Before Vomag-built Jagdpanzer IV/70 (V) could put placed into full production, German Chancellor Adolf Hitler wanted to immediately dispatch 7.5cm Pak 42 L/70 gun armed tank destroyers to frontlines given dire military situation of Allies out-numbering German tanks to ratio of 10-to-1 in some combat sectors.

Thus Alkett-built Jagdpanzer IV/70 (A) interim version was constructed by which entire gun mount was mounted directly onto Panzer IV tank hull. Since gun installation was not compensated, resulting superstructure had a bulged appearance compared to Jagdpanzer IV/70 (Vomag) version. Photo shows knocked-out Jagdpanzer IV/70 (A) in Alsace region of western France, late-1944.

Panzer IV/70 compared with Jagdpanzer IV Profile & Line Art | PWH

Jagdpanzer IV/70 (A) derelict from another angle with French civilians in push carts searching for belongings and foodstuff among town wreckage. Tank destroyer has gun travel lock on front glacis, the apparatus prevents excessive gun barrel yaw and sway during armor column marches, which could place extra stress on gun targeting gears inside vehicle.

Jagdpanzer IV/70 (A) (Sd.Kfz.162/1) Schematic Profile & Line Art | PWH

Note large shell penetration hole on front hull left side, either German crew was hit and forced to evacuate, or Allies routinely fired shells into any German tank derelict upon encounter to make sure it was abandoned ( for common German practice to lay ambush among derelict tanks for a close-in surprise attack ). This derelict was hauled away by Allies intelligence teams for examination, nowadays it is on display Samur Armor Museum - France.

Samur Jagdpanzer IV 70 A Picture 48 | NWS

Samur - German Armor Photos | NWS

Germans called this Jagdpanzer version " Zwischenlösung " ( Intermediate Solution ), which was a technical project name rather than bonafide German tank nickname. However, post-WW2 historians misinterpreted title, thus common misconception its official tank name was " Intermediate Solution ".

In Nov 1944, German armaments firm Krupp proposed using Jagdpanzer IV/70 (A) tank to mount more powerful 88mm Pak 43/3 L/71 gun, thus bestowing new tank destroyer title Panzerjager IV mit 8.8cm Pak 43/3 L/71. However, large caliber 88mm PaK43 gun size and shear recoil stress on vehicle negated its feasibility.

8.8 cm KwK 43 | Wiki

German gun PaK-43/41 (88mm) | FKR

8.8cm K(PzSfl) auf Sonderfahrgestell Grille 10 | WW2C

1/35 TSM2308 German 88mm PAK 41/43 Gun |

1/35 PaK 43 German 88mm anti-tank gun | SMK

American infantryman posing in front of Jagdpanzer IV/70 (A) wreckage, its long gun barrel & raised superstructure evident, spare tracks placed on front glacis as defacto applique armor. Jagdpanzer has no tracks, probably both tracks links were hit ( either by Allied ground armor, mines, or aerial rocket/bomb strikes ) as tank was on the moved and vehicle simply outran its entire tracks. Almost all 278 Jagdpanzer IV/70 (A) produced from Aug 1944 - Mar 1945 were deployed to Western Front... namely battles at France / Germany border regions.

One common WW2 European practice was civilians cannibalizing stricken German armor for its roadwheels, which were installed onto farm trailers. These roadwheels, especially steel resilient versions, offered decades of versatile & dependable hauling. It has been reported by some western military historians upon visiting Eastern Europe in mid-1990s after fall of Communist regimes ( hence relaxed visiting visas permission ), that local farmers can still be seen using farm trailer roadwheels from German Tiger and Panther tanks.

Panther type G (Sd.Kfz. 171) in Celles - Belgium missing all roadwheels | MVP

Same Panther type G missing roadwheels photo from other side | JPG

Another 50 Panther picture's 12 | AGT

This practice is similar in modern-day Vietnam, whereby one can routinely see left-behind 1970s-era M35 trucks used in Saigon streets as utility vehicles ( road construction, telephone pole insertion, garbage collection ), or roadwheels from Dodge WC used on farming trailers in Mekong River region.

US Army Assorted trailers | NWC

Dodge WC series | Wiki

Jagdpanzer IV/70 (A) abandoned in Alsatian town near France - Germany border region, wreckage show extensive spare tracks mounted on front glacis as applique armor. White paint band on right tree was not for termite protection, but for road obstacle marker for night-time drivers. Alsace is major coal mining region and possessed large ethnic-German population, thus fought over between modern France and Germany for nearly 80 years in the 19th - 20th centuries.

Alsace | Wiki

Alsace-Lorraine | Wiki

German region name is Elsaß ( phonetic is El-Sass ), by which French Alsace was derived ( English phonetic rendered Al-Sa-Seh since it is common practice to verbally render all consonants ). BTW, 1996 German spelling reform streamlined version from Elsaß to Elsass ( pronunciation remained unchanged, only its spelling format ). Region was traditionally aligned with German monarchies, until 17th-century incorporation into Imperial France. Hence, as modern Germany emerged in 19th-century, series of French-German wars were fought over Alsace : 1) 1870 Franco-Prussian War, France lost region to Imperial Germany, 2) 1918 Imperial Germany lost region to France at WW1 end, 3) 1940 France lost region to Nazi Germany after her WW2 surrender, 4) 1945 Nazi Germany lost Alsace back to France at WW2 end.

Franco-Prussian War | FPW

German orthography reform of 1996 | Wiki

Close-up of Jagdpanzer IV/70 (A) parked in urban center, still in German service ready for action ( as indicated by soldier in German trench coat ). Spare tracks mounted on right side next to driver vision port, its front mud guards and all of its Schürzen ( literally meaning Aprons, but colloquially Armor Side Skirts ) ripped off from collisions ( ex. buildings, heavy foliage ).

Concerning Schürzen on WW2 German tanks from 1943-onward, its was designed against heavy caliber Soviet anti-tank rifles. Hence, ballistic qualities were tested specifically against such Soviet weaponry. However, Anti-Tank Rifles were already deemed obsolete in 1940 by Western Allies ( ex. UK Boys anti-tank rifle ) given incremental armor thickness increases among enemy tanks, thus relegated to Home Guard formations. Hence, British and American intelligence assumed Schürzen used to defeat hollow-charge warheads ( ex. British PIAT and US Bazooka man-portable infantry weapons ).... this military " urban legend " persists today.

Anti-tank rifle | Wiki

Anti-tank rifles - a brief introduction | WGR

Anti-Tank Rifles photo gallery | ATUK

Myths about World War II Panzer | PWN

Note first 4 steel-rimmed roadwheels, while remainder are standard rubber-rimmed roadwheels. Given front roadwheels took up majority of traction, rubber-rimmed roadwheels readily worn down from this usage. Thus steel rimmed roadwheels introduced in 1944 as replacement. Long barrel gun mantle has iconic Saukopfblende ( pigs head mantle ) design. German word " Sau " ( pig ) is also colloquially used in modern American-English, especially in Midwest to Northeast regions with large descendents of German farming immigrants.

Other German words used in modern American vernacular includes " Schlep" meaning - Let's Go or Go Along - ( from Schlepper meaning Hauler or Carrier ). All be it, common usage is in northeastern US regions. In 1990s, US PBS TV station broadcast American language dialects documentary, by which a cattle rancher in north Texas Panhandle region was asked about word meaning " Schlept ", he immediately responded " Yeah, it means I slept here yesterday "... thus evidence to its non-universal usage or understanding.

Historical Maps of the Texas Panhandle | PHN

Related Model / History : Raupen Schlepper Ost Pak40 | UweM

Another German word is " Schlack " ( English phonetic Sha - Lack ) meaning - Be Defeated Badly - ( from Schlact meaning Battle ). " Get a Schlacking " term was used poignantly by US President Obama in reference to his party's Nov 2010 mid-term Congressional election defeat when his Democratic party lost over 60 seats in House of Representatives, the greatest seats changeover since 1930s.

Obama One Term President | CNN

UweM's Ersatzjagdpanzer IV 8.1cm auf Panzerabwehrwerfer (PAW) L/105 mit Infrarot-Scheinwerfer ( German Experimental Tank Destroyer with 8.1cm gun and Solution A&B Night-Fighting Infrared Scopes ). Scratch-built model completed in 1999, depicts modified version of Jagdpanzer IV/70 (A) with up-armored Schürzen, up-gunned 8.1cm gun, and up-targeting Infrared scopes. Given its upgraded status, model titled Zwischenloesung Zwei ( Intermediate Solution Two ).

Ersatzjagdpanzer IV 8.1cm auf Panzerabwehrwerfer (PAW) L/105 mit Infrarot-Scheinwerfer | UweM