SturmgeschützIV

SturmgeschützIV
The StuG IV held by the Armoured Warfare Museum in Poznań, Poland
Type	Assault gun
Place of origin	Nazi Germany
Service history
In service	1943–1945
Used by	Nazi Germany
Wars	World War II
Production history
Manufacturer	Fried. Krupp Grusonwerk AG,Magdeburg-Buckau,Alkett
Produced	December 1943–1945
No.built	1,141
Specifications
Mass	23 tonnes (50,705 lbs)
Length	6.7 m (20 ft)
Width	2.95 m (9 ft 8 in)
Height	2.20 m (7 ft 3 in)
Crew	4 (Commander, Gunner, Loader, Driver)
Armor	10–80 mm (.39–3.14 in)
Main armament	1 ×7.5 cm StuK 40 L/48 63 rounds
Secondary armament	1 ×7.92 mmMaschinengewehr 34 600 rounds
Engine	Maybach HL120 TRMV-12-cylinder gasoline 300 PS (296 hp, 220.6 kW)
Power/weight	13 PS (9.6 kW) / tonne
Transmission	ZFSSG 76 Aphon, 6 forward gears, 1 reverse
Suspension	Leaf spring
Ground clearance	40.0 cm (16 inches)
Fuel capacity	430 liter
Operational range	Road: 210 km (130 mi) Cross-country: 120 km (75 mi)
Maximum speed	40 km/h (25 mph)

TheSturmgeschützIV (StuG IV)(Sd.Kfz. 167) was aGermanassault gunvariant of thePanzer IVused in the latter part of theSecond World War.It was identical in role and concept to the highly successfulStuG IIIassault gun variant of thePanzer III.Both StuG models were given an exclusivelytank destroyerrole in German formations and tactical planning in the last two years of the war, greatly augmenting the capability of the dwindling tank force available to the German army on the Eastern and Western fronts.

Development

A column of StuG IV assault guns arrive in the Greek port city ofThessaloniki,1944.

A StuG IV destroyed and abandoned inNormandy,1944.

TheSturmgeschützIV resulted fromKrupp's effort to supply an assault gun. As Krupp did not buildPanzerkampfwagenIIIs,they used thePanzerkampfwagenIVchassis in combination with a slightly modifiedSturmgeschütz IIIsuperstructure.

The first known proposal for aSturmgeschützon the Panzer IV chassis is in Krupp drawing number W1468 dated February 1943. This initial drawing unitized the outdatedSturmgeschützAusf. F superstructure on a Panzer IV chassis. This proposal had a sloped front superstructure with a combat weight of 28.26 tons. Krupp abandoned it in February 1943 because it was too heavy. Plans for the StuG IV were halted.

During the Führer Conference of 19 to 22 August 1943, after theBattle of Kursk,Hitler had seen reports of the StuG III outperforming the Panzer IV when used in an infantry support role and tactical defence. Convinced that a tank-hunter version would be superior to the tank version, Hitler planned to switch Panzer IV production to "PanzerjägerIV "production as soon as possible. It was to mount the same 7.5 cm L/70 used for the Panther. Another manufacturer, Vomag built a prototype Panzerjäger IV with 7.5 cm L/48 gun and demonstrated it on 20 October 1943. It was later re-designated asJagdpanzerIVAusf. F. As theJagdpanzerIV was already being produced by Vomag, the StuG IV may not have materialized, had it not been for the major disruption of StuG III production, and the scarce supply of the 7.5 cm L/70 gun designated for theJagdpanzerIV.

In November 1943,Alkett,the manufacturer of the StuG III, suffered damage due to an Allied bombing raid. They produced 255 StuG III in October 1943, but in December production fell to just 24 vehicles. A conference held from 6 to 7 December 1943, addressed possible solutions to this problem. Hitler welcomed the suggestion of taking the StuG III superstructure and mounting it on a Panzer IV chassis. The StuG IV could be more quickly manufactured than the Jagdpanzer IV at the time. This restarted theSturmgeschützIV project. This time, the superstructure of the StuG III Ausf. G was mounted on a Panzer IV chassis 7, with a box compartment for the driver added. Combat weight was 23000 kg, lighter than the 23900 kg for the StuG III Ausf. G. Between 16 and 17 December 1943, Hitler was shown the StuG IV and approved it. To make up for the large deficit in StuG III production StuG IV production was now given full support.

From December 1943 to May 1945, Krupp built 1,111 StuG IVs, in early 1944 Alkett built 30 Stug IVs using new Panzer IV chassis sent from Nibelungenwerk. While the number is smaller than the 10,000+ StuG III, the StuG IV supplemented and fought along with StuG III during 1944–45, when they were most needed.

Design

The StuG IV became known as an effective tank killer, especially on theEastern Front.

It had a four-man crew, and was issued mainly to infantry divisions.

• Commander in hull left rear
• Gunner in hull left center
• Loader in hull right rear
• Driver in hull left front

Surviving vehicles

There are presently four surviving examples of the StuG IV.

• Poland
  • One in theMuzeum im. Orła Białego(White Eagle Museum) a military museum located in the town of Skarżysko-Kamienna. It is a makeshift restoration using a StuG IV hull and various parts from Stug IIIs and Panzer IVs.
  • One in theArmoured Warfare Museumin Poznań. It is complete and in running condition.
• Latvia
  • In October 2011, a StuG IV found in a swamp in the formerCourland Pocketwas restored by a Latvian enthusiast. This vehicle, with no engine or gearbox, was offered for sale on milweb.net at an asking price of 425,000 Euros. It was also listed on eBay with a "Buy It Now" price of 900,000 US Dollars.
• Australia
  • A working StuG IV was restored by theAustralian Armour and Artillery Museum.
• Russia
  • Restored by theVadim Zadorozhny Museum.
  • One in theMuseum Of Military Equipment "Battle Glory Of The Urals".This vehicle was restored in 2009-2010 and lacks an engine and transmission.

See also

Comparable vehicles

• Germany:Hetzer,StuG III,Jagdpanzer IV
• Italy:Semovente da 75/34
• Japan:Type 3 Ho-Ni III
• Romania:Mareșal
• Soviet Union:SU-85
• United States:M10 GMC

External links

• Panzer World
• OnWar
• Sturmgeschütz III / IVat Achtung Panzer!
• 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.