M4A5

15cm sIG 33 B Sfl

Sd.Kfz.221 (s.Pz.B.41)

15cm sIG 33 B Sfl

Sd.Kfz.221 (s.Pz.B.41)

Germany

I Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
1.0	1.0	1.0

Class:

Tank destroyer

Research:2 900

Purchase:700

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Description

The 15cm sIG 33 B Sfl is a rank I German tank destroyer with a battle rating of 1.0 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update 1.67 "Assault". Based on the Panzer II chassis, it mounted a 150 millimeter cannon and was used during the North African campaign.

General info

Survivability and armour

The Sturmpanzer II does have enough armour to stop low BR tank rounds, however it should not be relied upon to stop High Velocity or High Penetration rounds, especially from other SPGs. It is an open topped vehicle, and since it has no machine guns, it is very vulnerable to air attack.

Despite having very little armor, it does have a lot of empty space in the tank to resist multiple penetrating hits before being destroyed. However, it is hull-breakable against 75mm or larger guns with sufficient AP velocity or HEAT capability.

Mobility

Game Mode	Max Speed (km/h)		Weight (tons)	Engine power (horsepower)		Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton)
	Forward	Reverse		Stock	Upgraded	Stock	Upgraded
Arcade	49	10	15.9	220	296	13.84	18.62
Realistic	46	9		137	155	8.62	9.75

The Sturmpanzer II can go up to 45 km/h, but due to the low power-to-weight ratio of 17.04 hp/ton in AB and 9.74 hp/ton in RB, the practical top speed is significantly less. Reverse speed is decent, up to -8.4 km/h. Has a decent turning capability when moving at higher speeds. When stopped it can barely turn due to its weight.

Armaments

Main armament

The Sturmpanzer II mounts a S.I.G. 33 Infantry Support cannon, which can fire HEAT or HE rounds. The shell velocity is very slow (240m/s), so slow that it can be awkward to target moving targets or those at long ranges, especially with HE rounds. The calibre of the gun is 15 cm (150 mm/5.9 in). The Sturmpanzer does not have any other weapons.

The J.Gr.38 HE shell penetrates 65 mm against vertical armour and 60 mm against armour sloped back 60 degrees from vertical (30 degrees from horizontal), due to it having similar mechanics to naval Guns of the same calibre. The 8.6 kg explosive mass ensures that anything that gets penetrated is instantly knocked out or is so badly crippled that a follow-up shot is guaranteed.

- Note: the HE on this is so powerful that it can even one-shot top rank tanks reliably, but due to the huge mobility disadvantage, this is not recommended unless you know exactly what you are getting yourself into.

The J.Gr.39 HI/A HEAT shell penetrates 185 mm against vertical armour and still has a 4.16 kg TNT equivalent of explosives behind it, giving it effectively 40-45 mm penetration from the explosion splash on top of the HEAT superplastic copper jet penetration. In one of the minor updates of the game, 120mm and larger HEAT rounds were altered to act more like HE shells to benefit top rank vehicles - tanks such as the Sturmpanzer are unintentional beneficiaries of this change.

150 mm s.I.G.33					Turret rotation speed (°/s)					Reloading rate (seconds)
Mode	Capacity	Vertical	Horizontal	Stabilizer	Stock	Upgraded	Full	Expert	Aced	Stock	Full	Expert	Aced
Arcade	18	-4°/+60°	-1.5°/+6.5°	None	5.28	7.31	8.88	9.82	10.45	19.5	17.25	15.9	15.0
Realistic					3.57	4.2	5.1	5.64	6.0

Ammunition

Penetration statistics
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm)
		10 m	100 m	500 m	1,000 m	1,500 m	2,000 m
J.Gr.38	HE	61	61	61	61	61	61
J.Gr.39 HI/A	HEAT	185	185	185	185	185	185

Shell details
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Velocity (m/s)	Projectile Mass (kg)	Fuse delay (m)	Fuse sensitivity (mm)	Explosive Mass (TNT equivalent) (g)	Ricochet
							0%	50%	100%
J.Gr.38	HE	240	38.0	0.1	0.5	8.6	79°	80°	81°
J.Gr.39 HI/A	HEAT	280	24.58	0.0	0.1	5.32	62°	69°	73°

Usage in battles

The Sturmpanzer has no air defence weapons, therefore partnering with an SPAA tank at the back of the map is a viable option. For those operators who prefer to close-range brawl with other low-tier tanks, then sticking with another tank is a good idea, mainly due to the long reload time, allowing your partner tank to help fend off any enemy advancers. It has the capability to knock out much higher battle rated tank, so if you're up-tiered, there is still a good chance of survival. However, it is imperative to get a shot off first, because if you come across a higher tier tank, there may not be a second chance. Stay on the move after firing, fall back to safety to reload and then reengage. Another tactic is to try facing down a street while partly undercover. The Sturmpanzer is a relatively small vehicle and many beginning players will not notice the tank, especially if only part of the vehicle is exposed. Patiently wait for an easy target to turn onto the street then fire before they realize where they are being fired from. It is critical to remember the shell drop of the tank cannon after being fired, compared to other tanks, the shell drop is significant over any distance. It is advisable to always fire just above where other tanks would typically target to allow for shell drop and hitting of the enemy vehicle were intended instead of lower than expected.

Due to the huge HE splash ability and sheer calibre of the gun, it can even be used to hull break high-rank IFVs - BMP-1s at 7.3 are especially common to encounter. It does the same thing to BMP-2s, M3 Bradleys, Warriors, Centauros, and many other vehicles. The HE splash, however, is strong enough that it can one-shot the light, but non-hull-breakable vehicles such as the M41A1 Bulldog, any AMX-13 variation, Crusaders in lower ranks, and many others. Purposely up-tiering it can be a very effective way to earn Silver Lions with the "God Mode!" award - destroying an enemy vehicle 5.0 BR ranks higher (BR 7.0+) than you which nets 20,000 Silver Lions.

Modules

Tier	Mobility		Protection	Firepower
I	Tracks		Parts	Horizontal Drive
II	Suspension	Brake System	FPE	Adjustment of Fire
III	Filters		Crew Replenishment	Elevation Mechanism
IV	Transmission	Engine

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Deadly HE with 65 mm penetration and 8.6 kg TNT filler destroys anything at its rank (eg. B1 bis, M5A1, T-50) or even in a purposely uptiered battle (eg. Leopard 1, AMX-30 or even the M1 Abrams)
• HEAT offers 185 mm penetration, posing a great threat against WW2 heavy targets like M4A3E2, IS-1, KV-1E, etc
• Adequate mobility: moderate top speed and fast hull traverse when driving allows it to deliver heavy blows from unexpected positions
• Low and small profile makes it easy to hide behind bushes or covers
• Can withstand a few hits on certain parts of frontal armour, which may bounce low-penetrating tanks like M16 MGMC or P.7.T AA

Cons:

• Very long reload means close-range combat is impossible without allied support, as it will be defenceless for around 20 seconds
• Quite hard to find a chance to fire: limited gun traverse and extremely curved trajectory means it's hard to track and hit moving/distant targets
• HE and HEAT get detonated by various obstacles like fences and brick walls, making some positions difficult to shoot from
• Poor survivability overall: thin armour can get penetrated by anything, especially heavy MG found on M16 MGMC, and the open top means it is vulnerable to strafing aircraft, nearby bombs and exploding artillery shells
• Very slow at turning on the spot, might not be able to get gun on target in time
• Although speed is decent, most opponents still outrun it easily, for example M5A1, T-50, M22

History

During the Battle of France, the 9 foot tall 15 cm sIG 33 (Sf) auf Panzerkampfwagen I Ausf B was found to be way too heavy and tall for the Panzer 1 chassis. So when Field Marshal Erwin Rommel needed SPGs were needed to support his armor in North Africa, methods for mounting the sIG 33 on the Panzer 2 were explored.

The first prototype was built on a plain Panzer 2 chassis but due to space issues it was widened and lengthened and an extra roadwheel was added. Another difference is that it used a Büssing-NAG L8V engine instead of the original Maybach HL62 TRM. 12 were built at the end of 1941 and were shipped off to Rommel the next year where they fought until the Axis surrender in Tunisia in 1943. The British found 6 abandoned and dismantled in a tank workshop.

Media

Images

• File:15cm slG 33 B Sfl.jpg

  15cm slG 33 B Sfl

Videos

The Shooting Range #40 - Metal Beasts section at 02:43 discusses the Sturmpanzer II.

See also

Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:

• reference to the series of the vehicles;
• links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.

External links

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• topic on the official game forum;
• encyclopedia page on the tank;
• other literature.