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Panzerjäger
''Panzerjäger'' (German: literally "armor hunter", more broadly "anti-tank") is a term used for an anti-tank vehicle (self-propelled anti-tank gun), as well as anti-tank units. The term was first used in the Wehrmacht (German armed forces, 1935–45), and also post-war by the German Federal Republic Bundeswehr. The term ''Panzerjäger'' was used in the Bundeswehr as a designation of rank. Wehrmacht Development From 1940, the troops were equipped with vehicles produced by mounting an existing anti-tank gun complete with the gun shield on a tracked chassis to allow higher mobility. The development of ''Panzerjägers'' into the fully protected armored vehicle designs began before the war with the -designated armored artillery vehicles, the initial German turretless tanks to use completely closed-in armored casemates, and continued until 1944, resulting in the fully enclosed "hunting tanks", purpose-built heavy-gun tank destroyers. These usually used upward extensions ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Panzerjäger I
The I (English: "tank hunter mark I") was the first German ("tank hunter") to see service in the Second World War. It mounted the Czech 4.7 cm KPÚV vz. 38 (German designation "4.7 cm (t)") anti-tank gun on a converted open-topped Panzer I chassis. It was intended to counter heavy French tanks like the Char B1 ''bis'' that were beyond the capabilities of the 3.7 cm Pak 36 anti-tank gun and extended the life of the obsolete Panzer I chassis. A total of 202 Panzer I chassis were converted to I standard in 1940–41, and were employed in the Battle of France, in the North Africa campaign and on the Eastern Front. Design and production The Panzer I turret was removed and a fixed gun shield added to protect the armament and crew. The anti-tank gun was mounted on a pedestal in the fighting compartment after wheels, axle and trails were removed, but retained its original gun shield. It normally carried 74 antitank and 10 HE shells. Alkett and contractors built 202 vehic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hetzer
The 38 (Sd.Kfz. 138/2), originally the 38(t), known mostly post-war as , was a German light tank destroyer of the Second World War based on a modified Czechoslovakian Panzer 38(t) chassis. German armoured forces in World War II created a variety of vehicles by mounting anti-tank guns on the chassis of obsolete tanks. These machines performed better than expected, but were still vulnerable due to their high vehicle profiles and open-topped turrets. Strategic bombing during World War II, Allied bombings took a heavy toll on German production facilities and further increased the need for an easily produced, yet effective light tank destroyer to replace vehicles like the Sturmgeschütz III, StuG III and Marder series (Marder I, Marder II, II, and Marder III, III). Prototypes of the 38 were ready by 1944, and mass production began in April of that year. The 38 was covered entirely with sloped armour and possessed a compact form and low silhouette, giving it much improved defens ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tank Destroyer
A tank destroyer, tank hunter or tank killer is a type of armoured fighting vehicle, predominantly intended for anti-tank duties. They are typically armed with a direct fire anti-tank gun, artillery gun, also known as a self-propelled anti-tank gun, or missile launcher, also called an anti-tank missile carrier. The vehicles are 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 Military tactics, 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 Continuous track, 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-ta ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Abteilung
(; abbrv. ''Abt.'') is a German word that is often used for German or Swiss military formations and depending on its usage could mean detachment, department or battalion; it can also refer to a military division. In German, it is used both for military and civilian departments (as in "office department"). In the military of the German Empire, the Weimar Republic and the Wehrmacht (during World War II), the term was generally a battalion equivalent in the armoured, cavalry, reconnaissance and artillery arms of the Wehrmacht and Waffen-SS. For example, ''Schwere Panzerabteilung'' refers to German heavy tank battalions. However, when the term was used for large military formations, it generally meant "detachment". For example, translates to "army detachment" and '' Korpsabteilung'' to "corps detachment".Walter Dunn, ''Kursk: Hitler's Gamble, 1943'', 1997, p. 61. The German term is used in the same sense as the Russian term ''divizion'' (''дивизион'') or the Polish t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
German Army (Wehrmacht)
The German Army (, 'army') is the land component of the armed forces of Federal Republic of Germany, Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German together with the German Navy, ''Marine'' (German Navy) and the German Air Force, ''Luftwaffe'' (German Air Force). , the German Army had a strength of 63,047 soldiers. History Overview A German army equipped, organized, and trained following a single doctrine and permanently unified under one command was created in 1871 during the unification of Germany under the leadership of Prussia. From 1871 to 1919, the title ''German Army (German Empire), Deutsches Heer'' (German Army) was the official name of the German land forces. Following the German defeat in World War I and the end of the German Empire, the main army was dissolved. From 1921 to 1935 the name of the German land forces was the ''Reichswehr, Reichsheer'' (Army of the Realm) and from 1935 to 1945 the name ''German Army (We ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jagdpanzer
''Jagdpanzer'' ("tank destroyer") (JgPz) is the name given in German to an armored, tracked tank destroyer, although it may also be used for other kinds of self-propelled guns. Translated from German, ''Jagdpanzer'' meaning "hunting tank". It typically refers to anti-tank variants of existing tank chassis with a well-armored casemate superstructure that mount an anti-tank gun with limited traverse in the front. These vehicles were classified by the western Allies of World War II as a tank destroyer. History The ''Jagdpanzer'' designs followed on from the more lightly armored ''Panzerjäger'' ("tank hunter") designs, which took an anti-tank gun and mounted it on top of a tank chassis with supplementary armor fitted around the gun crew. However, the armor typically had an open rear and top, almost never providing the crew with full protection from the elements. In addition, much experience was gained from the Sturmgeschütz series of assault guns for infantry support, which al ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2 Cm Flak 30, Flak 38 And Flakvierling 38
The Flak 30 (''Flugzeugabwehrkanone 30'') and improved Flak 38 were 20 mm anti-aircraft guns used by various German forces throughout World War II. It was not only the primary German light anti-aircraft gun but by far the most numerously produced German artillery piece throughout the war. It was produced in a variety of models, notably the Flakvierling 38 which combined four Flak 38 autocannons onto a single carriage. Development 2 cm C/30, 2 cm Flak 30 The Germans fielded the unrelated early 2 cm Flak 28 just after World War I, but the Treaty of Versailles outlawed these weapons and they were sold to Switzerland. The original Flak 30 design was developed from the Solothurn ST-5 as a project for the Kriegsmarine, which produced the 2 cm C/30. The gun fired the "Long Solothurn", a 20 × 138 mm belted cartridge that had been developed for the ST-5 and was one of the more powerful 20 mm rounds. The C/30, featuring a barrel length of 65 Cal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Waffen-SS
The (; ) was the military branch, combat branch of the Nazi Party's paramilitary ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) organisation. Its formations included men from Nazi Germany, along with Waffen-SS foreign volunteers and conscripts, volunteers and conscripts from both German-occupied Europe and unoccupied lands. With the start of World War II, tactical control was exercised by the (OKW, "High Command of the Armed Forces"), with some units being subordinated to the (Command Staff ''Reichsführer-SS'') directly under Himmler's control. It was disbanded in May 1945. The grew from three regiments to over 38 division (military), divisions during World War II. Combining combat and police functions, it served alongside the German Army (1935–1945), German Army (''Heer''), ''Ordnungspolizei'' (Order Police), and other security units. Originally, it was under the control of the (SS operational command office) beneath Heinrich Himmler, the head of the SS. Initially, in keeping with the raci ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wehrmacht
The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previously used term (''Reich Defence'') and was the manifestation of the Nazi regime's efforts to German rearmament, rearm Germany to a greater extent than the Treaty of Versailles permitted. After the Adolf Hitler's rise to power, Nazi rise to power in 1933, one of Adolf Hitler's most overt and bellicose moves was to establish the ''Wehrmacht'', a modern offensively-capable armed force, fulfilling the Nazi regime's long-term goals of regaining lost territory as well as gaining new territory and dominating its neighbours. This required the reinstatement of conscription and massive investment and Military budget, defence spending on the arms industry. The ''Wehrmacht'' formed the heart of Germany's politico-military po ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Casemate
A casemate is a fortified gun emplacement or armoured 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 .) 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 hull or in the low ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Panzer Division (Wehrmacht)
A Panzer division was one of the armored (tank) divisions in the army of Nazi Germany during World War II. Panzer divisions were the key element of German success in the blitzkrieg operations of the early years of World War II. Later the ''Waffen-SS'' formed its own panzer divisions, and the ''Luftwaffe'' fielded an elite panzer division: the Hermann Göring Division. A panzer division was a combined arms formation, having both tanks (, , usually shortened to ""), mechanized and motorized infantry, along with artillery, anti-aircraft and other integrated support elements. At the start of the war, panzer divisions were more effective than the equivalent Allied armored divisions due to their combined arms doctrine, even though they had fewer and generally less technically advanced tanks. By mid-war, though German tanks had often become technically superior to Allied tanks, Allied armored warfare and combined arms doctrines generally caught up with the Germans, and shortages redu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Assault Gun
An assault gun (from , , meaning "assault gun") is a type of armored infantry support vehicle and self-propelled artillery, mounting an infantry support gun on a protected self-propelled chassis, intended for providing infantry with heavy direct fire support during engagement, especially against other infantry or fortified positions, secondarily also giving some armored protection and anti-armor capability. Assault guns were pioneered by the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany during the 1930s, initially being self-propelled guns with direct fire in mind (such as the Soviet SU-5-1), with Germany introducing the first purpose-built (and purpose-named) assault gun, the , in 1940. Concept, doctrine and design The concept of the assault gun can be simplified into: a protected self propelled infantry gun, intended for the infantry brigades, in order to give infantry: mobile heavy direct fire capability against protected enemy positions and threats, which can move with infantr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
