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.

This particular 1:32 scale replica of a German Sd. Kfz. 173 Jagdpanther Ausf. G1 tank destroyer with Zimmerit was attached to Panzerjager Abteilung 559, which fought the Allies during their drive through Holland as part of Operation: Market-Garden. Sold Out!

Dimensions:
Length: 10-1/2-inches
Width: 3-1/2-inches

Release Date: September 2005

Historical Account: "The Gallant Above, the Hunted Below" - Operation Market Garden (September 17th-September 25th, 1944) was an Allied military operation in World War II. Its tactical objectives were to secure a series of bridges over the main rivers of the German-occupied Netherlands by large-scale use of airborne forces together with a rapid advance by armoured units along the connecting roads, for the strategic purpose of allowing an Allied crossing of the Rhine river, the last major natural barrier to an advance into Germany. The operation was initially successful with the capture of the Waal bridge at Nijmegen on September 20th but was a failure overall as the final Rhine bridge at Arnhem was not completely taken and the British 1st Airborne Division was destroyed in the battle. The Rhine would remain a barrier to the Allied advance until the Allied Offensives in March 1945.