Nashorn

Sd.Kfz. 164 Nashorn
A Nashorn on display at Patriot Park military museum in Moscow, Russia
TypeTank destroyer
Place of originNazi Germany
Production history
DesignerAlkett
ManufacturerAlkett, Deutsche Eisenwerke (Teplitz-Schönau)
No. built494
Specifications
Mass24 tonnes (52,900 lb)
Length8.44 m (27 ft 8 in) with gun
6.20 m (20 ft 4 in) excluding gun
Width2.95 m (9 ft 8 in)[1]
Height2.65 m (8 ft 8 in)
Crew5

Armorhull: 20–30 mm (0.78–1.18 in)
superstructure: 10 mm (0.39 in)
Main
armament
88 mm (3.46 in) 8.8 cm Pak 43/1 gun with 40-60 rounds
Secondary
armament
7.92 mm MG34 or MG42 machine gun (carried inside) with 600 rounds
EngineMaybach HL120 TRM 11.9-litre V-12 gasoline engine
296 hp (300 PS, 221 kW)
Power/weight12.3 hp/tonne
TransmissionZF SSG 77 Aphon
Suspensionleaf spring
Ground clearance0.4 m (1 ft 4 in)
Fuel capacity470 L (100 imp gal; 120 US gal) in two fuel tanks
Operational
range
260 km (146 mi)[2]
Maximum speed 42 km/h (26 mph)
Steering
system
Daimler-Benz/Wilson clutch/brake

Nashorn (German: [ˈnaːsˌhɔɐ̯n], German for "rhinoceros"), initially known as Hornisse (German "hornet"), was a German Panzerjäger ("tank hunter") of World War II. It was developed as an interim solution in 1942 by equipping a light turretless chassis based on the Panzer III and Panzer IV tanks with the 8.8 cm Pak 43 anti-tank gun. Though only lightly armoured and displaying a high profile, it could penetrate the front armour of any Allied tank at long range, and its relatively low cost and superior mobility to heavier vehicles ensured it remained in production until the war's end.

  1. ^ 3.176 m with Ostketten tracks
  2. ^ Spielberger, Walter J. Panzer IV Its Variants. p. 160.