In people's impression, the German armored group in World War II should be indestructible, in fact, the German armored vehicles such as The No. 1 and No. 2 tanks were vulnerable, and there was no way to face the British Matilda and the French B-2 tanks, and the Soviet T-34 and KV series made it difficult for the German tanks to move. The blitzkriegs of the early days of the war relied more on the luftwaffe's powerful firepower and the stupidity of their opponents. Obviously the Germans would not expect his enemies to continue to make mistakes, and before the new tanks were installed, the Germans decided to mount large-caliber anti-tank guns on the chassis of existing armored vehicles, a combination known as the "Panzerjager".
The German company in charge of the development was the German company Alcatel, which used a mixed chassis of the Panzer 3/4 tank, which was originally used for the Bumblebee self-propelled gun. The body, induction wheels, load wheels, tow wheels, tracks, suspension, and track adjustment devices for this chassis are derived from chassis 4. The engine, active wheels, transmission, brakes and driving gear are from chassis 3. Only some parts were newly developed to accommodate the cold weather on the Eastern Front, so this chassis is a veritable makeover.
The artillery is also no number of tangled, ancestral 88 mm guns. In order to be put into use as soon as possible, the anti-tank destroyer was equipped with a PAK 41/43 gun, because there were many problems in the hasty development, but the power was amazing, and it could shoot through the main armor of the T-34 from 3500 meters. Originally named Bumblebee, hitler personally changed its name to Rhino in the hope that the fighter would go on a rampage like a rhinoceros.
The Rhino self-propelled anti-tank gun combated a total of 24 tons, with a crew of four people, a total length of 8.44 meters, a width of 2.86 meters and a height of 2.65 meters. Because of the weight limit, the armor is only 10 to 30 mm, barely blocking a bullet or shrapnel, and the tank is barely completely naked. The main gun was the Pak43/1 88mm gun with a barrel height of 71 times. The armor-piercing thickness at 1000 m range is 167 mm when firing cap-piercing shells and 139 mm at 2000 m range. With a tungsten core bullet, it can penetrate 184 mm of steel plate at a range of 2,000 meters, and almost no Allied tank can withstand the rhinoceros' attack. The Rhino Tank Destroyer uses an HL120TRM petrol engine with a maximum power of 300 horsepower. There are 6 forward and 1 reverse gear, with a maximum speed of 42 km/h on the road, a maximum range of 215 km, a maximum speed of 20 km/h and a maximum range of 130 km on the road. For a tank destroyer, the Rhino's mobility is not bad, allowing him to maneuver quickly, dodging enemy attacks while quickly supporting friendly forces.
Rhinos mainly equip troops with independent battalions, and only assign them to the corresponding units when needed on the front line, which is more in line with the performance of rhinos, and rhinos are the best firefighters on the battlefield. Theoretically, a battalion of Rhino tank destroyers is full of 45 vehicles, 14 per battalion. The Rhinos were all distributed to the Wehrmacht, the 560th, 655th, 525th, 93rd, 519th, 88th and 669th Anti-Tank Fighter Battalions. Other Wehrmacht units were also equipped with some rhinos, but the sources of numbers were confused.
Rhino's first participation was in the Battle of Kursk, and its flexible maneuverability, precise and powerful main gun made the Rhino stand out. In total, the Rhino produced 494 vehicles and fought until the end of World War II. Although replaced by better anti-tank vehicles such as the Hound, the Rhino has set many amazing records. For example, at a distance of 3500 meters to destroy 6 T-34 tanks in a row, at a distance of 250 meters to destroy the American Pershing heavy tank, to know that Pershing due to the late participation in the war, few German armored weapons have the opportunity to compete with it. It should be said that compared with other german armored weapons with complex performance and fierce appearance, the rhinoceros looks like it is not good-looking and civilian, but its simple design at a cheap price has played a strong role. On the battlefield, only what is right is the best.