The Sturmgeschutz IV resulted from Krupp's effort to supply an assault gun. As Krupp did not build Panzerkampfwagen IIIs, they used the Panzerkampfwagen IV chassis in combination with a slightly modified Sturmgeschutz III superstructure.

The first known proposal for a Sturmgeschutz on the Panzer IV chassis is in Krupp drawing number W1468 dated February 1943. This initial drawing utilized the outdated Sturmgeschutz Ausf. F superstructure on a Panzer IV chassis. This proposal had a sloped front superstructure with a combat weight of 28.26 tons. Krupp abandoned it in February 1943 because it was too heavy. Plans for the StuG IV were halted.

During the Fuhrer Conference of August 19th to 22nd, 1943, after the Battle of Kursk, Hitler had seen reports of the StuG III outperforming the Panzer IV when used in an infantry support role and tactical defense. Convinced that a tank-hunter version would be superior to the tank version, Hitler planned to switch Panzer IV production to "Panzerjager IV" production as soon as possible. It was to mount the same 7.5 cm L/70 used for the Panther. Another manufacturer, Vomag built a prototype Panzerjager IV with 7.5 cm L/48 gun and demonstrated it on 20 October 1943. It was later re-designated as Jagdpanzer IV Ausf. F. As the Jagdpanzer IV was already being produced by Vomag, the StuG IV may not have materialized, had it not been for the major disruption of StuG III production, and the scarce supply of the 7.5 cm L/70 gun designated for the Jagdpanzer IV.

In November 1943, Alkett, the manufacturer of the StuG III, suffered damage due to an Allied bombing raid. They produced 255 StuG III in October 1943, but in December production fell to just 24 vehicles. A conference held from December 6th-7th, 1943, addressed possible solutions to this problem. Hitler welcomed the suggestion of taking the StuG III superstructure and mounting it on a Panzer IV chassis. The StuG IV could be more quickly manufactured than the Jagdpanzer IV at the time. This restarted the Sturmgeschutz IV project. This time, the superstructure of the StuG III Ausf. G was mounted on a Panzer IV chassis 7, with a box compartment for the driver added. Combat weight was 23000 kg, lighter than the 23900 kg for the StuG III Ausf. G. Between December 16th and 17th, 1943, Hitler was shown the StuG IV and approved it. To make up for the large deficit in StuG III production StuG IV production was now given full support.

From December 1943 to May 1945, Krupp built 1,111 StuG IVs, in early 1944 Alkett built 30 Stug IVs using the new Panzer IV chassis sent from Nibelungenwerk. While the number is smaller than the 10,000+ StuG III, the StuG IV supplemented and fought along with StuG III during 1944-45, when they were most needed.

Pictured here is a 1:72 scale late production Sturmgeschutz (StuG) assault gun attached to the 17.SS-Panzer Grenadier Division, which saw action in the Alsace region during January 1945. Sold Out!

Dimensions:
Length: 3-1/2-inches
Width 1-1/2-inches

Release Date: October 2005

Historical Account: "Sturmgeschutz Vor" - The Sturmgeschutz (assault gun) units of the Wehrmacht were, contrary to popular opinion, manned by men of, and controlled by, the artillery branch, not the panzerwaffe. This is not to say that StuGs weren't used by the panzerwaffe, as they were in Panzer-Sturmgeschutz units, usually assigned to the panzergrenadier divisions, falling under the control of the artillery. This had a number of effects on their structure and employment.

Initially StuG batteries had only six vehicles, roughly comparable in manpower to an artillery battery. By comparison, panzer companies had up to 22 tanks. At war's end the battery size had increased to 14 StuGs and the panzer company had decreased to around the same number, depending on the unit.

Much like an artillery battalion, a Sturmgeschutz Abteilung (assault gun battalion) had 3 batteries. Late in the war, a fourth (Begleit or escort) battery of infantry was added to some units. This was intended to consist of a company-sized element of panzergrenadiers on halftracks, but shortages prevented the halftracks from being assigned and many units were lucky to get trucks. Some units had to ride on the StuGs themselves.

There seems to be a rough correlation between the redesignation of some Sturmgeschutz units as Sturmartillerie (assault artillery) and the addition of a Begleit Batterie. Parallel to this was the redesignation of most all the Abteilungen to brigades in early 1944. This reflected the expansion of the Batterie to 10, and later 14 vehicles. Including headquarters vehicles, a late-war brigade would consist of 31 or 45 StuGs.