Our Second Jagdpanther - The Wartime History Part 1 - Inside Track | Renault TSF Tank Kent

This Jagdpanther has a very exciting history. In November 1944 the firm of Maschinenfabrik Niedersachsen Hannover (MNH) commenced assembly of Jagdpanther alongside the Panther Ausf.G. As Allied troops were attempting to complete the encirclement of the Ruhr, heavy bombing raids badly damaged MNH buildings, lifting equipment and the surrounding residential areas. Even before these raids MNH were already struggling to complete production due to power shortages and delayed component deliveries. The USAAF carried out raids on the 3 and 14 March. A final raid occurred on the 28 March 1945. Destruction of the city made it impossible for staff to attend so assembly effectively ceased. There were about 30 Jagdpanther and Panthers still on the production line. Ten days later the 7 April 1945 the Panzerabholdkommandos of SS Panzerregiment 5, Wiking were sent into Hannover to seize any Panzer equipment that was ready but had not yet been delivered to the appropriate Heereszeugamt. Initially their objective was the more than 10 Schützenpanzerwagen (Sd.Kfz.251) said to be available. From workers in Hannover the Wikinger learned that standing in MNH there were many almost complete Jagdpanther and Panther. It was established that the optical equipment was missing, and a team were sent to Celle to locate the necessary instruments. . On 8 April 1945 Panzer crews from Wiking entered MNH where it was established that with minimum effort 20 Jagdpanther could be available. Eight of these Jagdpanther were immediately driveable. However, one of these was still without it’s 8,8cm main gun mounted. The Wikinger were happy to describe this as a Bergewanne. The another 12 Jagdpanther sitting on the production line were almost complete with only minor items needing to be installed. However, heavy lifting equipment was not available to install any of the available 8,8cm guns. The Wikinger were ordered to carry out final checks, adjustments and installation of any missing items on the eight running Jagdpanther and to remove them from the plant. The US Army overran the area around MNH on the 9 April 1945 so no further extraction could be performed. In the following days the Jagdpanther recovered by Wiking were divided into two groups and engaged in frantic defence the Allies. Other than visits by various assessment teams the MNH factory lay abandoned until August of 1945. As David Fletcher wrote in his article British Panthers “With the ending of the war in Europe and subsequent surrender of Japan, British forces in Germany were rapidly being demobilised. The British Army of the Rhine (BAOR) was slowly acquiring its peacetime shape and endeavouring to create order out of wartime chaos. Among those involved was a young REME officer, Captain W.J. Hadlow, who was posted to 823 Armoured Troops Workshop in a gun factory at Laatzen, south of Hannover. Some time, about August 1945, in company with a group of British officers from HQ BAOR, Hadlow went across the city to inspect the Maschinenfabrik Niedersachsen plant. It had been on the receiving end of some bombing but was not as badly damaged as much of the city itself and the group found a large number of half completed tanks. Hadlow was told that his job was to recover and complete as many of these as he could”. Hadlow set about locating former MNH workers with assembly experience. As the gun factory at Laatzen was in a workable state the first task for Hadlow was clear a route through the devastated city and to recover and transfer Jagdpanther and Panther to Laatzen for final assembly and testing. The process too about nine months but resulted in 12 Completed Jagdpanther and 9 completed Panther. Our second Jagdpanther is one of the 12 completed by Hadlow. The fahrgestellnummer 303110 is stencilled on the rear of the Jagdpanther left side as seen in the image referenced by the last 3 numbers 110. The one in the foreground of the second and non cropped image is 303113. A note here - the Tank Museum's Jagdpanther has the fahrgestellnummer 303 101.

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