German Mobile Artillery

Along with the command of the Wehrmacht tanks willing to have a mobile artillery for the action directly to the combat formations of infantry. It was about crawler, fully armored vehicles simplified design without the tower. This saves money, because in this case significantly reduces production.

Mobile installation called assault guns (howitzers), due to a small firing range was used mainly for direct fire. They wanted to use primarily for fire support of infantry in the attack or a counterattack in defense. Moving on the battlefield in the first line, they had to suppress the machine guns and other weapon emplacements of the enemy, impede progress.

There were also concerns that these guns on the front will be almost the main factor for moral support personnel of the combat units of the infantry. Nevertheless, because of the intense vulnerability in melee (the first models did not even have a machine gun), they themselves are always in need of close cooperation with the infantry or tanks, ie, demanding the immediate safe cover. For this reason alone were used infrequently.

In 1936, Daimler-Benz was entrusted responsible task: to construct a mobile artillery unit for action in order of battle of infantry. After long elaborations stopped on the sample, which represents a symbiosis of two types of machines. Base took from Pz Kpfw III, and the main armament (by caliber and barrel length) is the same as in Pz Kpfw IV.

Cannons were placed directly into the body, while the angles of the horizontal fire was 12 in both directions, elevation – 20o, reduce – 10o.

An experienced party appeared in the beginning of 1940 in May – June installation participated in the occupation of France. After comprehensive testing under combat conditions was issued an order for production of forty Gepanzerte Selbstfahrlafette fur Sturmgeschütz 7,5 cm Kanone or StuG III (Sd Kfz 142) per month. In 1940, released 184, and in 1941 – 548 vehicles modifications from A to E.

The first months of the campaign against the Soviet Union posed the urgent need to modernize the assault guns. Without changing the basic purpose, required to enable them to affect not only the firing points in the fortifications, but the tanks. In early 1942, troops began to enter new serial 7,5 cm Sturmgeschütz 40 or StuG 40 (Sd Kfz 142 / 1) modification of F with a gun L/43, provides greater initial velocity of the projectile. Weight of plant increased to 21,6 t.

In the middle of that year decided to bring the thickness of the frontal part of the reservation up to 80 mm, which further aggravated the car and its impact on the cross (a modification of F / 8). Soon it was a more powerful 75-mm gun L/48, and the combat weight reached 23.9 m (option G). In 1943, assault weapons, like tanks, equipped with 5-mm armor shields against cumulative projectiles. Finally, set the machine gun for close combat.

In 1942 appeared a small (24 units), most likely a pilot, the party rental Sturminfanteriegeshütz StuG 33B or 33B. Basic housing Pz Kpfw III Ausf F was complemented by a brand new spacious wheelhouse with a roof and nadgusenichnymi shelves. In moving the mask with a shift to the right of the center line of established short-gun StuIG33 – version of the 150-mm heavy infantry gun sIG33.

To the right of it located in the frontal exchange machine gun armor plate thickness of 50 (or 50 + 30) mm, tilted at an angle of 10o to the vertical. These assault weapons were intended for the destruction of long-term facilities and city buildings. Of these, formed two companies. The first in November, was sent to Stalingrad, and the second in the 23rd Panzer Regiment of the 23rd Armored Division participated in an attempt to release it encircled German 6 th Army. Their further fate is unknown.

Even before the battles on the Eastern Front combat experience showed that the power of 75-mm high-explosive shells to destroy many of the goals still do not always reach them.

In summer 1941, followed by an order for a sample with 105-mm light field howitzer leFH18. The prototype was ready in March next year, and since October has begun mass production at the factory of the firm “Alkett.

By the summer of 1943 managed to build and send a group of armies, preparing for a decisive attack on Kursk, 68 units of new military equipment. February 1945 released the 1212 assault howitzers Sturmhaubitze 42, or StuH 42 (Sd Kfz 142 / 2). The hull and superstructure remained the same as that of the StuG 40 Ausf F (F / 8). Differed only in setup of instruments and arrangement of combat pack for artvystrelov separate loading.

Known rework StuG III in the other versions of equipment. For example, in 1943, just in time for summer offensive, in one of the front part of the tank received 10 StuG III Ausf G (Flamm). On assault weapons simply replaced the main armament on the flamethrower.
The performance characteristics
Characteristics Sd Kfz 142
StuG III
Ausf B StuG III
Ausf G StuH 42 StuIG 33B
 Year 1940 1942 1942 1941
 Combat weight, kg 20200 23900 24000 21000
 Crew. 4 5
 Basic dimensions
 - Length of body, mm 5400 5490 5590 5400
 - Length with gun forward, mm – 6770 6140 —
 - Width, mm 2930 2950 2900
 - Height 1980 2160 2390
 Immunity:
 thickness of the armor plates, mm
 (angle to the vertical, deg.)
 - Frontal part of the body 50 (21) 50 + 30 (21) 80 (21) 50 + 30 (21)
 - The side hull 30 (0) 25 (0)
 - Forehead, felling 50 (10) 50 + 30 (10) 80 (10)
 - The roof and the bottom shell 17 and 16
 Armament
 - Brand cannon StuK37 StuK40 StuH42 StuIG33
 - Caliber, mm (length of the barrel in calibres) 75 (24) 75 (48) 105 (28) 150 (11)
 - Ammunition, shells, pieces. 44 54 36 30
 - The number of machine guns and caliber, mm – 1 – 7.92
 - Ammunition, cartridges, pc. – 600
 Mobility
 - Engine type Maibach
 - Brand HL120TRM
 - Engine power, pp. with. 300
 - Maximum road speed, km / h 40 20
 - Fuel capacity, l 310
 - Cruising on the highway, km 160 155 110
 - The average ground pressure, kgf/cm2 0.93 0.94 0.93
Production of assault weapons family Sd Kfz 142
Sd Kfz 142 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 Total a 75-mm gun L/24 184 548 90 822
with 75-mm gun L/43 or L/48 99 3011 3840 864 7814
StuIG33B 24 24
StuH42 10 204 903 95 1212
Total: 184 548 223 3215 4743 959 9872
Characteristics guns StuG III assault guns
Mark FTA SIT SIT kg NSC, m / s BP500, BP1000 mm, mm 7.5cm StuK37 24 K Gr rot Pz 6.8 385 39 35
7.5cm StuK40 43 PzGr39 6.8 740 91 82
  PzGr40 4.1 920 108 87
7.5cm StuK40 48 PzGr39 6.8 790 96 85
  PzGr40 0.925 990 120 97
Abbreviations:
DST – length of the barrel in the groove;
TSN – the type of projectile
SIT – mass of the projectile;
NSC – the initial velocity of the projectile;
BP500 and BP1000 – armor steel armor at an angle of 30 degrees at a distance of 500 and 1000 m respectively.