Tank Warfare on the Eastern Front, 1943-1945: Red Steamroller

Appendix VI Tank Production, 1944

Key Industrial Decisions, 1944

• December 1943 – January 1944, Utilize Czech production facilities to mass-produce the Jagdpanzer 38 tank destroyer.

• Spring 1944, VOMAG ceases Pz IV production in favor of Jagdpanzer IV. Only Nibelungenwerke still producing Pz IV.

• August 1944, Hitler order Pz IV tank production to cease by the end of 1944 and shift production resources to the Jagdpanzer IV program.

Additional AFV Manufacturing Centers: Jagdpanzer 38 (t)

• Prague, Boemisch-Märische Maschinenfabrik (BMM), began production in March 1944

• Pilsen, Skoda Werke, began roduction in July 1944

New tank models (1):

• March 1944, Panther Ausf G introduced.

New assault gun models (1):

• August 1944, the Sturmtiger entered limited service (18 built) after a long development period by Krupp and Alkett. It mounted a 380-mm rocket launcher on a Tiger I hull.

New tank destroyer models (5):

• January 1944, the Jagdpanzer IV was introduced. It mounted a 7.5-cm Pak 39 L/48 atop a Pz IV chassis.

• January 1944, the Jagdpanther entered service, mounting an 8.8-cm Pak 43 on a Panther hull.

• April 1944, the Jagdpanzer 38 was introduced as a low-cost supplement to use the Pz 38(t) chassis with a 7.5-cm Pak 39 L/48.

• July 1944, the Jagdtiger is introduced in limited numbers, mounting a 12.8-cm Pak 44 L/55 atop a King Tiger chassis. Total of 51 built in 1944.

• August 1944, the Panzer IV/70, which was an up-gunned variant of the Jagdpanzer IV armed with the 7.5-cm Pak 42 L/70 gun, entered serviced.

Key Industrial Decisions, 1944

• Production switched from the T-34/76 to the T-34/85 in April 1944 and T-34/76 production ceased entirely by September 1943.

• Chelyabinsk (ChTZ) ceased all T-34 production after March 1944 and switched entirely to IS-2 and ISU-152 production.