Sturmtiger use in Russia

[Tank Ace]

How did the germans use the Sturmtiger? Did they use it against suicidal russian charges? It seems that a shell that huge exploding is enough to make anyone crap their pants. Did they use it for bombardment? Or to flatten buildings?

[Vossiewulf]

There were only 18 made, and they were mostly used on the Western Front. Three were used in the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. A couple participated in the Ardennes. They were supposedly very effective in the rare times they had an opportunity to act in the role they were designed for, which was explosive-powered urban renovation. AFAIK they just didn't have much of a chance to act in an assault or static defense role.

Not to mention that they probably had the coolest muzzle flash ever, with all those vent holes adding to the chaos of firing a rocket-mortar thing that was as big as US Navy cruiser main armament(~12" shell). Hire a company of those things for the next July 4th.

[Shmavis]

I read that they were designed to be able to destroy large buildings in urban combat after the Stalingrad disaster. Oh, the Krauts and their heavy artillery...

[Sergei]

It was a tracked version of the 38cm schweres Zirkusmörser which was developed before Hitler rose to power. That was a bid to develop German heavy artillery while circumventing the Versailles restrictions on German Army. The 38cm sZM had a dual role: firstly, the more conventional role of lobbing high explosives on enemies; secondly, to provide a handy way of deploying airborne troops. This is a rare colour photograph of the Fallschirmjägers training with the sZM:

After the fiasco at Crete in 1941 Hitler demanded that the schweres Zirkusmörser should be put onto tracks and fully protected with armour. This would give the FJ troops a better delivery method than the Ju-52 transport planes. The first prototypes were ready in late 1942, called as Sturmzirkusmörser SZM (note the capital 'S'). Göring promised to Hitler that he could save the Stalingrad kettle by sending in a special Menschmörserkugeljägerregiment led by Kugeloberst (Cannonball Colonel) von Münchhausen. As you can see from this photograph, they tied the Kugeljägers to cannonballs to reach greater ranges:

Sadly, there was a wee bit of miscalculation here, and so the whole Menschmörserkugeljägerregiment died as the men were not instructed to release themselves from the cannonballs once they approached the landing zone. As a result, Hitler got absolutely mad and put all the blame on Jews, while Göring got depressed and started eating and became obese. Finally one day Göring had eaten his fridge empty, and the only thing left to eat was a stale muffin. He ate it and died due to food poisoning.

But the story doesn't end here. After this Hitler banned the use of human cannonballs, so the SZM was thereafter used only for lobbing HE at buildings. At the same time the "Zirkus" bit was dropped from the name and it was given the epithet "Tiger" just to raise morals and to make people forget the tragic story of the Menschmörserkugeljägerregiment.

I hope this helps.

[coldmeter]

Sergei,

Your post was most insightful and uncompromisingly accurate. I wish to subsrcribe to your weekly newsletter if that may be at all possible.

Cold

[Tank Ace]

If i were the jerrys i would have used it on massive russian infantry charges.

[stikkypixie]

I thought the ruskies stop using massive infantry charges by the end of the war.

[Beta1]

If I was the ruskies I wouldnt have made massive infantry charges agasint massive assault guns firing HE filled dustbins.

[Other Means]

there's only one was to deal with the Ruskies. and that's in a bowl, with a little milk and banana.

[Vossiewulf]

Bravo Sergei! I know several newspaprers, particularly the Weekly World News, that are going to bid highly for your services.

[Shmavis]

Ha ha! Very nice, Sergei. I was actually intently following your post until the first picture.