Self-propelled tank destroyers constituted an essential component of the
Third Reich's armored arm. Vehicles, which were especially useful in
defensive warfare, in which the German army found itself after losing
strategic initiative on the Eastern Front in the summer 1943 and
following the Allied landing in Italy and France, with time began to
effectively compete in armored sub-units with classic tanks. One of the
largest vehicles of that type was Jagdpanther Sd.Kfz. 173, based on the
chassis of the famous Panther tank.