- Yes
- No
I would like to suggest the StuH 42 Ausf. F, the precurser of the allready in game found StuH 42 Ausf. G.
As the name suggest it is made on an earlier StuG III Ausf. F hull instead of the Ausf. G.
It would offer a good sidegrade vehicle at 2.3 (2.0/2.3 is the average Br for 50mm armor and up) to a possible future StuG III Ausf. E. It would play more similar to the allready in game StuG III Ausf. A than the StuH 42 Ausf. G, as it exchanges reloadspeed for more firepower (Tho with a capability cap of 115mm/0° of both the 7,5 and 10,5 cm Gr. 38/39 HL/C) and less similar to the StuH 42 Ausf. G, as the 50mm armor may be far easier penetrated. If the weakpoints are still seen as to big, track add on armor could be added in game. Its also rather easy to implement, as both the Gun (on the StuH 42 G) and the Hull (StuG III Ausf. F) is allready in game.
History:
After the ever growing tank threat on the eastern Front, and the lack of acessable Field AT guns more and more StuG IIIs (still with the short gun) were taken away from close infantry support and be used more in the anti tank role, whenever they were avaiable and usable. In 1942 the need for a stronger dedicated infantry support version came up when the order of 500 StuG III Ausf. E were cancelled at around 280 in favor of starting production of the StuG III Ausf. F with the new 7,5 cm StuK 40 L/43, while it used the same He grenade as the L/24, it was however even more used in the AT role than the Infantry support role, so at about the same time the first StuH 42 prototype was build on an StuG III Ausf. F hull.
While mostly identical to the StuG III, it comes from the same production line, but a modified LeFH 18 L/28 to fire the ammo electrically under the designation 10,5 cm StuH 42 L/28. Another change is of course the ammo containers for 36x 10,5 cm rounds. The overall armor profile can allready be seen in game the StuG III Ausf. F (tho the model is very old and outdated). This improvement comes in the from that instead of the 7,5 cm 5,74kg 686g Fp.02 420m/s a 10,5 cm 14,81 kg 1,75kg Fp.02 472m/s round was a huge improvement for the infantry support role against infantry and reinforced structures and trenches. Production later on changed to F/8 and G with overall around 1317 produced.
Pictures:
Spoiler
(The caption is wrong)
While not complete, there is still one in existence in the Technikmuseum Sinsheim.
Armor:
| Armour | Front (Slope angle) | Sides | Rear | Roof |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hull | 30 mm (86°), 50 mm (50°) Front glacis | |||
| 50 mm (23°) Lower glacis | 30 mm | 30 mm (33°) Top | ||
| 30 mm (11°) Bottom | 17 mm | |||
| Superstructure | 50 mm (9-10°), 30 mm (76°) | 30 mm | 30 mm (26-30°) | 11 mm |
| Game Mode | Max Speed (km/h) | Weight (ton) | Engine power (horsepower) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | Reverse | 22,7 | Upgraded | Stock | |
| Arcade | 44 | 9 | 426 | 572 | |
| Realistic | 41 | 8 | 265 | 300 |
The Gun:
10,5 cm StuH 42 L/28
Pzgr. Aphe 14 kg 480 m/s 238g (304,64g aquivalent) filler 72mm/10m
Pzgr. Rot Apcbc 15,56 kg 470 m/s 250g (357,5g) 84mm/10m
F.H. Gr. He 14,81 kg 472 m/s 1,75 kg filler Fp.02 und Np.10 (2,24 kg TnTa)
Gr. 39 Rot Hl/B Heat 12,35 kg 495 m/s 2,53 kg filler aquivalent 105mm/all
Gr. 39 Rot Hl/C Heat 12,35 kg 495 m/s 2,53 kg filler aquivalent 115mm/all
F.H.Gr. F He 14,81 kg 540 m/s 2,21 kg filler Fp.02 und Np.10 (2,83 kg TnTa)
F.H. Gr. Nb. Smoke 14 kg 480 m/s 50g smokestuff dont expect much
And optionally
10,5 / 7,5 cm Pzgr. 39 TS ApcbcDS 6,4 kg 765 m/s 17g H.10 138mm/10m
Source:
Hitlers Panzer: The Complete History 1933-1945
German Assault Guns and Tank Destroyers 1940-1945
RH 8/v. 854
Munition der 10,5 cm LeFH 18
2C7 Perforation of Armor by German Projectiles
