The StuG III by flavia49
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Description
The right answer was: the inside of the the cannon of a Sturmgeschutz III assault gun.
"Forward and at the enemy! Assault guns are an offensive weapon and give the infantry immediate, powerful support through mobility, fire and striking power" (from the Sturmgeschuetz Training Manual).
The Sturmgeschuetz III (StuG III) assault gun was Germany's most produced armoured fighting vehicle during World War II. It was built on the chassis of the proven Panzer III tank. Initially intended as a mobile, armoured light gun for infantry support, the StuG was continually modified and was widely employed as a tank destroyer.
In 1935, Colonel Erich von Manstein proposed that Sturmartillerie units were to be equipped with assault guns mounted on tracked chassis and used to accompany the infantry into the attack. The assault gun’s main aim was to knock out pill-boxes, machine gun nests, anti-tank guns and other obstacles. As the StuG III was designed to fill an infantry close support combat role, early models were fitted with a low-velocity 75 mm StuK 37 L/24 gun to destroy soft-skin targets and fortifications. After the Germans encountered the Soviet KV-1 and T-34 tanks, the StuG III was equipped with a high-velocity 75 mm StuK 40 L/43 main gun (Spring 1942).Overall, Sturmgeschütz series assault guns proved very successful and served on all fronts as assault guns and tank destroyers. Although Tigers and Panthers have earned a greater notoriety, assault guns collectively destroyed more tanks. Because of their low silhouette, StuG IIIs were easy to camouflage and a difficult target. StuG crews were considered to be the elite of the artillery units. StuG units held a very impressive record of tank kills – some 20,000 enemy tanks by the spring of 1944. The StuG assault guns were extremely cost-effective compared to the heavier German tanks, though in the anti-tank role, it was best used defensively, as the lack of a turret would be a severe disadvantage out in the open.
In 1944 the Finnish Army received 59 StuG III Ausf. Gs from Germany and used them against the Soviet Union. After the war, they were the main combat vehicles of the Finnish Army until the early 1960s.
StuG IIIs were also exported to other nations like Bulgaria, Hungary, Italy, Romania, and Spain.
Many German StuG IIIs were captured by Yugoslav Partisans and after the war they were used by the Yugoslav Peoples Army until the 1950s.
After the Second World War, the Soviet Union donated some of their captured German vehicles to Syria, which continued to use them at least until the Six Days War (1967).
Today, examples have been kept in running condition, including the one seen in the movie Mr. Bean's Holiday.
Freely interpreted from various sources.
Comments (61)
Boy what a great shot that was. I would have never guessed that.
Massively cool! Really great job, expertly written.... Well done! Rob.
What an incredible piece of machinery! Thanks for the share! And also thanks for your comment!
great shot and information
outstanding collage and presentation
Very interesting photo, excellent capture!
Great collage and narrative. Very well done. Dana
Very good composition and shots
Fantastic close ups of this war relic, nice work for sure!!
Wonderful collage and excellent historic information. I learned a lot Flavia!!!
Fantastic image!
Super collection of images :)
Great work! I like German military history; I've certainly had quite a few uncles and grand/great grandparents serve.
Fantastic collage. Looks impressive.
wonderful info and pics
These are great detail pictures! An additional fact for what it's worth. From D Day till the end there were more assualt guns than tanks in the German Army.
I would never have guessed that's for sure! excellent collage and information my friend.
well done.
Great composition on the images, they set each other off nicely
I was way off LOL.. was fun to try to guess though.
I promise I did`nt cheat lol :o)..Excellent Mick
Quite impressive and much thanks for the historical information.
Excellent collage and interesting information.
so interesting... thanks for sharing!
Superb Stug III collage and masterly explanation of its importance. I wasn't aware of it's post-WW II career! Thanks.
Superb presentation and content!
wonderful shots of this
Very interesting ! Excellent shots !
Excellent collage!Great artwork!
Interesting collection of war paraphernalia...and info, but not a friend of wars ! Cheers BB