The Hetzer tank destroyer has been praised for its particularly successful design. it was based on the Czech 🇨🇿 TNHP tank, which the Wehrmacht employed under the name 38 (t).

Instead of the usual rotating turret, the chassis was fitted with a solid armour structure. This allowed it to incorporate a 75 mm gun since the new casemate-like structure provided significantly more space for the barrel's recoil. The vehicle could also be built a lot simpler and more cost-effectively than a tank deaturing a rotating turret.

The disadvantage, as with all casemate tanks, was that firing required the whole of the vehicle to first take up a position to the centre of arc. Only then the gunner could relay the gun to a limited extent.

The resulting vehicle was very flat, extremely manouverable and well armoured. The sloping armour plates ensured that many enemy rounds were deflected. The disadvantage of the compact design was an extreme lack of space for the crew inside.

The Hetzer was one exception from the Wehrmacht trend to build ever larger and heavier vehicles. Unlike all other German tank destroyers, the Hetzer was continued to be used after the war: in the armies of Czechoslovakia and Switzerland. 🇨🇭

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