Photo depicts 8.1cm PanzerAbwehrWerfer (PAW) L/105 anti-tank gun on travel carriage, its caliber depicted in Jadgpanzer model. PAW designation contrasted with PAK (PanzerAbwehrKanone), indicated it was a smoothbore rather than rifled gun, which can fire variety of ammunition including artillery, chemical, and smoke warheads. PAW gun used high-low velocity pressure system whereby the projectile separated from warhead via perforated plate, commonly called Sabot round (sabot is French word for sleeve). Gun built in two-section process, thus enabled long guns to be manufactured on short lathes. German Weapons during WWII (PAW) - www.feldgrau.com/articles.php?ID=60

Explosive pressure fed into barrel at slower rate than traditional PAK guns, thus did not have a tapered gun barrel (thicker end to withstand shell propellant explosive pressure), hence lighter in design and deployment. Only one 8.1 PAW prototype was captured by Allies at end of WW2, Germans successfully designed the weapon, but it relied on special tungsten ammunition (tungsten used in sabot round assembly to withstand graduating barrel pressure exerted). By 1944, Germans lost control of tungsten ore facilities in Scandinavia, hence entire weapon project was abandoned. Technically, PAW is a recoiless rifle gun design since full gun recoil was not absorbed by its assembly. Nevertheless, smaller 7.5cm and 10.5cm caliber man-portable PAW were deployed by German Luftwaffe, primarily with Fallschirmjager (paratrooper) units as in airborne invasion of Crete, May 1941. WWII German Weapons - www.diggerhistory.info/pages-weapons/enemy_ww2-2.htm

Rollover : ( Rollover JPG link ) | Jadgpanzer Zwischenloesung (intermediate solution) model schematic from Germany's Hobbymodellbau, which gave me the idea of constructing a Zwischenloesung Zwei (intermediate solution two) scratch-built model. Layout was for a vacuum formed kit, its dimension was used to cut hull plating and equipment placement.

Inset 2 : WW2 German Infar-red sights mounted on variety of vehicles besides tank destroyers. Photo depicts German SdKfz 251 Ausf D armor half-track at end-of-war collection station. It has driver and machine-gunner infra-red scopes.

With wooden planks installed on its sides, this is a SdKfz 251/20 version mounted large infra-red search light in vehicle center (already removed) to illuminate night targets for German tanks equipped with same infra-red scopes. sdkfz251 OT-810 - www.sdkfz251.com/

Combat effectiveness of Infrared search lights was absolutely incredible, Allies had no defense against it. Germans would simply mark their targets at night and pick off the enemy like shooting fish in barrel. Opening Salvo: SdKfz 251 - www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=ah/article/ah20050722a