Background |
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During the fighting in Russia, it
became apparent that a self propelled armoured mortar was needed to destroy
buildings and fortifications that proved impossible to destroy for normal
tanks. For this, the Sturmpanzer (based on the Pz.Kpfw. IV chassis) was
developed. This vehicle served the purpose well, but a weapon mounted on the
Tiger chassis was wanted.
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On a meeting on 27 May 1943, the
Waffenkommisionen mentioned the possibility of a self propelled 380mm mortar.
The Tiger chassis was chosen, and specially designed hulls were to be
delivered from Krupp. The weapon mounted was to be the 38cm Mörser - a weapon
originaly developed by the Kriegmarine for use against submarines, and
re-named 38cm Sturmmörser for the purpose. A trial version (in soft steel,
with a 50mm metal plate bolted to the hull) was shown to Hitler 20 October
1943, and the first hulls were meant to be ready by December, and the first
vehicles by February 1944.
Prior to this, a conceptual design for a Pz.Kpfw. VII 'Bär' had been made, using a 305mm weapon - in reality, the Tiger-M¨prser would fill its role. |
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Technical history |
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The hulls were originally to mount the
engine in the front and the superstructure in the rear - much like the
Panzerjäger Tiger (P) 'Ferdinand'/'Elefant'. It was decided, however, that
the Tiger hull would serve the purpose fine, and the superstructure was
developed according to this by Alkett. This superstructure mounted the 38cm
StuM in a cast ball mount on the center of the front plate, along with a
MG-34 operated by the radio operator. Unlike the Tiger, the
superstructure used sloped armour, which gave added protection. (The sloped
150mm armour, same thickness as the Tiger IIs frontal armour, was
inpenetratable by any Allied weapons). There were also 2 vision ports in the
front plate, as both the drivers vision slot and gunners aiming device was
located here.
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The 38cm StuM used fin-stabilized 345kg
rockets. This meant that the Panzersturmmörser was the most powerfull vehicle
of the war in terms of firepower, is the mobile heavy mortars are not counted
in. These rockets were not only very usefull for buildings; they were also
capable of immense destruction among tanks. One confirmed kill of 3 Shermans
in one shot have been recorded. The price for this was a very large cloud of
dust - about 2-3 times the size in heifght and width as the vehicle - and an
easy-to-spot projectile (from the flame of the rocket). This gave away the
position of the vehicle immidiately. The size of the projectile only allowed
for 14 rockets to be stored, one of whice was located in the barrel. The
weight also called for a crane to be mounted for loading. The rockets were
not kind to the back of the loaders, but at this late stage, this was of low
importance.
The tip of the barrel mounted various counter-weights to stabilize the barrel - either 4 small weights or a complete circle was mounted. There were also a number of 'canals' in the barrel, varying from vehicle to vehicle, which helped the gasses from the blast get away. |
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It was, as stated above, originally
intended that the hulls should be made specifically for the vehicle. Delays
in the production occurred, and halted the production to such an extent that
Hitler decided on 19 April 1944 that hulls with damage to the turret were to
mount the superstructure. At the same time, he ordered 12 superstructures to
be prepared.
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During August 1944, 3 Tiger-Mörsers were
completed, with a furter 7 on the way in September. This goal was surpassed,
and 10 were produced, with another 5 in December, giving a total of 18.
Hitler ordered 300 rounds to be produced each month for the Tiger-Mörser in
late August 1944, a bit optimistic considering all.
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Modifications |
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There were no real modification to the
vehicle, although most vehicle veried from each other. Most vehicle, despite
the late appearence, mounted Zimmerit, side skirts are know on some vehicles,
and the barrel veried as mentioned earlier.
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Operational history |
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On 13 August 1944, the first Tiger-Mörser
unit was created - the Sturm-Mörser-Kompanie 1000. It was equipped with only
2 Tiger-Mörsers, and sent to Warsaw to fight down the uprising on 13 August
1944. Here, they were quite success in destroying houses and
roadblocks.
In September 1944, Sturm-Mörser-Kompagnie 1001 was formed, followed by Sturm-Mörser-Kompagnie 1002 in October. By medio december 1944, the three units now in existance were equipped with 4 Tiger-Mörsers. After this, Sturm-Mörser-Kompagnie 1000 and 1001 were sent to the western front to participate in the Ardennes offensive. After this, they were employed randomly, as there were no real major offensives to support. |
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The vehicle had great psycological
effect, even when operating alone. One US soldier remember, during an
encounter with a Tiger-Mörser, that it destroyed the accompanying Shermans,
and made holes in the ground the size of the vehicle itself. This soldier
also remembers the crew as being Waffen-SS, but wherter this is true, or a
misconception due to interchange of uniforms, is unknown at the moment. As
for now, the crews are believed to be Wehrmacht, but any information is
welcome.
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Conclusion |
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Although the Tiger-Mörser didn't have any
realy effect on the war as a whole, it was a vehicle that served its role
very well. The metal used to make the superstructures cannot be said to have
been wasted, as it was so small a quantity. On the other hand, the
administrative costs and efforts to make the vehicle could very well have
been devoted to making other vehicles. The largest waste must be said to be
the 300 rounds produced a month - for all of the rounds to have been fired,
each vehicle would have had to fire about 4 rounds every day, from August to
April, which was highly unlikely to ever happen.
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Tables |
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