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Sturmgeschütz III is a German assault gun.
Description[]
Often referred as the StuG III in short, the Sturmgeschütz III was Germany's most produced armoured fighting vehicle in the war. Based on the Panzer III chassis and originally intended as a mobile assault gun for direct fire support in close coordination with infantry, the vehicle was continuously modified and eventually be widely employed as a tank destroyer.
The Ausf B is an early variant equipped with the 75 mm StuK 37 L/24 gun, which is useful against soft-skinned targets in fire support role. The lack of machine gun means the vehicle is potentially vulnerable to enemy infantry at close range, hence it should be supported by other friendly units whenever possible.
The Ausf G is the main production variant, and also the most numerous. It is armed with a 75mm StuK 40 L/48 to combat other armoured vehicles, effectively transforming into a kind of tank destroyer. A machine gun is also mounted on top of the vehicle's superstructure to fend off enemy infantry in close infantry and, to an extent, low flying aircraft. A late variant of Ausf G uses Topfblende cast rounded mantlet (also known as Saukopfblende) for better protection. It also has a coaxial machine gun in the gun mantlet for improved anti-infantry measures.
Trivia[]
The Sturmgeschütz III has a variant armed with a 105mm howitzer in the form of Sturmhaubitze 42.
Gallery[]
