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Sturmgeschütz III.

The Sturmgeschütz III (StuG III) was one of vehicles produced by Germany during WWII. It was based on Panzer III's chassis. Designed as an infantry support tank, it increasingly took on the role of tank destroyer due to its low profile and good cannon. As the most produced tank by Germany during World War II (10,500 units), it thus took on the role of conventional tank warfare. The Sturmgeschütz is also known for its good price to profit ratio. The StuG was manned by four crew members. It was operated by Germany, Italy, Finland, Spain and Syria. These three latter countries retained their StuG IIIs far beyond 1945, being used for example in the Six Day War (1967) by Syria.

Users[]

  • Nazi Germany
  • Kingdom of Romania
  • Kingdom of Bulgaria
  • Finland
  • Kingdom of Hungary
  • Kingdom of Italy
  • Norway - Surrendered German equipment was used from 1947 to 1951
  • Spanish State (In 1943, received 10 units and used until 1954)
  • Sweden - one StuG IIID received from Norway in 1947, used for trials and testing of anti-tank mines, one StuG IIIG used for spare parts
  • Syria
  • Turkey
  • Soviet Union (for testing and modifications)
  • SFR Yugoslavia

Variants[]

Variants of the StuG include:

  • StuG IV: Externally similar to the StuG III, this was built on the chassis of a PzKpfW. IV
  • StuK III: The Sturmkanone III was built as a mobile howitzer, and thus had a larger 105mm cannon used for indirect fire support.

Specifications[]

  • Length: 6.85m
    StuG III Ausf

    Finnish Stug III Ausf. G (early) in service, 1943.

  • Height: 2.16m
  • Weight: 23.9 tons
  • Speed (road): 40 km/h
  • Speed (cross-country): 25 km/h
  • Range: 155 km

See also[]

All or a portion of this article consists of text from Wikipedia, and is therefore Creative Commons Licensed under GFDL.
The original article can be found at Sturmgeschütz III and the edit history here.
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