Jagdpanzer IV

Jagdpanzer IV

Gallery

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Jagdpanzer IV/70 Lang (Panzer IV/70 (V))
Manufacturer	Vomag
Production	Aug. 1944 - Apr. 1945
Number Built	930-940
Specification
Country of Origin	Nazi Germany
Weight	25.8 tonnes
Dimensions	Length : 8.50m Width : 3.17m Height : 1.85m
Main Armament	1 x 7.5 cm PaK 42 L/70
Secondary Armament	1 x 7.92 mm MG34
Armour	Superstructure Front: 60mm Side: 30mm Back: 20mm Hull Front: 60mm Side: 30mm Back: 20mm
Engine	Maybach HL 120 TRM 300 PS (296 hp, 221 kW)
Speed	35 km/h (21.75 mph)
User	Kuromorimine Girls Academy Yogurt Academy

"Next target is Jagdpanzer IV Lang to the right!"

―Erwin

The Jagdpanzer IV (ordnance inventory designation Sd. Kfz. 162) was a German tank destroyer built upon the chassis of the modified Panzer IV medium tank, known for its powerful anti-tank gun version of the Panther mounted on a tank destroyer chassis. It first appeared in the anime in Episode 10.

History

After the defeat in the Battle of Stalingrad in 1942, Jagdpanzer IV was developed to replace the StuG III, with the main purpose of mounting 100 mm of frontal armor and armed with a 7.5 cm PaK 42 L/70 Anti-Tank Gun from the Panther. Although Heinz Guderian, Inspector-General of the German Armored Force, disagreed with this project as the StuG III was still very capable for its classes as assault gun / tank destroyer, and a new tank destroyer would only divert useful resources.

Jagdpanzer IV

Panzer IV chassis was used to build the Jagdpanzer IV, with its vertical plates were now sloped and reinforced with 80 mm frontal armor in its main hull and superstructure. Due to lack of supplies, the first batch of the tank (Jagdpanzer IV) was equipped with a 7.5 cm PaK 39 L/48. This gun was initially fitted with a muzzle brake, but this was removed because the gun was so close with the ground, and firing would create large clouds of dust from its muzzle, exposing its position and temporarily limiting its sight. Later an improved version, (Panzer IV/70) which was equipped with an improved 7.5 cm PaK 42 L/70 as well as receiving an increase in its frontal armor going from 60mm to 80mm. About 2,000 Jagdpanzer IVs with L/48 and L/70 variants were produced by Vomag and Alkett (which had their own production variants of the tank).

Jagdpanzer IV was a good improvement over earlier tank destroyers that had large guns fitted on small hulls, requiring a rather big superstructure, and some of them were thinly armored with open fighting compartments that exposed their crew to incoming enemy fire. However, the Jagdpanzer IV had its own problems - Because of its heavy armor and long forward-mounted gun, the vehicle was very front-heavy, which resulted in decreased mobility in rough terrain, leading the Jagdpanzer crews to nickname it Guderian-ente (Guderian's Duck). The tank's protection was later improved by fitting Schürzen spaced armor on its side armor to counter incoming shaped charge attacks. Serving both on the Western Front and on the Eastern Front, the Jagdpanzer IV nonetheless performed well until the end of the war.

In Girls und Panzer

Kuromorimine Girls Academy has numerous Jagdpanzer IV Lang. The vehicle is designated as a tank sniper, attacking enemies from a distance with its low silhouette and accurate gun.

These tanks served as active tank destroyers with overwhelming numbers alongside Kuromorimine's Panthers during the finals against Ooarai Girls Academy. They were seen ambushing the Ooarai tank formation during the initial phase of the battle, having managed to force Ooarai's tanks to retreat to a hill. During the battle on the hill, one of the Jagdpanzer IVs was knocked out by Anglerfish Team, and a second was hit by Hippo Team. They were later seen again trying to break through Leopon's Tiger (P) blockade. While trying to push through, two of the Jagdpanzer IVs were knocked out by the Tiger (P)'s 8.8 cm.

Trivia

• The "Lang" Name is only applied to the Jagdpanzer IV version with a 7.5 cm PaK 42 L/70 cannon, with the other versions keeping their original designation, Jagdpanzer IV.

References

• Jagdpanzer IV (Wikipedia)
• Jagdpanzer IV Specifications (WWIIVehicles)
• Jagdpanzer IV Official Anime Web (GirlsUndPanzer)

Gallery

Main article: Jagdpanzer IV/Gallery