The 38 (Sd.Kfz. 138/2), originally the 38(t), known mostly post-war as , was a German light tank destroyer of the Second World War based on a modified Czechoslovak 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, II, and III). Prototypes of the 38 were ready by 1944, and mass production began in April of that year. The 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.

38s first entered service in July 1944 and would eventually be assigned to a number of units, including infantry, and divisions. The 38 equipped the (tank destroyer battalions) of the infantry divisions, giving them some limited mobile anti-armor capability. BMM and Škoda continually modified and improved the 38 during production of the more than 2,800 vehicles built. Owing to the ease of production and high operating rates, the 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.

Name

The name (German for "chaser") was never an official or suggestive name used for this vehicle. It was the designation for another prototype, the E-10 of the Entwicklung series which was supposed to replace all German tanks with more standardized counterparts, including the Jagdpanzer 38 which was still in development. The Škoda factory, for a short period, mistook Hetzer as the new name for the Jagdpanzer 38 in its documentation. Thus the first unit equipped with the vehicle applied the incorrect name for a few weeks until matters were clarified. Subsequently, the vehicle was rarely called Hetzer anymore by its units, but the name did not disappear completely anymore; examples of usages e.g. in Wehrmacht Reports were found until the end of the war. Most notably, there exists a briefing paper from Heinz Guderian to Hitler saying that the unofficial name Hetzer had spontaneously been coined by the troops. Post-war historians basing themselves on this statement made the name popular in their works.

Development

thumb|The Romanian [[Mareșal (tank destroyer)|Mareșal tank destroyer, credited with having inspired the Jagdpanzer 38]]

When Alketts factory for production of Sturmgeschütz III was damaged in a bomb raid on Berlin, on 26 November 1943, it become necessary to find alternatives. Boehmisch-Mährische Machinenfabrik was considered but it could not produce the, for that time, heavy chassis of the Sturmgeschütz and it was decided to base a new design on the Panzer 38(t) which they already produced. On 17 December the design drawings for the new vehicle was presented and by 24 January 1944 a wooden mock-up was ready.

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 mass was 16 tonnes (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 III (based on the same chassis). Starting from April 1944, about 2,584 were built until the end of the war. The older III series retained the same vertically sided chassis as Panzer 38(t). In the 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 III. To compensate for the increased weight, track width was increased from 293 mm to 350 mm.

Variants

thumb|Jagdpanzer 38, exhibited in the Texas Military Forces Museum in Austin, USA.

  • 38 - Command variant. Fitted with a 30W FuG 8 radio set.
  • 38 - 38 modified with a Koebe flamethrower in place of the main gun. Deployed on the Western Front, with first use during the Battle of the Bulge (20 in 352nd and 353rd attached to Army Group G). Less than 50 units were produced.

thumb|right|A former Swiss G-13 in German camouflage at the [[U.S. Army Armor & Cavalry Collection, Fort Benning]]

  • G13 - Post war version of the 38 built for Switzerland, armed with a StuK 40 gun.
  • 15 cm Schweres Infanteriegeschütz 33/2 (Sf) auf Jagdpanzer 38 - This self-propelled assault gun was developed using the hull of the 38(t) recovery vehicle with a 15 cm sIG 33/2 mounted in a lightly armoured casemate; the vehicle's enclosed firing compartment was protected by 10 mm of armoured plate on the front and flanks. Developed by BMM in Prague and intended as a replacement for the battlefield attrition in Grille self-propelled howitzers. Some sources indicated a high probability that the gun was produced at the Alkett plant in Berlin-Marienfelde. 30 built between December 1944 and February 1945.

Performance

thumb|left| 38 of [[8th SS Cavalry Division Florian Geyer, Hungary, 1944]]

The Jagdpanzer 38 fitted into the lighter category of German tank destroyers that began with the Panzerjäger I, continued with the Marder series, and ended with the Jagdpanzer 38. The 75 mm Pak 39 L/48 gun of the Jagdpanzer 38 was a modified version of the 75 mm StuK 40 L/48 used in the StuG III and StuG IV assault guns. With this gun, the Jagdpanzer 38 was able to destroy nearly all Allied or Soviet tank types in service at long ranges (except heavy tanks), and its fully enclosed armour protection made it a safer vehicle to crew than the open-topped Marder II or Marder III series.

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.

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. 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 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 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 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. Using the 38 and similar vehicles according to a defensive doctrine would offset some of the disadvantages of poor side armour and limited gun traverse.

Operational history

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: The 38 first entered service with the Heeres Panzerjäger-Abteilung 731 in July 1944. This unit was sent to Army Group North on the Eastern Front. One report from the Eastern Front described how a company of Jagdpanzer 38 destroyed 20 enemy tanks without any losses.

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: 75 38s were used by the Royal Hungarian Army.

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: After King Michael's Coup in 1944, Romania had captured two Hetzers and had used them for a while before they were confiscated by the Red Army. While Romania was still an Axis power, Germany had decided to give them 15 Jagdpanzer 38s. In the meantime, the Royal Coup had happened, so Romania never received the vehicles. As part of a proposed joint production of the Mareșal and Jagdpanzer 38, Germany even gave Romania the licence to produce the Jagdpanzer 38. It's not known whether any examples were produced in Romania.

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: One captured by the Home Army, nicknamed Chwat ("daredevil"), during the Warsaw Uprising. At least two captured vehicles, used by the Polish People's Army, post-war.

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: 249 vehicles of the ST-I variant were used.

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: 158 vehicles of the G-13 version were used.

Survivors

thumb| 38 on display at the Munster, Germany

Due to the large number produced, the 38 is probably the most abundant World War II German tank destroyer remaining today, though many survivors are actually post-war Swiss G-13 and Czech ST-I variants. In addition to the numerous examples in museums, there are 38s of various conditions in private collections. In 2007, a 38 was recovered from the Baltic Sea in Jurata, Poland. As of 2012, it was being restored in Gdańsk.

See also

  • Mareșal
  • M18 Hellcat
  • Jagdpanther
  • Jagdpanzer IV
  • Sturmgeschütz III
  • Sturmgeschütz IV
  • SU-85

Citations

Bibliography

  • 38, Panzerworld
  • PzFahrers guide to the Jagdpanzer 38
  • 38 Hetzer, Achtung Panzer!
  • Surviving Hetzers and G-13 tank destroyers - A PDF file presenting the 38 and G-13 tanks still existing in the world
  • Jagdpanzer 38 (Hetzer), The Online Tank Museum