StuH 42 G

StuH 42 G

Marder III H

StuG III F

StuH 42 G

Marder III H

StuG III F

Germany

II Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
3.0	3.0	3.0

Class:

Tank destroyer

Research:4 600

Purchase:16 000

Show in game

Description

The Sturmhaubitze 42 Ausf. G (or just StuH 42 Ausf. G) is a rank II German tank destroyer with a battle rating of 3.0 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update 1.49 "Weapons of Victory". The StuH 42 is essentially a StuG III G with a 10,5 cm howitzer.

While the StuH 42 bears much resemblance to the StuG III F and StuG III G, its play style is much, much different. While StuG is most effective at medium to long range combat, StuH is much more suitable for close to very close range.

The reason is its gun - it is equipped with a large 10.5 cm howitzer. This gun has much lower penetration and shell velocity than that of StuG, but it can cause crippling damage with a single hit. Therefore, to be effective, StuH has to come very close to their opponents, to be able to hit their weakest parts of armour. Fortunately, its armour is reasonably good, at 80mm, and good mobility of Panzer III chassis now becomes even more useful.

General info

Survivability and armour

Armour type:

• Rolled homogeneous armour

Armour	Front (Slope angle)	Sides	Rear (Slope angle)	Roof
Hull	30 mm (86°), 80 mm (50°) Front glacis 80 mm (19°) Lower glacis	30 + 5 mm	30 mm (77°) Tlop 50 mm (15-42°) Middle 50 mm Bottom	16 mm
Superstructure	80 mm (10-11°), 30 mm (50-69°)	30 (9°) + 5 mm Left 30 (11°) + 5 mm Right	30 mm	11 mm
Armour	Sides	Roof
Cupola	50 mm	11 mm

Notes:

• Suspension wheels are 15 mm thick while tracks are 20 mm thick.
• Sides of the tank are covered by additional 5 mm thick armour plates, protecting the tank against HEAT and HE shells, as well as reducing damage from nearby explosions.
• Some areas of the front armour are still only 30 mm thick. With a bit of luck they can be penetrated even by much weaker guns
• Belly armour is 30 mm thick.

Mobility

Mobility characteristic
Weight (tons)	Add-on Armor weight (tons)	Max speed (km/h)
23.9	N/A	44 (AB)
		40 (RB/SB)
Engine power (horsepower)
Mode	Stock	Upgraded
Arcade	426	525
Realistic/Simulator	265	300
Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton)
Mode	Stock	Upgraded
Arcade	17.82	21.97
Realistic/Simulator	11.09	12.55

Armaments

Main armament

105 mm StuH 42
Capacity			Vertical guidance	Horizontal guidance	Stabilizer
36			-6°/+20°	±10°	N/A
Turret rotation speed (°/s)
Mode	Stock	Upgraded	Prior + Full crew	Prior + Expert qualif.	Prior + Ace qualif.
Arcade	7.1	9.9	__.__	__.__	__.__
Realistic	7.1	8.4	__.__	__.__	__.__
Reloading rate (seconds)
Stock	Prior + Full crew	Prior + Expert qualif.	Prior + Ace qualif.
13.0	__.__	__.__	__.__

Ammunition

Penetration statistics
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Penetration in mm @ 90°
		10m	100m	500m	1000m	1500m	2000m
PzGr	APHE	85	84	79	73	68	63
F.H.Gr.	HE	22	22	22	22	22	22
Gr.39 rot HI/B	HEAT	105	105	105	105	105	105
Gr.39 rot HI/C	HEAT	115	115	115	115	115	115

Shell details
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Velocity in m/s	Projectile Mass in kg	Fuse delay in m:	Fuse sensitivity in mm:	Explosive Mass in g (TNT equivalent):	Normalization At 30° from horizontal:	Ricochet:
								0%	50%	100%
PzGr	APHE	475	14	0.8	28	238	-1°	47°	60°	75°
F.H.Gr.	HE	472	15	0.1	0.1	1,750	+0°	79°	80°	81°
Gr.39 rot HI/B	HEAT	495	12	0.0	0.1	2,530	+0°	62°	69°	73°
Gr.39 rot HI/C	HEAT	495	12	0.0	0.1	2,550	+0°	62°	69°	73°

Shell types

• PzGr - Armour Piercing High Explosive - This is the main ammo type, use it whenever it has enough power to penetrate the target, as the explosive filler can make short work of a tank interior.
• FHGr - High Explosive round - Another very useful kind of ammo, can obliterate any unarmoured SPAAA vehicles or reserve tanks. But if used correctly can be quite effective even against very well armoured tanks - shoot them at the lower part of the turret front, or cupolas - explosion of the shell can then penetrate the deck/roof armour of the tank and cause extensive damage. It also often knocks out the gun and optics. Most penetrations will result in a knock-out 99% of the time.
• HI.Gr.38B - Cumulative Anti-Armour round - This one should be just skipped, it has no advantage over the better HI.Gr.38C.
• HI.Gr.38C - Cumulative Anti-Armour round - This shell has the highest penetration, but it is generally advised to not use it, as its damage effects are vastly inferior to both APHE and HE shells. They are also prone to detonate prematurely on spaced armour, or some debris in the flight trajectory. Their advantage is that they bounce less from sloped armour, and if they hit Fuel Tank or Ammorack, they usually detonate them reliably. Lastly, they don't lose any penetration over distance - carry only few of them in case they are needed.

Ammo racks

Ammo racks of the StuH 42.

Full ammo	Ammo Part	1st rack empty	2nd rack empty	3rd rack empty	Visual discrepancy
36	Projectiles Propellants	25 (+11) 31 (+5)	19 (+17) 7 (+29)	13 (+23) 1 (+35)	No

Left side empty: 19 (+17)

Usage in the battles

This vehicle is quite difficult to play because of its gun characteristics - it is forced to come closer to the battlefield, reducing effectiveness of its armour and risk being flanked. Therefore, it is recommended to never travel alone, always make sure the sides and rear are covered, and that there is some sort of solid cover to hide to during reloading. Its main role is either ambusher - waiting at favourable location for some unlucky enemy to come, or a direct support vehicle, helping other front line tanks deal with threat. Usage of hit & run tactics is a must, after firing it will take almost 19 seconds to reload, always get behind cover after each shot.

Careful TD-style flanking is good idea as well, for the StuH it is no problem to quickly turn, move around a building and fire a devastating shot at its opponent's rear. But be very cautious when doing this, make sure the opponents are distracted by other threats, and won't turn their unwanted attention to the StuH too soon.

Lastly - know the ammo and its characteristics - know what the 105 mm can penetrate and what it can't - try to plan the maneuvers and pick targets. Don't recklessly run face-to-face into a KV-1 tank, which is almost invulnerable to the gun. While certain shells are effective against various targets, switching them during combat is very problematic, because of its extremely slow reload speed.

With its battle rating at 3.0 (all game modes), it will generally face early vehicles of late Rank I and early Rank II. The battle rating puts the StuH in a bit of a weird position; there are few tanks at that BR and therefore it is likely to be uptiered or downtiered. In an uptier, even to 3.3, most of the guns encountered will be reasonably dangerous, as most of them can penetrate between 90 and 100 mm of armour, versus the ~80 mm from the howitzer. However, in a downtier, there are five main enemies to look out for: ZiS-30, SU-76M, Char B1, M3 Lee and Crusader Mk III. The ZiS-30 has an extremely potent 57 mm gun, which is potent up to Rank III (!). The SU-76M has a (relatively) large 76mm cannon, which more or less acts the same way as T-34 cannons. The Char B1's 75mm is of most concern, but the 47mm is also powerful at close range. Its armour is quite hard to crack, especially with a howitzer. The M3 Lee carries a similar 75 mm gun as the M4 Sherman, which is dangerous from the front. The Crusader Mk. III's 57mm cannon isn't as powerful as the ZiS-30's, but still packs quite a punch.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• 105 mm howitzer with a variety of ammunition to use
• Rather useful HE shell against thin roof armour or hull-break vehicles
• APHE provides large amount of HE filler for devastating post-pen damage
• HEAT rounds provide extra penetration power in cases of heavily armoured enemies
• Gun has kind of a "fear factor", enemies often won't risk being hit by the 105 mm gun and back off from combat
• Good frontal armour of 80 mm & low silhouette
• Good mobility to get around the battlefield and into position
• Very easy to destroy another StuH, simply shoot the thin sheet of metal sticking out of the top with HE

Cons:

• 105 mm howitzer performance lacking compared to 75 mm StuK 40 in penetration even with HEAT
• HEAT damage lacking compared to APHE, trading off significant post-pen for penetration
• Low reload speed, maximum of 13 seconds
• Low accuracy (even at close range) makes weak spot targeting harder
• Low gun depression of -6°
• Very low shell velocity, less than 500 m/s
• If the loader dies, the vehicle's reload rate decreases dramatically and the StuH becomes rather useless in combat
• Huge ammo rack on the right side of the tank (and loader behind it) - clever players will often target this area
• Lack of a turret means reacting to flanking enemies is harder
• Cupola and machine gun shield on superstructure roof are weak points that can be targeted with HE to penetrate through the 11 mm roof top

History

Development

The role of a self-propelled gun came from combat experiences in World War I. During the German offensives on the Allied front, infantry lacked artillery support against fortifications in places out-ranged by their heavy artillery behind the lines. A need for a mobile artillery piece was necessary to keep up with the German infantry and fight enemy fortifications with a direct-fire assault role. The father of this concept was German General Erich von Manstein and was coined as the Sturmartillerie (assault artillery), and these units were to be embedded in infantry divisions.

The result of this concept was a vehicle known as the StuG III, a vehicle built on the Panzer III chassis that fits the role of a support vehicle in the artillery branch. It was meant to give close support to advancing infantry against fortifications or other lightly armoured oppositions. As such, it was initially armed with a 75 mm StuK 37 L/24 howitzer. However, as World War II progressed, the appearance of newer and better tanks such as the T-34 and the KV-1 tanks forced the Germans to upgun their existing StuG IIIs in order to be able to combat these tanks. This resulted in the StuG III design being armed with a 75 mm StuK 40 L/43 and L/48 cannon in the StuG III Ausf. F and Ausf. G respectively, turning the design into something of a tank destroyer.

StuH 42 Ausf. G

The StuG III designs are now bona fide tank destroyer, but an infantry support role was still needed from these assault gun to support the advancing infantry. In 1942, some StuG III Ausf. F were equipped with the 105 mm leFH 18 howizter rather than the usual 75 mm cannons. This variant was designated the StuH 42 (Sturmhaubitze 42, or "assault howitzer") and was meant to support the infantry with heavier artillery power than the 75 mm could provide. The StuH 42 was made from the StuG III Ausf. G chassis (though the first 12 were built on refurbished StuG Fs). About 1,300 of these StuH 42 were built between March 1943 to 1945.

In-game description

The final and most mass-produced variant of the Sturmgeschütz III. These guns began to be released in December 1942 and continued to be made until the end of the war. With these modifications, the designation of production models was changed to StuG.40 Ausf. G. The design of their conning tower was different from that of previous variants. The tower was wider, and extended halfway over both of the vehicle's treads. A commander's cupola was installed, which greatly improved the gun commander's view and required an increase in the emplacement's height, up to 2,160 mm. The ballistic protection of the gunner's sight was also improved.

The first series of this assault gun still had 50 mm of forward armor, but by the summer of 1943 this had been reinforced by additional plates 30 mm thick. From May 1943 onward, the vehicles were fitted with Schurzen side skirts as a means of protection against high-explosive anti-tank shells and anti-tank rifle bullets. From August 1943 to September 1944, the assault guns were coated with an anti-magnetic Zimmerit paste. Some sources claim the paste could make shells ricochet off, but it was probably applied to counter magnetic mines.

Vehicles manufactured before October 1943 had a commander's cupola which could rotate, as it was mounted on ball bearings. However, due to a lack of ball bearings, the cupola began to be welded on in September 1943 and following. From August 1944 to the end of the war, the self-propelled assault guns once again had rotating commander's cupolas.

In 1944, the troops began to receive assault guns with remote-controlled machine guns to fight against infantry, in addition to a new, streamlined gun mantlet. The characteristic outline of this mantlet received the name Saukopfblende.

By the end of the war, the companies Alkett and MIAG had built 7,834 StuG.40 Ausf. G assault guns. The overall quality of the armament and armor of this assault gun made it a frequent winner in battles against allied tanks.

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Sources

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