15cm sIG 33 B Sfl

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°

• J.Gr.38 (HE): This round is extremely powerful, and can destroy pretty much every tank at the same battle rating as the 15cm sIG 33 B Sfl. It requires only a hit on the tank, underneath it, or in close proximity to be effective. It completely ignores the armor of most tanks you will face, and is very good at destroying a tank in one shot. It is likely that you will knock out several crew members and/or detonate ammunition. The shell can also hull break lightly armored vehicles, such as SPAA.
• J.Gr.39 HI/A (HEAT): This round is effective, just as is the high-explosive round, but unless you are uptiering the vehicle, the HEAT round is likely a worse choice. It has more penetration, but that penetration is unlikely to be useful at this BR. Plus, the HEAT does not have near as much post-penetration damage as the HE round, meaning you may waste 2 shots on 1 tank, wheras the HE round may have knocked it out in 1 shot. As such, unless you are uptiering the tank you will not need HEAT, and you should probably only take a few rounds (if any), just in case you run across something like a B1 Bis. Note: The J.Gr.39 HI/A HEAT round can also hull break the lightly armored SPAA vehicles you will come across at this BR.

File:15cm sIG 33 B Sfl Ammo Racks.png

Locations of ammo racks in the 15cm sIG 33 B Sfl. The shell racks are in yellow and the propellant racks are in orange.

Ammo Racks

Full ammo	Ammo Part	1st rack empty	2nd rack empty	3rd rack empty	Visual discrepancy
18	Projectiles Propellants	9 (+9) 10 (+8)	5 (+13) 6 (+12)	0 (+18) 0 (+18)	No

How Much Ammo to Carry?

The most logical ammo loadout would probably either be 18 shells or 9 shells. 18 shells would be logical if you expect to be in the battle for a long time where you might run out of ammunition otherwise. If you don't expect to be firing as much or for as long, then you might consider taking only 9 shells. Taking only 9 shells also removes all the ammo from the right side of the tank, which could possibly save your life. 9 shells is probably the most balanced ammunition loadout in terms of survivability and endurance. Of course since this tank does not have a visual discrepancy you can take an amount of shells between 9 and 18 in order to partially (but not completely) deplete this first ammo rack. This would be useful if the user desires a longer firing time but still wishes for better survivability.

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.

Notable Opponents

B1 Bis: This is one of the few tanks that you will face while playing at your original BR. These tanks are heavily armored and much of their hulls can withstand a shot from your gun, even from the side. If you are facing one of these tanks, aim for the turret. The turret is one of the only places you can reliably do damage to the B1 Bis, and you can often get a 1 shot kill if you hit the turret. Note: The B1 Bis looks extremely similar to it's less well armored predecessor, the B1 Ter, and it can be incredibly hard to tell which variety it is except at closer ranges. If you can't tell which it is, just aim for the turret to be safe, but if it is a B1 Ter the hull is a viable option.

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

Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:

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