Page 24 - History of War - Issue 29-16

Frontline
ANATOMY OF THE
P
NZE
A
A
U
T
RM
RM
S S T U P NZE I
STURMPANZER I
R
R
I

T h i s s el f - p r o p el l e d THE STURMPANZER I HAD A FIRE RATE
This self-propelled
gun survived the
g u n s u r v iv ed t h e OF THREE ROUNDS PER MINUTE
o
an
r
f
F
a
t

B
Battle of France
le
c
t
e
h
o
n

asi
e
I
nv
t
a
d
and the Invasion
n
, b
t i
o
e
of Greece, but its

u
e
t
r
s
ec
f G
o
w
d

ul
o
n
ns
a
g
swansong would HEAVY WEAPONRY
s
w
The formidable Panzer IV may
come in the bitter have been a more of an all-round
come in the bitter
war vehicle – thus forming the
ghting on the core of the Nazi’s mobile artillery
ghting on the
– but the Sturmpanzer had a far
Eastern Front
Eastern Front more powerful and destructive
main armament, the sIG 33, that
red huge 15cm shells.
SELF-PROPELLED GUN
Despite being collectively
grouped into the ‘tank’ family,
the Sturmpanzer I was actually a
mobile armoured cannon. The idea
was to create a mobile platform
that combined the armour of a
tank with a powerful main gun to
support infantry in the eld.
FRONT ARMOUR IS 13MM THICK
A RARE SIGHT
Produced in February 1940,
the original Sturmpanzer
had a smaller run at only 38
individual units. These units
were split among a number
of different battalions,
including six Panzer divisions
during the Battle of France.
24
24
024-025_HOW029_Anatomy.indd 24 04/05/2016 20:36