As the war ground on and Germany suffered financial and material attrition, Tanks became more and more difficult to produce. German designers turned to Tank Destroyers as a more simplified and cost effective platform with which to challenge and destroy enemy armour.
These vehicles were designated 'Sonderkraftfahrzeug' or 'Special purpose vehicle'. Many vehicle types already in service had new hulls designed and built but, instead of turrets they were constructed with a fixed armoured superstructure and gun. Although only able to function with limited traverse, these vehicles were very effective and feared in prepared defensive or ambush positions. They were named after the turreted tank version but with 'Jagd (hunting)' as a prefix. In this case the Panther version was named Jagdpanther.
In the picture I've drawn you can see a Jagdpanther moving across country while two 'Emils' Messerschmidt 109s streak overhead at low level searching for ground targets to engage.
