I looked into the Hetzer’s intercom and radio, because I have some background knowledge in those areas that will be helpful to Hetzer builders. And I started to write about it; here’s a note about the Hetzer intercom.
In doing this I also got some basic information about Hetzer interiors:
Many “Hetzers” in museums are really post-war G13 pretending to be Hetzers. The differences were much greater on the inside than the outside; they literally have a whole different gun with different controls. Equipment storage on the walls is different. And because they were not in German service, they never had the German intercom and radio.
So; don’t rely on museum “Hetzers” unless you know what they are. The easiest way to spot the difference is the top of the main gun. Upper photo : real Hetzer. Lower photo: G13.
I also came to see that the restored Hetzer at the AAAM is actually very good. It has the real gun and probably the whole thing was a real Hetzer. They’ve put the correct radio and intercom into it, which I suspect they had to buy from collectors? I don’t know enough to say that it’s all good, but I can spot only a single mistake so far (the gun breech is painted green).
David