Hello and welcome back to another Forgotten Hope 2 update.
Several months ago we announced that we would be adding a Panzer I Ausf.B to Forgotten Hope 2. Now, you might think that the logical next step would be to modify that into a Panzerjager, however we actually fooled you. The original model was today's Panzerjager all along, which we had "restored" back to its original configuration.
In 1939, the German army was reasonably well provisioned with 3.7 cm anti tank guns, which were easily able to keep up with the infantry and provide effective protection. The same could not be said for the armoured divisions, where their combination of high speed and cross country mobility meant that neither trucks or horses were suitable. Guns could be towed by halftracks, but these were in short supply. It was felt that a gun directly mounted to a tank chassis would be the best option - highly mobile with decent protection.
Thus was born the concept of the Panzerjaeger or Jagdpanzer, with the first consisting of a captured Czech 4.7 cm gun mounted behind a shield on the top of a Panzer I chassis. The Panzer I was chosen as they were already obsolete in combat and were available in high numbers, with the more powerful and larger Ausf.B version being selected.
The turrets and the top and rear of the superstructure were removed and replaced with 5 large armour plates to provide protection to the crew. A wire mesh basket was added to the engine deck to provide more space for storage of equipment and personal equipment, as there was an extra crew member compared to the original tank.
130 vehicles would be produced between March and May 1940 in the first production series, with another 70 following in the second series produced between November 1940 and February 1941. 2 additional vehicles were constructed that had been missed from the initial order of 132 as the same time as the second batch. The second series featured 2 extra armour plates at the rear of the fighting compartment but was otherwise mostly the same. The first few vehicles would see combat in France, and several would serve in the Balkans and North Africa, but the bulk were sent to the Eastern Front where they served up until about 1942, when they began to be replaced by Marders. Our Panzerjagers were made by Toddel and Matt Baker.
That's all for today, but be sure to come back next time for another update. Until then, feel free to visit our Discord, our public forums, our Twitter, our subreddit, and/or Facebook pages to discuss this update and other news.
