The Sturmtiger was the German army’s ultimate siege weapon, an armored beast built to level entire buildings with a single shot. Born on the chassis of damaged Tiger I tanks, it was fitted with a massive 380mm rocket launcher that was originally designed as a naval weapon to sink submarines.
But although its high-explosive rockets were virtually unmatched, the Sturmtiger came with a paralyzing cost: an agonizingly slow rate of fire, a cramped capacity of just 14 rounds, and an immense logistical burden that left it stranded more often than it fought.
How did German engineers safely fire a massive rocket from inside a sealed steel box without incinerating the crew? Why did aiming the weapon require turning the entire 65-ton vehicle? And did its ability to flatten a five-story building truly justify deploying such a sluggish siege engine in a fast-paced, mobile war?
Watch our new film to see how the Sturmtiger was built, how its incredibly complex loading and firing sequence functioned, and what made it one of the most devastating, specialized, and impractical symbols of World War II armored design.
Sources:
• Jentz, Thomas L., and Hilary Louis Doyle. Panzer Tracts No. 8: Sturmgeschütze.Pak to Sturmmoerser. Darlington, MD: Darlington Productions, 1999.
• Ledwoch, Janusz. Sturmtiger. Militaria 188. Warszawa: Wydawnictwo MILITARIA, 2003.
• Melleman, Tadeusz, and Wojciech Molski. PzKpfw VI Tiger, Vol. IV: Sturmtiger. Tank Power 16. Gdańsk: AJ Press, 2003.
• Parada, George, Mariusz Suliga, and Krzysztof Mucha. Sturmtiger. Kagero Photosniper 10. Lublin: Kagero Publishing, 2003.
• Scheibert, Horst. Die Tiger-Familie: Tiger I, Porsche-Tiger, Jagdpanzer Elefant (Ferdinand), Tiger II (Königstiger), Jagdtiger, Sturmtiger. Das Waffen-Arsenal, Bd. 56. Friedberg: Podzun-Pallas-Verlag, 1979.
• Schneider, Wolfgang. Elefant, Jagdtiger, Sturmtiger: Rarities of the Tiger Family. West Chester, PA: Schiffer Publishing, 1990.
• Sergeev, P. N., ed. Sturmtiger [Штурмтигр]. Военно-техническая серия [Military-Technical Series]. Kirov: Kirov Society of Military History and Modeling Enthusiasts, 2000.
• Trojca, Waldemar, and Markus Jaugitz. Sturmtiger and Sturmpanzer in Combat. Katowice: Model Hobby, 2008.
• Trojca, Waldemar, and Markus Jaugitz. Sturmtiger in Combat. Katowice: Model Hobby, 2008.
Source: Blue PAW Print