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 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 Zimmerit was applied to G1s up to September 1944, then was withdrawn to decrease production time.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 was used by the Fuhrer Grenadier Brigade in its defense of eastern Prussia during December 1944. Now in stock!

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

Release Date: November 2003

Historical Account: "Grenadiers" - The Fuhrer Grenadier Brigade was an elite German Heer combat unit which saw action during World War II. The Fuhrer Genadier Brigade is sometimes mistakenly perceived as being a part of the Waffen-SS, whereas it was actually a Heer unit and technically assigned to the Grossdeutschland Division. This misconception comes from its original duty of guarding Adolf Hitler's East Prussian Wolfsschanze Headquarters, a task which sounded similar to the original one of Waffen-SS 1.Panzer Division "Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler", which in turn stemmed from the Fuhrer's original bodyguard corps.