The Sturmtiger

On 5.August 1943 the 38cm rocket equipment of the german navy was proposed to be installed on a Tiger I Chassis. Already on 20.October 1943 Alkett delivered a Prototype, which was demonstrated on the training area Arys.

On the right there is a photo of the prototype, showing that it was running on the normal rubber tyred wheels of the Tiger E. Then on 19.April 1944 it was decided to prepare 12 guns and superstructures for production of the Sturmtiger but until December 1944 only 18 of them were produced. On 11.October 1944 the assault mortar detachment 1001 got the first 4 Sturmtiger. Also the assault mortar detachments 1002 and 1003 got Sturmtiger from which 13 were available in early March 1945.

The chassis from the Tiger I with steel rimmed wheels were used for the Sturmtiger. A special superstructure was constructed to put the gun and a crew of five in it. That superstructure was at the front armored with 150mm, at the sides and rear with 80mm, the chassis front 100mm, side 60mm and rear 80mm. The complete vehicle weighted 65 tons, had a length of 6.28m, a width of 3.57m, a height of 2.85m and had a Maybach HL230P45 motor with 650 PS, which allowed a maximum speed of 40km/h.
The armament was the 38cm rocket projector RW61 L/5.4 and a MG34 in the front plate. The Sturmtiger could carry 14 rounds of the rocket assisted explosive shell 4581. These had a weight of 345kg, a length of 1489mm and had 125kg explosives inside.

When firing there was a recoil energy of 30 tons! The propellant gases were exhausted forward through vents in the gun tube wall. The V₀ was 45m/s. After leaving the gun barrel the rocket motor accelerated with 40kg of rocket powder to 250m/s. That gave a firing range of about 5650m. Only 317 of such grenades reached the troops. 1945 a hollow charge grenade was projected with the number 4592, which could penetrate 2.5m of steel-concrete!
On the right you can see a photo of the Sturmtiger after the round left the barrel and the rocket motor starts. In this connection there is a short quicktime movie, showing a Sturmtiger firing two times ... a must see for all german armor fans!! If you're interested in that, write a mail to the copyright owner of the film, who forced me to remove the link to the Sturmtiger firing sequence!

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
- Waffen und Geheimwaffen des deutschen Heeres 1933-1945, Hahn, 1998, Bernard & Graefe
- Panzer-Kampfwagen Tiger und seine Abarten, Spielberger, 1994, Motorbuch
- Panzerkampfwagen Tiger in der Truppe, Fleischer, 1998, Podzun-Pallas

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