Assault gun - a combat vehicle to accompany military offensives of infantry and tanks. It was widely used during the Second World War, as it provided good cover from enemy fire attacks, although it also had disadvantages, in particular, difficulties in changing the direction of fire.
German guns
The world's first assault gun belonged to Germany. The Wehrmacht was going to create a combat vehicle with the following characteristics:
- high firepower;
- small dimensions;
- good booking;
- opportunity for cheap production.
Designers of various firms have made great efforts to fulfill the task of management. It was possible to solve the problem of the automotive company "Daimler-Benz". The created assault gun of the Wehrmacht proved itself well in long-range combat, but was practically useless against armored tanks, so it was subsequently subjected to a number of improvements.
Sturmtigr
Another name for the German self-propelled assault gun is "SturmpanzerVI". It was converted from linear tanks and was used from 1943 until the end of the war. A total of 18 such vehicles were created, since they were effective only in urban combat, which made them highly specialized. In addition, there were interruptions in the supply of the Sturmtigr ".
For efficient operation, the machine required the coordinated work of five crew members:
- driver in charge;
- gunner-radio operator;
- commander, combining his tasks with the function of a gunner;
- two loaders.
Since the shells weighed up to 350 kg, and the kit included 12-14 units of these heavy ammunition, the rest of the crew helped loaders. The design of the vehicle assumed a firing range of up to 4.4 km.
Brumber
Before the first development of assault weapons, it was supposed to create a 120-ton vehicle with a 305 mm cannon and a 130 mm armor layer, which exceeded the value that existed at that time by more than 2.5 times. The installation was supposed to have the name "Ber", which in translation sounds like "bear". The project was never implemented, but later, after the creation of "Sturmtigr", they returned to it again.
Still, the released car was far from the original plans. The gun was 150 mm, the firing range was only 4.3 km, and the thickness of the armor was not enough to withstand anti-tank artillery. From called "Brumber" (intranslated from the German "grizzly bear") the car had to be abandoned.
Ferdinand
The assault gun, which is one of the most powerful tank destroyers, was the "Elephant" (translated as "elephant"). But more often its other name is used, namely "Ferdinand". A total of 91 such machines were produced, but this did not stop her from becoming perhaps the most famous. She was invulnerable to enemy artillery, but the lack of a machine gun made her defenseless against infantry. The firing range, depending on the shells used, varied from 1.5 to 3 km.
Often "Ferdinand" was included in the brigade of assault guns, including up to 45 pieces of equipment. In fact, the whole creation of the brigade consisted in renaming the divisions. At the same time, numbers, personnel and other important characteristics were preserved.
The Soviet Union managed to capture 8 combat vehicles of this type, but none of them were used directly in battle, as each was in a badly damaged condition. The installations were used for research purposes: several of them were shot to check the armor of German equipment and the effectiveness of new Soviet weapons, others were dismantled to study the design, and then disposed of as scrap metal.
Ferdinand is associated with the maximum number of myths and misconceptions. Some sources claim that there were several hundred copies, and they were used everywhere. In others, on the contrary, the authors believe that they were used in battles on the territory of the USSRno more than two times, after which they were transferred to Italy to protect themselves from the Anglo-American army.
In addition, there is a misconception that guns and SU-152 were used to combat this machine, while in fact mines, grenades and field artillery were used for this purpose.
Currently, there are two Ferdinands in the world: one is stored in the Russian armored museum, and the other at the American training ground.
"Ferdinand" and "Elephant"
Despite the fact that both names were official, it is more correct from a historical point of view to call a car of this type, which appeared first, "Ferdinand", and "Elephant" - modernized. Improvements took place at the beginning of 1944 and mainly consisted of a machine gun and a turret, as well as an improvement in observation devices. However, there is still a myth that "Ferdinand" is an unofficial name.
Stug III
The Sturmgeschütz III assault gun belonged to medium-weight vehicles and was considered the most effective, as it helped to destroy more than 20,000 enemy tanks. In the Soviet Union, it was called "Art-Sturm" and they practiced capturing the installation in order to manufacture their combat vehicles on its basis.
The Stug assault gun had 10 modifications with different designs of key elements and the degree of armor, which made it suitable for battles in various conditions. The range of a direct shot was from 620 to 1200 meters, the maximum - 7, 7km.
Italian guns
Other countries became interested in the developments of Germany. Italy, realizing that its weapons were outdated, created an analogue of the German assault gun, and then improved its power. So the country has increased the combat capability of its army.
The most famous Italian self-propelled artillery mounts belonged to the Semovente series:
- 300 vehicles 47/32, created in 1941 on the basis of a light tank with an open cabin roof;
- 467 75/18 mounts produced from 1941 to 1944 based on light tanks equipped with a 75 mm cannon, which had three modifications with different engines;
- unknown exact number 75/46 with two machine guns and capacity for 3 crew members;
- 30 90/53 guns, commissioned in 1943, accommodating a crew of 4;
- 90 vehicles 105/25, created in 1943, designed for a crew of 3.
The most popular model was 75/18.
Semovente da 75/18
A successful Italian development was a light assault gun. Moreover, it was developed on the basis of an outdated tank and had three modifications with engines of different power, running on diesel or gasoline.
It was successfully used until the surrender of Italy, after which it continued to be produced, but already as an assault gun of the Wehrmacht. The firing range was up to 12, 1 km. To date, 2 copies of Semovente have survived, they are stored in the military museums of France and Spain.
The guns of the Soviet Union
The top leadership of the USSR also appreciated the effectiveness of new items and took steps to create a similar assault gun. But the need for the production of tanks was more acute due to the evacuation of the factories producing them, so work on new combat vehicles was postponed. However, in 1942, Soviet designers managed to create two new items at once in the shortest possible time - a medium and a heavy assault gun. Subsequently, the release of the first type was suspended, and then completely discontinued. But the development of the second was in full swing, since it was very effective for destroying enemy tanks.
Su-152
At the beginning of 1943, the heavy installation of the Soviet Union proved to be an effective fighter for the enemy's armored weapons. 670 vehicles were built on the basis of the Soviet tank. Production ceased due to the withdrawal of the prototype. Nevertheless, a certain number of guns survived until the end of the war and were even in service after the victory. But later, almost all copies were disposed of as scrap metal. Only three installations of this type have been preserved in Russian museums.
Direct fire machine hit targets at a distance of 3, 8 km, the maximum could shoot at 13 km.
There is a misconception that the development of the Su-152 was a response to the appearance of the heavy Tiger tank in Germany, but this is not true, since the shells used for the Soviet gun could not completely defeat this German vehicle.
ISU-152
The decommissioning of the base for the SU-152 led to the emergence of a new improved assault gun. The tank taken as its basis was the IS (named after Joseph Stalin), and the caliber of the main armament was indicated by the index 152, which is why the installation was called the ISU-152. Its firing range corresponded to that of the SU-152.
The new vehicle received special significance towards the end of the war, when it was used in almost every battle. Several copies were captured by Germany, and one by Finland. In Russia, the tool was unofficially called St. John's wort, in Germany - a can opener.
The ISU-152 could be used for three purposes:
- like a heavy assault machine;
- as an enemy tank destroyer;
- as a self-propelled fire support for the army.
Nevertheless, in each of these roles, the ISU had serious competitors, so it was eventually withdrawn from service. Now many copies of this combat vehicle have been preserved, stored in various museums.
SU-76
In the USSR, light installations were also produced, created on the basis of the corresponding T-40 tanks. The most mass production was typical for the SU-76, used to destroy light and medium tanks. The assault gun, made in the amount of 14 thousand units, had armor against bullets.
There were four options. They differed in the location of the engines or the presence or absence of armoredroofs.
A simple and versatile machine had both advantages in the form of being equipped with a good cannon, a maximum firing range exceeding 13 km, ease of maintenance, reliability, low noise, high cross-country ability and a convenient cutting device, as well as disadvantages, consisting in the fire hazard of the engine running on gasoline, and an insufficient degree of reservation. When attacking tanks with an armor thickness of 100 mm, it was practically useless.
SU-85 and SU-100
The T-34 tank was the most mass-produced vehicle during World War II. Based on it, the SU-85 and SU-100 were created with a higher caliber of shells.
SU-85 was the first gun that could really compete with German technology. Released in the middle of 1943, it was medium in weight and did an excellent job of destroying enemy medium tanks at a distance of more than a kilometer and well-armored ones at a distance of 500 meters. At the same time, the car was maneuverable and developed sufficient speed. Closed cabin and increased armor thickness protected the crew from enemy fire.
For 2 years, almost two and a half thousand SU-85s were produced, which make up the main part of the artillery of the Soviet Union. The SU-100 came to replace it only at the beginning of 1945. She successfully resisted tanks with the most powerful armor, and she herself was well protected from enemy guns. Worked great in urban combat. Being modernized, it existed among the weapons of the USSR for several decades after the victory, and in suchcountries like Algeria, Morocco, Cuba, remained in the XXI century.
Main differences
Since the development of Italian and Soviet designers was carried out after the creation of the installation in Germany, all machines classified as assault weapons have great similarities. In particular, the same type of layout, in which the conning tower is located in the bow, and the engine is in the stern.
However, Soviet technology was different from German and Italian. The transmission in it was located in the aft, from which it followed that the gearbox and other important components were located immediately behind the frontal armor. And in foreign-made cars, the transmission was in front, and its units were closer to the central part.
Developing the construction of military equipment, countries tried to get a vehicle with maximum armor-piercing and its own protection, the most speedy and maneuverable. This was achieved by installing guns designed for projectiles of various calibers, varying engine power and the type of fuel used, and increasing the thickness of the frontal armor layer. There was no universal machine, ideally suited to the conditions of any battle, and could not, but the designers made every effort to make the machines the best in their class.
