Tank Destroyers

One of the more difficult and expensive parts of a tank to build is the turret. When larger guns were placed into a tank, a larger turret ring was required. In order to get more mobile anti-tank vehicles onto the battlefield, both the Germans and Soviets produced tank destroyers. Built on a tank chassis, these vehicles were armed with larger caliber guns mounted in an armored box that does not rotate. While the gun could traverse a few degrees right or left within the box, the entire vehicle had to be rotated to aim the gun when larger movement was needed. Many tank destroyers had thick armor in the front that made them virtually indestructible unless attacked from the flank or rear.

Russian

SU-85

With the entry into service of the powerful Tiger and Panther, the Soviet Army was forced to develop an anti-tank weapon capable of taking them on. To do this, the 122mm howitzer of the SU-122 was replaced with a high velocity anti-tank gun, the 88mm D-5T. The SU-85's baptism of fire occurred in August, 1943.

The 85mm gun could penetrate the sides of the Panther and Tiger from considerable distances and wipe out a medium tank with a single shot. The vehicle's armor was of average thickness, but like the T-34, the steel plates were inclined. This favored the rebound of penetrating projectiles, keeping a weight of less than 30 tons and good maneuverability.

The main weapon could only aim at a reduced angle towards the front, which made it vulnerable if immobilized. Like the SU-122, it did not have machine guns to confront enemy infantry, which meant it always had to operate with cover from allied troops.

SU-100

As soon as the German Tiger IIs appeared on the battlefield, the SU-85 became obsolete. This was when the SU-100 had to take over. Its 10mm gun could fire to formidable distances and penetrate the armor of the heaviest tanks from average distances, even head on. Like other tank destroyers, it had a perfect low profile for hiding itself and keeping still in order to carry out the first (and lethal) attack. Equally, its inclined, reinforced armor allowed it to exchange fire at long distances and survive.

German

Elefant

The first prototypes of the Tiger, designed in 1941 by Porsche, were subsequently adapted by the Henschel Company in order to manufacture the Elefant. Equipped with an 88mm PaK 43 gun, the final design included an additional front armor plate that increased the total thickness up to nearly 200mm. Its baptism of fire took place at the Battle of Kursk, where several mechanical failures forced a rethink of some of its design characteristics. After carrying out some improvements, such as the introduction of a front machine gun, the Elefant was used again during operations carried out in Italy, Poland and Berlin.

Next to the Jagdtiger, the Elefant was without doubt one of the most fearsome defensive weapons of any arsenal in the Second World War. Its front armor was practically impenetrable from any distance, and its gun could destroy the heaviest of tanks. The cost of deploying one of these immense vehicles was significant, and its performance much depended on the battlefield's layout creating bottlenecks that the Elefant could defend without exposing its flanks and caterpillar tracks, which were much less well protected than the gun mounting and the hull front.

At short distances, the enemy could attempt to fire accurately against the main gun mounting. Protected by just 125mm of armor plating, this was the weak point of the front armor. Although it did not ensure the tank's destruction, one armor-penetrating shot could damage the main gun, leaving the tank defenseless.

Jagdpanther

Production of the Jagdpanther started in 1944, with nearly 400 units manufactured. Used mainly in the Eastern Front, they also took part in key battles such as the Battle of Normandy and the Ardennes.

The Jagdpanther was better than the Jagdpanzer in nearly all aspects. It had better armor, was faster, and was better armed. It was higher than the Jagdpanzer IV, though, which exposed it more to enemy fire. The 88mm gun, the same as that mounted on the Nashorn and the Elefant, was the most effective anti-tank weapon of the conflict, capable of firing to extremely long distances with unbeatable penetration. The Jagdpanther could destroy any heavy enemy tank, but it was expensive and continued to depend on camouflage and surprise in order to fire before the enemy.

Jagdtiger

Designed in 1943, this was the heaviest armored tank destroyer of the war. Although the German Army ordered 150 units of this 76 ton vehicle, only 88 were manufactured.

The front armor of the Jagdtiger was simply impassable: it had no weak point. Its massive 128mm gun had the same range as the 88mm mounted on the Elefant and Tiger II, although its exit velocity was lower, which reduced its penetration capacity. Its higher caliber, however, caused much more serious damage when it penetrated the armor of an enemy tank and offered excellent firepower when firing explosive projectiles.

Like the Elefant, the Jagdtiger was extremely slow. This made its sides and caterpillar tracks easy targets for the enemy. Another weak point was the reload time due to projectiles and propellant charges being loaded separately into the gun, making the rate of fire low, as with the Soviet IS-2 and IS-3 models.

Nashorn

The first prototype of this tank destroyer was manufactured in Berlin using components from the Panzer III and Panzer IV. The purpose of the design was to counteract the potential shown by the Soviet tanks during Operation Barbarossa. The Nashorn (“rhinoceros” in German) had a PaK 43 L/41 gun protected by a shield and mounted on the rear part of the chassis.

The Nashorn carried one of the most effective anti-tank guns that existed during the war, the same as that mounted on the fearsome Tiger II. Its ability to reach the enemy at huge distances compensated for the disadvantages of its light armor and high profile, which made it easy to locate and reach when moving.

The unique combination of extremely weak armor, powerful gun and high operating cost meant that the Nashorn had to be deployed and managed with extreme care, and always had to be kept within the maximum firing ranges, where its main weapon could destroy almost any medium tank. At medium range, it could penetrate and destroy any heavy and super-heavy tank that the enemy deployed, as long as it fired first. As it did not have defense machine guns, it was very vulnerable to vehicles that were lightly armed with 37mm automatic guns, which could penetrate the weak armor and kill the crew.