In the fall of 1942, the German Waffenamt issued an order to develop a heavy assault gun to combat the growing menace posed by Russian armored forces all along the "ostfrontier" or eastern front. What resulted was the Sd. Kfz. 173 Jagdpanther tank destroyer, arguably the best long-range tank destroyer of the war. The Jagdpanther mounted a powerful 8.8cm Pak L/71 cannon within a fixed turret, which was situated atop a standard Panther V chassis. Although production of the tank was begun at MIAG in January 1944, it took another ten months before the larger NMH plant could expand the production run in time for the "Wacht am Rhein" counteroffensive. By war's end only 392 vehicles had entered service with the Wehrmacht, but these had a telling effect on the prosecution of the war.

There were two main variants of the Jagdpanther. The earlier G1 1944 model had a small welded main gun mantlet, one-piece Pak 43/3 gun, a modified Panther A engine deck, and two vision openings for the driver. The G2 Jagdpanther used a Panther Ausf. G engine deck, a larger gun mantlet bolted externally, and a two-piece KwK 43/4 L/71 gun. Some later G1 models had 'hybrid' G2 features such as the larger G2 mantlet as changes to the design were implemented. Zimmerit was applied to G1s up to September 1944, then was withdrawn to decrease production time. Early Jagdpanthers had two vision openings for the driver, whereas late versions had only one. The main gun originally had a monobloc gun barrel, but, from May 1944 onwards, it was gradually replaced with an economical two-part barrel after crews determined barrel wear was uneven.

This particular 1:72 scale replica of a Jagdpanther was used by the Panzer Lehr Division in Hungary during the spring of 1945. Sold Out!

Dimensions:
Length: 5-1/2-inches
Width: 2-1/4-inches

Release Date: March 2004

Historical Account: "Trained Elite" - The Panzer Lehr Division was formed at Potsdam in November 1943, comprised principally of demonstration units from the various Panzer schools. It was transferred to France in February 1944, then to Hungary in April, where it absorbed Infanterie-Lehr Regiment 901. The division returned to France shortly thereafter where it opposed the Allied landings in June. Panzer Lehr suffered heavy losses at Caen during a massive carpet bombing attack and additional losses as it withdrew across France. It was sent to the Saar for refitting and later saw action in the Ardennes during Operation "Wacht am Rhein". After the winter counteroffensive, the division was trapped in the Ruhr pocket in early 1945 and forced to surrender to the US Army in April.