British view of german SPG vehicles, Part 2: Jagdpanzer 38(t), the stand-in for StuG
Design born of necessity Design of Jagdpanzer 38(t) was sparked by the ever increasing threat of allied bomber campaign, which targetted Alkett in October-November 1943, forcing Germans to disperse the production to Falkensee and Spandau,[1] and it effectively stopped the production in Alkett for many months to come.[2] Alternatives were chosen, one of them was to restart the Sturmgeschutz IV project, the other was to assemble StuG IIIs in BMM factory in Prague, however, there was a significant problem. BMM had no cranes with enough lifting capacity to handle the 24-ton Assault Guns. As a solution, in December 1943, a design for new Assault Gun was started, based on automotive parts of Panzer 38(t) and Panzer 38(t) neuer Art (New type). Specification called for a 13-ton vehicle, with frontal armor proof against most anti-tank guns. But the side armor was only to be proof against 7.92 mm machinegun fire and artillery fragments, and it was to be produced from SM (Siemens-Marteneit) lo