The StuG III by flavia49
Close
Hover over top left image to zoom.
Click anywhere to exit.
Members remain the original copyright holder in all their materials here at Renderosity. Use of any of their material inconsistent with the terms and conditions set forth is prohibited and is considered an infringement of the copyrights of the respective holders unless specially stated otherwise.
Description
The right answer was: the inside of the the cannon of a Sturmgeschutz III assault gun.
"Forward and at the enemy! Assault guns are an offensive weapon and give the infantry immediate, powerful support through mobility, fire and striking power" (from the Sturmgeschuetz Training Manual).
The Sturmgeschuetz III (StuG III) assault gun was Germany's most produced armoured fighting vehicle during World War II. It was built on the chassis of the proven Panzer III tank. Initially intended as a mobile, armoured light gun for infantry support, the StuG was continually modified and was widely employed as a tank destroyer.
In 1935, Colonel Erich von Manstein proposed that Sturmartillerie units were to be equipped with assault guns mounted on tracked chassis and used to accompany the infantry into the attack. The assault gun’s main aim was to knock out pill-boxes, machine gun nests, anti-tank guns and other obstacles. As the StuG III was designed to fill an infantry close support combat role, early models were fitted with a low-velocity 75 mm StuK 37 L/24 gun to destroy soft-skin targets and fortifications. After the Germans encountered the Soviet KV-1 and T-34 tanks, the StuG III was equipped with a high-velocity 75 mm StuK 40 L/43 main gun (Spring 1942).Overall, Sturmgeschütz series assault guns proved very successful and served on all fronts as assault guns and tank destroyers. Although Tigers and Panthers have earned a greater notoriety, assault guns collectively destroyed more tanks. Because of their low silhouette, StuG IIIs were easy to camouflage and a difficult target. StuG crews were considered to be the elite of the artillery units. StuG units held a very impressive record of tank kills – some 20,000 enemy tanks by the spring of 1944. The StuG assault guns were extremely cost-effective compared to the heavier German tanks, though in the anti-tank role, it was best used defensively, as the lack of a turret would be a severe disadvantage out in the open.
In 1944 the Finnish Army received 59 StuG III Ausf. Gs from Germany and used them against the Soviet Union. After the war, they were the main combat vehicles of the Finnish Army until the early 1960s.
StuG IIIs were also exported to other nations like Bulgaria, Hungary, Italy, Romania, and Spain.
Many German StuG IIIs were captured by Yugoslav Partisans and after the war they were used by the Yugoslav Peoples Army until the 1950s.
After the Second World War, the Soviet Union donated some of their captured German vehicles to Syria, which continued to use them at least until the Six Days War (1967).
Today, examples have been kept in running condition, including the one seen in the movie Mr. Bean's Holiday.
Freely interpreted from various sources.
Comments (61)
lyron
Fantastic collage. Great work!!!
carlx
Excellent collage!!!
lior
Excellent collage!Great artwork!
tamburro
I knew it was a Cannon!!! Excellent post! Hugs. Orlando
MagikUnicorn
COOOOL Excellent Collage
ShadowsNTime
Super collage! Never in a million years would I have been able to guess what it was, wonderful! Love when images challenge you to think!
Sea_Dog
Great information and collage.
CATMANDO
Great shots.....thanks for sharing.
frankie96
This thing had longevity for sure....great information and collage..
MOSKETON
QUE FUERTE NO ES UN DESAGUE ES UN CAÑON, FANTASTICO, SON LAS ESTRIAS DEL CAÑON, MUCHAS GRACIAS POR COMPARTIRLO Y PIDO DISCULPAS POR MI ERROR.
Darkwish
Very well done!
magnus073
Never would have guessed it but these are some amazing photos of it. THanks for sharing
bmac62
Looks like the StuG III in the museum has been knocked out...a very realistic diorama. The mystery photo shows the breech of the 75mm gun with the breech block apparently missing. Thanks for the history. I've seen lots of pictures of these in books over the years.
drifterlee
Cool shots!!!!!
Faemike55
I was close! great shots and wonderful information! Thank you
theprojectionist
Terrific
Tamarrion
An intact StuG III or IV was recently unearthed in Eastern Europe (Romania or Bulgaria I think), after having been completely buried since the war. Cool collage, excellent writeup!
erlandpil
Nice done erland
jeroni
Excellent work and perfect realisation
Thetis
fabulous shots again!
flaviok
Excelente texto e captura minha amiga, aplausos (5)
kasalin
Beautiful collage
delbeke
Interesting collage, learned something.
MC-Jay-One
Ha I guessed right :D Nice photos!
renecyberdoc
great piece of info for this gun. i remember using it always in the panzer general games ,was very powerful. great quizz.
RodolfoCiminelli
Impresionante e splendido lavoro......!!!
Minda
excellent collage,great info and work!!
Miska7
Very nice collage! Great shots.
scifibabe
A most intriguing writeup about this weapon. I was not familiar with it until I read what you wrote. Great montage of pictures to illustrate it too. I enjoyed your information and posting!
Radar_rad-dude
Very interesting descriptive and superb photos! 5+++++