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Stug III Ausf. G
Mar 21, 2007
During 2006, Dragon Models decided to launch a range called
Smart Kits. These kits were intended to the medium skilled
modeler, with an excellent degree of detail avoiding the need
for after market parts like Photo Ectch parts or tracks for
example.
With this in mind the first release was the Panther G, and I was
fortunate enough to receive one as the Armorama Model of the
Month prize.
I got another one you will se in these pages, the M2A1 Half
Track, and more recently I bought this Stug III Ausf G early
version.
These kits are outstanding in every sense of the word, but of
course that a lot of modelers will buy after market parts for
them. Who can resist? I'm still waiting for a detailed analysis
of references to understand if my hard earned Euros will go that
way.
With all these incredible kits in the stash it's becoming very
difficult to decide which the next one will be
What will be used in this kit
Dragon Models Stug III Ausf G early Smart Kit (6320)
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(StuG III) assault gun was one of Germany's most produced
Armored fighting vehicle during World War II. It was built on the
chassis of the Panzer III tank. Initially intended as a mobile,
armored light gun for infantry support, the StuG was continually
modified until, by 1942, it was widely employed as a tank
destroyer.
The Sturmgeschütz series is probably best known for its excellent
price-to-performance ratio. By the end of the war, over 10,500 had
been built.
The Sturmgeschütz III originated from an initial proposal that
Colonel Erich von Manstein submitted to General Beck in 1935 in which he
suggested that Sturmartillerie (Assault Artillery) units should be used in
a direct-fire support role for infantry divisions. To that end, on June
15, 1936, Daimler-Benz AG received an order to develop an armored infantry
support vehicle capable of mounting a 75 mm (2.95 in) artillery piece. The
gun was to have a limited traverse of a minimum of 25 degrees and be
mounted in a fully enclosed superstructure that provided overhead
protection for the crew. The height of the vehicle was not to exceed that
of the average man.
Daimler-Benz AG used the chassis and running gear of its recently
designed Panzerkampfwagen III medium tank as a basis for the new
vehicle. Prototype manufacture was passed over to Alkett, which
produced five examples in 1937 of the experimental 0-series StuG
based upon the PzKpfw III Ausf. B. These prototypes featured a
mild steel superstructure and Krupp’s short-barreled 75 mm
Sturmkanone 37 L/24.
As the StuG III was intended to fill an anti-infantry close
support combat role, early models were fitted with a low-velocity
75 mm StuK 37 L/24 gun, firing high explosive shells. After the
Germans encountered the Soviet T-34, the StuG III were armed with
the high-velocity 75 mm StuK 40 L/43 (Spring 1942) or 75 mm L/48
(Autumn 1942) anti-tank gun.
Later models of the StuG III had a 7.92mm MG34 mounted on the hull
for added anti-infantry protection.
After the Second World War, the Soviet Union gave some of the
captured German vehicles to Syria, which continued to use them at
least until the Six Days War (1967).
StuG III Ausf. G (1942-45, 7,893 produced)
The final, and by far the most common, of the StuG series. The
G-series StuG used the hull of the Panzer III Ausf. M and, after
1944, a second machine gun. Later versions were fitted with the
Saukopf (Ger. pig's head) gun mantlet, which was more effective
than the original box metal structure at deflecting shots.
| Ammo |
75mm 54 rounds
7.92mm 600 rounds |
| Armament |
75mm StuK 40 L/48
2 x 7.92mm MG 34 or MG42 |
| Armor |
30mm to 50 mm |
| Crew |
4 men |
| Engine |
Maybach HL 120 TRM / 12-cylinder / 300hp |
| Height |
2.16m |
| Lenght |
6.77m |
| Range |
Road 155km |
| Speed |
40km/h |
| Weight |
23900kg |
| Width |
2.95m |
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