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The Sturmpanzer II is a German self-propelled artillery.
Description[]
Officially designated as "15 cm sIG 33 auf Fahrgestell Panzerkampfwagen II (Sf)", the Sturmpanzer II was a successor to the Sturmpanzer I. As with Sturmpanzer I, the name "Sturmpanzer II" was a post-war name, and unlike true Sturmpanzers such as Sturmpanzer IV, these early war vehicles were not designed with frontal assault in mind, but as self-propelled artillery. Coincidentally, both vehicles were also nicknamed "Bison" in post-war references. Since these vehicles - although valuable in combat - were cumbersome, cramped and much to tall, an elongated Panzer II chassis was chosen to carry the 150mm gun. It was only meant to be a stop gap solution to fulfill the desperate need of such a vehicle by the German troops in Northern Africa, and its role was later fulfilled by more appropriate vehicles such as the Wespe. 13 vehicles have been built including one prototype, and 12 have been shipped to the Africa Corps in early 1942 and used during the siege of Tobruk. Though being still underpowered, they performed well, but got lost or worn out one after the other, especially during the Battle of Gazala. By December 1942, none were left in service anymore.
The main armament of the Bison is the 15cm sIG 33 howitzer, mounted open top of the chassis. For self-defense a MG34 machine gun is mounted on top of the superstructure. Since it only had weak armor and an open top, the vehicle was vulnerable to infantry arms, splinters, and every kind of gun fire, so it should be kept away from the front line in combat.
As it applies to most self-propelled artillery in Battlegroup42, the Sturmpanzer II appears in Co-op and Singleplayer modes with different coding in order to make it usable by bots. It is one of the oldest models in Battlegroup42, being in the mod almost since the very beginning.
Gallery[]
