- Yes
- No
caid’s suggestion #75
I would like to suggest an interesting Swiss tank destroyer, the Panzerjager G13 armed with the 7.5 cm Pak.51
this tank is a modernization of the Swiss G13 made by Switzerland in 1956. the G13 the WW2 German Hetzer rearmed with the 7.5 cm Pak.40 gun was introduced in the Swiss army in 1949 as a main tank. the Swiss military doctrine been based on the defense, the Hetzer was fit for the task. but far from modern by them. the 7.5 cm Pak.39 that was usually used in the Hetzer was just not what Switzerland needed. the 7.5 cm Pak 40 had a better recoil and a longer lifespan. the Pak.40 was still potent in the early 50s but already lacklusting. the introduction of the Leitch Panzer 51 in 1954 made the G13 just irrelevant as the light tank offered higher mobility and higher firepower than the G13. this means the G13 was basically obsolete in the Swiss army itself. only 153 were In services and no foreseen replacement was yet proposed. it was in 1956 a proposed modernization was built. the concept is simple since the Lpz 51 had better firepower, they just refitted the gun in the G13. the Pak.51 offered a much better penetration against armoured targets and the break barely took more space in the tank. at the same time, this modification was low-cost and allowed standardization of the Swiss military equipment. having 2 tanks with the same gun makes it easier to supply the ammunition. the trial was successful but the concept was never adopted as standardization. there are 2 reasons, the first was the introduction of the Panzer 55 which was bought at a low cost in 1956 and partially eliminated the need to have the G13, and the introduction of the Panzer 61 which was intended to replace the G13 completely by the late 60s. the only prototype of G13 Pak.51 was reverted into regular G13 in 1961 not long after the official cancellation of the project.
Firepower
the main armament for this tank is the 7.5 cm Pak.51 also known as the 75mm SA50 in other nations. This gun is a fairly well-known gun in the game found in various vehicles. the most notable is the AMX 13 from 1951. this gun is a conventional gun with a decent reload speed and high velocity. the 75mm rounds are reaching 1000 m/sec even without APCR or APDS. the round has been APC and APCBC are offering a pretty decent penetration without the reduction of post-penetration damage that we can find in other WW2 guns that can reach the same penetration such as the OQF-17 prd or 76mm M1. it is not confirmed by in the G13 it would have about the same elevation and transverse as the regular Pak.40 and the ammunition would also be similar. basically, it would be an improvement in terms of anti-tank capacity over the Pak.40 which allows the user to engage heavier targets.
additionally, a 7.5mm MG 38 AA machine gun is mounted on the roof. this machine gun didn’t appear in the photo but was standard in the G13. this machine gun has a fire rate of 600 rounds per minute a rotation of 360 and an elevation of 90. this allows rather great flexibility against harassing targets such as aircraft and light vehicles.
Mobility
the G13 has been refitted with postwar Saurer CH2DRM, 11640cc, Diesel NA V8, 150hp @2000rpm, installed in 1952, and is weighing 16 tonnes. the tank will be slightly inferior in mobility than the Hetzer who is slightly lighter but this will not be so obvious. the power-weight been a bit low it would not be a very fast vehicle but will be capable of moving around quit well regardless. the transmission offering 5f/1r will allow a pretty decent speed of a bit over 42 km/h
- 1st: 10.74:1, 6.0km/h
- 2nd: 4.08:1, 10.0km/h
- 3rd: 2.55:1, 17.1km/h
- 4th: 1.60:1, 25.7km/h
- 5th: 1.00:1, 42.6km/h
- R: 6.88:1, 8.0km/h
Protection
this tank protection will be nice in the front but weak on the side. this is mostly due to the thick and very sloped armor on the front. it will make it rather difficult to penetrate it from a frontal hit. the side also features some slope but is only 20mm thick. beside the slope been intended to protect against the ground attack making it easier for the aircraft with 12.7mm to penetrate it as the slope made it nearly flat from the eyes of a fighter. the lack of a turret makes it very vulnerable to flanking and the 20mm on the side, despite being sloped, will usually be of no help. the roof is very thin which makes the aircraft a great treat for it. the protection has been all over allowing it to survive quite well to artillery rounds and HE rounds. the crew of 4 men allows a decent survivability to AP round but as they are close to each other, an APHE may take it out in a single hit.
Source
Primary
there is many mention but little details about it
- Hetzer - Wikipedia
- Jagdpanzer 38 (Hetzer) - Tank Encyclopedia
- WWII Weapons: The Hetzer Tank Destroyer - Warfare History Network
Spoiler
The Switzerland supporter discord is open to everyone
If you like to see some wacky tanks if you want to see unique aircraft, if you want to see something about a new nation that could make it to the game. Switzerland is for you
the Swiss Discord is dedicated to researching Swiss military material and support. no qualification is needed. if you want to help or have a look around, follow this link and we would be happy to welcome you
this link is valid for the first 100 persons
the 50 first to join get an automatic membership
