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Kanonenjagdpanzer
The Kanonenjagdpanzer (''KanJPz''; also known as Jagdpanzer Kanone 90mm, "tank destroyer, gun 90mm") was a West German Cold War tank destroyer. Its design was very similar to that of the World War II Jagdpanzer IV. History The first prototypes of the Kanonenjagdpanzer were built in 1960 by Hanomag and Henschel for West Germany and by MOWAG for Switzerland. A second round of 6 prototypes this time built just by Hanomag and Henschel were constructed between 1962 and 1963. After that another set of six prototypes were built over the next two years still by Hanomag and Henschel. The features of the various prototypes were then combined into the final design. Between 1966 and 1967, 770 units were built for the Bundeswehr, 385 by Hanomag and 385 by Henschel. Eighty of them were delivered to Belgium from April 1975 onward. When the Soviets began deploying their T-64 and T-72 main battle tanks, the 90 mm gun was not capable of engaging them in long-range combat and the Kanonenj ...
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Tank Destroyer
A tank destroyer, tank hunter, tank killer, or self-propelled anti-tank gun is a type of armoured fighting vehicle, armed with a direct fire artillery gun or missile launcher, designed specifically to engage and destroy enemy tanks, often with limited operational capacities. While tanks are designed for front-line combat, combining operational mobility and tactical offensive and defensive capabilities and performing all primary tasks of the armoured troops, the tank destroyer is specifically designed to take on enemy tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles. Many are based on a tracked tank chassis, while others are wheeled. Since World War II, gun-armed powerful tank destroyers have fallen out of favor as armies have favored multirole main battle tanks. However, lightly armoured anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) carriers are commonly used for supplementary long-range anti-tank work. The resurgence of expeditionary warfare in the first two decades of the 21st century ha ...
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Jaguar 2
The Raketenjagdpanzer 4 Jaguar 2 was a West German tank destroyer equipped with anti-tank guided missiles. It was only operated by the Bundeswehr. History From 1983 to 1985, 162 Kanonenjagdpanzers were converted to ''Raketenjagdpanzer 4'' Jaguar 2. This was done by removing the main gun, adding a TOW launcher on the roof and adding applique armour. In 1989, the TOW missiles were replaced by the more potent TOW 2. In 1993, the Jaguar 2 tank destroyers were phased out in favour of the Jaguar 1A3, an upgraded version of the Jaguar 1. Design The Jaguar 2 is a tank destroyer that follows the traditional casemate design of West German tank destroyers. It is a rather light vehicle based on the "''leichte Fahrzeugfamilie''"-chassis, which was also used by the SPz Marder and the Jaguar 1. It is an all-welded steel construction, which has maximum thickness of 50 mm. Protection The base armour is formed by the Kanonenjagdpanzer chassis. It was made of welded steel and had a th ...
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Spähpanzer Ru 251
The ''Spähpanzer'' Ru 251 is a German light tank based on the Kanonenjagdpanzer tank destroyer. It was proposed to replace the M41 Walker Bulldog. History The Ru 251 was one of the projects created by the Bundeswehr during the Cold War. In this connection, a new project began—the ''Europanzer'', which led to the creation of the Leopard 1 for the West Germany or the AMX-30 for France. In the early 1960s, the Bundeswehr still used American M41s as reconnaissance tanks. In 1960, a program was launched to develop a new light reconnaissance tank. Prototypes were built in 1963 and 1964. Design The Ru 251 is based on the Kanonenjagdpanzer The Kanonenjagdpanzer (''KanJPz''; also known as Jagdpanzer Kanone 90mm, "tank destroyer, gun 90mm") was a West German Cold War tank destroyer. Its design was very similar to that of the World War II Jagdpanzer IV. History The first prototypes o ... tank destroyer and uses the same 90 mm Rheinmetall BK 90/L40 main cannon. As a light reconnais ...
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Jagdpanzer IV
The ''Jagdpanzer'' IV, Sd.Kfz. 162, was a German tank destroyer based on the Panzer IV chassis and built in three main variants. As one of the casemate-style turretless Jagdpanzer (tank destroyer, literally "hunting tank") designs, it was developed against the wishes of Heinz Guderian, the inspector general of the ''Panzertruppen'', as a replacement for the '' Sturmgeschütz III'' (''StuG'' III). Guderian objected against the needless, in his eyes, diversion of resources from Panzer IV tank production, as the StuG III was still more than adequate for its role. Officially, only the L/48-armed vehicle was named Jagdpanzer IV. The L/70-armed vehicle was named Panzer IV/70. In this article, both versions are referred to in general as Jagdpanzer IV, except in the variants and surviving vehicles section. Development 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 f ...
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Raketenjagdpanzer 2
The Raketenjagdpanzer 2 or Raketenjagdpanzer SS-11 was a West German tank destroyer employed from 1967 to 1982 and equipped with Nord SS.11 guided anti tank missiles. It was developed at the same time as the Kanonenjagdpanzer and the Marder, and shares a similar chassis with them. Overview The vehicle prototypes were developed between 1963 and 1965 and between 1967 and 1968, Henschel and Hanomag built 318 ''Raketenjagdpanzer 2'' for the Bundeswehr. Starting around 1978, 316 of them were upgraded with additional armour and a new missile system, and redesignated as Raketenjagdpanzer Jaguar 1. Armament The vehicle was armed with two launch rails for the Nord SS.11 antitank guided missile, and two MG3 machine guns. The machine guns were mounted in the bow and as an anti-aircraft weapon on top of the vehicle. The ''Raketenjagdpanzer 2'' carried fourteen missiles, twelve of which were mounted in containers inside the vehicle while the other two were attached to the launch rails. ...
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Lyran Flare Mortar
The Lyran illuminating mortar is a 71mm mortar designed by Bofors Weapon Systems primarily for armoured vehicles to fire flares to illuminate battlefields and targets. It can also be used as an infantry weapon and in marine applications. Background In October 1964 the Swedish Arms manufacturer Bofors AB (now part of BAE Systems) filed an application with the United States Patent Office for a modular lightweight mortar whereby the major components were interchangeable between man-portable use and for attachment to armoured fighting vehicles (AFVs). In April 1966 Bofors filed a further patent application for a lightweight illumination mortar shell. While the concept of providing battlefield illumination using flares fired from mortars was not new, Bofors' designs for a lightweight modular system - especially one that was limited to only fire illumination rounds - was, and led to the production of the Lyran 71mm Illuminating Mortar. The system was subsequently installed on ...
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Casemate
A casemate is a fortified gun emplacement or armored structure from which guns are fired, in a fortification, warship, or armoured fighting vehicle.Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary When referring to antiquity, the term "casemate wall" means a double city wall with the space between the walls separated into chambers, which could be filled up to better withstand battering rams in case of siege (see Antiquity: casemate wall). In its original early modern meaning, the term referred to a vaulted chamber in a fort, which may have been used for storage, accommodation, or artillery which could fire through an opening or embrasure. Although the outward faces of brick or masonry casemates proved vulnerable to advances in artillery performance, the invention of reinforced concrete allowed newer designs to be produced well into the 20th century. With the introduction of ironclad warships, the definition was widened to include a protected space for guns in a ship, either within the ...
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BGM-71 TOW
The BGM-71 TOW ("Tube-launched, Optically tracked, Wire-guided") is an American anti-tank missile. TOW replaced much smaller missiles like the SS.10 and ENTAC, offering roughly twice the effective range, a more powerful warhead, and a greatly improved semi-automatic command to line of sight (SACLOS) that could also be equipped with infrared cameras for night time use. First produced in 1970, TOW is one of the most widely used anti-tank guided missiles. It can be found in a wide variety of manually carried and vehicle-mounted forms, as well as widespread use on helicopters. Originally designed by Hughes Aircraft in the 1960s, the weapon is currently produced by Raytheon. History Previous designs Late in World War II, the German Army began experimenting with modified versions of the Ruhrstahl X-4 wire-guided missile. Originally developed for the ''Luftwaffe'' as an anti-bomber weapon, by changing the warhead to one using a high-explosive anti-tank (HEAT) design, the new X-7 ...
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Vehicle Armour
Military vehicles are commonly armoured (or armored; see spelling differences) to withstand the impact of shrapnel, bullets, shells, rockets, and missiles, protecting the personnel inside from enemy fire. Such vehicles include armoured fighting vehicles like tanks, aircraft, and ships. Civilian vehicles may also be armoured. These vehicles include cars used by officials (e.g., presidential limousines), reporters and others in conflict zones or where violent crime is common. Civilian armoured cars are also routinely used by security firms to carry money or valuables to reduce the risk of highway robbery or the hijacking of the cargo. Armour may also be used in vehicles to protect from threats other than a deliberate attack. Some spacecraft are equipped with specialised armour to protect them against impacts from micrometeoroids or fragments of space debris. Modern aircraft powered by jet engines usually have them fitted with a sort of armour in the form of an aramid c ...
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West Germany
West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 October 1990. During the Cold War, the western portion of Germany and the associated territory of West Berlin were parts of the Western Bloc. West Germany was formed as a political entity during the Allied occupation of Germany after World War II, established from eleven states formed in the three Allied zones of occupation held by the United States, the United Kingdom, and France. The FRG's provisional capital was the city of Bonn, and the Cold War era country is retrospectively designated as the Bonn Republic. At the onset of the Cold War, Europe was divided between the Western and Eastern blocs. Germany was divided into the two countries. Initially, West Germany claimed an exclusive mandate for all of Germany, representing itself ...
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Mortar (weapon)
A mortar is usually a simple, lightweight, man-portable, muzzle-loaded weapon, consisting of a smooth-bore (although some models use a rifled barrel) metal tube fixed to a base plate (to spread out the recoil) with a lightweight bipod mount and a sight. They launch explosive shells (technically called bombs) in high-arcing ballistic trajectories. Mortars are typically used as indirect fire weapons for close fire support with a variety of ammunition. History Mortars have been used for hundreds of years. The earliest mortars were used in Korea in a 1413 naval battle when Korean gunsmiths developed the ''wan'gu'' (gourd-shaped mortar) (완구, 碗口). The earliest version of the ''wan'gu'' dates back to 1407. Choi Hae-san (최해산, 崔海山) (1380–1443), the son of Choe Mu-seon (최무선, 崔茂宣) (1325–1395), is generally credited with inventing the ''wan'gu''. In the Ming dynasty, general Qi Jiguang recorded the use of a mini cannon called the Hu dun pao that ...
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