German Sd. Jagdpanther Tank Destroyer #113 Schwere Panzer Abteilung 507 Germany 1945 1/43 Diecast Model AFVs WWII 23188-45

Product Description

HISTORY ASPECTS:
The Jagdpanther was a Tank Destroyer, based on the Panther chassis and armed with the 88mm L/71 gun. The vehicle was proposed in October 1942 and Hitler inspected a prototype some fourteen months later. A total of 392 were produced by two manufacturers up to March 1945. The turreted Panther tank mounted a 75mm gun, but by eliminating the turret and adding a fixed superstructure it proved possible to mount a larger gun, the Tiger’s formidable 88mm. The Jagdpanther was also renowned for the exceptional use of sloped armour and it remains a modern, sleek looking design. Even so there were problems.Since the gun had limited traverse the driver often had to swing the entire vehicle to bring the gun to bear and after a while this resulted a period of final drive gear failures. Once this was remedied it turned out to be a fearsome weapon; in a well selected ambush location, for which the camouflage shown on our exhibit was typical, the Jagdpanther could destroy a number of opponents before being discovered and attacked. Although issued to anti-tank battalions to start with, these vehicles later found their way into tank units who generally would have preferred turreted vehicles.