M36 Tank Destroyer vs Jagdtiger (North West Europe 1944-45)

Illustrated throughout, this study examines the combat histories of the US Army's M36 tank destroyer and Germany's mighty Jagdtiger during 1944–45.

In the climactic months of World War II in Europe the M36 tank destroyer entered US Army service and Nazi Germany's monumental Jagdtiger also reached the front line. The M36 was an upgunned development of the earlier M10, while the Jagdtiger was based on the formidable Tiger II heavy tank. Armed with a 90mm main gun in an open-topped turret, the M36 contrasted sharply with the Jagdtiger, whose mighty 128mm armament, mounted in a casemate, could theoretically outrange and defeat any Allied tank. In practice, the US vehicle proved to be a dependable counter to Germany's heavy tanks, but the Jagdtiger developed a reputation for mechanical unreliability.

While the Jagdtiger was issued to just two German Army anti-tank units, by the end of 1944 the M36 equipped seven US Army tank-destroyer battalions and had largely supplanted the earlier M10 by war's end. Both vehicles saw combat in Operation Nordwind, launched to support faltering German forces in the Battle of the Bulge. In this book, William E. Hiestand examines their performance in this campaign and beyond.

Featuring rare photographs, specially commissioned full-colour artwork and mapping alongside the authoritative text, this study tells of the story of these two very different vehicles in combat during the war's closing months.