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World War II |
Photoshoots
by: |
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World War II |
Photoshoots
by: |
 The need of a tank hunter to meet new
challenges during the war lead to the development of the Panther chassis to another
variation of this model called the Jagdpanther. The Elefant was too complex and expensive
,whereas the Nashorn had a thin armor protection. The Jagdpanther had a lower silhouette
and much more protected with its new armor superstructure mounting a powerful and deadly
88MM PaK 43/3 (L/71) cannon. The Jagdpanther carried a crew of six men, the commander,
radio operator, gunner, driver, and two loaders. Originally known as Panzerjager Panther
(Sdkfz 173) It was commonly known as Jagdpanther, a name which Hitler himself named it.The Jagdpanther production started in December 1943 and reached full production in May 1944 using the chassis of the Panther Ausf. G. On July 30th a group of three Jagdpanthers of sPz Abt 654 knocked out seven to eight Churchill in less than two minutes. |
 Based on a Pzkpfw 38 (t) chassis the Hetzer
panzerjager was a successful vehicle with 2584 being produced between April 1944 and May
1945. It carried a 75MM PaK 39 L/48 gun with a secondary armament of a MG 34/42 machine
gun with 600 rounds. However in December of 1944 20 Hetzers were converted into
Flammpanzers or Flamethrower for the upcoming Ardennes offensive. A flame projector (14
Flammenwerfer 41) was fitted in the standard barrel in order to camouflage its real role
of flamethrower. The Flammpanzer 38 (t) weighed 16 tons with a crew of 4 men. The frontal
armor was 60MM, sides 20MM, and roof 8MM.Powered by a 150 Hp Praga EPA/AC V-6 engine. Its speed was 42km/h, length 6.27m, width 2.63m and height 2.1m. |
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 Based on a Panzer IV chassis, the Nashorn
(Sdkfz 163) or Panzerjager III/IV was a tank desroyer with an 88MM PaK 43/1 and a great
movability but weakly armored and vulnerable. Its weight was 24 tons with a crew of 4 men
and had a frontal armor of 30MM thick (driver’s compartment included), sides were
20MM, hull 10MM, top hull and bottom hull were 15MM, rear 22MM, and superstructure 10MM.
Its length was 8.44m, height 2.94m, and width 2.95m. |
Designed on a Panzer III chassis
and identical to the Stug Ausf. G, the Stuh or "Sturmhaubitze 42 " carried a
L/28 gun of 10.5 cm with 36 rounds of ammunition and a secondary armament MG 34 on the
roof protected by a shield with 600 rounds of 7.92MM .Its length was 6.13m, width
2.96m,height 2.15m, and weighed 24 tons. Its armor was 80MM at the front, sides 30MM,
driving compartment 50MM and 30MM, bottom 16MM,rear 30MM and roof 11/17MM.It had a crew of
four men.