Previously we have looked at the German Super Heavy tank known as the E-100. In
that video I briefly mentioned a version of the vehicle intended to carry a much
larger gun. Due to its inclusion in the game World of Tanks and a variety of models since,
the Jagdpanzer E-100 has become a widely recognized vehicle in the community.
Today we will look into more detail on the true history behind this tank destroyer.
I think the best place to start in our examination of this vehicle logically should be its name.
Although it may seem correct to refer to the E-100 based design as a “Jagdpanzer” this is
not quite the case. The term itself translates to essentially just mean “Tank Destroyer” which
does match the vehicles role in World of Tanks so where does the issue with the
designation come in? To fully understand this we need to consider what the German army used
the Panzerjager, or Jagdpanzer, label for. The first example of a Panzerjager was found
relatively early in the war with the aptly named Panzerjager 1 on the Panzer 1 chassis.
Later vehicles like these such as the Jagdpanzer IV on the Panzer IV hull at first seem to have a
differing designation but the term Panzerjager and Jagdpanzer mean the same thing and are used
interchangeably when referring to vehicles. This all seems straightforward until we add
in the term “Sturmgeschutz” which translates to “Assault Gun”. On the surface this may not seem
much different than the tank destroyer designation but it had a big impact on how these vehicles were
used. To put it simply and without some of the additional nuance the Sturmgeschutz such
as the Stug III were not primarily used as tank destroyers rather engaging a variety of targets.
Jagdpanzers on the other hand were intended to be more specifically anti-tank oriented.
This topic by itself could probably make an entire video because even in the example I gave
of the Jagdpanzer IV or the later Jagdpanther the Sturmgeschütz term routinely pops up in reference
to the vehicle. So what does all of this mean in regards to the Jagdpanzer E-100? Well considering
the fact that unlike some of the more dedicated anti-tank vehicles the planned armament of a 17cm
cannon was much more capable of being used in a supporting role with its more powerful gun and
ammunition compared to the weaker 75mm cannons on some of the earlier Jagdpanzers. When we consider
both this and the fact that a similar proposal for the Maus was designated as a Sturmgeschutz it
seems much more likely that an E-100 based design would have received that designation. To simplify
all of what I just said in case I confused any of you, the term “Jagdpanzer” would most likely not
have been given to this particular vehicle as its role would not have been solely anti-tank. Really
it all boils down to which group ended up with the vehicle if it had been completed. For this
reason the more historically accurate name is something along the lines of Sturmgeschütz auf
E-100 Fahrgestell or at least Sturmgeschütz E-100. With the name out of the way we can now consider
the fake vehicle itself followed by the shreds of reality it is built on. Considering the most
famous of these is without a doubt Wargaming’s interpretation we will start there. In-game the
description given to the vehicle is as follows: “The E 100 was conceived as the basis for a
self-propelled gun, an antiaircraft vehicle, and a tank destroyer. However, development was never
started.” As for the vehicle itself it features a rear mounted superstructure with 200mms of frontal
armor which houses a massive 17cm main armament. It also has another weapon shown here on the roof,
this may be a 30mm gun as was proposed for the similar vehicle based on the Maus hull to act
as an anti-air gun. Unfortunately it does not seem to be specified what this is anywhere so I am just
guessing. To power this beast it is equipped with a 1,200 horsepower engine named the Maybach Neues
Projekt mounted in the middle of the hull. So how does this stack up to the real world equivalent?
To call the Jagdpanzer E-100 a completely fake tank is a bit disingenuous since there is some
evidence to support that at least the concept was real. However the way it has been widely portrayed
is unrealistic for a few reasons. The historical origin of this concept seems to trace back to
mid-1944 with it being proposed to use either the E-100 hull or Maus hull as a platform to mount a
15cm or 17cm weapon in a casemate. Although it could be argued the Maus was the more logical
of the two for this given the fact that it was further along in production than the E-100 with
quite a few hulls already partially completed compared to the single E-100 hull the Maus hull
and added superstructure had an issue. Due to the height of the Maus hull, the added superstructure
was found to be too tall for transporting via rail compared to the shorter E-100. With this
the E-100 project would continue for a short time before being canceled with at least one scale
model reportedly being completed. Unfortunately almost all documents related to this design have
either been lost, destroyed, or have yet to be rediscovered meaning we know very little about
the actual layout of the vehicle. The only drawing which remains showcases a proposed mounting method
for the 15cm weapon onto the E-100. That being said we can still make some educated assumptions
about how such a vehicle may have looked. The main question regarding the vehicle
is whether or not it would have had a rear mounted superstructure or one mounted in the
center. Unfortunately as Germany used a variety of different layouts including both these options
on other designs there wasn’t a clear preference for one layout meaning it could theoretically be
either. What we really have to consider is the chassis being used, that obviously being the
E-100. When we consider that the turret for the vehicle was planned to be mounted in the
center and the engine behind it this lends some credibility to the idea that a superstructure
would logically do the same like what we see on the Jagdtiger. This would also make sense if a
later layout of the E-100 which featured both a rear engine and rear transmission were to be used
for the assault gun design. Although as we see with the Ferdinand it is not impossible to move
the engine in a vehicle to a different location this is not a simple process and would require
additional work to complete. That being said it could be done if the original layout was used
although it would make little to no sense to do so if the entire powerpack was located in the rear.
For these reasons I tend to believe the centrally mounted superstructure is a much more logical
positioning for this particular vehicle. The closest comparison to the E-100 is the previously
mentioned Jagdtiger which had a similar layout to the superheavy tank. Something a bit more clear is
which of the two guns would be the most likely to be mounted into this vehicle. Unlike the one shown
in World of Tanks it seems that the 15cm was the primary candidate considering that the 17cm itself
was still relegated to the drawing board at that point. When we also consider the larger ammunition
and other increased requirements for using a larger weapon the 15cm was realistically more
than enough. Similarly the engine described in World of Tanks does not seem to be real
although the HL 234 when supercharged would have achieved roughly the same horsepower output.
The only truth we can be certain of about this vehicle is that we will probably never
know the full story behind it. We can go around in circles talking about might haves and could
bes but if the original plans for this short lived project were truly destroyed we can only
guess. Unlike many of the other vehicles we have discussed in Fake Tank Friday this one
truly sits on a knives edge of whether it can really be called a “fake” or if it is something
more in the “cursed by design” category. It certainly has features of both and the only
reason I put it in this series was because the main portrayal of it is the product of guesswork.
So although we can confidently say that Wargamings Jagdpanzer E-100 is a fake,
it does draw from a real project which saw discussion. At the very least it does provide
us an opportunity to put ourselves into the heads of tank designers to consider
what they may have done and the reasons why. If you enjoyed this video I highly recommend
following it with my video covering the E-100 itself because it has by far one of the most
unique developments of all German vehicles and you can learn about how it may actually still
exist today somewhere. Thanks as always for liking and subscribing and to all my YouTube
members who support my content. As you may have seen from some of my latest community
posts I’ve recently cut ties with one of my previous sponsors which included an ad which
would have gone on my last video. So having the additional support from some of you really
helps keep the channel going when things happen which cause a short term loss of income even if
the cause is largely my own fault. Anyways check out the E-100 video like I mentioned
or one of my others if you’ve already seen it. I’ll see you all in the next video you choose.