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The Jagdpanzer 38 (Sd.Kfz. 138/2), 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 Czechoslovakia Panzer 38(t) chassis.
German armoured forces in World War II created a variety of vehicles by mounting anti-tank guns on the chassis of obsolete tanks. These machines performed better than expected, but were still vulnerable due to their high vehicle profiles and open-topped turrets. Allied bombings took a heavy toll on German production facilities and further increased the need for an easily produced, yet effective light tank destroyer to replace vehicles like the StuG III and Marder series (Marder I, Marder II, and Marder III). Prototypes of the Jagdpanzer 38 were ready by 1944, and mass production began in April of that year. The Jagdpanzer 38 was covered entirely with sloped armour and possessed a compact form and low silhouette, giving it much improved defensive ability over other self-propelled guns. Armament consisted of a 7.5 cm Pak 39 L/48 gun and a remote-controlled MG 34. It featured a wide body to accommodate the four-man crew, as well as a strengthened lower hull with enlarged wheels, guide rollers, and tracks.
Jagdpanzer 38s first entered service in July 1944 and would eventually be assigned to a number of units, including infantry, Panzerjäger and Volksgrenadier divisions. The Jagdpanzer 38 equipped the Panzerjägerabteilungen (tank destroyer ) of the infantry divisions, giving them some limited mobile anti-armor capability. BMM and Škoda continually modified and improved the Jagdpanzer 38 during production of the more than 2,800 vehicles built. Owing to the ease of production and high operating rates, the Jagdpanzer 38 came to serve as Germany's main tank destroyer in the latter period of the war, making an important contribution on both the Eastern and Western Fronts.
The design of the Jagdpanzer 38 was influenced by that of the Romanian Mareșal tank destroyer, whose development had started in late 1942, according to contemporary Romanian documents and later works of authors such as Steven Zaloga and Mark Axworthy. This was acknowledged by two German officials: Alkett engineer Wohlrath and Lieutenant-Colonel Ventz. The Germans were pleased by the Mareșal and a mixed production of the two tank destroyers was planned, which never took place due to Romania being overrun by Soviet forces. Hilary Doyle and Walter Spielberger do not directly mention a connection between the two vehicles, but write how in December 1943—the time the Jagdpanzer 38 was being designed—Hitler is known to have already been aware of the Mareșal, which he "extraordinarily liked".
The new Sturmgeschütz was built on the Panzer 38(t)'s widened and lengthened chassis with modified suspension (larger road-wheels from the Praga TNH n.A prototype reconnaissance tank) and up-rated engine. The new engine was a 160 PS Praga AC/2 6-cylinder engine coupled to a Praga-Wilson gearbox (5 forward and 1 reverse gear). The chassis was modified to accommodate a larger gun and thicker armour than the Panzer 38(t) tank. Its combat weight was 16 metric tons (versus 9.8-tonnes for the Pz 38(t)) and it could travel at a maximum speed of 42 km/h. It had a sloped armour front plate of sloped back at 60 degrees from the vertical - equivalent in protection to about - carried a reasonably powerful 75 mm gun, was mechanically reliable, small and easily concealed. It was also cheap to build.
The Jagdpanzer 38 succeeded the open-top Marder III (based on the same chassis). Starting from April 1944, about 2,584 were built until the end of the war. The older Marder III Panzerjäger series retained the same vertically sided chassis as Panzer 38(t). In the Jagdpanzer 38, the lower hull sides slope 15 degrees outward to make a roughly hexagonal shape when viewed from front or rear. This increased the available interior space and enabled a fully enclosed casemate-style fighting compartment. Because of the fully enclosed armour, it was 5 tonnes heavier than the Marder III. To compensate for the increased weight, track width was increased from 293 mm to 350 mm.
The protruding housing was removed, instead the periscope was inserted into vertical cuts to the front armour from October 1944. Also from October 1944, a flame reducing muffler was introduced, which reduced visibility and backfiring. A head cushion was added to the commander's hatch from October 1944. At the same time, the road wheel rims were riveted instead of bolted. To cope with the heavy front, and the necessity to traverse the vehicle to aim, the gear ratio was lowered from 1:7.33 to 1:8 to reduce the stress on final gears from January 1945. A buttoned-down Jagdpanzer 38 was blind to its right side. Since side armour (same as late model Panzer II's side armour) was adequate to protect the crew only from fairly small-calibre guns, it was important to face the threat frontally. Hence, the commander's field of view was planned to be improved by installing a rotating periscope in the Jagdpanzer 38 Starr, just as the Sturmgeschutz III and Elefant had evolved from a single pair of periscopes to all around vision blocks. However, the Jagdpanzer 38 Starr came too late to see the action in the field.
After the war, Czechoslovakia continued to build the type (versions ST-I and ST-III for training version, about 180 units built) and exported 158 vehicles (version G-13) to Switzerland. Most vehicles in today's collections are of Swiss origin.
By order of Adolf Hitler in November 1944, a number of Jagdpanzer 38s were refurbished straight from the factory with a Koebe flamethrower and accompanying equipment instead of the normal gun. The flame projector, encased in a metal shield reminiscent of that of a gun barrel, was very prone to damage. Fewer than 50 of these vehicles, designated Flame tank]] 38, were completed before the end of the war, but they were used operationally against Allied forces on the Western Front.
Further variants were a Jagdpanzer 38 carrying the sIG 33/2 Howitzer, of which 30 were produced before the end of the war, and the Bergepanzer 38, a light recovery vehicle of which 170 were produced. Plans were made to produce other variants, including an assault gun version of the Jagdpanzer 38 carrying a 105 mm StuH 42 main cannon, a version mounting the 7.5 cm KwK 42 L/70 gun from the Panther, and an anti-aircraft variant mounted with a Flak turret. The war ended before these proposed models were put into production. Prototypes were also developed for the Jagdpanzer 38 Starr, this was a simplified version of the Jagdpanzer 38 and also a step towards the E-10. The design removed the recoil absorber from the main 7.5 cm Pak 39 gun, instead attaching the gun to the chassis, and using the Jagdpanzer 38's bulk and suspension to absorb the recoil. Three prototypes were built as were eleven pre-production vehicles, of which one was fitted with a diesel engine. Hitler ordered the one prototype committed to combat to be destroyed rather than let it be captured on 31 March 1945. The army requested on 29 April that the gun sights and traversing gear from the nine pre-production vehicles at the Milowitz proving ground, which it deemed not combat worthy, be removed and sent back to the factory to allow combat-ready vehicles to be completed.Doyle and Jentz, p. 43
The vehicle could carry two different armour-piercing shells for the Pak 39 gun: the Pzgr. 40 high-velocity tungsten cored round, which fired a projectile at 930 m/s that could penetrate 120 mm of armour at 500 meters and 97 mm at 1,000 meters, striking at a 30-degree angle, but was often in scarce supply; and the Pzgr. 39 armour-piercing, capped, ballistic capped shell (APCBC) with explosive filler and a tracer element, launching a heavier projectile at 750 m/s that could pierce of armour at 500 meters and 95 mm at 1,000 meters. Based on tests using Pzgr. 39 ammunition, with correct range estimation and competent gunnery, a 99% chance of a first-shot hit at 500 m and a 71% chance at 1,000 m was estimated. The vehicle also carried standard high-explosive rounds and the Gr. 38 HL/C high-explosive anti-tank (HEAT) round designed with a shaped charge, but this was less effective and accurate against armoured targets than AP rounds. WWII Weapons: The Hetzer Tank Destroyer - Warfarehistorynetwork.com, 15 November 2016
The Jagdpanzer 38 was one of the most common late-war German tank destroyers. It was available in relatively large numbers and was generally mechanically reliable.Spielberger, p.87 Like some other late-war German SPGs, the Jagdpanzer 38 mounted a remote-control machine gun mount that could be fired from within the vehicle. This proved popular with crews, though to reload the gun, a crewmember needed to expose himself to enemy fire.
The vehicle's small size made it easier to conceal than larger vehicles. A self-propelled gun such as this was not intended for a mobile, meeting engagement or the typical Wehrmacht blitzkrieg style of warfare. Instead, a light self-propelled gun like the Jagdpanzer 38 excelled when emplaced along pre-determined lines of sight where the enemy was expected to approach and when used in defensive positions to support a prepared ambush. The Jagdpanzer 38 is similar in its dimensions and vertical profile to the minuscule and undergunned Panzer II, a prewar tank. However, by 1944, the majority of tanks were much larger and heavier; a Jagdpanzer 38 waiting motionless in an ambush position was a much smaller target to detect and hit than many other armoured fighting vehicles of the time. Its main failings were comparatively thin side armour, limited ammunition storage, poor gun traverse, and a poor internal layout that made operating the vehicle difficult, as well as leaf springs and drive wheels that were prone to failure due to the increased weight.Spielberger Using the Jagdpanzer 38 and similar vehicles according to a defensive doctrine would offset some of the disadvantages of poor side armour and limited gun traverse.
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