To prevent the rubber rims of the roadwheels being dislocated by the weight of the vehicle, some later versions had steel roadwheels installed on the front. This made them less mobile and more difficult to operate in rough terrain, leading their crews to nickname them Guderian-Ente ('Guderian's duck'). Installing the much heavier Pak 42 meant that the Jagdpanzer IV was nose heavy, especially with the heavy frontal armour. These were shorter and less powerful than the Pak 42, and also carried a muzzle brake. Due to shortages, older guns were initially used, the 7.5 cm Pak 39 L/43 for pre-production, and the 7.5 cm Pak 39 L/48 for the initial production variant. To make the manufacturing process as simple as possible, the superstructure was made from large, interlocking plates that were welded together.Īrmament consisted of a 7.5 cm main gun firing Fixed QF 75 × 640mm R ammunition, originally intended to be the Pak 42 L/70.

The new superstructure had 80 mm thick sloped armour, giving much greater protection than vertical armour of 100 mm. Since the Jagdpanzer lacked a turret, the auxiliary engine which powered the Panzer IV's turret traverse mechanism could be eliminated. Internally, the layout was changed to accommodate the new superstructure, moving the fuel tanks and ammunition racks. H chassis, but the almost-vertical front hull plate was replaced by sloped armor plates. The Jagdpanzer IV used a modified Panzer IV Ausf. The new design had a low silhouette and completely enclosed, casemate-style fighting compartment. The Marder series were tall and had open crew compartments. Previous efforts to mount bigger guns on smaller chassis resulted in the Marder I, II and III series and the Sturmgeschütz III. Initially a new chassis was planned, but that of the Panzer IV had to be used. The new Panzerjäger ('tank hunter') design would be armed with the same 7.5 cm gun as fitted to the Panther tank: the Pak 42 L/70. With experience gained during the initial phases of the Battle of Stalingrad, in September 1942 the Wehrmacht's arms bureau, the Waffenamt, called for a new standard for heavy assault guns: 100 mm of armor to the front, 40–50 mm on the sides, wider tracks, ground clearance of 50 cm (20 in), top speed of 26 km/h (16 mph) and the lowest possible firing positions.

Modern tank destroyer