Jagdpanzer 38 'Hetzer' 1944–45

Osprey New Vanguard #36

by Hilary Louis Doyle, Thomas L. Jentz, Michael Badrocke (Illustrator)

The Jagdpanzer 38 is one of the best known German armoured fighting vehicles from World War II. Rushed into series production in the record time of less than four months, it was instantly recognisable by the sleek appearance created by its well-sloped armour. Many experts in post-war armour hold the opinion that this tank destroyer was just the answer to Germany's problem of dealing with the numerically superior American M4 Medium tank (known to the British Army as the Sherman) and the Russian T-34.

Genres: History, World War II

48 pages, Paperback

First published January 25, 2001

Reviews

[Antonio Bernarda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mr.Doy writte a small but concise book on one of the most sucessfull german AFVs of the war and it uses the small ammount of pages to its best extent.

[Roy Szweda · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating subject in a slim but well-illustrated volume. Did not know much about the origins of this sleek lethal machine but now I do. Used on both fronts the Hetzer is a type of tank that is rare these days with the demise of the assault gun but when deployed properly in numbers wrought havoc on Allied and Soviet formations.
This book apologises for a lack of lengthier exposition on the combat use but there is enough here to amuse and inform. Apparently Allies were lax in identifying which German Stugs were which so it is hard to be clear as to which was most effective.
Not sure if they ran over the page count but the book excludes some mention of other variants or much about post-WW2. Be nice to know more about this era and survivors otherwise a great quick read way to pass time while waiting at the airport.

[Glen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Given its length, the book does a good job of covering the development of the Hetzer and the changes it underwent during the last few years of the war. While there is a short section on crew operations, there is very little information on its actual combat experience/performance. The drawings are well done, and a variety of camouflage schemes are presented, but as the cross section diagram runs across two pages, some of the details are lost in the fold of the book. If you are interested in the technical details and the different versions of the Hetzer, this is a nice little reference book. But don't expect any substantial accounts of battle.

[Surfing Moose · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was interesting reading the development and production history of this tank. I wish the center cutaway with all the named parts had a view of the back because I can't figure out where exactly the gas cap (#24 320 litre fuel tank filler access hatch) is situated. Guess I'm just a picky modeller.