Why the 'Hetzer'? Why not Stugs?

Why build the "Hetzer" (Jagdpanzer 38 (t)) in the first place? Why don't continue the productions of Stugs - Sturmgeschütze regular assault guns? For this we talk to the director of the Panzermuseum Munster Ralf Raths.

Disclaimer: I was invited by the Panzermuseum Munster in 2020.

Cover design by vonKickass.

Song: Ethan Meixsell - Demilitarized Zone

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our brains

#WhyTheHetzer,#Hetzer,#Jagdpanzer38

[schmid.]

Quite obvious. You have to unlock the Hetzer before you can further research the tank destroyer line.

[peterhaase]

My father commanded one of these Jagdpanzer 38(t)s on the eastern front in 1945 with the Prague Uprising in May 1945 being his final action. He had to destroy his vehicle in Prague when they ran out of fuel. BTW he never referred to his vehicle as a Hetzer, only as a 38(t). The Hetzer name became popular in the war gaming world.

[tonybaloney]

Posted 28mins ago and already have a dislike? Probably stug fan

[Bernd]

Thanks for the interesting video on the HETZER. My barber was a gunner on a Hetzer. He volunteered at the age of 16 and saw combat soon after in early 1945 in the area of Austria/Czech Republic against the Red Army. They were knocked out, his commander was killed and the rest of the crew was trapped inside the tank. They heared russian voices around the tank but kept silent. After three days they heard German voices and consequently they were resued by German soldiers. The worst thing was thirst as they had only little fresh water supplies. When he left the tank his hair has turned grey bcause of the horror.

[luvr]

Crane capacity is why you see so many tanks in Britain, Australia, Canada, and the US being made by locomotive works.

[packr]

Why Hetzer? Because it’s better than dragging a PaK 40 through the mud.

[AzraelGFG]

i totally love that the museum is aware of the memes lol

[PaulyPaulPaul]

Great that you explain the German language tank names to an English audience. So many native English speaking presenters say the German tank names without explaining them.

[Shrapnel]

"Tank hunter" does sound better than "Tank back stabber, before running away so as to not get obliterated".

[TheStugbit]

I didn't know the stug factories were actually destroyed, I thought they just wanted to get the concept upgraded. Thanks for the video and all the explanations guys.

[robmiller]

Such a great design, economical with such a punch! My dad was a tank commander of an M4 Sherman powered by a Ford GAA V 8 18 litre engine through Italy and his tank got knocked out by something in the Battle of Monte Cassino; luckily for me what ever it was, was low on Ammunition as it withdrew not firing another shot at my dads completely demobilised M4 Sherman, his team couldn't even move the Turret and they felt like sitting ducks. I learnt his stories by playing the waiter when his old mates came around, he was a Scotch and water man and his mates were either a Scotch or Gin and water; now and then they would go for a Rusty Nail, which was in their case 2 nips of Scotch and 1 Nip of Drambuie.
And then I would just listen!

[MyLateralThawts]

As a former tanker now employed as a crane operator, this episode resonated with me more than usual.

[CreateCleverKids]

The hetzer was produced for the post war Swiss military as well. Great museum guide! Very academic and professional.

[Jsmith]

That discussion of the crane capacity in Czech Rep. vs Germany was very interesting. I'm a Hetzer and PzKw 38t fan, but this is a level of documentary not found elsewhere. Thank you for the knowledge!

[jayklink]

Man I wish the Panzer Museum had more English videos, or at least English cc. It could possibly bring a whole new subscriber base. Anyhow, I absolutely adored this video, I don't know why, I can't get enough of Hetzer content (I blame War Thunder and Lindybeige).

[glenangel]

Side armor that protects against "hand guns and splinters", I love that description.

[jayklink]

Once again, thank you MH(n)/V for traveling to bring your subscribers this brilliant content!

[Beuwen_The_Dragon]

'You fight with what you have, not what you wished you had."
If you got a bunch of T38 hulls laying around, and have factories to produce more, might as well use them.

[agenttassadar]

We had a Hetzer in my reenactment unit. It was awesome.

[briankearney]

Great discussion! Makes sense to build lots of these given Germany's strategic situation, and similar to the advantages of the Sherman, I'll bet these lighter guys can cross many bridges allowing for more deployment options as well. That being said ... I'm guessing it's not as useful for a Battle of the Bulge style all-in.