Sturmtiger

Sturmtiger is the common name of a World War II German assault gun built on the Panzer VI Tiger I chassis and armed with a large naval rocket launcher, the 38 cm Raketen-Werfer RW61 L/5.4. 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 vehicle is also known under the names Tiger-Mörser, Sturmmörser Tiger and Sturmpanzer VI

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 frontal armour therefore was 150 millimetres (5.9 in) thick, while its side plates were some 80 millimetres (3.1 in) thick as was the rear plate[1]. This pushed the weight of the vehicle up from the 57 tonnes (56 LT; 63 ST) of the Tiger I to 65 tonnes (64 LT; 72 ST).

Weapons

The main armament was the 380 mm Raketen-Werfer 61 L/5.4, a breech-loading rocket launcher, which fired short-range, rocket-propelled projectiles. These projectiles were roughly 1.5 metres (59 in) long and could either contain a high explosive charge of 125 kilograms (280 lb) or a shaped charge for use against fortifications, which could penetrate up to 2.5 metres (98 in) of reinforced concrete. The stated range of the former was 5,650 metres (6,180 yd). The weight of the complete rounds was 345 to 351 kilograms (760–770 lb). A normal charge first accelerated the projectile to 45 metres per second (150 ft/s), the 40 kilograms (88 lb) rocket charge then boosted this to about 250 metres per second (820 ft/s).

The design of the rocket launcher caused some problems, as the hot rocket exhaust could not be vented into the fighting compartment but neither could the barrel withstand the pressure if the gasses were not vented. Therefore a ring of ventilation shafts were put around the barrel which channeled the exhaust and gave the weapon somewhat of a pepperbox appearance.

Because of the bulkiness of the ammunition, only 14 rounds could be carried, 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 1 chassis, but only one carrier was completed[1].

At the loading hatch's rear was located the 90 millimetres (3.5 in) NbK 39 Nahverteidigungswaffe ("Close defence weapon"), which was used for close range defence against both armoured vehicles and infantry. This could be used in a 360 degree circle around the vehicle and was basically a short range grenade launcher.

For defence against infantry attacks, there was a mount in the front for a 7.92 mm MG34 machine gun.