"Hetzer": Death Trap for its Commanders

Why was the Jagdpanzer 38 "Hetzer" a death trap for its commanders? For this we look at various experience reports of the Jagdpanzer 38 and the vehicle itself. The commander position is in stark contrast to other German armored vehicles, while in early war, the Germans added commander's cupolas to captured vehicles the Hetzer has none, basically just a hatch. Additionally, there is also no periscope or vision device for the commander, except towards the rear. Cover Images: U.S. Army Signal Corps photo 111-SC-200749, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons U.S. Army Air Forces photo 342-FH-3A19948-B56218AC, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons DISCLOSURE D: I was invited by the Deutsche Panzermuseum in 2018, 2019, 2020, 2023 & 2025. https://www.youtube.com/c/DasPanzermuseum/featured »» GET BOOKS & VIDEOS «« » Stukabook - Doctrine of the German Dive-Bomber - http://stukabook.com » The Assault Platoon of the Grenadier-Company November 1944 (StG 44) - http://sturmzug.com » Army Regulation Medium Panzer Company 1941 - http://www.hdv470-7.com » Tank Assault - Combat Manual of the Soviet Tank Forces 1944 - http://stm44.com » IS-2 Stalin's Warhammer - http://www.is-2tank.com » StuG: Ausbildung, Einsatz und Führung der StuG Batterie - http://stug-hdv.de » Achtung Panzer? Zur Panzerwaffe der Wehrmacht - http://panzerkonferenz.de » Panzerkonferenz Video - http://pzkonf.de »» SUPPORT MHV «« » patreon - see videos early (adfree) - https://www.patreon.com/join/mhv » subscribe star - https://www.subscribestar.com/mhv » paypal donation - https://paypal.me/mhvis » YouTube Membership - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCK09g6gYGMvU-0x1VCF1hgA/join »» MERCHANDISE «« » teespring - https://teespring.com/stores/military-history-visualized »» SOURCES «« Spielberger, Walter J./Doyle, Hilary L./Jentz, Thomas L. (Hgg.): Leichte Jagdpanzer: Entwicklung - Fertigung - Einsatz, Spezialausg., 1. Aufl, Motorbuch-Verl: Stuttgart, 2017 (Motorbuch-Verlag spezial). https://www.wwiidaybyday.com/kstn/kstn1149fg1nov44.htm 00:00 Intro 00:46 Nachrichtenblatt der Panzertruppen - October 1944 06:16 General PzTruppen West - November 1944 09:22 Answer Corps HQ 11:19 Inside View Commander’s Position 11:54 Heeres-Panzerjäger-Abteilung 731 - January 1945 15:56 Summary #hetzer #jagdpanzer #deathtrap #ww2 #panzer #tankdestroyer