Jagdpanzer IV

The Jagdpanzer IV / Sd.Kfz. 162, was a German tank destroyer based on the Panzer IV chassis and built in three main variants. As one of the casemate-style turretless Jagdpanzer (tank destroyer, literally "hunting tank") designs, it was developed against the wishes of Heinz Guderian, the inspector general of the Panzertruppen, as a replacement for the Sturmgeschütz III (StuG III). Guderian objected to what he considered a needless diversion of resources from Panzer IV production, as the StuG III was still more than adequate for its role. Officially, only the L/48-armed vehicle was named the Jagdpanzer IV. The L/70-armed vehicle was named the Panzer IV/70. In this article, both versions are referred to in general as the Jagdpanzer IV, except in the variants and surviving vehicles section.