- Introduction & Background
Sturmpanzer VI (German: Sturmmörser Tiger/Sturmpanzer VI) is a German assault gun used in World War II. It is based on the Tiger I tank chassis and uses the 380 mm Sturm Mörser "Assault Mortar" RW61 L/3.5, a large naval depth charge launcher. It was originally intended to provide heavy firepower support for infantry in urban combat, but only 18 were produced during the entire war, all of which were modified from damaged Tiger I tanks. The Assault Tiger self-propelled gun is also known as "Tiger-Mörser" and "Sturmmörser Tiger".
The German army will always have enough heavy artillery to fulfill the goal of crushing enemies at long distances, such as 600mm heavy mortars, but such huge artillery can only be limited to railways, making it inflexible and insufficient to complete urban bombing missions. The then German Field Marshal brainstormed and he came up with a "new weapon" that combined a Tiger tank chassis with a 38cm breech-loaded rocket, designed to protect naval bases from submarine attacks.
It will be able to maneuver in urban areas to provide fire support to its ground forces. This heavy mortar was called the "Assault Tiger." Its first prototype was presented to Führer Hitler on October 20, 1943. Behind the scenes, most domestic personnel were pessimistic about the Führer's new ideas, which they had learned from Stalin. Lessons learned from the horrific experience of the Battle of Grad, siege of any city was not an option. Although the Assault Tiger project was approved by Hitler, the generals used Tiger tank production bottlenecks as an excuse to delay the Assault Tiger The completion of "Tiger".
Finally, in the summer of 1944, a batch of damaged Tigers returned from the front and were assigned to the Alkett company for modification. The Assault Tiger prototype was modified using a recycled Tiger tank chassis produced as standard in the late production phase. The wheels have been converted from rubber tires to all-steel types. The engine has been updated from the early HL210 P30 type to the HL230 P45, with three conical filters. The later improved Assault Tiger main gun was equipped with 32 air holes, while the 1943 prototype had 20. In addition, the main gun was also equipped with a counterweight ring. During the Sturm Tiger's short production period, only 18 were built, 12 between August and September 1944 and the remaining five in December, along with the first prototype demonstrated at the Arys proving ground in East Prussia .
This special modernized Sturm Tiger prototype was selected based on units captured by General Alexander Vasilyevich's 3rd Army of the 1st Belorussian Front on the east bank of the Elbe River. This was an early production vehicle based on Tiger chassis number 250043, which had a bolt-on additional lower ice plate and a bolt-on two-piece muzzle weight ring. It has a unique barrel movement catch on the front of the turret.
