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First in mid 1942, a Selbstfahrlafette - self propelled gun chassis - for the long barreled 8.8 cm anti tank gun developed at that time was demanded. To met this demand in time, the Panzerkampf- wagen III/IV chassis combined from components of the Panzerkampfwagen III and Panzer- kampfwagen IV was created as interim solution in early 1943. In this chassis, the engine was located in the centre of the hull. The gun was mounted over the engine. This design resulted in a relatively high superstructure which was protected by thin armour plates all around. The fighting compartment was open to the top. This design was designated 8,8 cm Pak 43/1 (L/71) auf Fgst. Panzer III/IV (Sf.) (Sd. Kfz. 164). The name Hornisse, which was later changed to Nashorn was also assigned. From February 1943 to March 1945, altogether 494 of these self propelled anti tank guns were made. (Photo: German federal archive via Wikimedia Commons; License: Creative Commons BY-SA-3.0-gb)
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