Jagdpanzer IV Lang

The Jagdpanzer IV served in the anti-tank sections of Panzer and SS Panzer divisions. The vehicle fought against Western Allied forces in Normandy and the Battle of the Bulge, and Soviet tanks and troops on the Eastern Front. It was very successful as a tank destroyer due to its low profile, accurate gun and good armour protection, but performed poorly when used out of role as a substitute for tanks or assault guns to support infantry. This was increasingly necessary in the later stages of the war from late 1944 to 1945, because there was often nothing else available to the badly depleted German armoured units. Jagdpanzer IV aces include SS-Oberscharführer (Senior squad leader) Rudolf Roy from the 12th SS Panzerjäger Battalion of 12th SS Panzer Division, who was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross for battlefield bravery and credited with 36 tank kills. He was killed by an American sniper while looking out of the hatch of his Jagdpanzer IV on December 17, 1944, during the Ardennes Offensive in Belgium, the last major German offensive on the Western Front. Along with Panzer IVs and Sturmgeschütz IIIs, Syria acquired in the 1950s six Jagdpanzer IV L/48s. These were used in the conflicts with Israel up until 1967 when most were either destroyed, abandoned on the Golan Heights overlooking Israel, or scrapped.