I Finally Got To Play The Sturmtiger!

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Gaijin was kind of enough to allow Stick and me early access to the Sturmtiger. I had some reservations and I would like to see a few things done better with it, (reload, firing animation, etc.) but overall, it is actually quite freaking fun. If you are able, I recommend unlocking it while you have the opportunity!

[botimegaming]

How do you guys think Gaijin did implementing such a unique and infamous vehicle? 6.3 a good battle rating? Interested in purchasing something from the War Thunder Store? You can use this link and get a 3% discount on your next purchase:

[capfig]

70% reloading
25% missing
5% killing
100% worth it

[lemonjuice]

This is the only vehicle I am not ashamed to buy.

[viniciusrodrigues]

KV-2: I'm not afraid of anything but that thing.
Sturmtiger
KV-2: That scares me.

[Queen_Bee_]

You guys made some impressive shots! Fantastic video! Thank you Bo, Fate, Stickboy, Hambone and Demonedwolf!! 💜

[turtlepowa]

This tanks brings tactical artillery to a whole other level

[Contantine]

The Sturmtiger is basically the WT equivalent of "To whom it may concern..."

[KurustheGreat]

I think "derp gun" has been redefined. What a monster.

[thwlpak]

Hope you had an amazing time with it. You are my favorite Youtuber and I enjoy always coming and watching you and the TBLF crew. Hope you had a wonderful day.

[bassplayersayer]

Ya know, when i first saw this tank i figured it would just be a meme tank, but Bo did way better than i thought possible. Good job Bo. Love the vids guys!!!! Good job on supporting bo in combat.

[The.accurate.angels]

Sturmtiger (German for 'Assault Tiger') was a World War II German assault gun built on the Tiger I chassis and armed with a 380mm rocket-propelled mortar. The official German designation was Sturmmörserwagen 606/4 mit 38 cm RW 61. Its primary task was to provide heavy fire support for infantry units fighting in urban areas. The few vehicles produced fought in the Warsaw Uprising, the Battle of the Bulge and the Battle of the Reichswald. The fighting vehicle was known by various informal names, among which the Sturmtiger became the most popular.

Development
The idea for a heavy infantry support vehicle capable of demolishing heavily defended buildings or fortified areas with a single shot came out of the experiences of the heavy urban fighting in the Battle of Stalingrad in 1942. At the time, the Wehrmacht had only the Sturm-Infanteriegeschütz 33B available for destroying buildings, a Sturmgeschütz III variant armed with a 15 cm sIG 33 heavy infantry gun. Twelve of them were lost in the fighting at Stalingrad. Its successor, the Sturmpanzer IV, also known by Allies as Brummbär, was in production from early 1943. This was essentially an improved version of the earlier design, mounting the same gun on the Panzer IV chassis with greatly improved armour protection.

While greatly improved compared to the earlier models, by this time infantry anti-tank weapons were improving dramatically, and the Wehrmacht still saw a need for a similar, but more heavily armoured and armed vehicle. Therefore, a decision was made to create a new vehicle based on the Tiger tank and arm it with a 210 mm howitzer. However, this weapon turned out not to be available at the time and was therefore replaced by a 380 mm rocket launcher, which was adapted from a Kriegsmarine depth charge launcher.

In September 1943 plans were made for Krupp to fabricate new Tiger I armoured hulls for the Sturmtiger. The Tiger I hulls were to be sent to Henschel for chassis assembly and then to Alkett where the superstructures would be mounted. The first prototype was ready and presented to Adolf Hitler in October 1943. Delivery of the first hulls would occur in December 1943, with the first three Sturmtiger completed by Alkett by 20 February 1944.

Due to delays, Hitler did not request production of the weapon until 19 April 1944; twelve superstructures and weapons would be prepared and mounted on rebuilt Tiger I chassis. The first three production series Sturmtiger were completed by Alkett in August 1944. Plans to complete an additional seven from 15 to 21 September 1944 were presented to Hitler in a conference on 18–20 August 1944. Ten Sturmtiger were produced in September, along with an additional five in December 1944.

Hitler had laid great importance on the special employment of the Sturmtiger and believed it would be necessary to produce at least 300 rounds of ammunition per month.

Design
The Sturmtiger was based on the late model Tiger I, keeping its hull and suspension. The front of the Tiger's superstructure was removed to make room for the new fixed casemate-style fighting compartment housing the rocket launcher. This was located directly at the front of the vehicle, giving it a boxy appearance.

Compared to the Tiger tank, the Sturmtiger was much shorter overall, only 6.28 m (20 ft 7 in) compared to the Tiger's 8.45 m (27 ft 9 in), due largely to the fact that it did not have the long main gun of the latter which protruded far in front of the hull. It also was slightly lower than the Tiger at 2.85 m (9 ft 4 in) compared to 3 m (9 ft 10 in).

Armour
Since the Sturmtiger was intended for use in urban areas in close range street fighting, it needed to be heavily armoured to survive. Its sloped (at 47° from vertical) frontal armor therefore was 150 mm (5.9 in) thick, while its superstructure side and rear plates were 82 mm (3.2 in) thick. The hull front was 100 millimetres (3.9 in) or 150 millimetres (5.9 in) if it had an additional armor plate fitted. This pushed the weight of the vehicle up from the 57 t (56 long tons; 63 short tons) of the Tiger I to 68 t (67 long tons; 75 short tons).

Armament
The main armament was the 380 mm Raketen-Werfer 61 L/5.4, a breech-loading barrel, which fired a short-range, rocket-propelled projectile roughly 1.5 m (4 ft 11 in) long. There were a variety of round types with a weight of up to 376 kg (829 lb), and a maximum range of up to 6, 000 m (20, 000 ft), which either contained a high explosive charge of 125 kg (276 lb) or a shaped charge for use against fortifications, which could penetrate up to 2.5 m (8 ft 2 in) of reinforced concrete. The stated range of the former was 5, 650 m (6, 180 yd). A normal charge first accelerated the projectile to 45 m/s (150 ft/s), the 40 kg (88 lb) rocket charge then boosted this to about 250 m/s (820 ft/s).

The design of the rocket system caused some problems. The hot rocket exhaust could not be vented into the fighting compartment nor could the barrel withstand the pressure if the gasses were not vented. Therefore, a ring of ventilation shafts was put around the barrel which channeled the exhaust and gave the weapon something of a pepperbox appearance.

Due to the bulkiness of the ammunition, only fourteen rounds could be carried internally, of which one was already loaded, with another in the loading tray. The rest were carried in two storage racks. To help with the loading of ammunition into the vehicle, a loading crane was fitted at the rear of the superstructure next to the loading hatch. Even then, the entire five-man crew had to help with the loading.

It was intended that each Sturmtiger would be accompanied by an ammunition carrier built on the same Tiger I chassis, but only one carrier was completed.

Located at the rear of the loading hatch was a Nahverteidigungswaffe launcher which was used for close defence against infantry in addition to a frontal mounted 7.92 mm MG 34 machine gun.

[bobsyoruncle]

historical note: during the battle for Remagen bridge in 1945 a squad of 4 Sturmtigers were brought up to try and destroy the bridge - they didn't succeed, but one of them overshot the bridge into the town behind, landing right in a company of 6 Shermans assembling to attack destroying several and putting them all out of action.

[RyRy_]

Okay, that was incredible. From the banter, to the kills, to the fish eyes everything was just amazing. Nice that you finished the video with an ammo rack, bit of fireworks to conclude the video. Loved it! Thanks for the great content, Bo, Stick, Ham, Fate and Demon!

[sovereign]

The face on Sticks sturm tiger literally screams violence is the only option

[ultrajd]

“Get your barrel outta my hole!”

Bo - 2022.

[Frozenflare]

Those were some fantastic shots. I have to say the Sturmtiger seems to be far better than I had anticipated

[pootmahgoots]

"I need to reload so I'm gonna sit here and..."

Demon: "Cry?"

🤣

[NMJZ]

My jaw hit the floor after I saw that BTR-ZD kill Bo by shooting the rocket in the breech. Mad respect to him, and awesome video from the TBLF as always!

[BaDArxz]

For a tank that was designed for urban infantry support, (basically a block buster), it does one hell of a good job as a tank destroyer

[emirarslanagic]

Congratulations on acquiring the ground launched MOAB