Kanonenjagdpanzer
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| Kanonenjagdpanzer | |
|---|---|
| General characteristics | |
| Crew | 4 (commander, gunner, loader, driver) |
| Length | total: 8.75m hull: 6.29 |
| Width | 2.98 |
| Height | 2.10 |
| Weight | 25.7 |
| Armour and armament | |
| Armour | ? |
| Main armament | 1 x Rheinmetall BK 90/L40 90mm anti-tank gun |
| Secondary armament | 2 x 7.62mm MG3 machine guns 8 smoke dischargers |
| Mobility | |
| Power plant | 2,94l MTU MB 837 Aa V8 water-cooled multi-fuel diesel-engine 500 hp (368 kW) |
| Suspension | torsion bar |
| Road speed | 70 |
| Power/weight | |
| Range | 385 |
The Kanonenjagdpanzer (also known as Jagdpanzer Kanone 90mm, or tank destroyer, gun) was a German post-war tank destroyer equipped with a 90mm anti-tank gun. Its design was very similar to that of the WW II Jagdpanzer IV. Between 1966 and 1967, 770 were built by Hanomag and Henschel for the Bundeswehr. They were tracked and lightly armoured turret-less vehicles, fast and highly mobile, with a crew of four (commander, driver, gunner, loader). Eighty of them were delivered to Belgium from April 1975 onward.
When the Soviets began to deploy their T-64 and T-72 tanks, the 90mm gun became obsolete. Moreover, experienced WW II tank hunters pointed out the deficiencies of the casemate design, which limited the horizontal firing angle of the gun to only 15° on either side. During 1983 - 1985, thus, 163 of these tank destroyers were converted into missile carrying tank destroyers (Raketenjagdpanzer) Jaguar 2 by replacing the gun with a TOW missile launcher and adding some armour. The others were refitted into scout and spotting vehicles (Beobachtungspanzer) for the artillery, particularly the mortar units, by removing the main gun.
