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Posted on 04/13/2004 12:00:40 AM PDT by SAMWolf
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 are acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated.
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StuG III, StuH and StuG IV  In view of their experiences in WW I the German Army demanded some mobile form of armored artillery which could accompany and support the infantry. The vehicle should be able to eliminate strong points and other obstacles by direct fire, notably during the period in a battle when the conventional supporting artillery was otherwise engaged or could not be brought into action due to moving up. The vehicle should be armed with a 77mm gun on a maneuverable fully-tracked vehicle, with vehicle and weapon partly protected by armor. These attempts were halted in 1932 because other plans for motorizing the Army seemed more pressing.  A prototype vehicle of the "O" series with two round access hatches in the nose A memorandum submitted in 1935 to General Beck, the Chief of General Staff, by Colonel Erich von Manstein, suggested to revive the concept of the infantry Begleitbatterien (escort batteries). He indicated the need for an armored self-propelled gun to work under infantry control, the tactical employment and the nature of the weapon itself: "Assault artillery fights as escort artillery within the framework of the infantry. It does not attack like the tank, does not break through, but carries the attack of the infantry forward by quickly eliminating the most dangerous objectives through direct fire. It does not fight in large numbers like the tank units, but is normally employed at platoon strength. The platoon, or even the individual gun, makes a surprise appearance in and then quickly vanishes before it can become a target for enemy artillery. The gun must be able to take enemy machinegun emplacements out of action with a few rounds. It must also be able to knock out enemy tanks; in comparison to them it has inferior armor, but a superior ability to observe and shoot first."  A StuG III Ausf. A in Holland, 1940, with the initial drive sprocket and rear idler Five prototype vehicles were built in 1937, mounting the same short-barreled 75mm L/24 howitzer fitted to the PzKpfw IV in a limited traverse mounting on the modified chassis of the PzKpfw III Ausf. B. Constructed of soft steel, these vehicles of the "O" series were unsuitable for combat but helped developing the initial production version, the StuG III Ausf. A. The nomenclature adopted was a blend of the parent tank and the gun which was mounted (e.g. StuG III mit 7.5cm Kanone, implying a modified PzKpfw III chassis with a 75mm gun). The chassis nose plates, gun mantlet and frontal armor of the superstructure were 50mm thick, which was sufficient protection against the antitank guns of that time. The gunner's sight required a small opening in the front plate, and the fan-shaped cutout in front of the opening had bullet deflectors to deflect bullets and fragments. Production started in 1940 and 30 vehicles were made before the campaign in the west in 1940. They performed successfully in Holland and France, destroying pill-boxes, machinegun nests and antitank guns.  A StuG III Ausf B with old drive sprocket and rear idler The assault guns were crewed by artillerymen, since the infantry had difficulties with the necessary technical and logistic infrastructure to maintain the guns in the field, while the Panzertruppen were afraid of interference with tank production. The crew consisted of the commander (called a Geschützführer, or gun leader), a loader, the gunner and a driver. Their uniforms, although cut in the style of the Panzerbesatzungen (tank crews), were German fieldgrey, not black. Their branch colour was the red of the artillery. During initial gunnery trials the assault gun crews performed better than their tank counterparts, being quicker onto the target and using less ammunition to destroy it.  A StuG III Ausf B with wider tracks In the autumn of 1940 an improved chassis with replaced transmission and engine resulted in the Ausf. B. During production of the Ausf. B the 36cm wide track was replaced by a 40cm wide track, making it necessary to fit new drive sprockets and rear idlers. Early 1941 the Ausf. C was introduced, later followed by the Ausf. D which had some internal changes. The Ausf. C and D had an altered superstructure with a single or binocular gunner's sight now mounted in the roof, eliminating the weak point in the frontal armor. The front, side and driver's roof plates were improved to a more effective shape.  StuG III Ausf. D of StuG Abt. 189 Introduced one year after the Ausf. B, the last short-barreled version was the Ausf. E which had an altered superstructure. This version was to be used as a command vehicle as the SdKfz 253 observation vehicle was no longer included with the StuG units. The angled side plates were removed, and a second armored pannier box was placed on the right side, while the left pannier was lengthened. These boxes contained extra radio equipment and extra ammunition rounds. A command vehicle mounting the additional radios can be identified by the two whip antennas on the back of the superstructure.  Ausf. E with vertical side wall Of the short-barreled StuG III Ausf. B, C, D and E, 320, 50, 150 and 272 were made, respectively. The StuG III was the most common Sturmgeschütz design, being little more than a tank with a fixed gun of limited traverse instead of a turret. It was slower and less maneuverable than a tank but was suited particularly well for attacking enemy infantry, heavy weapons and main points of restistance. The vehicle was found to be easier to use from concealed positions because of its lower silhouette. It was less complex, less expensive to build and had almost the same performance as a tank, and for this reason the manufacture of assault guns increased until more were being made than tanks. For the hard-fighting infantry, the Sturmgeschütz were often the last rescue in an emergency while confronting increasing numbers of enemy units.  A StuG III Ausf. G unit fitted with Saukopf gun mantlets -note the drawings on the mantlets resembling boars
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I read the other day that there's talk of cancelling the Rapter to pay for the war in Iraq. Sounds like someone is trying to make some political points.
I believe that's just DemonRat saber-rattling. This plane is too valuable. It is capable of supersonic flight without afterburner (only plane able to do that). That gives it long-range high speed intercept capabilities - key to WOT I believe.
I hope Snippy's BicycleSpankenTruppen have their tax-stamps up to date or at least stay out of Amsterdam.
That's my opinion too.
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Air Power |
The original design of the Me 210 was born in late 1937 to overcome to some shortcomings of the Bf 110. In autumn 1938 RLM awarded a contract to Arado and Messerschmitt simultaneously for the development of a Bf 110 replacement. The resulting Messerschmitt design consisted in a mere improvement of the basic design with more powerful powerplants and heavier armament. Arado’s answer to the requirements was the Ar 240 but confidence in the original Bf 110 long-range fighter and bomber-destroyer concept led at the beginning of 1938 to Messerschmitt being asked to design an eventual successor. The result was the Messerschmitt Me 210 which first flew on 5 September 1939, powered by two 1,050 hp (783 kW) Daimler-Benz DB 601A engines. It proved to be extremely unsatisfactory, being difficult to handle and suffering from extreme instability.
After the first flight test of the Me 210 V1 the plane had to be heavily modified for its flying capabilities were barely poor. It had problems with longitudinal and lateral stability, and these were not suitable for a firing platform such as a combat aircraft. The design was improved by deleting the original twin vertical surfaces, similar to those of Bf 110, and fitting a large traditional vertical stabilizer and rudder with the aircraft flying on 23 September. A slight improvement was apparent, but in spite of a number of modifications carried out on the two prototypes they continued to display poor handling characteristics, being prone to stalling and spinning. In view of these problems it is difficult to understand why production was allowed to begin, but by mid-1940 a first batch of airframes was in final assembly.
Even while test flying was still going on, the RLM placed an order of 1000 Me 210As in mid-1940. The first 15 Me 210s were earmarked as test aircraft and on 5 September 1940 the program suffered the first of a number of crashes when the second prototype broke up during diving trials, fortunately the pilot escaped. The first pre-production planes were under trials in a new established special test unit Erprobungsgruppe 210 at the end of 1940. The ErG 210 was to conduct operational testing of the Me 210 and develop combat tactics for the fighter-bomber. This unit was already well known, during the battle of Britain in Summer 1940, while it mainly flyed the Bf 110s and 109s awaiting for Me 210 deliveries. Its first leader was Hauptmann Walter Rubensdörffer, killed in action in a Bf 110 over England before he could ever fly a Me 210. Another important victim was Oberleutnant Heinz Forgatsch of 3./SKG 210. He died in an accident while testing a Me 210 at Rechlin. Production began in Spring 1941 in both the Augsburg and Regensburg factories.
Such were the problems encountered that eight pre-production Me 210A-O and 13 production Me 210A-l aircraft were added to the test program, but in spite of this very little improvement was evident, and it was obvious that only major design changes would have any chance of correcting the faults. At this stage such a move would have caused an unacceptable delay in the production program, so deliveries began and 64 were supplied starting in April 1941 in two variants, the Me 210A-l destroyer-bomber which was armed with two 20 mm MG 151/20 cannon and two 7.92 mm (0.31 in) MG 17 machine guns, and the Me 210A-2 fighter-bomber which had a maximum bombload of 4,4091b (2000 kg).
By the end of 1941 the test program was over and the final evaluation was that it was still an unsuitable firing platform for its stability problems. Messerschmitt modified a pre-production plane (Me 210 A-0 NE+BH Werk Nr. 101) with lengthened rear fuselage (lengthened by 1½ panels) and redesignating it with the Versuch-number V17 on 14 March 1942. This modification was very successful in increasing the plane’s handling qualities. Another important modification was the fitting, in July 1942, of wing leading edge slots. Soon after flying tests it was ordered to retrofit all Me 210 As with this device.
However, on 14 April 1942, after about 200 Me 210s had been delivered (this number including two Me 210B-0 pre-production and two Me 210B-l production reconnaissance aircraft), construction was halted in favour of a resumption of manufacture of the Bf 110 to give time to try to resolve some of the Me 210's shortcomings. The stability problem was solved finally by introducing automatic wing leading-edge slots and redesign of the rear fuselage, which was lengthened by 3 ft 1 1/2 in (0.95 m) and made deeper. The improvements were tested and the design was submitted with the proposal that the 1,750 hp (1305 kW) Daimler-Benz DB 6O3A engine should be used to provide better performance, This appealed to the RLM, as a solution of this kind would allow a number of unfinished Me 210 airframes to be used, and Messerschmitt was given the go-ahead and the designation 410 assigned to the revised design.
Before describing the Me 410, mention should be made of the Me 210C, a version of the earlier model which was built in Hungary by the Danube Aircraft Factory. Messerschmitt had supplied jigs and tools, and a new factory had been built for production when the German decision to stop its own Me 210 program was made. The Hungarians nevertheless decided to proceed and one of the pre-production Me 210A-0s had been fitted with 1,475 hp (1100 kW) DB 605E engines as a prototype for the Me 210C. The engines were license-built by Manfred Weiss.
The Me 210C had the wing slots and new rear fuselage, and production deliveries from the Hungarian factory started at the beginning of 1943. They were split on the basis of one-third to the Royal Hungarian air force and two-thirds to the Luftwaffe. Production was slow to develop, but by early 1944 the first Hungarian units had been formed. Production ended in Hungary in March 1944, by which time 267 Me 210Cs had been built in two variants, the Me 210C-1 reconnaissance/bomber-destroyer aircraft, and the Me 21OCa-1 bomber-destroyer/dive-bomber. In contrast with the Luftwaffe, Hungarian pilots liked the Me 210 and used it as a close-support aircraft and dive-bomber.
The Me 410 "Hornisse"
The Me 410 prototype was a converted Me 210A-0, and several other Me 210As were generally brought Up to Me 410 standard but with DE 601F engines. Improvements in handling characteristics made the Me 410 far more acceptable to the Luftwaffe which received the first five Me 410A-1 light bombers in 1943, this version being armed with two 20 mm MG 151/20 cannon, two 7.92 mm (0.31 in) MG 17 machine guns, and two 13 mm (0.51 in) MG 131 machine guns mounted one each side of the fuselage in an electrically powered barbette. Maximum internal bombload was 4,409 lbs (2000 kg). Demand for these more effective aircraft built up rapidly with the result that Messerschmitt's Augsburg production line was supplemented by a second line When Dornier entered the program in early 1944. As Me 410A production expanded a number of sub-variants entered service, including the photo-reconnaissance Me 410A-1/U1, Me 410A-1/U2 heavy fighter and the Me 410A-1/U4 specialized bomber-destroyer, its armament including a 50 mm BK 5 gun mounted beneath the fuselage. The Me 410A-1 was followed into service by the Me 410A-2 heavy fighter included two 30 mm MK 108 cannon in its armament, also built in sub-variants, including the Me 410A-2/U2 which was similar to the Me 410A-1/U1, the Me A-2/U2 radar carrying night-fighter and an ME 410A-2/U4 bomber destroyer similar to the Me 410 A-1/U4, and the last of the A series, the Me 410A-3 reconnaissance aircraft equipped with three cameras.
A very important innovation in the Me 210 design was the use of side rear firing 13 mm (0.51 in) MG 131 turret guns (barbettes) controlled by the rear crew member by the means of a Revi gun sight and a pistol grip with the firing trigger. These barbettes were delicate maintenance pieces and were not easy to handle. A famous victim of these guns was the American Ace Captain James Morris of the 20th Group. On 7 July 1944, over Halle and Bernburg, he was shot down and killed in his P-38 Lightning by an attacked Me 410.
The rear facing remote-controlled gun barbette on the Messerschmitt Me 410.
In April 1944 the first of the improved E-series were delivered, introducing the 1,900 hp (1417 kW) DE 603G engine, and produced in Me 410E-1 and Me 410E-2 sub-variants that were basically similar to those of the A-series. The Me 410E-3 was a reconnaissance version similar to the Me 410A-3, the Me 410E-5 a torpedo and anti-shipping bomber that was in the test stage when the war ended, and the Me 410E-6 a specialised anti-shipping variant, built in small numbers, which was equipped with FuG 200 Hohentwiel search radar, and had armament comprising two 20 mm Mg 151/20 cannon, two 3O mm MK 103 cannon, and two 13 mm (0.51 in) MG 131 machine guns. Other projects failed to materialize.
As the Allies stepped up the daylight bombing offensive in 1944 the Me 410s were engaged increasingly in home defence and accounted for a number of heavy bombers, although they also suffered heavily at the hands of the escorting fighters. Production was finally phased out in September 1944 after 1,160 Me 410s had been built, and although the type had not achieved the successes hoped for it had been a vast improvement on the disastrous Me 210.
Projects wanted the Me 410 night fighter version, designated Me 410-D, to be equipped with Lichtenstein C-1 or SN-2 air intercept radar system, flame extinguishers for the exhaust pipes, and armed with four MK 108 30 mm high-speed cannons and two MG 151/20 mm cannons as bow armament as well as two MK 108 used as schräge Musik angled cannons. The outer wing surfaces were to be built in wood to conserve strategic materials. Unfortunately this configuration never saw service nor either transformed in factory according to records.
Specifications:
Manufacturer: Messerschmitt AG
Type: Two Seat Heavy Fighter
Crew: Two - pilot, radio operator/gunner
Powerplant: Two 1,750 hp (1305 kW) Damlier-Benz DB 603A 12-cylinder inverted Vee piston engines.
History: First flight (Me 210V-1) 5 September 1939; (pre-production 210A-0) April 1941; final delivery (Me 210) April 1942; first flight (Me 310) 11 September 1943; (Me 410V-1) around December 1942.
Operators: Germany (Luftwaffe), Hungary
Performance :
Maximum speed: 388 mph (625 km/h) at 21,980 ft (6700 m)
Cruising speed: 364 mph (585 km/h)
Service ceiling: 32,810 ft (10000 m).
Range: 1,050 miles (1690 km) with internal fuel.
Weight: Empty equipped 16,574 lbs (7518 kg); loaded 21,276 lbs (9650 kg).
Dimensions:
Wing Span: 53 ft 7 3/4 in (16.35 m)
Length: 40 ft 11 1/2 in (12.48 m)
Height: 14 ft 0 1/2 in (4.28 m)
Wing area: 389.67 sq ft (36.20 sq m)
Armaments:
Four 20 mm MG 151/20 cannon and two 7.92 mm (0.31 in) MG 17 machine guns firing forward,
plus two 13 mm (0.51 in) MG 131 machine guns in remotely controlled rear firing barbettes.
(Supplemental Armament)
Two 1,102 lbs (500 kg) bombs and external racks for two 1,102 lbs (500 kg) bombs
plus two Ruestatz external packs housing 20 mm MG 151/20, 30 mm Mk 108 or Mk 103 cannons were fitted to some variants.
Avionics:
SN-2 Lichtenstein Radar on Me 410A-2/U-2 Night Fighter,
FuG 200 Hohentwiel ASV (air/surface vessel) Radar on Me 410B-6 Anti-Shipping variant.
I've crewed inside a Hetzer for a reenactment group, and cramped isn't quite the word for it, though it's a tossup as to whether the Hetzer is as bad as a T-34. But the loader for the main gun has to work from the right/wrong side, so a left-handed loader is an asset, unlikely to be the case most of the time...but if you were a southpaw and assigned to a Hetzer outfit, there wasn't much doubt about what crew position you'd fill. Not that the StugIII was exactly spacious:
The Foxhole has a thread coming up on the German Tank Destroyers.
OUT!standing!!!. I'm looking forward to that one, though I've probably got more info on the use of the StugIII by the Finns...who used their Stug III Ausfuhring Gs m as *ambush tanks* against Soviet armor, so if I blur the distinction a bit, that's the influence on me that's my excuse.
The Finns swore by their Stug III's, and continued to use them long after the Second World War had ended, just as the Swiss latched onto those Hetzers.
Stug III Ausf G (early version) numbered Ps.531-19 "Marjatta", which arrived to Finland in 1943. It is restored to the original colors used by the Finns during the war. It was the first Finnish Stug ever to fire at a Russian tank.
Ps.531-19 in action !
Ps.531-19 commanded by Lieutenant Mauri Sartio destroyed 4 enemy tanks in a very short period of time. Gunner was Corporal Olof Lagus (he was a son of commander of Finnish Armour Division Ruben Lagus). On June 14th of 1944, Finns attacked to retake the village of Kuuterselkä. It was the first time when Finnish Stugs were used in action. It started near midnight (in the Summer it is not dark at night in Finland). First Stugs destroyed some machine guns and anti-tank guns. Suddenly, Sartio's Stug saw Soviet T-34/85 just 15 meters left to their Stug. As fast as a lightning, driver turned Stug 90 degrees to the left, and Corporal Lagus fired. T-34 started to burn immediately. When it started to burn, Sartio's crew saw numerous other soviet tanks. Young Corporal fired again and two other T-34 tanks were destroyed. Two other T-34 tanks tried to escape, but Lagus destroyed one of them and second T-34, which managed to drive 70 meters, was destroyed by other Stug. All this had taken only 1 to 2 minutes. All Soviet tanks were T-34/85 tanks and ready for action, but fast reaction of Finnish tankers spoiled their opportunity. Amount of enemy tanks destroyed by Stugs in this attack was 11 T-34/85 tanks, 2 ISU-152 assault guns, 1 IS-2 tank and 1 KV-1 tank.
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