The Jagdpanzer 38, popularly known post-war as the Hetzer, was a German light tank destroyer of the Second World War based on a modified Czechoslovakian Panzer 38(t) chassis.
German armoured forces in World War II created a variety of vehicles by mounting antitank guns on the chassis of obsolete tanks.
These machines performed even better than expected, but they were vulnerable due to high vehicle profiles and open-topped turrets.
Allied bombing took a heavy toll on German production facilities and further increased the need for an easily produced yet effective light tank destroyer to replace vehicles like the StuG III and Marder series (Marder I, II, and III).
Prototypes of the Jagdpanzer 38 were ready by 1944, and mass production began in April of that year.
The Jagdpanzer 38 was covered entirely with sloped armour and possessed a compact form and low silhouette, giving it much better defensive capability over other self-propelled guns.