Editorials

West-Germany’s Cold War tank hunters

Written by Jeff
7 minutes

As the Warsaw Pact’s threat to western Europe became larger in the early 1950’s, it was requested that West Germany re-establish a military. This new military, the “Bundeswehr,” needed equipping.

West-German industry was still recovering from WW2, so the adoption of US-made equipment became a necessary stop-gap solution until domestic capabilities could be rebuilt. One vehicle family that was of particular interest to the West Germans was the Tank Destroyer. Coming from their WW2 experience with vehicles like the Stug 3 and Jagdpanzer 4 but also the lesser known X7 Rotkäppchen ATGM.

The want for a missile-armed platform did, however, not dissuade the West-Germans from developing an at the time more conventional gun-based tank destroyer as well.

Jagdpanzer 1-3

The first attempt at developing a gun-based tank destroyer was part of the HS.30 programme. This saw the HS.30 IFV used as the basis for several different vehicles, including both a gun and missile-armed tank destroyer.

The gun-based version saw the removal of the 20mm armed turret and the installation of a French-made 90mm gun as found in the AMX-ELC light tank. The gun itself was mounted in a ball mount on the front face of the superstructure.

Testing revealed serious shortcomings in the design. From abysmal crew ergonomics to the already overstressed HS.30 suspension crumbling under the extra weight on the front of the vehicle. Traversing the gun to the right trapped the gunner in the vehicle; the radio could not be accessed by the radio operator, and the vehicle only managed 68 km of driving before breaking down.

These results and the inherent problems of the HS.30 platform saw many of the planned variants cancelled, including the Jagdpanzer 1-3. Thus, development started anew with more success this time.

Jagdpanzer 4-5

As the HS.30 based Jagdpanzer 1-3 was cancelled a new program was started to develop a gun based Tank Destroyer. This was tied in with the development of a new light tank.

Ruhrstahl (later Rheinstahl-Hanomag) and Henschel were chosen to deliver twelve prototypes of this new vehicle. 6 prototype vehicles got delivered in 1961 known as Prototype-1, with 10 more to follow in 1962 being called Prototype-2. One can differentiate the prototypes from these 2 manufacturers by the number of roadwheels. The Rheinstahl-Hanomag offering had 5, while the Henschel variant had 6.

Testing of these vehicles lasted until 1963, when Rheinstahl-Hanomag was crowned the winner and awarded a contract to produce 770 vehicles for the West-German military between 1965 and 1967.

Armament-wise, the vehicle is armed with the Rheinmetall BK 90/L40 90mm gun capable of firing the same ammunition as the M47 and M48 medium tanks in German service at the time.

Secondary armament consists of 2 MG3 machine guns. One mounted coaxially to the main gun and the other mounted on the commander’s cupola. 51 rounds of 90mm HEAT and HESH and 4.000 rounds of 7.62x51mm ammunition are carried inside the vehicle.

The main gun can traverse 15° horizontally to either side of the vehicle and from -8° to +15° vertically. The gunner’s main sight meanwhile offers 6x magnification, while the panoramic sight for the commander offers 6x-20x magnification. Armour-wise, the vehicle leaves a lot to be desired. The frontal plate offers 80mm of RHA protection, while the vehicle’s sides, rear, and roof only have 10mm of armour. Additionally, a bank of smoke grenade launchers was installed on the rear of the vehicle.

It is mobility where this vehicle shines. The 500-hp 8-Cylinder 90° V-type four-stroke prechamber diesel engine from Daimler Benz is capable of brining the vehicle to 90kp/h for short periods of time. The speed was limited to 72kp/h for normal operation

The vehicle only ever received one major upgrade in the installation of a passive night vision sight for the gunner and an IR searchlight on top of the gun mantlet.

As the vehicle reached the end of its service life in the early 1980’s, West Germany sought to recapitalise on them by converting them into other roles.

162 (could be 165; the source uses both numbers) would be converted into Jaguar 2 missile-based tank destroyers, while the rest was converted into Beobachtungspanzer (observation tanks) and Beobachtung-/Führungspanzer (observation and command tanks).

In the 90’s, a number of these Beobachtungspanzer received a target-location system on an elevatable mount to serve as Forward Artillery Observer Tanks, also known as VB-Panzers. The last of these Beobachtungspanzer were retired from German service in 2003.

Raketenjagdpanzer 1 HS.30

Along with a gun-based tank destroyer, a missile-armed sister vehicle was also being developed as part of the HS.30 programme. The idea for this vehicle came about as France started fielding the SS-11 anti-tank guided missile.

Development started in 1959 and ended in 1961 with the order for 95 units to be produced by Hanomag-Henschel.

The vehicles armament consisted of 2 launch rails for the SS-11 missile, which had an effective range of 3.000 metres These launchers could also be retracted into the hull for reloading and safekeeping when not in combat.

A total of 12 missiles were carried on the vehicle, 2 on the launch rails and 10 more inside the vehicle. Additionally, 2.000 rounds of 7.62x51mm ammunition were carried for the MG3 mounted to the commander’s cupola. All 95 of the Raketenjagdpanzer 1 HS.30 left German service in 1967 with the adoption of the Raketenjagdpanzer 2.

Raketenjagdpanzer 2

The limitations of the HS.30 platform remained a problem for the Raketenjagdpanzer 1 HS.30, and thus a new vehicle was required. This vehicle was based on the same light tank development programme as the Kanonanjagdpanzer 4-5.

Development lasted from 1963 to 1965 and saw the production of one prototype called RU 234 and 6 pre-series vehicles named RU-341 to 346. Development work was split between Theyssen-Henschell and Hanomag.

The vehicle was accepted for service not long after, and in 1967 Hanomag-Henshel was awarded an order for 316 units of what became the Raketenjagdpanzer 2.

Armament consisted out of the same 2-rail setup for the SS-11 missile as the Raketenjagdpanzer 1 HS.30. Additionally, the vehicle had 2 MG3 machine guns, one mounted to the commander’s cupola and the other in a ball mount in the hull front.

A total of 14 missiles were carried in the vehicle, of which 2 were installed on the launch rails. Next to the missiles, 4.000 rounds of 7.62x51mm ammunition were carried for the MG3’s.

Armour protection was identical to the Kanonenjagdpanzer 4-5 with a 50mm frontal plate and 10mm of armour on the sides, rear, and top. Additionally, a smoke grenade launcher was installed on the rear engine deck.

Mobility-wise, the vehicle has the same engine, suspension, and drivetrain as the Kanonenjagdpanzer 4-5. This means it is capable of reaching 90 kp/h for short periods of time, but it was limited to 72 for normal operation.

Jaguar 1

West Germany started looking into the potential replacement of the SS-11 in 1972. By 1978, they had selected the West-German-made HOT missile for use on their ATGM-based tank destroyer.

All 316 Raketenjagdpanzer 2 received the Jaguar upgrade package that included the installation of a HOT missile launcher, add-on armour, and a new gunners sight. Later on, the HOT 2 and HOT 2T missiles were also fitted to the Jaguar 1.

A number of these vehicles later also received a gunner’s sight with a thermal channel. The last of the Jaguar 1s left German service in 2005.

Jaguar 2

West-Germany converted 162 (could be 165 the source uses both number) of the recently retired Kanonenjagdpanzer 4-5 into missile carrying Tank Destroyers. Unlike the Jaguar 1 these vehicles used the US made TOW missile.

As a cost-saving measure, the initial plan to rework the TOW launcher to allow for using it from under armour was abandoned. Instead, the gunner and loader were placed on an elevatable platform. This means that both are exposed to enemy fire while operating the launcher. The launcher itself was equipped with the AN/TAS 4 sight that includes a thermal channel. 14 TOW, TOW-2, or I-TOW missiles were carried inside the vehicle along with 2.000 rounds for the MG3 mounted to the commander’s cupola. The last of the Jaguar 2 left German service in 1993.

Export

Germany only ever found 2 export partners for their Jagdpanzers with Austria and Belgium. In 1996, Austria bought 90 Jaguar 1, 10 Jaguar 2, and 30 Beodachtungpanzer from Germany. Weirdly enough, the Jaguar 2 was purchased without the TOW launcher installed and would instead be used as command vehicles. These vehicles served in the Austrian Bundesheer until 2006 when the 1st Anti-Tank Battalion was disbanded.

Belgium meanwhile opted to buy 80 new-build Kanonenjagdpanzer 4-5 from West Germany in 1972, which got used as part of the Anti-Tank Company’s under the 1st Belgian Corp stationed in West Germany.

The Belgian Kanonenjagdpanzer 4-5 received several modifications, including a laser range finder, LYRAN 60mm battlefield illumination system, and a FCS made by SABCA. While the engine remained standard, the gearbox was swapped out for that of the Marder, and the road wheels of the Leopard 1 were installed instead of the standard German ones. Additionally, the MG3 machine guns also got changed out for FN-made MAG’s. In Belgian service, these vehicles got the JPK-90 designation, and they remained in service until the early 1990’s.

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