Craig Moore finds out how restoration work is progressing on the World War Two-era Nashorn tank hunter damaged in a 2019 fire
By 1942, the workhorses of the German armoured divisions, the Panzer III and IV lacked strong enough armament to penetrate heavy Soviet and British armour.
Therefore an interim vehicle had to be produced, while waiting for the powerful Tiger and Panther tanks to come off the production line.
The solution was the 8.8cm PaK 43/1 auf Fgst Pz Kpfw III und IV (Sf) S.Kfz164, a mouthful to be sure. By 1943, it was referred to by its popular nickname- the Rhinoceros, or Nashorn.
Combining design elements of the Panzer III and IV, and equipped with the powerful 88mm gun, the Nashorn was a mighty weapon of war. Although fewer than 500 were ever produced, and the only units to receive them were the 1st Panzer Division and Das Reich Division, the tank still garnered an infamous reputation for its destructive capabilities.
The story of the Nashorn Phoenix, badly damaged in a workshop electrical fire, was covered in the May 2021 (issue 240) of Classic Military Vehicle. Robby Van Sambeek, the project leader and member of the Nashorn restoration project at the Overloon War Museum, explain…
