The (also known as or Sd.Kfz. 166) is a German armoured infantry support gun based on the Panzer IV chassis used in the Second World War. It was used at the Battles of Kursk, Anzio, Normandy, and was deployed in the Warsaw Uprising. It was known by the nickname (German: "Grouch") by Allied intelligence, a name which was not used by the Germans. German soldiers nicknamed it the "", a contraction of the term . Just over 300 vehicles were built and they were assigned to four independent battalions.

Development

thumb|left|A Sturmpanzer in the [[Operation Shingle|Anzio-Nettuno area of Italy, March 1944.]]

The was a development of the Panzer IV tank designed to provide a vehicle offering direct infantry fire support, especially in urban areas. It used a Panzer IV chassis with the upper hull and turret replaced by a new casemate-style armoured superstructure housing a new gun, the (StuH) 43 L/12 developed by Skoda. It fired the same shells as the 15 cm sIG 33 heavy infantry gun. Thirty-eight rounds, with separate propellant cartridges, could be carried. It used the Sfl.Zf. 1a sight. The combined weight of the shell and cartridge ( for an HE shell and for a propellant cartridge) made the work of the loader arduous, especially if the gun was elevated to a high angle.

Early vehicles were too heavy for the chassis, which led to frequent breakdowns of the suspension and transmission. Efforts were made to ameliorate this from the second series onwards, with some success.

In October 1943, it was decided that the StuH 43 gun needed to be redesigned to reduce its weight. A new version, some lighter than the StuH 43, was built as the StuH 43/1. Some of the weight was saved by reducing the armour on the gun mount itself. This gun was used from the third production series onwards.

Production series

First

Production of the first series of 60 vehicles began in April 1943. Fifty-two of these were built using new Panzer IV Ausf. G chassis and the remaining 8 from rebuilt Ausf. E and F chassis. Survivors, about half, were rebuilt beginning in December 1943; they were mostly rebuilt to 2nd series standards.

Second

Production restarted in December 1943 with another 60 vehicles, using only new Ausf. H chassis, and continued until March 1944. The baptism in combat at the Battle of Kursk proved that the driver's compartment was too lightly armoured and it was reinforced. The gunner's hatch was removed and a ventilator fan was fitted, much to the relief of the crew. Internally sprung, steel-rimmed road wheels replaced the front two rubber-rimmed road wheels in an effort to reduce the stress on the forward suspension that was only partially successful.

Third

Production of the third series ran from March to June 1944 with few changes from the second series. The Fahrersehklappe 80 was replaced by periscopes and the lighter StuH 43/1 was used.

Fourth

The superstructure was redesigned in early 1944 for the fourth series, which used the chassis and HL120 TRM112 engine of the Ausf. J, and was in production between June 1944 and March 1945. It featured a redesigned gun collar, as well as a general reduction in height of the superstructure. This redesign also introduced a ball mount in the front superstructure for a MG 34 machine gun with 600 rounds. The vehicle commander's position was modified to use the cupola of the III Ausf. G, which could mount a machine gun for anti-aircraft defense.

The Allied landing at Anzio on 22 January 1944 caused the battalion, fully independent once more, to be transferred there in early February with 28 vehicles to participate in the planned counterattack against the Allied beachhead, Operation Fischfang. This failed in its objective, but the battalion remained in Italy for the rest of the war. The battalion still had 42 vehicles on hand when the Allies launched their Po Valley offensive in April 1945, but all were blown up to prevent capture, or lost during the retreat, before the war ended in May.

was raised in August 1944. It was sent to Warsaw, where it was attached to . It remained on the Eastern Front after the Warsaw Uprising was suppressed and was eventually wiped out in East Prussia in April 1945. It was supposed to have been the cadre for in January 1945, but it was never pulled out of the front lines to do so.

was raised simultaneously with , but was transferred to the Paris area on 20 August. Nothing is known of its service in France, but company personnel were sent to at the end of the year and were supposed to have been used in the formation of .

Surviving vehicles

thumb| on display at the Munster, Germany

Four Sturmpanzers survive:

  • in Saumur, France
  • Deutsches Panzermuseum in Munster, Lower Saxony, Germany
  • Patriot Park near Moscow
  • The Fort Sill Field Artillery Museum in Fort Sill, Oklahoma, USA

Notes

References

Sources

  • Chamberlain, Peter, and Hilary L. Doyle. Thomas L. Jentz (Technical Editor). Encyclopedia of German Tanks of World War Two: A Complete Illustrated Directory of German Battle Tanks, Armoured Cars, Self-propelled Guns, and Semi-tracked Vehicles, 1933–1945. London: Arms and Armour Press, 1978 (revised edition 1993).
  • Jentz, Thomas L. Sturmgeschuetz: s.Pak to Sturmmoerser (Panzer Tracts 8). Darlington Productions, 1999
  • Trojca, Waldemar and Jaugitz, Markus. Sturmtiger and Sturmpanzer in Combat. Katowice, Poland: Model Hobby, 2008
  • Sturmpanzer.com - Website devoted to the Sturmpanzer.
  • A German Soldier Remembers - A former Sturmpanzer crewman's recollections.
  • Information about the Sturmpanzer at Panzerworld
  • Sturmpanzer IV Brummbär
  • OnWar: Brummbär statistics
  • World War II Vehicles: Sturmpanzer IV Brummbär
  • Surviving Panzer IV variants - A PDF file presenting the Panzer IV variants (Jagdpanzer IV, Hummel, Nashorn, Brummbär, StuG IV, Flakpanzer tanks and prototypes based on Pz IV) still existing in the world
  • issue lists for the Sturmpanzer