The Bundeswehr has been active in updating their equipment. A holdover concept from WW II is the turretless tank destroyer. The German army developed a successor to their successful line of such vehicles in the Jagdpanzer Kanone 4-5. About 750 of these tank destroyers, armed with a 90mm main gun, were built during the mid-1960s. Now obsolete, the chassis have been converted to carry anti-tank guided missiles such as the SS-11 and HOT. They have also been very active in upgrading their main battle tank, the Leopard. This vehicle has gone through numerous upgrades and modifications.
The Jagdpanzer Rakete armed with the SS-11 ATGM. The SS-11 is a first generation wire guided missile. The gunner, much like the Soviet Sagger, guides the missile into the target by a small control joystick. The sights to the left are those for the gunner.
Controlling this missile takes much training and a light touch to the control. The gunner does not grasp the control like one grabs a joystick, but instead plants the heels of his hands to either side of the control, and then holds the top between each index finger and thumb. In this fashion , the gunner gently guides the missile to the target. Clearly, any suppressive fire on such a system would quickly throw the gunner off target.
The Rakete's sight arrangement allows it to position itself behind a berm, or on the reverse slope of a hill or ridge. With the sights able to see above the obstacle, the vehicle would be almost impossible to see or hit. The missile, when launched, would actually go up into the air at nearly a 45 degree angle, while the gunner worked to gain control. This meant that the SS-11 actually had a limited minimum range, unable to engage targets within several hundred meters.
The Rakete has been improved recently and is now known as the Jaguar and Jaguar 2. The latter is armed with the U.S. manufactured TOW ATGM.
The WW II Jagdpanzer IV/70V.
This vehicle was restored and is maintained by volunteers working with the Patton Museum. Armed with an effective 75mm L/70 gun (the same as on the Pzkw V Panther), and with good armor design and layout. One can see the clear lineage of the Jagdpanzer Kanone (schematic below) with this vehicle.
The Jagdpanzer Jaguar 2, armed with the TOW ATGM and reinforced with bolted on applique armor. This is the current ATGM system for the German army.
