3091 GERMAN AFV CREWMAN

The beginning of the development of German self-propelled artillery can be considered in the mid-1930s, when the concept of creating an assault gun (German: Sturmgeschütz - in short StuG ) intended to support the offensive activities of the German infantry. Very often the author of this idea is considered to be the later field marshal Erich von Manstein. The first prototypes of such vehicles were created in 1937, and when they entered mass production, they received the designation StuG III. They were used for the first time during the French campaign in 1940. In the course of this campaign, the Bison guns (sometimes referred to as Sturmpanzer I) were also used, i.e. the 150 mm sIG guns mounted on the Panzer I chassis. During the further part of World War II, the German army introduced more and more perfect self-propelled guns on a large scale. The armored and mechanized units were equipped with vehicles such as the Wespe or the very successful Hummel, which allowed for a significant improvement in the mobility of artillery in these units. The StuG III carts were also developed and the StuG IV cart was introduced to production. At the end of the war, a small number of Sturmtiger vehicles armed with a 380 mm rocket mortar appeared.