The Hetzer was the product of a specific request by General Heinz Guderian after his promotion to Inspector-General of Panzer Troops. As in the cases of Jagdpanzer IV and Jagdpanther, the tank chassis was utilized as the basis for a new, specialized tank destroyer with flat, well-sloped armor plates. Thus the Hetzer looked very much like a miniature Jagdpanther and was almost as deadly. It had the same hard-hitting power as that of the Panther, amazing agility and a very low shot-resistant profile, but only weighed one third as the Panther. The excellent Hetzer stayed in service with the post-war Czech and Swiss armies until the 1960s. It first appeared in 1943 and went into full-scale production in 1944.
