- Yes
- No
The Sturmgeschütz III G (Sd. Kfz. 142/1) assault gun was the final model of the Sturmgeschütz III series. It was Germany’s most produced, fully tracked armored fighting vehicle during World War II & the second most produced German armored combat vehicle of any type after the Sd. Kfz. 251. Over 8,596 Sturmgeschütz III Ausführung G were produced throughout 1942-1945 with production hitting its peak in December 1944:
Various refinements were instituted during its production run, including the addition of Schürzen, a Topfblende mantlet, & the Rundumsfeuer MG 34. In War Thunder, the StuG III G currently found in the game is an early April-May 1943 example, which is pictured below:
Instead of depicting a standard, common, mainstream example produced during December 1944, Gaijin instead has decided to provide the German faction player with an extremely early example with weaker features such as bolted on appliqué frontal armor, no Nebelwurfgerät, no Zimmerit, no cupola shot deflector, no Topfblende mantlet, no steel return rollers, no improved tracks, no Rundumsfeuer MG 34 machine gun, no Nahverteidigungswaffe, no improved muzzle break, no external gun travel lock, no strengthened final drive, no co-axial MG 34, no Pilze, & no tow bracket. The complete lack of these late improvements are a detriment to the combat effectiveness of the StuG III G in this game. In contrast to the excessive amounts of identical T-34’s which proliferate this game, the German faction player is forced to use a rare, generic StuG III G in an early, outdated configuration that is completely out of place for late war maps or events/scenarios. Therefor, this suggestion is specifically for a proper late war December 1944 Sturmgeschütz III Ausführung G, featuring late war improvements & features. Main improvements over the current StuG III G would be:
Solid 80 mm frontal hull armor
Zimmerit
Cupola protected by armored deflector
Topfblende mantlet (for more deflects)
Steel rollers
Improved tracks with increased traction
Rundumsfeuer MG 34 (to shoot at soft targets)
Nahverteidigungswaffe (for smoke)
Improved muzzle break
Solid 80 mm frontal superstructure armor
Main weapon travel lock
Strengthened final drive
Co-axial MG 34 (to shoot at soft targets)
Pilze for 2 ton crane
Improved towing hitch
Some more information:
Sources/Manuals:
https://www.amazon.com/Panzer-Production-1933-1945-Tracts/dp/B004WXA45C
https://www.amazon.com/Sturmgeschuetz-S-Pak-Sturmmoerser-Panzer-tracts/dp/189284804X
https://www.amazon.com/Sturmgeschutz-III-1942-45-New-Vanguard/dp/1841761826
https://www.amazon.com/Sturmgeschutz-III-action-Armor-No/dp/0897470478
https://www.amazon.com/Stug-III-Ausf-No-15/dp/B008QR1P80
https://www.amazon.de/-/en/dp/379090659X
https://www.amazon.com/Achtung-Panzer-Sturmgeschutz-Stug-IV-SIG-33/dp/4499226546
