RakJPz 2

RakJPz 2

Raketenautomat

RakJPz 2 (HOT)

RakJPz 2

Raketenautomat

RakJPz 2 (HOT)

Germany

V Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
8.0	8.0	8.0

Class:

Tank destroyer

ATGM vehicle

Research:120 000

Purchase:340 000

Description

The Raketenjagdpanzer 2 (RakJPz 2) is a Rank V German tank destroyer with a battle rating of 8.0 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update 1.59 "Flaming Arrows". Featuring the SS.11 anti-tank guided missile, the Raketenjagdpanzer 2 serves as the missile's mobile platform. While lethal, the missile has to be manually guided and leaves the weak hull vulnerable as the operator steers the missile into the target.

General info

Survivability and armour

Armour type:

• Rolled homogeneous armour

Armour	Front	Sides	Rear	Roof
Hull	50 mm (51°) Front glacis 50 mm (54°) Lower glacis	30 mm (35°) Top 30 mm Bottom	30 mm (44°) Top 30 mm (41°) Bottom	10 mm

Notes:

• Suspension wheels are 15 mm thick while tracks are 20 mm thick.
• Belly armour is 10 mm thick.

Mobility

Mobility characteristic
Weight (tons)	Add-on Armor weight (tons)	Max speed (km/h)
23.0	N/A	76 (AB)
		70 (RB/SB)
Engine power (horsepower)
Mode	Stock	Upgraded
Arcade	710	___
Realistic/Simulator	442	___
Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton)
Mode	Stock	Upgraded
Arcade	30.87	__.__
Realistic/Simulator	19.22	__.__

Armaments

Main armament

164 mm LFK SS.11 ATGM
Capacity		Fire rate (shots/minute)	Vertical guidance	Horizontal guidance	Stabilizer
14		3	-10°/+20°	±90°	N/A
Turret rotation speed (°/s)
Mode	Stock	Upgraded	Prior + Full crew	Prior + Expert qualif.	Prior + Ace qualif.
Arcade	22.02	__.__	__.__	__.__	__.__
Realistic	14.88	__.__	__.__	__.__	__.__
Reloading rate (seconds)
Stock	Prior + Full crew	Prior + Expert qualif.	Prior + Ace qualif.
12.00	12.00	12.00	12.00

Ammunition

Penetration statistics
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Penetration in mm @ 90°
		10m	100m	500m	1000m	1500m	2000m
LFK SS.11	ATGM	600	600	600	600	600	600

Shell details
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Maximum Velocity in m/s	Projectile Mass in kg	Range (m)	Fuse delay in m:	Fuse sensitivity in mm:	Explosive Mass in g (TNT equivalent):	Normalization At 30° from horizontal:	Ricochet:
									0%	50%	100%
LFK SS.11	ATGM	150	30	6,500	0.0	0.1	3,470	+0°	80°	82°	90°

Ammo racks

Full ammo	1st rack empty	2nd rack empty	3rd rack empty	4th rack empty	5th rack empty	6th rack empty	Visual discrepancy
14	XX (X+)	(+)	(+)	(+)	(+)	(+)	no

Machine guns

7.62 mm MG 3A1
Pintle mount
Capacity (Belt capacity)				Fire rate (shots/minute)	Vertical guidance	Horizontal guidance
2,500 (1,000)				1,200	-10°/+20°	±90°

Usage in the battles

Describe the tactics of playing in the vehicle, the features of using vehicles in the team and advice on tactics. Refrain from creating a "guide" - do not impose a single point of view but give the reader food for thought. Describe the most dangerous enemies and give recommendations on fighting them. If necessary, note the specifics of the game in different modes (AB, RB, SB).

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Stock (free!) ATGMs
• Missiles can penetrate 600 mm of armour
• Two missiles on top allow for rapid follow-up shots
• Shares the same chassis as the Jpz 4-5, inheriting its mobility and low profile, allowing the tank to sneak around and only expose missiles and periscope in many situations
• Simple play style - guide the missiles to your target and it usually renders them helpless, if not outright blowing them up
• Can potentially curve the missiles into targets behind cover
• Has rapid firing smoke grenades
• Exceptionally dangerous behind a low cover or an uphill facing downwards
• Can operate at peak efficiency with just 2 crew members
• Missiles can be used as a close-range weapon if needed
• Has a 180 degree firing arc
• Excels in maps with a lot of open grounds
• Has infinite amount of rockets in AB, though each launcher has to be rearmed after firing 7 missiles

Cons:

• In RB/SB, missiles are manually guided, making them harder to aim at longer distance, especially at moving targets
• Missile platform cannot traverse past sides
• Controls for missiles are very sensitive and its Y axis (up/down) is inverted
• Very thin armour (although this rarely matters as it relies on concealment to ambush and deal damage)
• Missiles on top act as exterior ammo racks and can be detonated
• In Arcade Battle aim assist allows enemy to directly aim at periscope and make normally extremely unlikely hit with HESH or HE, instantly obliterating the tank, which reduces it's hulldown potential at close range
• Unable to fire missiles if the launchers are damaged, will require repairs first, which takes time
• Vehicle left stationary and vulnerable when firing (RB only)
• 14 missile stowage - each launcher carries 7 ammo, ammo from one launcher cannot be used by another
• Very little empty space inside, penetrating shots are going to hit crew, ammo, or both
• Optics prevent the missiles from being fired simultaneously at a certain angle and direction
• Can't fire on the move

History

Development

In the 1960s, the German Bundeswehr commenced the development of a missile carrier to fit in a role of a tank destroyer. The result came in 1961 with the Raketenjagdpanzer 1, which features the French SS.11 anti-tank missile. The Raketenjagdpanzer 1 features two mounts for the missiles, but only one is available at a time as while one remains ready to fire, the other is reloading inside the vehicle. The vehicle can hold 10 missiles inside the Hispano-Suiza HS-30 chassis. It also carried existing problems with the HS-30 chassis so only a limited amount of 95 vehicles was produced from 1961 to 1962. A second improved version was designed alongside the Jagdpanzer 4-5 between 1963 and 1965, and the two were designed on the same chassis. The finished model was designated the Raketenjagdpanzer 2 and this was accepted into Bundeswehr service in 1967. The Raketenjagdpanzer 2 were produced from 1967 to 1968 for a total of 318 units produced.

Design

Though slightly larger than the Raketenjagdpanzer 1, the Raketenjagdpanzer 2 had better automotive performances with the newer chassis and a 500 hp diesel engine and torsion bar suspension. The new vehicle chassis design allowed for an increased missile storage of 14 SS.11 missiles. The Raketenjagdpanzer 2 featured two rails for the missiles, both ready to fire and reloads are done automatically by each mount inside the vehicle. The SS.11 missiles allow the vehicle to engage enemy armor up to 3 kilometers away, with the missiles penetrating 600 mm of armor on impact, enough to take out most Soviet armor at the time. For personnel protection, a MG3 machine gun was also available for anti-infantry and anti-aircraft defense purposes.

Usage

The German Bundeswehr used the Raketenjagdpanzer 2 from 1967 as far as to the 1990s. The Raketenjagdpanzer 2's purpose was to engage enemy armor in the ranges between 1.5 to 3 kilometers away, which regular tank armaments' accuracy and power are reduced at the distances. The SS.11 missile's range and lethality made the Raketenjagdpanzer 2 perfect for its role as it could defeat the main Soviet tanks such as the T-54/55 and T-62. The Germans organized the Raketenjagdpanzer 2 in tank destroyer companies attached to Panzergrenadier brigades and Panzer brigades, with eight vehicles per company in the Panzergrenadier brigades and 13 vehicles per company in the Panzer brigades. When the manual-guided SS.11 missiles became obsolete, the Raketenjagdpanzer 2 underwent an upgrade between 1978 and 1982 in armor and in its missile armament from the SS.11 to the HOT (High Subsonic Optical Remote-Guided, Tube-Launched) missiles with improved lethality and guidance system. The upgraded Raketenjagdpanzer 2 was redesignated into the Raketenjagdpanzer 2 HOT. This saw an improvement again between 1993 and 1995 when some extra armor, a new optic, and thermal imaging system were installed into the vehicle, turning it into the Raketenjagdpanzer Jaguar 1. The Raketenjagdpanzers were all retired by the end of the 1990s, never seeing combat in the Cold War.

Media

An excellent addition to the article will be video guides, as well as screenshots from the game and photos.

Read also

• [Devblog] Raketenjagdpanzer 2, the Low Profile Slinger

Sources

Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:

• topic on the official game forum;
• other literature.