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Sturmtiger / Sturmmorserwagen / Sturmpanzer VI

1944 SELF-PROPELLED ARTILLERY WORLD WAR 2

History of Sturmtiger / Stummorserwagen / Sturmpanzer VI

The Assault Tiger was a German-developed mobile assault gun that appeared in small numbers during the last years of World War II. The system as a whole was a massive weapon designed to dismantle standing structures and reduce casualties from urban battles, like the heavy German losses at Stalingrad.

So the Assault Tigers came too late in the war, and in limited numbers, to have a significant impact. Furthermore, its single-minded range on the battlefield was not suitable for the defensive campaign the Germans were doing after heavy casualties on the main front closed the noose around them.

The Battle of Stalingrad (July 1942-February 1943) proved to be a major turning point on the Eastern Front during World War II, marking a major victory for the Red Army as well as for Nazi Germany and its allies. At times, German troops were able to capture large parts of the city (up to 90%), although the Red Army proved to be a very determined enemy, as small parts of the resistance held key areas, eventually concentrating on the west bank of the Volga. Bloody and brutal hand-to-hand combat interrupted the battle as Soviet soldiers used whatever means necessary to stop any German advance in the city.

In November 1942, the Red Army's offensive finally saved the fighters as cold weather fell on the desperate, weary and starving German troops. In mid-February 1943, the German siege of the city ended.

For Hitler, Stalingrad, in his attempt to capture a major Soviet city, consolidated his army with a serious lack of usable strength - an action that might have to be repeated if the Communists were to be enslaved by the Germans. The shortage stemmed from the guerrilla warfare of the Soviet army, in which the city itself was fully utilized. Its structure, be it rubble or a partially standing building, works well to establish important choke points, set up booby traps, or set up well-timed ambushes. The capture of a city by a determined enemy meant that the Germans would inflict unacceptable casualties in the ensuing road-to-road and house-to-house fighting.

During the Battle of Stalingrad, the German 6th Army itself was eventually surrounded, cut off and completely destroyed.

Consequently, the German authorities demanded the complete destruction of the entire structure by sheer firepower using motorized artillery. It was decided to develop a heavy armored vehicle capable of carrying equally heavy weapons, capable of destroying buildings, etc.

Alkett in Berlin was chosen as the prime contractor for the new machine, work began in mid-1943, and Hitler himself was supplied with a prototype in October.

The new design mounts a powerful 380mm (38cm/15in) land-based version of the Kreigsmarine Navy anti-submarine missile launcher weapon to an existing Tiger I tank hull. The weapon, named Rocket Launcher 61 ("RW61 Rocket Launcher"), was essentially a launch tube that fired 761 pounds of high-explosive depth charges to a range of 6,180 yards.

The muzzle has a perforated perimeter that vents the following starting gases forward and away from the vehicle. Up to 14 380mm shells can be carried in the hull, with one loaded and ready to fire, while the other is ready to be placed on a stand - space on the hull is at a premium, of course.

The launched "projector" was mounted on a new solid, boxy structure that had no beams and had enough height for "arched" shots. The superstructure had to be specially held in place by hardened welds and large bolts to counteract the violent recoil effect of the projectile launch. The wheels of the original Tiger I now feature steel rims. As the new car is designed for the lethal nature of urban combat, special attention is paid to armor protection, with thicknesses ranging from 80mm to 150mm. The crew will include the driver, commander, gunner and at least four staff members responsible for loading the large 380mm shells.

Therefore, a crane was installed on the rear inclined fairing of the superstructure to facilitate the loading of the launch vehicle, which was also aided by access openings along the top of the compartment.

The weapon system is called "Assault Gun", but is also known as "38cm Assault Gun", "Tiger-Morser", "Sturmpanzer VI" and "Sturmtiger". The first production models were introduced in August 1944 following a development delay, and the planned Tiger I chassis was transferred to the German Army for other wartime purposes, requiring Alkett to rebuild the Tiger I chassis for their Assault Tiger.

The Assault Tiger was produced in several batches, but ultimately only 18 were produced. All production was handled by Alkett, which ran from October 1943 to December 1944.

Hitler envisioned his company of assault tigers, about fourteen men, attached to his German divisions, ravaging Russian cities over large areas. He optimistically imagined his Assault Tiger would burn about 300 rounds of 380mm ammunition a month, perhaps rightly but hopelessly stockpiling this bulky but fearsome weapon of war.

The final product resulted in a rather burly, impressive - perhaps still odd - looking tank design. The tank has an angular, sturdy body for good ballistic protection, with short, blunt-ended launch barrels protruding from the front swash plate fairing. The main armament is a 7.92mm general purpose MG 34 or MG42 series machine gun mounted on a ball seat on the right side of the front fender, towing up to 2,550 rounds of 7.92mm ammunition. The superstructure is located on the hull suspended on a torsion bar system.

The driver reserved a spot on the left front part of the superstructure - to the left of the main gun mount - and had access to the sights. The PaK ZF3 series sight is mounted above this sight.

The hull itself is clearly from the Tiger I, with its overlapping wheels (now with steel rims) and a matching track system.

The Sturmtiger has a claimed operating weight of 65 tons, which is much shorter (6.28 meters) than the previous Tiger I, of course because the Sturmtiger does not have a long-barreled main gun. In addition, despite the fixed structure and the large projector installed, the height of the Assault Tiger (2.85 meters) is actually shorter than the Tiger I, which uses a movable turret. Housed in a compartment at the rear of the fuselage, the powerplant is a water-cooled Maybach HL 230 P45 V12 engine delivering 650 horsepower to the massive frame. This allows for a relatively acceptable top speed of 23 mph, with a limited range of just 74 mph (well below - 53 mph - off-road).

It should be noted that the inherent differences found in the Tiger I's available chassis brands ultimately lead to some subtle physical differences from the production Assault Tiger itself.

In practice, the Assault Tiger showed rather mixed results. It was used in the Warsaw Uprising against Polish resistance in August 1944 and later in the Battle of the Bulge in December (December 1944-January 1945). In February and March 1945, the Assault Tiger saw its last high-profile action at the Battle of Reichswald against British and Canadian forces. His massive size makes him a formidable opponent, but it also makes a tempting target.

Perhaps even more detrimental to the Assault Tiger's legacy is the vehicle's limited range and range on the battlefield. Its powerful weapon has proven to be of little value in most environments, as rapidly changing developments severely limit its application. The fuel-guzzling Maybach engines also dried up quickly, forcing the crew to hand the Assault Tiger directly to the enemy.

Other Assault Tigers simply fell prey to enemy tank or anti-tank personnel and coordinated infantry advances aimed at overrunning positions. The Allies managed to capture samples of the assault tigers and transport them to the Aberdeen Proving Ground in the U.K. and Maryland in the U.S. for a full assessment.

It is said that many Allied soldiers were fascinated by encountering the Assault Tiger on an after-action walk, and its massive size and impressive weaponry contributed positively to the descriptions of these interesting weapons.

In fact, the urban fighting in WWII is over for Germany, which is waging an increasingly fierce defensive battle on all fronts. The Assault Tigers just came too late and didn't have much use later in the war, basically serving as another resource allocation to change the tide of the war in favor of the Axis powers.

Unfortunately for Hitler, Stalingrad had turned the tide of the war in favor of the Alliesmany even agreed that the Soviet victory at Stalingrad was itself a decisive vote to save Europe.