Panzerjäger-Triebwagen

Nazi Germany - 5 built 1945*

The Panzerjäger-Triebwagen (Pz. Jg. Tr. Wg. for short) was a German armored railcar from World War II. Due to the good performance and operational capabilities of the captured Soviet D-2 armored railcars, the Wehrmacht High Command wanted to develop its own vehicles. On June 3, 1943, the Chief of Army Armaments and Commander of the Railways issued a request to have five armored railcars built. These were to be equipped, like the Soviet models, with two 7.62 cm 259/1 (r) field guns each. Five existing Siemens-Schuckert diesel railcar equipment was to be used for the cars. On June 20, 1943, the request was modified to allow for the use of two 7.5 cm 40 anti-tank guns each.

Production of the vehicles was delayed so much that the final order for their deployment was not issued until December 1944. In March 1945, three of the five Panzerjäger railcars were budgeted (numbers 51–53) and were to be completed at short notice. However, due to the end of the war, only one vehicle could be completed. Pre-production took place at the Linke-Hoffmann works, while the Steyr works handled final assembly.

The armament consisted of two Panzerkampfwagen IV Ausführung H turrets each, each armed with the 7.5 cm Kampfwagenkanone 40 (40 mm) and a coaxial 34-mm machine gun.The turrets retained the side skirts of the later Panzerkampfwagen IV turrets. In addition, the vehicle had 20 loopholes for machine guns or small arms. Two were located at each end of the car, one at each corner, four on each side, and one on the raised observation post in the middle of the car. In addition, the observation post had a second raised structure with four viewing ports to the front and rear, and one to each side. Access to the car was gained either through a double access door on the sides of the car, accessible via three rungs, or through a double door on each end of the car.

The armored body of the car was slightly sloped from the center to the tracks. The rest of the body up to the roof was also slightly sloped. The chassis used had four axles. Two axles were located at each end and were spaced two meters apart. The crew of the Panzerjäger railcars was to consist of one officer, eight non-commissioned officers, and twelve enlisted men:

Panzerjäger railcar commander (artillery officer)
two gun commanders (non-commissioned officers)
one gunner (sergeant major)
two gunners
two loaders (one of whom was an assistant weapons master)
one machine gun operator (non-commissioned officer)
four machine gunners (with dispatcher and field cook)
two railcar drivers (non-commissioned officers) (one of whom was an engine mechanic)
one radio sergeant (sergeant major)
two radio operators
two armored train engineers
one medical sergeant

Due to the course of the war and the delayed completion, none of the Panzerjäger railcars actively participated in combat operations. The only completed Panzerjäger railcar fell into the hands of the Allied troops at the Steyr factory in Münichholz, ready for delivery. The vehicles under construction were left unfinished when Breslau was surrounded in early February 1945.

In 1943, the Germans, ever concerned with improving the effectiveness and firepower of their armored trains deployed on the Eastern Front, decided to create the Panzerjäger Triebwagen 51 (Pzjg Trwg 51), a heavily armored self-propelled vehicle armed with two turrets, capable of engaging armored vehicles and effectively supporting friendly infantry in the fight against partisans, thanks to its firepower. The design and development of this vehicle took time, so much so that production finally began in 1944/45, too late to be effectively used on the front lines. In total, the Germans only managed to build three units (Numbers 51 to 53), which never saw action and were never deployed in operations. The Allies discovered them in the production plant.

The Panzerjäger Triebwagen 51 had two tank turrets equipped with "schützen" (shields), recovered from Panzer IV Ausf. H. These turrets, positioned at both ends of the self-propelled vehicle, were armed with a 7.5cm KwK L48 cannon. The barrels were arranged head-to-tail to allow for rolling. The central part of the armored car housed the engine, ammunition stores, and the battery commander's station. The commander was in radio communication with both turrets and had a tank turret to observe the battlefield. No examples have survived, as all three vehicles were scrapped.