*WARNING* The Hetzer is extremely adorable and cute and may cause over cuteness overload! *Disclaimer* There is no known record of the Hetzer ever actually being called a Hetzer during the war, this name was mistakenly placed on it by modelers after the war. It is believed that it was mistaken for the E-10 project which had the name Hetzer, it is never mentioned in any official documents. The Jagdpanzer 38t or commonly known as the "Hetzer" was a light German tank destroyer produced from 1944-1945 in World War 2 based on the Czech Panzer 38t. (Picture of the Czech Panzer 38t [url]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f3/Bundesarchiv_Bild_101I-213-0267-14,_Russland-Nord,_Panzer_38(t)_und_Infanterie.jpg[/url]) The Hetzer is probably the most common surviving German tank destroyer today because of the number produced (Approximately 2827), which is due in part to how easy it was to manufacture. The Hetzer combined good sloping armor, an fantastic gun modified from the StuG's Stuk 75mm which was capable of destroying any allied vehicle from a reasonable distance, greater mechanical reliability compared to the Jagdpanther and monstrous Jagdtiger, and of course its size which allowed it to hide in ambush easily. For close infantry defense the Hetzer was equipped with a radio controlled Machinegun on the roof of the vehicle which was fired by the loader from the inside of the vehicle. The Hetzer was attached to infantry divisions in there tank destroyer battalions, replacing the Marder III's and giving them some better anti armor capability. It was classified as a "light" tank destroyer such as its Marder Brethren, and should not really be related to something like the STuG or the Jagdpanther. Some Hetzers were equipped with flamethrowers just in time for the battle of the Bulge and incredibly were used on the Siegfried line against there American defenders, which is amazingly delicious irony. While the Hetzers size gave it an amazing amount of concealment (And cuteness), the crew on the inside faced a lot of problems! The inside was incredibly cramped, the loaders breach clear handle was on the opposite side of him on the other side of the gun making him reach over the recoil handle to reach it, meanwhile the gunner was literally seated right next to him making it extremely uncomfortable, there was little room for ammunition storage so it was placed really where ever they could put it. The driver faced a problem in the first models where his periscopes (Used to see while driving without hatching out of the vehicle) turned into a shot trap, making the vehicle easier to penetrate, this was fixed in new models by adding slits for the periscope. You know what, it was so miserable in side I will let this video of a guy crawling around inside it pointing out every miserable detail! [url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4JVBp2JOgE[/url]. Other problems included poor turret traverse, and low ammunition storage, overall though the Hetzer was well liked by its crew. Overall the Hetzer was a cheap, reliable, and well performing German tank destroyer. Unlike its thin skinned brethren of the Marder variety and its heavy and unreliable cousins like the Jagdtiger, the Hetzer proved to be reliable and effective. I After the war Switzerland produced more Hetzers to compliment there military up until the 60's! Of course if there is anything else the Hetzer was loved for it was its ridiculous cuteness, and for that we can forever be grateful! [b]HETZERS GONNA HETZ![/b] Thanks for reading,as always if you like this stuff feel free to follow me, if there's something you would like to see me make a post about don't be afraid to ask! Photo dump- The cramped interior- [url]http://www.lerenfort.fsnet.co.uk/hetzerInt2.jpg[/url] [url]http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-E0LrEFEibEY/TkD2vWzw-FI/AAAAAAAAAnY/h4DQEsiwils/s1600/Jagdpanzer%2B38%2528t%2529%2B8.jpg[/url] German soldiers talking to the commander of a Hetzer- [url]http://dic.academic.ru/pictures/enc_tech/hetzer_9.jpg[/url] Reenactors in Texas operating a Hetzer [url]http://www.tmhs.net/images/membervehicles/hetzer.jpg[/url] Another reenactor Hetzer- [url]http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8171/7977357860_52579f5af8.jpg[/url] Hetzer and its tank commander hatched out- [url]http://www.militaryfactory.com/armor/imgs/jagdpanzer-38t-hetzer_7.jpg[/url]