Hello and welcome to another Battlegroup-Frontlines update. Today we have some renders of our Sturmgeschutz III which has been modeled and skinned by Robur.
Sturmgeschutz III (StuG III)
The StuG III was of the first of a series of assault guns/tank destroyers that Germany produced during the war because they were cheaper, easier and took less time to manufacture than turreted tanks which was why the Germans build them in large numbers. In 1935 Colonel von Manstein proposed that Sturmartillerie units were to be formed for use as direct support for the infantry divisions. These were to be equipped with assault guns mounted on tracked chassis and their main aim was to knockout pill boxes, machine guns nests, anti tank guns and other obstacles to any advance.
On June 15th 1936 the order was placed with Daimler-Benz AG to develop and produce a tracked armored infantry support vehicle mounting a 75mm gun which would have a limited traverse of a minimum of 25° in order to provide a range of up to 6km. The gun was mounted in an armored superstructure that completely protected the crew and was not to be taller than the height of an average man. As Daimler-Benz was already working on the Panzerkampfwagen III tank, it was decided to use its chassis and components for the basis of the new vehicle. Five prototypes were made in 1937 on the Panzerkampfwagen III Ausf B chassis mounting a short barrelled 65mm StuK (SturmKanone) which was designed and produced by Krupp. These vehicles were extensively tested and Kummersdorf, Doberitz and other testing/training facilities and were still in use for training until as late as 1942.
The first production vehicles were based on the chassis and components of the Panzerkampfwagen III Ausf F and entered production in 1940 with the 75mm StuK 37 L/24 gun mounted offset to the right of the sloped superstructure. Thirty were produced and were in service until May 1940 when the Ausf B entered service with minor modifications to the design which was still essentially the same. The StuG was modified and upgraded through 1941 until the Ausf E entered service in September 1941. The Ausf E was the last of the StuG’s to be armed with the short barreled 75mm StuK 37 L/24 gun and all later models (from 1942 onwards) mounted either the 75mm StuK 40 L/43 or the 75mm StuK 40 L/48 gun.
Specifications
Model: Ausf B
Weight: 19600kg
Crew: 4 men
Engine: Maybach HL 120 TR / 12-cylinder / 300hp
Speed: 40km/h
Range: Road: 160km Off-road: 97km
Length: 5.38m
Width: 2.92m
Height: 1.95m
Armament: 75mm StuK 37 L/24
Ammo: 75mm - 44 rounds
Number Produced (Ausf B/Total): 320/822
Armour (mm/angle):
Front Superstructure: 50/10
Front Hull: 50/21
Side Superstructure: 30/0 + 9/30
Side Hull: 30/0
Rear Superstructure: 30/30
Rear Hull: 30/30 + 10
Top / Bottom Superstructure: 11/78-90 & 17/85
Top / Bottom Hull: 16/90
Also we have some special pics we like to show you without any comment:
