12.8cm Selbstfahrlafette auf VK3001(H) "Sturer Emil"

On 9. September 1938 Henschel started to build the VK3001(H). It was based on their DW II prototype and used dry pin tracks. Early in 1940 the first trials took place and in March 1941 the first VK3001(H) was ready. Two months later it was decided to abandon the development, because of the VK3601(H) which should carry a better gun. (A 7.5cm KwK L/24 or 10.5cm KwK L/28 was planned for the VK3001(H)). All in all 4 Chassis were completed and twelve turrets were build by Krupp with the 7.5cm KwK L/24 which were later used in fortifications.
In the mid of 1941 the Waffenamt (Ordnance Department) decided to use 2 Chassis of the VK 3001(H) to mount the Rheinmetall 12.8cm K L/61, which was based on the 12.8cm Flak, on them. The hull had to be lengthened to fit the huge gun and an eighth roadwheel was added.
In August 1941 the first "Versuchsjäger 3001" was completed and brought to the Eastern front. The troops were inspired from that tank and called it "Sturer Emil". One of the vehicles was captured intact late in 1943. The Photo shows one vehicle in July 1942 at the great Donbogen in Russia in service of the 2.Pz.Div.
Some technical information: The armament was the 12.8cm K L/61 which had a barrel length of 7835mm, a V0 of 910m/sec, the weight of the projectile was 26kg. The traverse was 7°left to 7° right, the elevation from -15° to +10°. 18 shots were carried. Also a loose MG34 was on that tank. The dimensions are 9.7m length, 3.16m width and 2.7m height. This gave a weight of 36 tons. The vehicle was protected by armour plates of following thickness: (mm/angle)

Hull:           front:50/13,5° side:30/0°  rear:30/45°   bottom:20/90°

Superstructure: front:40/8°    side:30/0°  rear:15/16°   top:15/90°

Turret:         front:50/14.5° side:15/10° rear:15/14.5° top:open

Gun Shield:     front:50/40°
It was powered by a Maybach HL116 engine with 6 cylinders, a piston displacement of 11 litres and power of 300 PS at 3300rpm, which gave the vehicle a maximum speed of 25km/h. 450 litres of fuel were carried. The tracks had a width of 52cm, each track contains 85 single links. The length where the track touches the ground was 4.75m which results in a ground pressure of 0,8 kp/cm2.

On the left you see another picture of a "Sturer Emil" from the Eastern Front.
Both "Sturer Emil" were issued to Pz.Jg.Abt.521 which fought in the southern part on the Eastern Front and was destroyed in the battle of Stalingrad in January 1943. There the Russians were able to capture one "Sturer Emil" intact, which now can be seen in the military museum of Kubinka (see photo below).
Following you can see some more interesting photos of that vehicle ...

If you're interested in more info or photos, please read the following mentioned books.







Literature:
- Encyclopedia of German Tanks of World War two, Chamberlain, Doyle, Jentz, 1993, Arms and Armour Press
- Panzerkampfwagen Maus und andere deutsche Panzerprojekte, Sawodny, Bracher, 1998, Podzun-Pallas
- Waffen und Geheimwaffen des deutschen Heeres 1933-1945, Hahn, 1998, Bernard & Graefe
- Panzer-Kampfwagen Tiger und seine Abarten, Spielberger, 1994, Motorbuch
Here you can see two more photos from the eastern front:

On the left you can see a photo of the first "Sturer Emil" in the military camp of Wünsdorf (near Kummersdorf). Notice the second bay in front of the superstructure, right beside the drivers bay. This second bay wasn't attached on the second vehicle and was probably used as stowage and also covered the fuel cap.
This picture also shows (Very hard to see here) a white painted "L" on the frontplate which shows that this vehicle belongs to training unit.




On the right you can see one of the few photos of the captured "Sturer Emil", which were taken by the Russians. It shows the "Sturer Emil" on a victory parade, short after Germany's 6th Army has surrendered at Stalingrad. On the right beside the german cross a simplyfied insignia of the Pz.Jg.Abt.521 was applied and on the other side of the german cross, it seems to be a white "K", which makes the vehicle belong to von Kleist's Armygroup.
This vehicle can be seen nowadays in the military museum at Kubinka (See color photo above). The original cammo-scheme has been overpainted by the russians with new color.



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