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 do 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.

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:

• Has the most powerful gun in the game at its rank
• Excels when up-tiered, only starts to become obsolete when newer main battle tanks arrive
• Can survive hits it will take from rank 1 tanks
• Can make a fair turn at speed when driving along
• Low profile and small front make it easy to hide and easy to camouflage with bushes
• Speedy for its size and gun caliber
• Can withstand a few blows on the front armour

Cons:

• Reload means it is inadequate for close-range combat without allied support
• HE and HEAT are both stopped by various soft debris found on most maps such as fences, concrete blocks, brick walls, wood objects, etc.
• Open-topped and very vulnerable to aircraft as a result
• Very slow at turning
• Limited firing arc
• Easily penetrated and immobilized by machine guns (M2, M3A1, etc) and also the guns of light tanks
• When firing gives significant recoil
• Almost certain you will be destroyed if flanked by enemy without allied support

History

During the Battle of France, the 15 cm sIG 33 (Sf) auf Panzerkampfwagen I Ausf B was found to be too heavy for the Panzer 1 chassis, as well as being a massive 9 feet tall, 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, and 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;
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