahverteidungswafte melee mortar, which could fire fragmentation, smoke, illumination or signal grenades. The grenade launcher had a circular firing sector and had a fixed elevation angle (50 degrees). Firing range fragmentation grenades was 100 meters.

Features of use

Initially, the Jagdpanther self-propelled guns were supposed to go into service with separate heavy anti-tank battalions, consisting of three companies of 14 self-propelled guns each; another 3 tank destroyers belonged to the battalion headquarters. The Wehrmacht leadership ordered the use of self-propelled guns only to counter enemy tank attacks. Self-propelled guns as part of the division were supposed to ensure quick success in decisive directions. The use of tank destroyers in parts was not allowed. The use of Jagdpanther platoons was allowed only in certain cases, for example, when storming fortified enemy positions. Unless absolutely necessary, they were not allowed to be used as fixed firing points. After completing the combat mission, the self-propelled guns were ordered to be immediately withdrawn to the rear for inspection and repair.

These recommendations, especially in the last months of the war, were hardly feasible. Therefore, self-propelled guns were most often used in squadrons, forming one of the three companies of the anti-tank fighter division. Jagdpanthers were most widely used during the Arden Operation. At least 56 vehicles took part in it as part of 6 tank destroyer battalions, as well as about 12 vehicles as part of various SS units. On the Eastern Front, vehicles were most widely used during the battles near Lake Balaton and during the defense of Vienna. At that time, most self-propelled guns were part of hastily put together SS formations; tank destroyers were used along with tanks, and often simply replaced them in newly created formations. Despite high losses during the Arden operation and low production rates, on March 1, 1945, the Wehrmacht had 202 Jagdpanther tank destroyers.

Performance characteristics: Jagdpanther
Weight: 45.5 t.
Dimensions:
Length 9.86 m, width 3.42 m, height 2.72 m.
Crew: 5 people
Reservation: from 20 to 80 mm.
Armament: 88 mm StuK43/3 L/71 cannon, 7.92 mm MG-34 machine gun
Ammunition: 57 rounds, 600 rounds.
Engine: 12-cylinder liquid-cooled Maybach HL HL230Р30 petrol engine, 700 hp.
Maximum speed: on the highway - 46 km/h, over rough terrain - 25 km/h
Cruising range: on the highway – 210 km, over rough terrain – 140 km.

• The armor of the frontal armor plates of the hull has been increased from 80 mm (upper) and 60 mm (lower) to 82 and 62 mm, as well as the fender plate from 30 to 41 mm, the bottom plate and roof from 16 to 17 mm.
• The armor of the frontal plate of the Pz-V_Standardturm turret was changed from 110 to 100 mm, the gun mantlet and roof from 100 to 120 mm, and the protection of viewing devices from 16 to 30 mm.
• The rate of fire of the 88mm_KwK_36_L56 gun in the top turret is set to 10.34 rounds per minute.
• The rate of fire of the 88mm_KwK_43_L71 gun is set to 9.84 rounds per minute.

Update 0.6.6

• Rebalanced for level 7.

Update 0.7.0

• Ammo rack durability reduced by 20%.
• The view of the top tower has been increased from 420 to 430 meters.

Update 0.8.4

• The angle of inclination of the lower frontal part has been increased to the historical 55 degrees.
• The thickness of the lower frontal part has been reduced to the historical 50 mm.

Update 0.8.8

• The rotation speed of the Pz.Kpfw chassis. Panther Ausf. A changed from 25 to 30 deg/sec.
• Scatter of the gun due to the movement of the Pz.Kpfw chassis. Panther Ausf. A reduced by 5%.
• Dispersion of the gun due to rotation of the Pz.Kpfw chassis. Panther Ausf. A reduced by 5%.
• Chassis resistance of Pz.Kpfw. Panther Ausf. A on hard soils is reduced by 15%.
• Chassis resistance of Pz.Kpfw. Panther Ausf. A for medium soils is reduced by 28%.
• Chassis resistance of Pz.Kpfw. Panther Ausf. A for soft soils was reduced by 17%.
• Load capacity of the Pz.Kpfw chassis. Panther Ausf. G changed from 49,300 kg to 48,000 kg.
• The rotation speed of the Pz.Kpfw chassis. Panther Ausf. G changed from 28 to 32 deg/sec.
• Scatter of the gun due to the movement of the Pz.Kpfw chassis. Panther Ausf. G reduced by 5%.
• Dispersion of the gun due to rotation of the Pz.Kpfw chassis. Panther Ausf. G reduced by 5%.
• Chassis resistance of Pz.Kpfw. Panther Ausf. G on hard soils reduced by 9%.
• Chassis resistance of Pz.Kpfw. Panther Ausf. G on medium soils is reduced by 14%.
• Chassis resistance of Pz.Kpfw. Panther Ausf. G on soft soils is reduced by 4%.
• Added Maybach HL 210 TRM P30 engine.
• Added Maybach HL 230 TRM P30 engine.
• The Maybach HL 174 engine has been removed.
• The Maybach HL 210 P30 engine has been removed.
• The Maybach HL 230 P45 engine has been removed.
• The hull weight has been changed from 20,500 kg to 18,775 kg.
• Added FuG 5 radio station.
• The maximum forward speed has been changed from 48 km/h to 55 km/h.
• The aiming time of the 7.5 cm KwK 42 L/70 gun has been changed from 2.3 seconds. up to 3.5 sec.
• The dispersion of the 7.5 cm KwK 42 L/70 gun after firing has been increased by 50%.

For the Pz.Kpfw turret. Panther Schmalturm

• The elevation angle of the 10.5 cm KwK 42 L/28 gun has been changed from 17 to 20 degrees.
• The dispersion of the 10.5 cm KwK 42 L/28 gun after firing has been reduced by 12%.
• The dispersion of the 10.5 cm KwK 42 L/28 gun when rotating the turret has been increased by 14%.
• The elevation angle of the 7.5 cm KwK 42 L/70 gun has been changed from 17 to 20 degrees.
• The reload time of the 7.5 cm KwK 42 L/70 gun has been changed from 4.6 sec. up to 4 sec.
• The dispersion of the 7.5 cm KwK 42 L/70 gun after firing has been reduced by 12%.
• The dispersion of the 7.5 cm KwK 42 L/70 gun when rotating the turret has been reduced by 14%.
• The elevation angle of the 7.5 cm KwK 45 L/100 gun has been changed from 17 to 20 degrees.
• The declination angle of the 7.5 cm KwK 45 L/100 gun has been changed from 6 to 8 degrees.
• The reload time of the 7.5 cm KwK 45 L/100 gun has been changed from 4.8 sec. up to 4.4 sec.
• The 8.8 cm KwK 36 L/56 gun has been removed.
• Pz.Kpfw turret traverse speed. Panther Schmalturm changed from 26 to 30 deg/sec
• The mass of the turret has been changed from 10,800 kg to 7,745 kg.
• Durability with Pz.Kpfw turret. Panther Schmalturm changed from 1270 to 1300 units.

For the Pz.Kpfw turret. Panther Ausf. G

• View range of the Pz.Kpfw turret. Panther Ausf. G changed from 350 m to 370 m.
• The elevation angle of the 10.5 cm KwK 42 L/28 gun has been changed from 17 to 18 degrees.
• The declination angle of the 10.5 cm KwK 42 L/28 gun has been changed from 6 to 8 degrees.
• The elevation angle of the 7.5 cm KwK 42 L/70 gun has been changed from 17 to 18 degrees.
• The declination angle of the 7.5 cm KwK 42 L/70 gun has been changed from 6 to 8 degrees.
• The reload time of the 7.5 cm KwK 42 L/70 gun has been changed from 5.1 sec. up to 4.2 sec.
• The dispersion of the 7.5 cm KwK 42 L/70 gun when rotating the turret has been reduced by 12%.
• Added 7.5 cm KwK 45 L/100 gun.
• Pz.Kpfw turret traverse speed. Panther Ausf. G changed from 41 to 30 deg/sec.
• The mass of the turret has been changed from 9600 kg to 7760 kg.

Update 0.9.0

• The tank has been redesigned with a new visual quality.

Update 0.9.17.1

• Reload time for 7.5 cm Kw.K gun. L/100 in the second tower was reduced from 4.4 to 4 s.
• Reload time for 7.5 cm Kw.K gun. L/100 in the first tower was reduced from 4.6 to 4.2 s.