Difference between revisions of "StuH 42 G"

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== Description ==
 
== Description ==
''In the description, the first part needs to be about the history of the creation and combat usage of the vehicle, as well as its key features. In the second part, tell the reader about the ground vehicle in the game. Insert the screenshot of the vehicle. If the novice player does not remember the vehicle by name, they will immediately understand what kind of vehicle it is talking about.''
+
<!--''In the description, the first part needs to be about the history of the creation and combat usage of the vehicle, as well as its key features. In the second part, tell the reader about the ground vehicle in the game. Insert the screenshot of the vehicle. If the novice player does not remember the vehicle by name, they will immediately understand what kind of vehicle it is talking about.''-->
 +
[[File:GarageImage_StuH42G.jpg|420px|thumb|left]]
 +
{{break}}
 +
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 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 ==
 
== General info ==
 
=== Survivability and armour ===
 
=== Survivability and armour ===
''Describe armour protection. Note the most well protected and key weak areas. Appreciate the layout of modules as well as the number and location of crew members. Is the level of armour protection sufficient, is the placement of modules helpfull for survival in combat?''
+
<!--''Describe armour protection. Note the most well protected and key weak areas. Appreciate the layout of modules as well as the number and location of crew members. Is the level of armour protection sufficient, is the placement of modules helpfull for survival in combat?''
  
''If necessary use a visual template to indicate the most secure and weak zones of the armour.''
+
''If necessary use a visual template to indicate the most secure and weak zones of the armour.''-->
 +
'''Armour type:'''
 +
* Rolled homogeneous armour
 +
{| class="wikitable"
 +
|-
 +
! Armour !! Front (Slope angle) !! Sides !! Rear (Slope angle) !! Roof
 +
|-
 +
| Hull || 30 mm (86°), 80 mm (50°) ''Front glacis'' <br> 80 mm (19°) ''Lower glacis'' || 30 + 5 mm || 30 mm (77°) ''Tlop'' <br> 50 mm (15-42°) ''Middle'' <br> 50 mm ''Bottom'' || 16 mm
 +
|-
 +
| Superstructure || 80 mm (10-11°), 30 mm (50-69°) || 30 (9°) + 5 mm ''Left'' <br> 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 ===
''Write about the mobility of the ground vehicle. Estimate the specific power and maneuverability as well as the maximum speed forward and backward.''
+
<!--''Write about the mobility of the ground vehicle. Estimate the specific power and maneuverability as well as the maximum speed forward and backward.''-->
 +
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
 +
|-
 +
!colspan="3" | Mobility characteristic
 +
|-
 +
! Weight (tons)
 +
!colspan="1" | Add-on Armor<br>weight (tons)
 +
!colspan="1" | Max speed (km/h)
 +
|-
 +
|rowspan="2" | 23.9 || colspan="1" rowspan="2" | N/A || colspan="1" | 44 (AB)
 +
|-
 +
|40 (RB/SB)
 +
|-
 +
!colspan="3" | Engine power (horsepower)
 +
|-
 +
!colspan="1" | Mode
 +
!Stock
 +
!Upgraded
 +
|-
 +
|''Arcade''
 +
|426
 +
|525
 +
|-
 +
|''Realistic/Simulator''
 +
|265
 +
|300
 +
|-
 +
!colspan="3" | Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton)
 +
|-
 +
!colspan="1" | Mode
 +
!Stock
 +
!Upgraded
 +
|-
 +
|''Arcade''
 +
|17.82
 +
|21.97
 +
|-
 +
|''Realistic/Simulator''
 +
|11.09
 +
|12.55
 +
|-
 +
|}
  
 
== Armaments ==
 
== Armaments ==
 
=== Main armament ===
 
=== Main armament ===
''Give the reader information about the characteristics of the main gun. Assess its effectiveness in a battle based on the reloading speed, ballistics and the power of shells. Do not forget about the flexibilty of the fire, that is how quickly the cannon can be aimed at the target, open fire on it and aim at another enemy. Add a link to the main article on the gun: <code><nowiki>{{main|Name of the weapon}}</nowiki></code>. Describe in general terms the ammunition available for the main gun. Give advice on how to use them and how to fill the ammunition storage.''
+
<!--''Give the reader information about the characteristics of the main gun. Assess its effectiveness in a battle based on the reloading speed, ballistics and the power of shells. Do not forget about the flexibilty of the fire, that is how quickly the cannon can be aimed at the target, open fire on it and aim at another enemy. Add a link to the main article on the gun: <code><nowiki>{{main|Name of the weapon}}</nowiki></code>. Describe in general terms the ammunition available for the main gun. Give advice on how to use them and how to fill the ammunition storage.''-->
 +
{{main|StuH 42 (105 mm)}}
 +
 
 +
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
 +
|-
 +
! colspan="6" | [[StuH 42 (105 mm)|105 mm StuH 42]]
 +
|-
 +
! colspan="3" rowspan="1" style="width:5em" |Capacity
 +
! rowspan="1" | Vertical <br> guidance
 +
! rowspan="1" | Horizontal <br> guidance
 +
! rowspan="1" | Stabilizer
 +
|-
 +
| colspan="3" | 36 || -6°/+20° || ±10° || N/A
 +
|-
 +
! colspan="6" | Turret rotation speed (°/s)
 +
|-
 +
! style="width:4em" |Mode
 +
! style="width:4em" |Stock
 +
! style="width:4em" |Upgraded
 +
! style="width:4em" |Prior + Full crew
 +
! style="width:4em" |Prior + Expert qualif.
 +
! style="width:4em" |Prior + Ace qualif.
 +
|-
 +
| ''Arcade'' || 7.1 || 9.9 || __.__ || __.__ || __.__
 +
|-
 +
| ''Realistic'' || 7.1 || 8.4 || __.__ || __.__ || __.__
 +
|-
 +
! colspan="4" | Reloading rate (seconds)
 +
|-
 +
! colspan="1" style="width:4em" |Stock
 +
! colspan="1" style="width:4em" |Prior + Full crew
 +
! colspan="1" style="width:4em" |Prior + Expert qualif.
 +
! colspan="1" style="width:4em" |Prior + Ace qualif.
 +
|-
 +
| 13.0 || __.__ || __.__ || __.__
 +
|-
 +
|}
  
=== Additional armament ===
+
===== Ammunition =====
''Some tanks are armed with several guns in one or more turrets. Evaluate the additional weaponry and give advice on its use. Describe the ammunition available for additional weaponry. Give advice on how to use them and how to fill the ammunition storage. If there is no additional weaponry remove this subsection.''
+
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
 +
! colspan="8" | Penetration statistics
 +
|-
 +
! rowspan="2" data-sort-type="text" | Ammunition
 +
! rowspan="2" class="unsortable" | Type of <br /> warhead
 +
! colspan="6" | '''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
 +
|-
 +
|}
 +
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
 +
! colspan="11" | Shell details
 +
|-
 +
! rowspan="2" data-sort-type="text" | Ammunition
 +
! rowspan="2" class="unsortable" | Type of <br /> warhead
 +
! rowspan="2" |Velocity <br /> in m/s
 +
! rowspan="2" |Projectile<br />Mass in kg
 +
! rowspan="2" | ''Fuse delay''
 +
''in m:''
 +
! rowspan="2" | ''Fuse sensitivity''
 +
''in mm:''
 +
! rowspan="2" | ''Explosive Mass in g<br /> (TNT equivalent):''
 +
! rowspan="2" | ''Normalization At 30° <br> from horizontal:''
 +
! colspan="3" | ''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°
 +
|-
 +
|}
  
=== Machine guns ===
+
=====Shell types=====
''Offensive and anti-aircraft machine guns not only allow you to fight some aircraft, but also are effective against lightly armoured vehicles. Evaluate machine guns and give recommendations on its use.''
+
* '''PzGr ''' - Armour Piercing High Explosive - This is your main ammo type, use it whenever you think it has enough penetration to penetrate your target.
 +
* '''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 if you penetrate-99% of the time will result in kill
 +
* '''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 between you and your enemy. 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 you'll need them.
 +
 
 +
===== [[Ammo racks|Ammo racks]] =====
 +
[[File:Ammoracks_StuH42G.png|right|thumbnail|x250px|[[Ammo Racks|Ammo racks]] of the StuH 42.]]
 +
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"
 +
|-
 +
! class="wikitable unsortable" |Full<br /> ammo
 +
! class="wikitable unsortable" |Ammo<br/>Part
 +
! class="wikitable unsortable" |1st<br />  rack empty
 +
! class="wikitable unsortable" |2nd<br />  rack empty
 +
! class="wikitable unsortable" |3rd<br />  rack empty
 +
! class="wikitable unsortable" |Visual<br /> discrepancy
 +
|-
 +
|| '''36''' || style="text-align:right" | ''Projectiles''<br />''Propellants'' || 25&nbsp;''(+11)''<br />31&nbsp;''(+5)'' || 19&nbsp;''(+17)''<br />7&nbsp;''(+29)'' || 13&nbsp;''(+23)''<br />1&nbsp;''(+35)'' || style="text-align:left" | No
 +
|-
 +
|}
 +
 
 +
Left side empty: 19&nbsp;''(+17)''
  
 
== Usage in the battles ==
 
== Usage in the battles ==
''Describe the tactics of playing in the vehicle, the features of using vehicles in the team and advice on tactics. Refrain from creating a "guide" - do not impose a single point of view but give the reader food for thought. Describe the most dangerous enemies and give recommendations on fighting them. If necessary, note the specifics of the game in different modes (AB, RB, SB).''
+
<!--''Describe the tactics of playing in the vehicle, the features of using vehicles in the team and advice on tactics. Refrain from creating a "guide" - do not impose a single point of view but give the reader food for thought. Describe the most dangerous enemies and give recommendations on fighting them. If necessary, note the specifics of the game in different modes (AB, RB, SB).''-->
 +
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 your sides and rear are covered, and that you have 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 you fire, you need 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 your opponents are distracted by other threats, and won't turn their unwanted attention to you too soon.
 +
 
 +
Lastly - know your ammo and its characteristics - know what you can penetrate and what you can't - try to plan your moves and pick your opponents. Don't recklessly run face-to-face into a KV-1 tank, which is almost invulnerable to your 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 you see will be reasonably deadly, 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 deadly 57mm 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 deadly at close range. Its armour is quite hard to crack, especially with a howitzer. The M3 Lee carries a similar 75mm gun as the [[M4 Sherman]], which is deadly 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 and cons ===
''Summarize and briefly evaluate the vehicle in terms of its characteristics and combat effectiveness. Mark its pros and cons in a bulleted list. Do not use more than 6 points for each of the characteristics. Avoid using categorical definitions such as "bad", "good" and the like - they have a substitution in the form of softer "inadequate", "effective".''
+
<!--''Summarize and briefly evaluate the vehicle in terms of its characteristics and combat effectiveness. Mark its pros and cons in a bulleted list. Do not use more than 6 points for each of the characteristics. Avoid using categorical definitions such as "bad", "good" and the like - they have a substitution in the form of softer "inadequate", "effective".''-->
 
 
 
'''Pros:'''
 
'''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 devestating 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 your 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 kill another StuH, simply shoot the thin sheet of metal sticking out of the top with HE.
 
'''Cons:'''
 
'''Cons:'''
*
+
* 105 mm howitzer performance lacking compared to [[7,5cm_KwK_40|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 ==
 
== History ==
''Describe the history of the creation and combat usage of the ground vehicle in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too big, take it to a separate article, taking a link to an article about the vehicle and adding a block "/historical reference" (example: https://wiki.warthunder.com/Name-vehicles/historical reference) and add a link to it here using the <code>main</code> template. Be sure to include links to sources at the end of the article.''
+
<!--''Describe the history of the creation and combat usage of the ground vehicle in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too big, take it to a separate article, taking a link to an article about the vehicle and adding a block "/historical reference" (example: https://wiki.warthunder.com/Name-vehicles/historical reference) and add a link to it here using the <code>main</code> template. Be sure to include links to sources at the end of the article.''-->
 +
===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 [[Sturmgeschütz III Ausf. A|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 1941|T-34]] and the [[KV-1 L-11|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 ''[[Sturmgeschütz III Ausf. F|StuG III Ausf. F]]'' and ''[[Sturmgeschütz III Ausf. G|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.
  
 
== Media ==
 
== Media ==
Line 51: Line 252:
 
* ''topic on the official game forum;''
 
* ''topic on the official game forum;''
 
* ''other literature.''
 
* ''other literature.''
 +
 +
{{Germany tank destroyers}}

Revision as of 16:15, 19 November 2018

VTOL | Rank 5 USA
AV-8A Harrier Pack
germ_stuh_iii_ausf_g.png
StuH 42 G
AB RB SB
3.0 3.0 3.0
Research:4 600 Specs-Card-Exp.png
Purchase:16 000 Specs-Card-Lion.png
Show in game

Description

GarageImage StuH 42 G.jpg


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 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

Main article: StuH 42 (105 mm)
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 your main ammo type, use it whenever you think it has enough penetration to penetrate your target.
  • 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 if you penetrate-99% of the time will result in kill
  • 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 between you and your enemy. 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 you'll need them.
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)
(+29)
13 (+23)
(+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 your sides and rear are covered, and that you have 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 you fire, you need 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 your opponents are distracted by other threats, and won't turn their unwanted attention to you too soon.

Lastly - know your ammo and its characteristics - know what you can penetrate and what you can't - try to plan your moves and pick your opponents. Don't recklessly run face-to-face into a KV-1 tank, which is almost invulnerable to your 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 you see will be reasonably deadly, 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 deadly 57mm 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 deadly at close range. Its armour is quite hard to crack, especially with a howitzer. The M3 Lee carries a similar 75mm gun as the M4 Sherman, which is deadly 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 devestating 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 your 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 kill 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.

Media

An excellent addition to the article will be video guides, as well as screenshots from the game and photos.

Read 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.

ETC.

Sources

Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:

  • topic on the official game forum;
  • other literature.


Germany tank destroyers
Pz. I Derivatives  Panzerjäger I
Pz. II Derivatives  15cm sIG 33 B Sfl
Pz. 38(t) Derivatives  Marder III · Marder III H · Jagdpanzer 38(t)
Pz. III Derivatives  StuG III A · StuG III F · StuG III G · StuH 42 G
Pz. IV Derivatives  Jagdpanzer IV · Panzer IV/70(A) · Panzer IV/70(V) · Dicker Max · Nashorn · Brummbär · VFW
Pz. V Derivatives  Jagdpanther G1 · Bfw. Jagdpanther G1
Pz. VI Derivatives  Sturer Emil · Elefant · Ferdinand · 38 cm Sturmmörser · Jagdtiger
Wheeled/Half-track  8,8 cm Flak 37 Sfl. · Sd.Kfz.251/9 · Sd.Kfz.251/10 · Sd.Kfz.251/22 · Sd.Kfz.234/3 · Sd.Kfz.234/4 · 15 cm Pz.W.42
ATGM Carrier  RakJPz 2 · RakJPz 2 (HOT) · Wiesel 1A2
Other  Waffenträger · M109G · JPz 4-5 · Raketenautomat · VT1-2