![]() The main armament was the 380 mm Raketen-Werfer 61 L/5.4, a breech-loading barrel, which fired a short-range, rocket-propelled projectile roughly 1.5 m (4 ft 11 in) long. In the front is the main 380 mm caliber rocket-propelled projectile. This pushed the weight of the vehicle up from the 57 t (56 long tons 63 short tons) of the Tiger I to 68 t (67 long tons 75 short tons).Īrmor layout of Sturmtiger Sturmtiger in the Deutsches Panzermuseum. The hull front was 100 millimetres (3.9 in) or 150 millimetres (5.9 in) if it had an additional armor plate fitted. Its sloped (at 47° from vertical) frontal armor therefore was 150 mm (5.9 in) thick, while its superstructure side and rear plates were 82 mm (3.2 in) thick. Since the Sturmtiger was intended for use in urban areas in close range street fighting, it needed to be heavily armoured to survive. It also was slightly lower than the Tiger at 2.85 m (9 ft 4 in) compared to 3 m (9 ft 10 in). This was located directly at the front of the vehicle, giving it a boxy appearance.Ĭompared to the Tiger tank, the Sturmtiger was much shorter overall, only 6.28 m (20 ft 7 in) compared to the Tiger's 8.45 m (27 ft 9 in), due largely to the fact that it did not have the long main gun of the latter which protruded far in front of the hull. The front of the Tiger's superstructure was removed to make room for the new fixed casemate-style fighting compartment housing the rocket launcher. The Sturmtiger was based on the late model Tiger I, keeping its hull and suspension. Hitler had laid great importance on the special employment of the Sturmtiger and believed it would be necessary to produce at least 300 rounds of ammunition per month. Ten Sturmtiger were produced in September, along with an additional five in December 1944. Plans to complete an additional seven from 15 to 21 September 1944 were presented to Hitler in a conference on 18–20 August 1944. The first three production series Sturmtiger were completed by Alkett in August 1944. Delivery of the first hulls would occur in December 1943, with the first three Sturmtiger completed by Alkett by 20 February 1944.ĭue to delays, Hitler did not request production of the weapon until 19 April 1944 twelve superstructures and weapons would be prepared and mounted on rebuilt Tiger I chassis. ![]() The first prototype was ready and presented to Adolf Hitler in October 1943. The Tiger I hulls were to be sent to Henschel for chassis assembly and then to Alkett where the superstructures would be mounted. In September 1943 plans were made for Krupp to fabricate new Tiger I armoured hulls for the Sturmtiger. However, this weapon turned out not to be available at the time and was therefore replaced by a 380 mm rocket launcher, which was adapted from a Kriegsmarine depth charge launcher. Therefore, a decision was made to create a new vehicle based on the Tiger tank and arm it with a 210 mm howitzer. While greatly improved compared to the earlier models, by this time infantry anti-tank weapons were improving dramatically, and the Wehrmacht still saw a need for a similar, but more heavily armoured and armed vehicle. This was essentially an improved version of the earlier design, mounting the same gun on the Panzer IV chassis with greatly improved armour protection. Its successor, the Sturmpanzer IV, also known by Allies as Brummbär, was in production from early 1943. Twelve of them were lost in the fighting at Stalingrad. At the time, the Wehrmacht had only the Sturm-Infanteriegeschütz 33B available for destroying buildings, a Sturmgeschütz III variant armed with a 15 cm sIG 33 heavy infantry gun. The idea for a heavy infantry support vehicle capable of demolishing heavily defended buildings or fortified areas with a single shot came out of the experiences of the heavy urban fighting in the Battle of Stalingrad in 1942. The fighting vehicle was known by various informal names, among which the Sturmtiger became the most popular. The few vehicles produced fought in the Warsaw Uprising, the Battle of the Bulge and the Battle of the Reichswald. Its primary task was to provide heavy fire support for infantry units fighting in urban areas. The official German designation was Sturmmörserwagen 606/4 mit 38 cm RW 61. Sturmtiger ( German for 'Assault Tiger') was a World War II German assault gun built on the Tiger I chassis and armed with a 380mm rocket-propelled mortar.
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