German light tank destroyer Jagdpanzer 38(t) Sd.Kfz. 138/2 “Hetzer” Hetzer was developed in 1943 in BMM plants in Prague, at the request of Heinz Guderian. The new German tank destroyer was supposed to be a simple design, based on elements produced in series tanks, simultaneously fulfilling the requirements of the current battlefield. From April 1944 started mass production of Hetzer. During the conference there were no major design changes, however, many small fixes and modifications were taken into account by the reports from front and the deteriorating economic situation of the Third Reich. The most common element was modified spherical gun carriage called Kugellaffette. Other major modifications were altered shape of the outer casing so as to balance the weight of the vehicle, mounted on the top of the casing three sockets for attaching auxiliary crane with a capacity of 2 tons, a reduction in the number of wheel bolts from 32 to 16, the introduction of new road wheels fastened with rivets, and not as it was previously modified the screws and lifting mechanism works. In January 1945, a new type of side gear with a gear ratio of 1: 6.75 (previously 1: 6,00). The crew devoid of the tower Hetzer, had on the battlefield often make quick and vigorous maneuvers, as the side gears of the first type have proved to be very resistant. The biggest advantages of the vehicle was fast and cheap production, low silhouette and strongly inclined armor plates, which contributed to bounce bullets. The main drawback was cramped interior and placing cannons on the right side, because that was designed to load the right, but the loader in the vehicle was located on the left side. This caused problems for the gunner and loader, which reduced the rate of fire. Germany, despite a seriously tarnished potential of the industry, managed to use the already quite old chassis PzKpfw 38 (t) for inexpensive mass production of the vehicle, which was still effective in the last stages of the war. Toral production: ~2800

Bibliography

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