pirespreto.com :: Hetzer (Jagdpanzer 38)

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Modelkasten


First Assembly stage	Engine bay and hull interior painted

Small parts installation	Small parts installation

View of the engine bay and crew compartment	View of the engine bay and crew compartment

Oil wash applied	Gun assembly

Gun assembly	Gun assembly

Gun assembly	Modelkasten tracks

Modelkasten tracks	Front PE fenders (soldered)

Commander Figure	Commander Figure

Finalized model	Finalized model

Click any of the above pictures to see the entire slide show

The Second World War, from a German perspective, was not evolving favorably in 1943. Heavy losses at Stalingrad, the capitulation of German and Italian forces in North Africa in May, the defeat at the Battle of Kursk in July, and the Allied landings in Italy put increasing stresses on the German military. Furthermore, an increasingly concentrated fury from above in the form of the allied bombing campaign appeared that threatened to reduce the Reich to rubble. This campaign began to extract a heavy toll on the German ability to produce and support her weapons, including the production of tanks. On the other hand, war production in the Soviet Union and the United States steadily increased, and production figures attained were in the thousands. The German planners and designers were faced with some difficult decisions with respect on how to address the situation. One effective method was to construct a series of tank hunter/destroyers on the chassis of existing tanks, resulting in vehicles such as the Sturmgesch�tz, for use in infantry support. One huge advantage of such vehicles was their relative simplicity when compared to the classic tank. There was no turret, and the complexities associated with the manufacture and installation of the turret were eliminated. The vehicles would be armed with Pak 39 anti tank guns of 75mm caliber, and were called Jagdpanzer (Fighter Tank - Tank Destroyer). Progressively, this concept was applied to other tank chassis as well.

In December, 1943, the factory of BMM, in Prague, was tasked with the production of such a vehicle, based on the proven Pz.38(t) chassis. At the time, there was in production an earlier generation of antitank vehicle in the form of the Sd.Kfz. 138 Marder III. This had an antitank gun mounted in an open fighting compartment. The new vehicle, designated Jagdpanzer 38 Hetzer (Sd.Kfz. 138/2) varied considerably from its forerunner. The running gear was extended, onto which a compact structure composed of welded steel plating of 60mm frontal, 20mm rear, 10mm top and 8mm bottom thickness, was placed. The Pak 39 L48 gun was mounted offset to the right. The base of the gun was covered by a cast metal curtain of the Saukopfblende type. The top of the vehicle was equipped with an MG34 machine gun, operated by the loader and could be rearmed from inside the vehicle. Development of this vehicle progressed quickly, and April, 1944, saw the road trials begin on the first three prototypes. Assembly of the first twenty pieces was also initiated, and on the 20th of April, 1944, the vehicle was demonstrated for Hitler on the occasion of his birthday. Fifty vehicles were produced in May, and these were split between test and training units. In June, the entire program was given absolute priority. June production saw the new vehicles sent to the depot at Breslau (today Wroclaw), and then on to combat units. June also saw the initiation of production of this vehicle at Skoda in Pilsen. Both facilities produced these vehicles until the spring of 1945, and were only ended by USAAF bombings. First, BMM was bombed on March 25th, 1945, and then Skoda exactly one month later. With that, the production of the Hetzer for the German war effort was terminated.

The first Hetzers produced made their way to training units. Subsequent production was intended for service with individual units of the Wermacht and the Waffen SS. The first service unit to employ the Hetzer was actually Panzerjager Abteilung 731, which saw action at the beginning of August atWarsaw. The fall of 1944 saw both production and training of crews achieve a good pace, peaking in January of 1945 when 468 vehicles were delivered. To the end of 1944, a total of 1507 Hetzer vehicles were produced, along with 101 Bergehetzer recovery vehicles. February, 1945, saw the beginnings of a slow but steady decline in production. Despite this, another 1246 vehicles came off the production lines until May, and the Hetzer thus became one of the most significant fighting vehicles of the last year of the war fielded by the Wermacht and the Waffen SS. Their combat use was intense and included use an all fronts that Germany was engaged. They saw action against the western Allies at Arnhem, and they also took part in the last German offensive of the war in the Ardennes. They saw combat service in Budapest and on the Oder, and through on to the defense against advancing Soviet troops on Berlin. In the last days of the war, they were used in Germany's final counterattacks at Bautzen. They saw action in the defense of Moravia, confronting elements of the 1st Czechoslovak Tank Brigade in the fighting for Ostrava. In the land of its origin, remaining Hetzers ended the war trying to cross demarcation lines at Prague to surrender to American forces. In Prague, where there was an anti-German uprising on the 5th of May, 1945, several tens of Hetzers saw action on both sides. Obviously, the German side had them at their disposal, and the insurgents obtained their examples from the factory depot, but these were mainly equipped only with machine guns. Significant fighting that had direct bearing on the Prague fighting, was carried out by the First Division ROA, led by General Bunacenko. This unit, composed of former Soviet POWs fighting on the German side, fought here on the side of the insurgents and effectively held back German progress over a span of two days. They had, among their strength, 10 Hetzers. The end of the war did not mean the end of the Hetzer. After the fall of the Reich, they were placed back into production, and entered service with the armed forces of Czechoslovakia and Switzerland. In Czechoslovakia, they served well into the fifties, and the seventies with the Swiss. Designated ST-1,
Czechoslovak Hetzers found their way to scrap heaps, and the Swiss Pzj.G-13 found their way into museums and private collections, and so today represents some of the best and most numerous examples of German WorldWar Two armor in existence today.

Jagdpanzer 38 Hetzer (Sd.Kfz.138/2) Specifications

Hull length: 4766mm
Length with cannon: 6270mm
Width: 2526mm
Height: 2100mm
Combat Weight: 16t
Maximum Road Speed: 40km/h
Maximum Offroad Speed: 25km/h
Engine: Praga AE
Displacement: 7.8L
Power Rating: 160k/118kW
Armament: 1 x 7.5cm Pak 39/L48 with 41 rounds of ammunition
1 x 7.92mm MG34 with 600 rounds of ammunition

Armor Plating Thickness:
Frontal: 60mm, Side: 20mm,
Bottom: 10mm, Roof: 8mm
Hetzers received an application of European Yellow (RAL 7028) at the factory, and in some cases also received a second application of irregular fields of olive green.

Jagdpanzer 38 (Early)

Jagdpanzer 38 (Mid)

Jagdpanzer 38 (Late)