The Jagdtiger.
.This monster German tank destroyer featured a 128mm gun that could stop any armored vehicle on the battlefield and penetrate almost any bunker. The Germans made 88 of them and deployed them as fast as possible. All of them had to be transported by rail because they were 128,000 ponds and few bridges could hold them.
On the battlefield they performed quite well. Its 250 mm of front glacis armor was almost impenetrable. Once, three Jadgtigers took out a dozen US armored vehicles in just a few minutes from a hidden hull down position in 1945 fighting in the Ruhr pocket. A few Jadgtigers were destroyed by Shermans when they exposed their thinly armored sides.
Maintaining these Juggernauts was a nightmare. The gun needed to be recalibrated after driving for along time. A crewmember had to leave the vehicle and unlock the barrel ring. The huge 128 mm gun had to be loaded in two pieces, the shell and the firing charge. The gun was casemate style so traversing the barrel had to be done my steering. Most Jadgtigers were destroyed by their own crews when they ran out of gas, or ammo. Many just broke down and couldn’t be repaired in time.
Originally published at civilianmilitaryintelligencegroup.com on June 20, 2016.
