Soviet Stugs, the SG-122 and SU-76i | Cursed by Design

Captured tanks are a popular topic online. Today we look at two examples of Soviet uses of captured tanks in the form of the SG-122 and SU-76i. Built on the Panzer III and Sturmgeschutz III these Soviet Stugs are a fascinating look into how captured vehicles can be reused.

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SG-122

SU-76i

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Timestamps:
0:00 - 2:42 Intro
2:42 - 5:16 Problems with captured tanks
5:16 - 8:18 SG-122
8:18 - 12:56 SU-76i
12:56 - 13:22 Did any survive?
13:22 - 14:33 Conclusion and outro
#history #cursedbydesign #tanks

[FLBLUE]

"Removing the foreign gun and installing the domestic one!"
WOT: I smell a new premium tank!

[Slakrrrrrr]

Soviet Union: Helps Germany kickstart their tank development after WWI and the Treaty of Versailles
Germany: Invades Soviet Union
Soviet Union: Mom said it's my turn to play the the StuGbox

[gunsblazing]

Apparently 11 Renault R35s and 3 Panzer I Befehlswagens were rearmed with 20mm ShVAK cannons. Some Panzer 38(t)s were at the very least requipped with Soviet DT machine guns. There is also a photograph of a Panzer II modified as a factory crane in 1946. Even more interesting however, are a few more possible SPG conversions that a source I found mentions:

"Generally questions Re Tronfeina Technology Domestic Weapons permanently Controlled technical management NKV under Guidance E.Satelya. Ranbots along Rearm Trophy Tanks Domestic Artsisgechami were conducted up to mid-1944 GODET. Behind This period Enterprises The NKV were Made and tested Following Experienced Self-propelled guns samples:

-SAU ZIS-57 Ch L57-mm Anti-tank ZIS-2 cannon on the chassis tank 38(T)╗ H developer Ny 92 plant (Gorky);

-76 mm Cannon on PzKpfw II chassis (more likely total H rearmament Self-propelled guns lMapder╗) H developer Research Institute 13;

-85 mm Zenithnaya Cannon model 1939 d. on chassis PzKpfw IV Ch tank Developers Plants No. 8 and No. 9;

-SU-122G H 122 mm M-30 howitzer on the chassis Trophy Easy tank with Martial Department From the back (rather altogether rearmament Self-propelled guns lVespe╗) H developer Unknown;

-SG-152 H 152 mm D-1 howitzer on the chassis PzKpfw IV Ch tank developer Unknown.

However No Details self-propelled guns data, except list of them in the Summary Report Technical Management People's Commissariat Arms until Found."

[maverickvgc]

Not everyone can be chosen by the stug life.

[standard-carrier-wo-chan]

I love the fact that Germany recaptured a previously captured Pz. III, but this time it came back with a different coat. It's like that picture of a mostly well-dressed family and then you have the one child rocking a heavy metal outfit.

As a none native speaker, when I hear "... they were pressed into service!" I have a picture of 18th century recruiters dragging these vehicles from their families and farms and force them to fight.

[maotisjan]

I would like to wish ConeOfArc and all of his viewers a merry Christmas and bit of normal life in the coming year

[od]

Thanks. Good topic. I don't remember ever seeing the 122 version. It is interesting to note the Soviets were really impressed with the Panzer III Germany gave the SU before the war. It was a major influence that led to the T 34M ... which could have been the iconic Soviet tank the Germans would have faced if Barbarossa had happened a year or so later. I've read many German tankers preferred the Panzer III even to the Panzer IV for comfort and dependability. It seems to me the Panzer III was the German workhorse in Barbarossa... there were just not enough Panzer IVs and the Panzer III then, was about as good as IT could get in armor and Gun. Germany needed every piece of rolling stock .. tracked and wheeled it could get so it pressed everything useful into service. . I think we tend to forget in the first part of the war , all countries were stressed to find really good weapons . Most of the weapons they had were designed for another era of warfare .

[toastyroastyman]

Kudos to you my friend for giving mention to the Su76I. That was a actual Soviet TD built on the chassis of captured Stugs. The Soviet Su76 was having major production problems at the time. It stepped in to fill the void which it did. It even fought in numbers at Kursk. The Soviet crews loved it. It has a special place in soviet TD operators hearts. Its no made up TD like so many WOT TDs are. Its history is epic.

[shadowtrooper]

I was an avid user of theSU-76I when I played it in WoTB. Though slightly slow, it has a 11 second reload and aiming time, I still like its good damage it inflicts on enemies. It's a good damage support tank.

[harlech]

For a LOOOONG time I had only 1 of maybe 50 examples of the SU-76i in WoT on the NA server. I got up to go to work and decided to log into WoT to see what was new for the week. (It was Friday morning and new stuff was added on Fridays then) Lo and Behold there was this new thing called the SU-76i, which, as a tank collector I bought forthwith. And verily it was broken. How broken? In the time it took for me to log out, drive the 10 minutes to work, log into my work computer and run the daily worksheets (another 15 minutes) and text my brother it had already been yanked from the store. Limited preferential tier 3 matchmaking, 65+% camo, a 3 second reload, with 110 alpha damage (This is before the HP buffs of 2016 and 2017).

[urgaynknowit]

I hear your intro music and instantly know its coneofarc, I normally listen like a podcast only sometimes glancing at what’s on the screen, but when the video goes to the next and I hear your into, I know its gonna be good, no skip needed

[bigslimmy]

One tank thats always fascinated me was T18 HMC. I dont really know why but I love the way it looks.

[selfdo]

although any adoption of a captured enemy vehicle and adapting a domestic main weapon in a fixed superstructure mounting is bound to result in a "cluster-fuck" vehicle, it at least represents a cheap way of getting a large field gun onto the battlefield with mobility. All sides made use of re-purposed enemy equipment, or produce their own copies. Building their own modification of a Panzer III or StuGIII made sense, because although, save for the Panzer IIIN, that used the turret from the A or D models of the Panzer IV with its short L24 75 mm weapon, effectively swapping the original roles of the Panzer III versus Panzer IV, the "III" was retired as the Panzerwaffe's medium tank, in favor of the up-gunned Panzer IVs, there were relatively large numbers of StuG IIIs with the long 75mm (L43 or L48) gun. Obviously the Soviets figured on captured enough German stock to keep their Su 76i or Su 122i vehicles running.

Given the same logistical problems of supplying ordnance and keeping the engines and drive trains going, let alone front line "friendly fire", the Germans didn't use T-34s themselves in quite the relative proportions "as is", though they made up most of the "Beute-Panzers" they did use on the Eastern Front. In the West, it was a different story, there was actually a sort of "bounty" for capturing any M4 Sherman intact. But they did make free use of captured Soviet ARTILLERY pieces; even producing ordnance for Soviet-made 76.2 mm, 122 mm, and 152 mm guns. In the case of the 76.2 mm weapon, the Germans even re-tooled them to accept the longer German-style tank rounds, and used these rather cumbersome pieces on re-purposed Panzer II and 38(t) tank chassis. The latter, which was deemed Marder III, was an even more extreme example of the forced resourcefulness of the German war production, since it was derived from the original Czech 38(t) vehicle, being too good for the Germans to not find further roles!

[onEmEmbErstudios]

SU-76 is a pretty good tank destroyer, SU-76i is another story

[imongjiehaonotbatman]

Wargaming take notes. "Soviet captured tiger 1 with 100mm gun"

[Tomfooleryman]

Hey Cone, would you ever do a video on the Italian tank destroyers and self propelled guns? Thanks!

[BobalexProductionsN]

I'd like to also point out that the reason the conversions of trophy vehicles were rare because initially there were no special workshop manuals for them which could've significantly sped up the crew's training and repair time.
For example, if we take SU-76i, until the end of 1943 the crew could only use workshop manual of Panzer III (the vehicle which this SPG was based on). The actual workshop manual specifically for SU-76i started to be published only since early 1944.

[TacoSallust]

Fascinating info all around! I am a current World of Warships player or I would use your code. Pay attention, Wargaming!

[aarondevaldez]

These redesigns negated one of the StuG's main advantages: its low profile! I can't help but wonder if a Soviet main gun could have been fitted into an unaltered casemate.