Jagdpanzer 70

Jagdpanzer 70 Tank Destroyer

Crew: 4
Country: Republic of Germany
Other Users: United States of America, Allied Powers
Builder: Krauss-Maffei

Armament: 1x Rheinmetall 120-millimeter Main Gun
1x 7.62mm Coax MG
1x 7.62mm MG3 (War time 2x MG3 or M240)

In the 1960s the Germany Army, Heer, looked for a new anti-tank system to outfit its Panzergrenadier brigades and reserve forces. As time passed the Soviet Army rebuilt itself from the ashes of the Second World war into a new powerful force. German leaders feared a new Soviet invasion lead by hordes of T-64 'Rhino' tanks across Poland and into Germany. The demand resulted in the Jagdpanzer 70 (Jgd 70).

Following the same design as the Jagdpanzers of WWII, the modern version would be light on armor but pack large firepower and speed. At the heart of the tank hunter was a 120mm smoothbore gun. It fired powerful new APFDS rounds made of dense tungsten. It was expected that the Jgd. 70 could kill any other tank. Slopped armor provided some protection but the thin armor of the tank killer could not resist a direct hit by a Soviet tank. Crew surivalibity was still high though thanks to fire suppression systems and separate ammo bunkers from the crew.

The Jagdpanzer 70 crews adopted and practiced ambush tactics. They expected to be deployed in a delaying role, waiting for a Soviet column to approach then begin the ambush by killing the Russian command tank or PC. Several other tanks or PCs would be destroyed then the Jgd 70 would withdraw and repeat the ambush down the road.

Armed with APFDS as well as HEAT and HE rounds, the Jgd 70 could also act as a fire support vehicle. Typically the tank hunters were deployed with Panzergrenadier units or Territorial Army troops to beef their AT strength. However the Jgd 70 did not first see combat in German hands.

The Third World War began not with an invasion of Europe but the Soviet invasion of America. A few months into the war the USA desperately needed replacement AFVs and other weapons. Factories and stocks of tanks and PCs had been lost or captured by the advancing Red Army. The Allies eventually agreed to supply the US with war material.

Two hundred Jagdpanzer 70 were shipped to the US fresh from the factory. In three weeks they were given to American Mechanized and Armored divisions. Their impact on the battlefield was almost immediate. GIs loved their firepower in defensive battles against Soviet tank rushes. More were ordered by the US from Germany with additional improvements made by the USA defense industry.

Most of the new upgrades included new fire-control systems and thermal imaging sights as they became available. In addition the US Army also began deploying a depleted uranium APFDS round. These DU shots could even penetrate the armor of Russian T-72 Apocalypse tanks. The German Army added many of these systems to their own models with half of the Jgd 70 being upgraded prior to European entry into the war.

The European Allies deceleration of war on the Soviet Union required a massive deployment of troops into Poland. The USSR unwilling to let this occur launched immediate attacks into Poland with their Category II and III divisions deployed in Belarus.. These divisions attacked with qualitative inferior forces but did have a numerical advantage. Just as they had in the US, the Jgd 70s proved their usefulness to the Europeans. One crew managed to kill over forty Soviet tanks in one engagement.

While the Jagdpanzers were wonderful at their role, they were less effective in the attack. Their think armor lead them to be easy pickings for waiting Soviet armor or the new AT-3 Sagger missile teams or RPG hunter killer groups. In the end the development of ATGMs by both the Soviet Union and the Allied Forces lead to eventually withdrawal of the Jgd 70 from service after the war. Today the majority of the Jagdpanzers can be found in service with African and South American militaries.

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This is a realistic version of the Tank Destroyer available to the Germans in Red Alert 2. I gave it a large gun and based the hull off of the Hertzer and TOW and HOT armed Bundswher AFVs that were in use during the Cold War.

I might do more 'realistic' versions of Red Alert universe vehicles if you have a suggestion let me know.