JAGDPANZER38 3711 HETZER EARLY eduard 1:35

FIRST, A FEW WORDS...... ON THE WAR: The Second World War, from a German perspective, was not evolving favorably in 1943. Heavy losses at Stalingrad, the capitulation of German and Italian forces in North Africa in May, the defeat at the Battle of Kursk in July, and the Allied landings in Italy put increasing stresses on the German military. Furthermore, an increasingly concentrated fury from above in the form of the allied bombing campaign appeared that threatened to reduce the Reich to rubble. This campaign began to extract a heavy toll on the German ability to produce and support her weapons, including the production of tanks. On the other hand, war production in the Soviet Union and the United States steadily increased, and production figures attained were in the thousands. The German planners and designers were faced with some difficult decisions with respect on how to address the situation. One The original Pz.38(t) light tank effective method was to construct a series of tank hunter/destroyers on the chassis of existing tanks, foto V.Francev via MBI resulting in vehicles such as the Sturmgeschütz, for use in infantry support. One huge advantage of such vehicles was their relative simplicity when compared to the classic tank. There was no turret, and the complexities associated with the manufacture and installation of the turret were eliminated. The vehicles would be armed with Pak 39 anti tank guns of 75mm caliber, and were called Jagdpanzer (Fighter Tank - Tank Destroyer). Progressively, this concept was applied to other tank chassis as well. ...ON PRODUCTION: In December, 1943, the factory of BMM, in Prague, was tasked with the production of such a vehicle, based on the proven Pz.38(t) chassis. At the time, there was in production an earlier generation of antitank vehicle in the form of the Sd.Kfz. 138 Marder III. This had an antitank gun mounted in an open fighting compartment. The new vehicle, designated Jagdpanzer 38 Hetzer (Sd.Kfz. 138/2) varied considerably from its forerunner. The running gear was extended, onto which Marder IIIM, the first generation a compact structure composed of welded steel plating of 60mm frontal, 20mm rear, 10mm top and of the German tank destroyers 8mm bottom thickness, was placed. The Pak 39 L48 gun was mounted offset to the right. The base of foto V.Francev via MBI the gun was covered by a cast metal curtain of the Saukopfblende type. The top of the vehicle was equipped with an MG34 machine gun, operated by the loader and could be rearmed from inside the vehicle. Development of this vehicle progressed quickly, and April, 1944, saw the road trials begin on the first three prototypes. Assembly of the first twenty pieces was also initiated, and on the 20th of April, 1944, the vehicle was demonstrated for Hitler on the occasion of his birthday. Fifty vehicles were produced in May, and these were split between test and training units. In June, the entire program was given absolute priority. June production saw the new vehicles sent to the depot at Breslau (today Wroclaw), and then on to combat units. June also saw the initiation of production of this vehicle at Skoda in Pilsen. Both facilities produced these vehicles until the spring of 1945, and were only ended by USAAF bombings. First, BMM was bombed on March 25th, 1945, and then Skoda exactly one month later. With that, the production of the Hetzer for the German war effort was The mock-up in January 1944 terminated. foto V.Francev via MBI ...ON THE WAR, AGAIN: The first Hetzers produced made their way to training units. Subsequent production was intended for service with individual units of the Wermacht and the Waffen SS. The first service unit to employ the Hetzer was actually Panzerjager Abteilung 731, which saw action at the beginning of August at Warsaw. The fall of 1944 saw both production and training of crews achieve a good pace, peaking in January of 1945 when 468 vehicles were delivered. To the end of 1944, a total of 1507 Hetzer vehicles were produced, along with 101 Bergehetzer recovery vehicles. February, 1945, saw the beginnings of a slow but steady decline in production. Despite this, another 1246 vehicles came off the production lines until May, and the Hetzer thus became one of the most significant fighting vehicles of the last year of the war fielded by the Wermacht and the Waffen SS. Their combat use was intense and included use an all fronts that Germany was engaged. They saw action against the western Allies at Arnhem, and they also took part in the last German offensive of the war in the Ardennes. They saw combat service in Budapest and on the Oder, and through on to the defense against advancing Soviet troops on Berlin. In the last days of the war, they were used in Germany's final counterattacks at Bautzen. They saw action in the defense of Moravia, confronting elements of the 1st Czechoslovak Tank Brigade in the fighting for Ostrava. In the land of its origin, remaining Hetzers ended the war trying to cross demarcation lines at Prague to surrender to American forces. In Prague, where there was an anti-German uprising on the 5th of May, 1945, several tens of Hetzers The first prototype at April 1st, 1944 saw action on both sides. Obviously, the German side had them at their disposal, foto V.Francev via MBI and the insurgents obtained their examples from the factory depot, but these were mainly equipped only with machine guns. Significant fighting that had direct bearing on the Prague fighting, was carried out by the First Division ROA, led by General Bunacenko. This unit, composed of former Soviet POWs fighting on the German side, fought here on the side of the insurgents and effectively held back German progress over a span of two days. They had, among their strength, 10 Hetzers. The end of the war did not mean the end of the Hetzer. After the fall of the Reich, they were placed back into production, and entered service with the armed forces of Czechoslovakia and Switzerland. In Czechoslovakia, they served well into the fifties, and the seventies with the Swiss. Designated ST-1, Czechoslovak Hetzers The production sample of the early version. found their way to scrap heaps, and the SwissPzj.G-13 found their way into foto V.Francev via MBI museums and private collections, and so today represents some of the best and most numerous examples of German World War Two armor in existence today.

...ON THE MODEL: Through its nine month wartime production history, the Hetzer went through intensive development. Some machines underwent upgrades, such as a redesign of the cast cover which was smaller and reshaped along the lines of the articulated cover known as the Saukopfblende. As well as being redesigned, it was made lighter and more elegant. The roadwheels also saw a change that made them lighter, and their assembly was made with the use of rivets as apposed to nuts and bolts. The driver's visor went from a heavy cast cover, it received a cut sheet metal piece. Substantial changes were The final version of the Jagdpanzer 38. made to the exhaust. The relatively complicated perforated muffler cover was foto V.Francev via MBI replaced by a diagonal metal tube. This led to some changes in the engine covers as well. Changes didn't escape the drive sprockets, nor the idler wheels, of which there are seven known types. Your model represents an initial version, before many of these changes were instigated. In this guise, Hetzers left the factory between April, 1944 to sometime during the summer of the same year. Your kit also includes both known versions of the cannon that were mounted into this incarnation of the vehicle. We hope that you will find hours of pleasure during the construction of your Hetzer.

Jagdpanzer 38 Hetzer (Sd.Kfz.138/2) Specifications Swiss Pzj.G-13 in post-war service. Hull length: 4766mm foto V.Francev via MBI Length with cannon: 6270mm Width: 2526mm Height: 2100mm Combat Weight: 16t Maximum Road Speed: 40km/h

Maximum Offroad Speed: 25km/h Engine: Praga AE Displacement: 7.8L Power Rating: 160k/118kW Armament: 1 x 7.5cm Pak 39/L48 with 41 rounds of ammunition 1 x 7.92mm MG34 with 600 Hetzers received an application of European Yellow (RAL rounds of ammunition 7028) at the factory, and in some cases also received a second Armor Plating Thickness: application of irregular fields of olive green. This machine Frontal: 60mm, Side: 20mm, was supplied to a training unit, probably to Panzer Jäger Bottom: 10mm, Roof: 8mm Schule in Milau in eastern Prussia.

H32 H32 J33 H3 FIELD GRAY FIELD GRAY L37 3 RED K13

H32

FIELD GRAY

M28

H32

FIELD GRAY

H 316 A1 316 WHITE J32 H32

FIELD GRAY

H32

FIELD GRAY H76 61 BURNT IRON K17 H12 33 FLAT BLACK M20 H18 28 J3 STEEL H 344

RUST

K8 H76 61 L10 H12 BURNT IRON 33 FLAT BLACK L2 H32 L53 L2 H76 M25 FIELD GRAY H12 61 33 BURNT IRON L21 FLAT BLACK H12 M23 33 FLAT BLACK

H18 28 H18 STEEL 28 STEEL H12 33 M27 FLAT BLACK

K22

J7 H12 33 H32 L50 FLAT BLACK FIELD GRAY K2

M30

H32

FIELD GRAY

K11

MC219 BRASS J15 L30

A3

H12 33 FLAT BLACK

DECAL M3 H L15 J29

L15 H12 H12 33 33 FLAT BLACK L30 FLAT BLACK H 316 316 L34 WHITE

K10 H32

FIELD GRAY

H 316 316 L28 WHITE H12 M29 33 FLAT BLACK

L48 L11

A3

M24 M6 L11

H32

FIELD GRAY

H32

FIELD GRAY

J7

MC214 DARK IRON

M13 M13 J13 H32 FIELD GRAY

K12

J16

J30

J4

2 pcs. E12 H32 FIELD GRAY

L5 H32 FIELD GRAY

L32

M19 H12 33 FLAT BLACK

M18

M8 A1 A4

L14

H12 33 FLAT BLACK H47 H12 41 H12 33 RED BROWN 33 FLAT BLACK FLAT BLACK

H 316 316 L52 WHITE M11

H3 3 L7 DECAL RED B M7 L6 DECAL L DECAL N H47 DECAL M 41 RED BROWN DECAL K

K19

H32

FIELD GRAY

K19

K20 K9 K14 H32

FIELD GRAY L12 H18 28 STEEL H76 61 K3 K20 BURNT IRON

J8 M14

H32 FIELD GRAY K5

K15

H32

H32 FIELD GRAY

FIELD GRAY

K20

L12 K3

K20 9 pcs K6 K1 H70 60 GRAY

H 302 302 GREEN

DECAL E DECAL G

DECAL F H32

FIELD GRAY

J21

2 pcs J27 H47 41 RED BROWN H47 M1 41 H12 RED BROWN 33 FLAT BLACK L8

H12 33 K21 FLAT BLACK H32 H32 FIELD GRAY FIELD GRAY L9 J26

J18 J14 L54 L59 H 316 H 316 316 316 WHITE WHITE L1 L23 L42 H18 28 L22 STEEL L31 H12 L15 M11 H12 33 33 FLAT BLACK L15 FLAT BLACK

H 316 316 L20 WHITE

H12 33 FLAT BLACK H12 L38 33 FLAT BLACK DECAL J G11 H12 L55 33 FLAT BLACK

G12

G15

G7 H 316 316 H 316 WHITE 316 WHITE O2 H12 PRINT 33 O3 FLAT BLACK F4

DECAL 8 H 316 M22 316 DECAL 10 WHITE H12 DECAL 5 33 H12 PE6 H 316 33 FLAT BLACK 316 FLAT BLACK WHITE H 316 316 J6 WHITE M2 H47 41 H 316 RED BROWN 316 WHITE

H12 A2 33 H47 FLAT BLACK 41 RED BROWN H12 L57 L29 33 DECAL C M11 FLAT BLACK M12 M9

M11

H 316 316 A2 WHITE

DECAL D DECAL I

H32 K7 FIELD GRAY

A2

M11 H12 33 H32 FLAT BLACK K18 FIELD GRAY

H 302 302 GREEN

K1 10 pcs. H70 60 GRAY M10 VERSION A 159 L58 SUPER SILVER L60 159 H 316 SUPER SILVER 316 WHITE L40 H 316 L27 H 316 316 316 WHITE J2 WHITE 159 SUPER SILVER

H 316 316 WHITE L58 H 316 H 316 K16 316 M15 316 WHITE WHITE

J17 DO NOT GLUE! NELEPIT!

H 316 316 WHITE

J22 L16

L33

H 316 316 J11 WHITE H12 33 J23 FLAT BLACK

H 316 J24 316 WHITE

M16

J5

M17

L18 M21

M5 L49 H 316 316 J20 WHITE H 316 316 WHITE

L4 L36 H 316 L39 316 WHITE MC212 M26 IRON

L43 H 316 316 H 316 WHITE H12 316 33 WHITE FLAT BLACK H 316 E18 316 J19 WHITE

L45

H47 H 316 41 316 RED BROWN WHITE L35

J2

DO NOT GLUE! NELEPIT!

L24

159 L58 SUPER SILVER VERSION B L60 L40 J2 H 316 H 316 316 316 WHITE 159 DO NOT GLUE! WHITE NELEPIT! SUPER SILVER

H 316 H 316 L58 H 316 316 316 316 K16 WHITE WHITE H 316 WHITE 316 L25 WHITE K4 159 SUPER SILVER L13

H 316 316 WHITE H 316 316 WHITE J25 J28

H 316 316 L16 WHITE

L33

H 316 316 WHITE J10 J22 H12 33 FLAT BLACK H3 3 RED

H 316 H47 316 J9 41 WHITE RED BROWN

M4 J23 MC212 IRON L26

L51 H 316 J1 316 WHITE H 316 316 WHITE

H 316 L44 316 WHITE

L17 H 316 MC212 316 IRON H 316 316 WHITE WHITE H 316 J12 316 WHITE

J2

DO NOT GLUE! NELEPIT!

L24

H12 H 316 33 316 FLAT BLACK WHITE E18 L45

H47 H 316 H 316 41 316 316 RED BROWN WHITE WHITE L3 L35 B4 B25

B24

B23

H32

FIELD GRAY

VERSION B1 B22 B

VERSION A

DO NOT GLUE! NELEPIT!

G6

H32

FIELD GRAY

DO NOT GLUE! NELEPIT!

G6 H32

FIELD GRAY

G21 B20 G6 B19

D6

B20 B19 G1 VERSIONA ONLY

H 316 L47 316 WHITE MC212 IRON L19 J31 MC212 IRON

L56 H 316 316 WHITE

E15 F5 E8 E17

H12 MC214 F5 33 DARK IRON FLAT BLACK D13 D13 H 316 316 WHITE D26

H47 41 RED BROWN D19

H 316 316 WHITE

MC214 MC214 DARK IRON D8 DARK IRON D18 D3 H 316 H12 L41 316 H 316 33 WHITE 316 FLAT BLACK WHITE DO NOT GLUE! H12 33 A5 NELEPIT! FLAT BLACK H12 33 F1 FLAT BLACK E23 D25 H 316 316 WHITE H12 33 FLAT BLACK B14

H 316 316 A5 WHITE

B15

I2

E3 CLOSED PE5 CLOSED G8 G9

H 316 PE17 STEP 2 316 STEP 1 WHITE G16

PE18

PE12

PE14 E33 PE14

D35 G13 G10 PE20

I3 PE10 I5 E33 E19 H37 H12 G14 43 33 G10 WOOD BROWN FLAT BLACK H12 H 316 DECAL A 33 316 E3 FLAT BLACK WHITE H47 41 RED BROWN PE24 F3 E3 PE16 O1 CLOSED D30 D30 IN SIDE PE1 C3

PE25 H12 H 316 33 316 FLAT BLACK WHITE G2 E14 PE26

3 pcs. 3 pcs. PE27 PE23

E14 PE28

PE20

C3 MC212 PE11 IRON E2

H12 33 FLAT BLACK

H37 43 D1 E2 WOOD BROWN

MC212 E31 C3 IRON

E3 S H18 28 E3 STEEL CLOSED D16 PE4 D27

MC212 IRON

E21 PE44

H12 33 PE9 FLAT BLACK H 344 PE15 RUST I4 PE20 E24

I7 PE20 PE8

H 344 E13 H12 RUST 33 FLAT BLACK H37 43 I6 WOOD BROWN

G17 E6 E20 PE29 G20 E22 H12 E16 33 FLAT BLACK 2 pcs. A 2 pcs. 4 pcs. B D4 D23 B7 E29 B10 E9 B7

E10 E7 E25 D12 D4 D21 D17

D31

D7 A B

B B2

D14

D28

B B3

B A D15 D7

B12

H77 I1 33 H77 TIRE BLACK 33 TIRE BLACK H77 33 I1 TIRE BLACK I1 I1 B11

I1

H77 I1 33 B13 TIRE BLACK I1

H77 I1 33 TIRE BLACK

B21 I1 I1 I1 I1 B13+ B21 B11+ B12 C7 TRACK INSTALATION SESTAVA PÁSÙ

C4 C4 10 pcs. 10 pcs

C8 C8 C4 C9 C4 2 pcs. 3 pcs.

C1

D22

C6 C6 MC214 DARK IRON 10 pcs. 10 pcs. C2 C2 C6 C5 C6 D33 3 pcs. 2 pcs. H12 33 FLAT BLACK

F6 H37 43 WOOD BROWN D10 D20

MC214 DARK IRON B18 MC214 DARK IRON D9

OPEN D32 D5

H 316 316 WHITE G5

E32

H12 H37 33 43 FLAT BLACK WOOD BROWN E30

PE21 3 pcs. E1 PE13 2 pcs.

E34 PE2 C10 PE21 MC212 6 pcs. IRON

PE13 2 pcs. PE21 4 pcs.

E26 E27

E27 E26 G3

PE16 E26 D2 E5 PE22 G4 PE19

PE7 E11 PE26

H12 33 FLAT BLACK

PE3 6 pcs. PE21 C10 3 pcs. PE13

E27 E26

E26 E27

E27 G19 E4

D2

G18 A.Pz.Jg.Abt. 743

This Hetzer was in the service of Pz.Jg.Abt.743, which converted over to the Jagdpanzer 38 Hetzer in July of 1944. By August 2, 1944, they saw combat against Polish insurgents at Warsaw. With that, it would have been one of the first Hetzers to see combat action. During this action in the vicinity of the main post office, there were two Hetzers that were engaged in the fighting. One retreated to the vicinity of Nowi Swiat, and the other was damaged and captured by the insurgents. On the 5th of August, it was towed to the courtyard of the main post office and repaired by the 14th of the same month. It then saw action in the hands of the insurgents in the same area, and it is not actually known if the vehicle was driveable or static. At the beginning of September, the main post office (Poczta Glowna) was bombed, and Chwat, as it was christened by the Poles, was buried in the rubble. There it remained until the spring of 1946, and was put on display for some time after. The paint on this machine consisted of a factory applied coat of European Yellow (RAL 7028) with a squiggle pattern of redbrown applied at unit level. The lighter edges of this pattern is generally interpreted as being a green border, although the possibility exists that this is merely a lighter application of the redbrown color, an effect achieved during spraying. It should also be considered that the squiggle pattern may be green with edges in either redbrown or lighter, thinly applied green. Further information on this machine can be found on the Internet at: http://wilk.wkp.p.lodz.pl/~whatfor/pojazdy_w_powstaniu_chwat.htm 2 A.1 The vehicle in the service of the Pz.Jg.Abt.743

Stroj ve stavu Pz.Jg.Abt.743

A.2 6 2 The vehicle in the Polish hands. Stroj v rukách Polských povstalcù

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H79 H78 H47 SANDY YELLOW OLIVE DRAB RED BROWN 39 38 41 eduard Warshaw, August 1944

Tento Hetzer náležel do stavu Pz.Jg.Abt.743, který ukonèil pøezbrojení na nové Jagdpanzery 38 28.èervence 1944. Již 2.srpna 1944 ráno se zúèastnil bojù proti polským povstalcùm ve Waršavì. Stal se tak jedním z prvních bojovì nasazených Hetzerù vùbec. Pøi této akci v oblasti Hlavní Pošty byly použity dva Hetzery, jeden z nich ustoupil zpìt do oblasti Nowi Šwiat, druhý byl poškozen a ukoøistìn povstalci. 5.srpna ho odtáhli na nádvoøí Hlavní Pošty (Poczta Glówna), a do 14.srpna ho opravili. Stroj potom bojoval u Hlavní Pošty, vìtšinou jako souèást barikády, a není jisté, zda byl pojízdný. Zaèátkem záøí byla Hlavní Pošta bombardována, a „Chwat“, jak byl stroj povstalci pojmenován, byl zavalen troskami budovy. Pod nimi zùstal až do jara 1946, kdy byl vyproštìn a nìjakou dobu vystavován. Základní zbarvení stroje evropskou žlutou (RAL 7028) bylo u jednotky doplnìno skvrnami èervenohnìdé barvy. Odlišná barva okrajù skvrn je interpretována jako zelený lem, mùže ovšem jít i o svìtlejší, ménì kryjící okraj èervenohnìdé, což je èastý jev pøi aplikaci barvy støíkací pistolí. Není ovšem vylouèeno, že skvrny byly ve skuteènosti zelené, s èervenohnìdým lemem, nebo svìtlejším zeleným lemem. Další informace o tomto stroji vèetnì øady unikátních fotografií najdete na internetové stránce http://wilk.wkp.p.lodz.pl/~whatfor/pojazdy_w_powstaniu_chwat.htm

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Alternative color reconstruction, with the green squizle pattern. Alternativní barevná rekonstrukce, se zelenými skvrnami.

H79 H78 H47 SANDY YELLOW OLIVE DRAB RED BROWN 39 38 41 eduard B.Pz.Jg.Abt. 97, 97. Jäger Division

This machine survived the war. In April, 1945, it evidentially took part in the fighting in Upper Selesia and for the town of Ostrava with the 97th PzJgAbt supported by the 97th Jäger Division. In May, 1945, it was dislocated to a stockpile of captured war booty in a field at Nove Mesto in Moravia. It carried a unit level applied camouflage scheme over the factory applied European Yellow (RAL 7028). This consisted of irregular fields and squiggles of (probably) olive green and redbrown colors. Other sources interpret the squiggle pattern to be green bordered with redbrown, and it can't be ruled out that these patterns are in just one of these two colors.

3 1

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H79 H78 H47 SANDY YELLOW OLIVE DRAB RED BROWN 39 38 41 eduard Czechoslovakia,May 1945

Tento stroj pøežil až do konce války. V dubnu 1945 se pravdìpodobnì zúèastnil obraných bojù v Horním Slezsku a na pøístupech k Ostravì. V kvìtnu 1945 se s nìkolika dalšími Hetzery nacházel na shromaždišti koøistní techniky na poli u Nového Mìsta na Moravì. Nesl kamufláž aplikovanou u jednotky, pøes pùvodní tovární nátìr evropskou žlutou (RAL 7028) mìl nastøíkané pruhy a skvrny (pravdìpodobnì) olivovì zelené barvy a hnìdoèervené barvy. Jiná interpretace hovoøí o zelených skvrnách, lemovaných èervenohnìdou barvou, mùže ovšem jít i o skvrny pouze jedné z tìchto barev.

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Alternative camouflage pattern reconstruction. Alternativní rekonstrukce tvaru kamuflážních skvrn.

H79 H78 H47 SANDY YELLOW OLIVE DRAB RED BROWN 39 38 41 eduard