The Sturmhaubitze or StuH was a version of the StuG assault gun, armed with a 105mm light field howitzer. It was originally designed in 1941 to provide the assault gun detachments with a more powerful weapon that could be used as both an infantry support weapon and as a bunker buster. By the time it entered service the standard StuG had developed into a powerful anti-tank weapon, firing armour piercing rounds, leaving the Sturmhaubitze to provide more of the infantry support fire.
In March 1942 Alkett mounted an experimental le.FH.18 howitzer in the chassis of a StuG III Ausf.E, and the first nine of the development series had been completed by October 1942. They were then sent to 3.Batterie/Sturmgeschütz-Abteilung 185 (third battery of assault gun detachment 185), and saw combat south of Leningrad in late November.
These trials were encouraging, and in December 1942 Hitler set a production target of 24 StuHs per month. The first ten production vehicles were completed by March 1943, and 204 had been completed by the end of the year. The peak of production came between August and November 1944, when at least 100 were produced per month. During the production run the superstructure and chassis of the StuH received the same updates as the StuG III Ausf G.
The StuH had a very similar layout to the StuG. The only changes were to the gun mounting, which had to be modified for the larger gun. Its low position did limit the elevation of the gun to the range -6 to +20 degrees, meaning that the howitzer in the StuH was never fired at its ideal elevation of +45 degrees. The StuH carried 36 rounds, normally a mix of high explosive and shaped charge rounds.
The StuH was issued to existing Sturmgeschütz detachments starting in 1943, which each detachment getting nine StuHs to support its StuGs. Only 68 had reached Army Groups Centre and South at the start of the Kursk offensive, but in any case the StuH was at its best in a defensive role, when it became a power anti-tank weapon – the limited traverse of the gun limited the effectiveness of both the StuG and the StuG as offensive weapons.
The file contains the unit and pcx files. Model is not my own creation. Wyrmshadow helped with the animation files. I merely put the pieces together and cleaned up the model for CivIII and added some what if pieces. A big thanks to everyone that helped out!
In March 1942 Alkett mounted an experimental le.FH.18 howitzer in the chassis of a StuG III Ausf.E, and the first nine of the development series had been completed by October 1942. They were then sent to 3.Batterie/Sturmgeschütz-Abteilung 185 (third battery of assault gun detachment 185), and saw combat south of Leningrad in late November.
These trials were encouraging, and in December 1942 Hitler set a production target of 24 StuHs per month. The first ten production vehicles were completed by March 1943, and 204 had been completed by the end of the year. The peak of production came between August and November 1944, when at least 100 were produced per month. During the production run the superstructure and chassis of the StuH received the same updates as the StuG III Ausf G.
The StuH had a very similar layout to the StuG. The only changes were to the gun mounting, which had to be modified for the larger gun. Its low position did limit the elevation of the gun to the range -6 to +20 degrees, meaning that the howitzer in the StuH was never fired at its ideal elevation of +45 degrees. The StuH carried 36 rounds, normally a mix of high explosive and shaped charge rounds.
The StuH was issued to existing Sturmgeschütz detachments starting in 1943, which each detachment getting nine StuHs to support its StuGs. Only 68 had reached Army Groups Centre and South at the start of the Kursk offensive, but in any case the StuH was at its best in a defensive role, when it became a power anti-tank weapon – the limited traverse of the gun limited the effectiveness of both the StuG and the StuG as offensive weapons.
The file contains the unit and pcx files. Model is not my own creation. Wyrmshadow helped with the animation files. I merely put the pieces together and cleaned up the model for CivIII and added some what if pieces. A big thanks to everyone that helped out!
