The StuG III by flavia49

Photography • Military • posted on Jul 16, 2009

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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)

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amota99517

2:15AM | Sat, 18 July 2009

Boy what a great shot that was. I would have never guessed that.

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debbielove

9:38AM | Sat, 18 July 2009

Massively cool! Really great job, expertly written.... Well done! Rob.

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OrphanedSoul

11:23AM | Sat, 18 July 2009

What an incredible piece of machinery! Thanks for the share! And also thanks for your comment!

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densa

1:01PM | Sat, 18 July 2009

great shot and information

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Richardphotos

2:46PM | Sat, 18 July 2009

outstanding collage and presentation

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mgtcs

7:31PM | Sat, 18 July 2009

Very interesting photo, excellent capture!

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danapommet

9:57PM | Sat, 18 July 2009

Great collage and narrative. Very well done. Dana

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ragouc

9:20AM | Sun, 19 July 2009

Very good composition and shots

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Biffowitz

9:27AM | Sun, 19 July 2009

Fantastic close ups of this war relic, nice work for sure!!

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junge1

9:50AM | Sun, 19 July 2009

Wonderful collage and excellent historic information. I learned a lot Flavia!!!

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Mousson

10:22AM | Sun, 19 July 2009

Fantastic image!

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Star4mation

10:29AM | Sun, 19 July 2009

Super collection of images :)

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Nickieboy2004

10:37AM | Sun, 19 July 2009

Great work! I like German military history; I've certainly had quite a few uncles and grand/great grandparents serve.

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Hendesse

10:49AM | Sun, 19 July 2009

Fantastic collage. Looks impressive.

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2121

1:24PM | Sun, 19 July 2009

wonderful info and pics

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Osper

2:17PM | Sun, 19 July 2009

These are great detail pictures! An additional fact for what it's worth. From D Day till the end there were more assualt guns than tanks in the German Army.

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