Hummel (German: "bumblebee") was a German self-propelled gun used by the Wehrmacht during World War II. Based on the Geschützwagen III/IV chassis and armed with the 15 cm sFH 18/1 L/30 howitzer, it saw action from early 1943 until the end of the war. Its ordnance inventory designation was Sd.Kfz. 165.

The full name was Panzerfeldhaubitze 18M auf Geschützwagen III/IV (Sf) Hummel, Sd.Kfz. 165. On February 27, 1944, Hitler ordered the name Hummel to be dropped as it was deemed inappropriate for a fighting vehicle.

Development

The Hummel was designed in 1942 after the invasion of the USSR had demonstrated the need for more capable self-propelled artillery support for Wehrmacht tank forces than those that were available at the time. When necessary, these could still be fitted with the 15 cm howitzer of the normal Hummel; this could even be done as a field conversion. By the end of the war, 157 Munitionsträger Hummel had been built.

Syria received five Hummel from France between the late 1940s and the early 1950s. Only a limited supply of main gun ammunition was provided (supplemented some time later by the Soviet Union, which had produced a sizeable quantity of compatible 150mm rounds domestically). These saw service against Israel up until the 1960s and all were most likely scrapped shortly afterwards.

Operators

  • - 12 Hummel-Wespe
  • - at least three
  • - five, captured guns received from France

Surviving vehicles

Six Hummel survive in museums, at the Munster Deutsches Panzermuseum, the Artillerie Schule in Idar Oberstein and the Sinsheim Auto & Technik Museum in Germany, the Musée des Blindés in Saumur, France and the Fort Sill Field Artillery Museum in Fort Sill, Oklahoma and one has been reconstructed at the Australian Armour and Artillery Museum and is awaiting the Winterketten track.

References

Sources

  • Achtung Panzer! profile of the Hummel
  • World War II Vehicles
  • 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
  • Encyclopedia page on the Hummel-Wespe
  • [https://armada.vojenstvi.cz/povalecna/od-ctenaru/vladimir-francev-koristni-obrnena-vozidla-ve-vyzbroji-cs-armady-3-cast.htm] – Czechoslovak Army records