Kanonenjagdpanzer | |
---|---|
Type | Self-propelled anti-tank gun |
Place of origin | West Germany |
Service history | |
In service | 1965–1991 |
Used by | West Germany Belgium |
Production history | |
Designer | Henschel and Hanomag |
Designed | 1960 |
Manufacturer | Henschel and Hanomag |
Produced | 1965–1967 |
No. built | 770 |
Specifications | |
Mass | 27.5 t (27.1 long tons; 30.3 short tons) |
Length | Total: 8.75 m (28 ft 8 in) Hull: 6.24 m (20 ft 6 in) |
Width | 2.98 m (9 ft 9 in) |
Height | 2.09 m (6 ft 10 in) |
Crew | 4 (commander, gunner, loader, driver) |
Armor | 10–50 mm (0.39–1.97 in) |
Main armament | 1 × Rheinmetall BK 90/L40 90mm anti-tank gun 51 rounds |
Secondary armament | 2 × 7.62mm MG3 machine guns 4,000 rounds 8 smoke dischargers 2 × 71mm Lyran mortars (Belgium only) |
Engine | 29.4 L MTU MB 837 Aa V8 water-cooled multi-fuel diesel engine 500 hp (368 kW) |
Suspension | Torsion bar |
Operational range | 385 km (239 mi) |
Maximum speed | 70 km/h (43.5 mph) |
The Kanonenjagdpanzer (KanJPz) was a West German Cold War tank destroyer. Its design was very similar to that of the World War II Jagdpanzer IV.
The Kanonenjagdpanzer is also known as the Jagdpanzer ("tank destroyer"), Kanone 90mm ("90mm Gun") or Kanonenjagdpanzer 4–5.
The first prototypes of the Kanonenjagdpanzer were built in 1960 by Hanomag and Henschel for West Germany and by Mowag for Switzerland, [1] based on the experience of the Wehrmacht in the Second World War, the Kanonenjagdpanzer being a development of the Jagdpanzer IV. [2] A second round of six prototypes this time built just by Hanomag and Henschel were constructed between 1962 and 1963. [3] After that another set of six prototypes were built over the next two years still by Hanomag and Henschel. [4] [2] The features of the various prototypes were then combined into the final design. [4]
At least one prototype with the designation Gepard was built by the Mowag firm; it stands today in the Swiss Military Museum at Full. For the Gepard two different two-stroke diesel engines were available, a five-cylinder, 6.7 litre, Type M5 DU Mowag generating 270 horsepower (199 kW) at 2,100 rpm and an 13.5 litre engine generating 540 horsepower (397 kW). [5]
Between 1966 and 1967, 770 units were built for the Bundeswehr, 385 by Hanomag and 385 by Henschel. Eighty of them were delivered to Belgium from April 1975 onward. [6]
When the Soviets began deploying their T-64 and T-72 main battle tanks, the 90 mm gun was not capable of engaging them in long-range combat and the Kanonenjagdpanzer became obsolete. Although the producers claimed it could be rearmed with a 105 mm gun, [6] between 1983 and 1985, 163 of these tank destroyers were converted into Raketenjagdpanzer Jaguar 2 anti-tank guided missile carriers by removing the gun, adding a roof-mounted TOW missile launcher and fastening further spaced and perforated armour on the hull. Some others were refitted into artillery observation vehicles by removing the main gun, so called Beobachtungspanzer, which served most particularly in the mortar units. [7]
Some Kanonenjagdpanzer remained in service with the Heimatschutztruppe until 1991.
The Kanonenjagdpanzer was a highly mobile vehicle, its survivability based on its mobility and its low profile. [6] Its hull consisted of welded steel with a maximum thickness of 50 mm. It carried a crew of four: commander, driver, gunner and loader. Since the Kanonenjagdpanzer followed the casemate design of most World War II tank destroyers, the gun was fixed within the casemate, located a little right from the center. The 90 mm gun could only traverse 15° to the sides and elevate from −8° to +15°. It carried 51 90 mm rounds for the main gun and 4,000 7.62 mm rounds for the two MG3s. [6] The Kanonenjagdpanzer had NBC protection and night-fighting ability. [6]
A tank destroyer, tank hunter or tank killer is a type of armoured fighting vehicle, predominantly intended for anti-tank duties. They are typically armed with a direct fire artillery gun, also known as a self-propelled anti-tank gun, or missile launcher, also called an anti-tank missile carrier. The vehicles are designed specifically to engage and destroy enemy tanks, often with limited operational capacities.
The Jagdpanzer 38, originally the Leichter Panzerjäger 38(t), known mostly post-war as Hetzer, was a German light tank destroyer of the Second World War based on a modified Czechoslovakian Panzer 38(t) chassis.
The Jagdtiger is a German casemate-type heavy tank destroyer (Jagdpanzer) of World War II. It was built upon the slightly lengthened chassis of a Tiger II. Its ordnance inventory designation was Sd.Kfz. 186.
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The Jagdpanther, Sd.Kfz. 173, was a tank destroyer built by Germany during World War II. The Jagdpanther combined the 8.8 cm Pak 43 anti-tank gun, similar to the main gun of the Tiger II, with the armor and suspension of the Panther chassis.
Panzerjäger is a term used for an anti-tank vehicle, as well as anti-tank units. The term was first used in the Wehrmacht, and also post-war by the German Federal Republic Bundeswehr. The term Panzerjäger was used in the Bundeswehr as a designation of rank.
Jagdpanzer (JgPz) is the name given in German to an armored, tracked tank destroyer, although it may also be used for other kinds of self-propelled guns. Translated from the German, Jagdpanzer means "hunting tank".
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The Jagdpanzer IV, Sd.Kfz. 162, was a German tank destroyer based on the Panzer IV chassis and built in three main variants. As one of the casemate-style turretless Jagdpanzer designs, it was developed against the wishes of Heinz Guderian, the inspector general of the Panzertruppen, as a replacement for the Sturmgeschütz III. Guderian objected against the needless, in his eyes, diversion of resources from Panzer IV tank production, as the StuG III was still more than adequate for its role.
The Raketenjagdpanzer 2 or Raketenjagdpanzer SS-11 was a West German tank destroyer employed from 1967 to 1982 and equipped with Nord SS.11 guided anti tank missiles. It was developed at the same time as the Kanonenjagdpanzer and the Marder, and shares a similar chassis with them.
The Raketenjagdpanzer 4 Jaguar 2 was a West German tank destroyer equipped with anti-tank guided missiles. It was only operated by the Bundeswehr.
Schützenpanzer Lang HS.30, formally Schützenpanzer, lang, Typ 12-3, or SPz lg 12-3 for short, was a West German infantry fighting vehicle developed from 1956 to 1958. It was a Swiss Hispano-Suiza design, with a Rolls-Royce engine. After some early mechanical problems, only 2,176 were built of the 10,680 planned. It was armed with a powerful 20 mm autocannon, a common choice for infantry fighting vehicles of the period.
Mowag is a Swiss company founded in 1950, which develops, designs and produces armoured fighting vehicles for military applications in both land-only and amphibious configurations. These vehicles have gross vehicle weights ranging from 9 tonnes to 30 tonnes. In 2003, the company was acquired by General Dynamics, and is now known as GDELS-Mowag, part of General Dynamics European Land Systems (GDELS).
Tank Battalions of the Bundeswehr 1956–2008
The Versuchsträger1–2 were two German prototype twin gun turretless main battle tanks. Since the early 1970s a number of West German companies have been working on conceptual designs for a successor to the Leopard 1. This project had the name Kampfpanzer 3. The KPz 3 project was temporarily a British-German joint project, until the UK withdrew because they wanted a turreted tank. The Germans had already developed the Leopard 2 and therefore didn't see the need for another conventional tank. One of the companies involved was MaK, developing the VT 1-1 and VT 1–2. The test programme ended proving that a twin-gunned turretless tank could be created with enough technical effort, but had drawbacks in both practical and tactical use.
The VK 45.01 (P), also informally known as Tiger (P) or Porsche Tiger, was a heavy tank prototype designed by Porsche in Germany. With a dual engine gasoline-electric drive that was complex and requiring significant amounts of copper, it lost out to its Henschel competitor on trials, it was not selected for mass production and the Henschel design was produced as the Tiger I. Most of the already produced chassis were rebuilt as Elefant Panzerjager tank destroyers.
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