Stu 40 G image - Forgotten Hope 2 mod for Battlefield 2

In the spring of 1943, the Finnish Armed Forces made a request to Germany about acquiring assault guns. With a positive response, an initial order for 45 was placed, though ultimately only 30 of these would be delivered and paid for. At the same time, training was provided to a small group of Finnish officers and men in Germany, and at their request the order was expanded to include all the support vehicles that would normally equip a German StuG battalion.

On arrival in Finland, the Schürzen and mounts were removed, a wooden tool crate was fitted to the rear deck and spare roadwheel mounts added to the side of the superstructure. The gunshield on the roof was modified to take a DT instead of an MG34, and three tone camouflage was painted over the original dunkelgelb. There were other changes made later, including additional side armour, improved armour for the driver's vision slit and concrete added to the front of the superstructure. The most obvious of these changes was the addition of logs to the sides above the fenders. Known to the Finns as the Stu 40 G, they would quickly pick up the nickname Sturmi.

While the Sturmis were on the front line from the summer of 1943 onwards, they would face their biggest tests at the battles at Kuuterselkä, Tali and Vuosalmi in the midsummer of 1944. Across these three engagements, they would knock out 87 soviet armoured vehicles for only 8 losses. The StuG was by far the most modern armoured vehicle that the Finns had in 1944, and was well liked by its crews, who found it to have excellent outside visibility combined with a good gun, allowing them to see and to shoot first. Perhaps their main complaint was the underpowered engine and narrow tracks limiting its performance off-road.

A further 29 vehicles were delivered that summer before the Finnish capitulation in September, but these would see little service during the Continuation War. Our Sturmi was made by Toddel.