- Yes
- No
The Sturmhaubitze 42 G (Sd. Kfz. 142/2) assault howitzer was the final model of the Sturmhaubitze 42 series. It was created to provide the infantry increased firepower support in order to offset the increasing use & diversion of the Sturmgeschütz III G to the anti-tank role. Compared to the StuG III, the StuH 42 was equipped with an electrically fired variant of the 10.5 cm leFH 18 howitzer enabling a significantly larger payload of explosives to be delivered downrange at the enemy. Over 1,310 Sturmhaubitze 42 Ausführung G were produced throughout 1942-1945 with production hitting its peak in September 1944:
Various refinements were instituted during its production run, including the addition of Schürzen, the Rundumsfeuer MG 34, one-piece ammunition, & a co-axial MG 34. In War Thunder, the StuH 42 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 September 1944, Gaijin instead has decided to provide the German faction player with an extremely early example (based on the game’s StuG III G) with weaker features such as bolted on appliqué frontal armor, no Nebelwurfgerät, no Zimmerit, no cupola shot deflector, no steel return rollers, no improved tracks, no Rundumsfeuer MG 34 machine gun, no Nahverteidigungswaffe, no late ammunition, no external gun travel lock, no strengthened final drive, no co-axial MG 34, & no Pilze. The complete lack of these late improvements are a detriment to the combat effectiveness of the StuH 42 G in this game. As a result, the German faction player is forced to use a rare, generic, slow loading StuH 42 G in an early, outdated configuration that is completely out of place for late war maps or events/scenarios.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 September 1944 Sturmhaubitze 42 Ausführung G, featuring late war improvements & features. Main improvements over the current StuH 42 G would be:
Solid 80 mm frontal hull armor
Zimmerit
Cupola protected by armored deflector
Steel rollers
Improved tracks with increased traction
Rundumsfeuer MG 34 (to shoot at soft targets)
Nahverteidigungswaffe (for smoke)
Solid 80 mm frontal superstructure armor
Muzzle break discontinued
One-piece ammunition for faster reloading
Treibspiegel-Geschoss ammunition
Main weapon travel lock
Strengthened final drive
Co-axial MG 34 (to shoot at soft targets)
Pilze for 2 ton crane
Some more information:
Sources/Manuals:
https://www.amazon.com/Sturmgeschutz-Its-Variants-Spielberger-Military/dp/0887403980
https://www.amazon.com/Encyclopedia-German-Tanks-World-Self-Propelled/dp/1854095188
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/Sturmgeschutz-III-Ausf-Armor-Around/dp/0897474341
https://www.amazon.com/Sturmartillerie-Spearhead-infantry-General-Military/dp/1472811283
https://www.amazon.de/-/en/dp/379090659X
https://www.amazon.com/Achtung-Panzer-Sturmgeschutz-Stug-IV-SIG-33/dp/4499226546
