Sturmgeschütz
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Date: 2022-01-07

Sturmgeschütz, by Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=1002537 / CC BY SA 3.0

#World_War_II_assault_guns
#World_War_II_self-propelled_artillery_of_Germany
An early version of the Sturmgeschütz （StuG III Ausf.C/D） Sturmgeschütz （abbreviated StuG） meaning "assault gun" was a series of armored
fighting vehicles used by both the German Wehrmacht and the Waffen-SS formations during the Second World War （1939-1945）.
The main StuGs were the StuG III and StuG IV based on the Panzer III and Panzer IV medium tank chassis respectively.
The more common of the two, the StuG III was developed in the late 1930s on the chassis of the Panzer III. It was initially designated "StuG" but with the development in 1943 of the StuG IV to make up for lost StuG III production,
it was re-designated as "StuG III" to distinguish the two.
Initially, the Wehrmacht intended to use StuGs as armored self-propelled infantry support guns, providing close fire-support to infantry by destroying bunkers, pillboxes and other entrenched positions.
A secondary capability as an anti-tank weapon became more important as the war progressed.
Following the Axis invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941, a significant problem emerged: the main armament on the light tanks and the
37 mm gun of the anti-tank guns and the Panzer III were insufficient against the newer Soviet T-34 medium and KV-1 heavy tanks.
A more powerful gun, the 7.
5 cm Pak 40, then in development, didn't fit in the turret of the Panzer III, Germany's primary medium tank at the time.
The Wehrmacht found, however, that the turretless StuGs had enough room in the crew compartment to mount the 75 mm Pak 40, and modified StuGs duly appeared.
The new model proved an effective tank destroyer.
Not only was its main gun powerful enough to knock out the new Soviet tanks, but the Panzer III chassis on which it was based made it highly mobile and reliable,
and the increased armor plating combined with its low silhouette made it a difficult vehicle to d...