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StuG III ausf F (Sd.kfz 142/1)
The obvius superiority of the Russian T34/76 and KV-1 tanks came as a
shock to the German troops and military leaders. Poor tactics by the Russians and
somewhat limited numbers of these fine vehicles, enabled the Germans to blunt the initial
Russian assaults made with the new tanks. However, time was clearly limited for the
Germans to develop weapons to counter these new threats. The StuG III ausf A-E were
pressed into service where necessary to fight the Russian armor. Though the L/24
howitzer was of very limited use against the T34 and KV-1, the heavy front armor of the
StuG III gave the crews a much better chance to close with the Soviet armor and destroy it
at close range. Nonetheless, many vehicles were destroyed before they could get
close enough, and a better gun was essential.
In late 1941, Hitler ordered that more powerful weapons were to be fitted to several
German armored vehicles as soon as possible. The PzKpfw III ausf J received the L/60
version of the 5cm KwK 39 and the PzKpfw IV ausf F received the 7,5cm KwK 40, L/43.
The StuG III ausf F received a similar weapon designated StuK 40. In
the tank gun (KwK 40), the recoil cylinders were placed on each side of the barrel and the
breech; in StuK 40, they were placed above the barrel, in order to provide adequate
clearance for traverse within the fixed superstructure without having to enlarge the
aperture for the gun.
A new welded block mantled with 30mm front armor was designed and the central part of the
roof was raised in the rear and an electric fan and ventilator very similar to those in
the PzKpfw III and IV were fitted in the raised section. The L/43 gun vastly
improved the fighting abilities of the StuG III, and kills rose sharply on the Eastern
front. Because of its low silhouette, the StuG III ausf F proved an excellent ambush
weapon, and was able to knock out the T34 at long range. After a number of StuG III
ausf F's had been built with the L/43 gun, a new version was introduced. The chassis
design was based on that of the PzKpfw III ausf J (8/ZW) mechanical layout, and as a
result, the entire engine deck and rear hulls areas were altered. The cast deck
ventilators ran lengthwise rather than across the vehicle, and the tailplate was
redesigned to eliminate the bolted flange joint across the upper rear piece of armor.
The gun was lengthened another 5 calibers, being designated 7,5cm StuK 40, L/48.
Additional 30mm armor was added to the 50mm nose plates and the driver's and offside front
50mm plates. During ausf F production, the roof plates over the driver and the
offside extension next to the gun had been raised in the rear to come up to the top of the
side plates and superstructure front plate, and the StuG III ausf F /8 also
had this arrangement. Some earlier ausf F's were later retrofitted with the L/48
gun, but were otherwise unaltered. A few ausf F/8's had the L/48 guns with the older
single baffle muzzle brake; others had a folding shield on the roof for an MG 34 for the
loader, and some had schürzen plates fitted.
Ausf F and F/8 vehicles served primarily on the Eastern front, where their low silhouettes
and excellent armament made them effective antitank weapons. Some vehicles also saw
service in Italy and in the last stages of the North African campaign in Tunisia. With the
increasing use of the StuG III as an antitank weapon, infantry units once more were left
without an armored support vehicle. Therefore, a new, true assault gun was proposed
in 1942. Based on the StuG III ausf F, the new vehicle mounted a modified version of
the 10,5cm Ie F.H. 18, the standard German light field howitzer, and was designated
"Sturmhaubitze 42 (StuH 42), ausf F. It was identical to the StuG III except
for the gun. The StuH 42 ausf F was built in very limited numbers because of
the introduction of the following version, the ausf G; it received the model number Sd.kfz
142/2.
This StuG III ausf F has been fitted with the later L/48 gun.
Upgrading older vehicles was a standard practice, covering armament, mechanical details,
and even extra armor.
Two StuG ausf F/8's in Russia, 1943. These two vehicles are unusual
in that they have the longer L/48 guns, but have the early globular single baffle muzzle
brake. Note the wire guard coverage over the gunner's sight on the nearer vehicle
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