During the Cold War, every German soldier had a soft spot for the “Kajapa” or “Kanonenjagdpanzer”. This was a post WWII German tank destroyer used by the Bundeswehr from 1965 to 1990.
Its 90 mm cannon (from the American Patton tank) was far too weak to be a serious threat to most Warsaw Pact tanks and soon after its introduction, it became obsolete.
The “Kajapa”
Nevertheless, the soldiers loved it. It looked like a mixture between a WWII “Sturmgeschütz” (Assault gun) and a Jagdpanzer IV (tank destroyer). When you saw this thing driving in the field, you thought you were in WWII.
Later on, the Bundeswehr removed the cannon and equipped some models with TOW wire guided anti-tank missiles. These new “Raketenjagdpanzer” were very efficient weapon systems, but unfortunately, they didn’t look half as good as the old Kajapa.
Writer: Roland Bartetzko (former German Army, Croatian Defense Council, Kosovo Liberation Army)
