Much like the Jagdpanther, the Hornisse (German for “Hornet”) was developed in response to the growing threat of Soviet heavy tanks. It featured the same 8.8cm gun that would be used on the Jagdpanther, but mounted it on a lighter Panzer III/IV chassis which used components from both German tanks.

The Hornisse could not support the weight of both the powerful gun and heavy armour so instead had an open-topped superstructure was built around the gun. This gave the crew some protection but was not enough to stop even the lightest tank guns.

Organised into independent Panzerjäger Abteilung (heavy anti-tank battalions), units of Hornisse would be allocated out to support units as needed, rather than being permanently attached.

Lightly Armoured
The open-topped superstructure made it easy for the crew to serve the powerful 8.8cm gun, but meant that they were also vulnerable. Combined with the high silhouette this meant the Hornisse was best used from a concealed position where it could knock out enemies before they got a chance to fire.

Long Range Sniper 
Thanks to the long 8.8cm gun, the Hornisse could engage and destroy enemy tanks from well over 2 km. The fixed gun meant that if enemy tanks were able to close the distance and attack from a flank, the Hornisse could find itself in trouble by not being able to quickly bring its gun to bear.

THIS BOX CONTAINS:

• 4x Highly Detailed Plastic Hornisse Tanks

These miniatures require assembly and are supplied unpainted.