Discussion Imagine if Jagdpanthers were on the Eastern front in 1942

[Justanotherbloke]

Germany rolled into Russia with Panzer IIIs making up a good chunk of their tank fleet like I said yesterday, already outdated by the time they met T34s. Now imagine if the Jagdpanther had been there instead alongside Jagdtigers.

It essentially had Panther mobility with 88mm Pak 43 firepower, and a fighting compartment built purely around efficiency. Ammo racks like you see on the picture of interior below were tight to the gun, laid out for fast reloads. No turret meant lower profile, stronger frontal armor, and fewer mechanical weak points. The Maybach HL230 gave it solid speed, and the optics were unmatched. Those German crews could hit before Soviets even spotted them, especially with Jagdpanther, not Jadgtiger it was a bit slower than this one

I see it as a sniper on tracks. If even small numbers been at Kursk or in 1943 retreats, they would've chewed through Soviet armor from distance and held lines far better than IVs ever could.
Expensive yes but tactically A missed opportunity. Wish I could see them in action.

 

[Trident]

It's not that simple, on paper most allied tanks were worse than German ones, but they were mass produced in large quantities and had better quality (American ones) Real war is not like video game where winner is usually one with the best technical specifications.

 

[Justanotherbloke]

It's not that simple, on paper most allied tanks were worse than German ones, but they were mass produced in large quantities and had better quality (American ones) Real war is not like video game where winner is usually one with the best technical specifications.

Not won on stats I know but dismissing German tank quality as irrelevant misses the point. Jagdpanther, Panther, and even late Stug massively outclassed most Allied tanks in optics, firepower, and armor. Issue wasn’t design but it was Deutschlands inability to mass produce and sustain them, they'd rather waste resources on those Panzer IIIs mass producing them together with short barreled IVs. If they'd fielded those high performance vehicles earlier in meaningful numbers especially on the Eastern Front, the kill ratios could’ve looked very different, even though already in favor of germans. Quality didn’t win the war unfortunately though