Ersatz StuG III G - What Are You Supposed To Be?

[DMYEugen 688]

TL;DR: A StuG III G "disguised" as... something...

 

History:

During the Battle of the Bulge, Otto Skorzeny and Panzer Brigade 150 were tasked with the capture at least two of the bridges over the Meuse River before the Allies could destroy them. As the mission was part of Operation Greif, Skorzeny was to use captured Allied uniforms and equipment, however, to effectively execute the operation, he needed more of such equipment. Skorzeny requested 12 tanks, 20 armored cars, 20 self-propelled guns, 100 Jeeps, 40 motorcycles, and 120 trucks. All of these needed to be of Allied origin. The equipment that arrived severely fell short of the requirements. Only two Shermans arrived, both of which were in severe disrepair, alongside 6 M3 halftracks, 4 M8 armored cars, 21 motorcycles, 28 Jeeps, and 9 trucks. Pulling out of the operation was not an option, so Skorzeny just had to make do with what he was given and fill in the gaps with German equipment. The brigade had five Panthers and five StuG III Gs on hand. The Panthers were modified and turned into the Ersatz M10s we all know and love. What many don't know, however, is that the StuG III Gs were also modified. These modifications included the addition of sheet-metal side-skirts, removal of the roof machine gun, and the addition of sheet-metal over the engine deck. It is unknown what the new Ersatz StuG III G was meant to mimic and many still debate over the subject to this day. One of the popular theories is that it's meant to look like an M7 Priest, however, I believe it's more likely that the modifications were done to simply make it look like anything that wasn't a StuG. As many know, Operation Greif never really went anywhere and and the brigade was commanded to fight normally. Two Ersatz StuG III Gs were found in Géromont, Belgium. Both were abandoned and one was booby-trapped. 

 

Place In War Thunder:

The Ersatz StuG III G is quite possibly the rarest StuG modification out there and with the Ersatz M10 already in-game, I don't see a reason to exclude its brother-in-arms. It's also just a really cool piece of history and would allow more players to commit war-crimes. Playstyle would be pretty much identical to the StuG III G in-game, but who knows? Maybe you can get away with something in Simulator Battles. Like the Ersatz M10, the best implementation of this vehicle would be through some event or battlepass. 

 

Specifications:

Spoiler

Armament: 7.5 cm StuK 40 L/48

 

Dimensions: 6.85m, 2.95m, 2.16m (L,W,H)

 

Weight: 23900kg

 

Armor: Same as StuG III G in-game with the exception of added sheet-metal and the "Pig's Snout" mantlet.

 

Crew:  4 (driver, commander, gunner, loader)

 

Ammunition: Same as StuG III G in-game.

 

Speed: Same as StuG III G in-game.

 

Horsepower: 296hp

 

Pictures:

Spoiler

Side View (Abandoned in a field in Géromont , Belgium):

 

Booby-trapped Ersatz StuG III G:

 

Rear View (Notice the sheet-metal covering the engine deck):

 

Drawings of the Ersatz tanks:

 

Video:

Spoiler

 

 

Sources:

Spoiler

The Above Video

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Greif

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panzer_Brigade_150

https://weaponsandwarfare.com/2020/07/03/i-ss-panzer-korps-on-the-elsenborn/

https://www.nevingtonwarmuseum.com/stug-iii-g-ss-panzer-brigade-150.html

http://www.wardrawings.be/WW2/Files/1-Vehicles/Axis/1-Germany/05-Sturmpanzers/StuG3/StuG3-Ausf.Gs.htm

https://www.axishistory.com/various/120-germany-waffen-ss/germany-waffen-ss-brigades/1349-panzer-brigade-150

 

Edited June 29, 2022 by DMYEugen

[ItssLuBu 1,803]

Approved and open for discussion. 

[DMYEugen 688]

13 minutes ago, ItssLuBu said:

Approved and open for discussion. 

Thanks!

[Milocat 4,857]

100% +1 for sure, I love the Ersatz M10 and definitely would like to add its battle brother to my hangar.  Besides, who wouldn't want a second WarCrimesMobile^TM?

[eleks12 1,079]

Maybe as a skin.

[TheNexonRegime 429]

18 minutes ago, eleks12 said:

Maybe as a skin.

 

If you'll notice there are metal plates on the back, making it a bit more unqiue.

[eleks12 1,079]

2 minutes ago, TheNexonRegime said:

 

If you'll notice there are metal plates on the back, making it a bit more unqiue.

 

well that could make it unique enough to make it a gift/event vehicle. 

[Solarmod 1,204]

Wait, this was real? Now I'm kicking myself in the back because I really thought this was some fake thing! Total support from me, owning the Ersatz M10 and Stug would be really fun in custom battles!

[Chomusuke1 1,223]

+1 but do you know if this Ersatz Stug III G has a Nahverteidigungswaffe and/or coaxial MG/remote MG?

 

On 11/09/2021 at 05:03, DMYEugen said:

It is unknown what the new Ersatz StuG III G was meant to mimic

 

A "captured" Stug III G in 'american service' of course

 

Edited September 13, 2021 by Chomusuke1

[DMYEugen 688]

1 hour ago, Chomusuke1 said:

do you know if this Ersatz Stug III G has a Nahverteidigungswaffe

If you mean smoke discharges then no, I do not believe any Ersatz StuGs had them.

 

1 hour ago, Chomusuke1 said:

and/or coaxial MG/remote MG?

Regarding a coaxial MG, I don't see a hole for it in the pictures available, however, the drawing does show one. Since Operation Greif took place in late 1944 and the StuGs received coaxials around that time, I find it likely the Ersatz StuGs had them.

 

Regarding a remote MG, no. Any roof MG mounted would have been removed.

Edited September 13, 2021 by DMYEugen

[stuka2689 314]

3-inch Gun Motor Carriage Stug 3?

Ja, Definitely a USA vehicle.

+1

Edited September 14, 2021 by police2689

[Ghostmaxi 873]

It looks a bit like a shrunken T95 from the side, but the germans could never know of it could they?

[DMYEugen 688]

3 hours ago, Ghostmaxi said:

It looks a bit like a shrunken T95 from the side, but the germans could never know of it could they?

Yeah. That theory has definitely been thrown around too. It's incredibly unlikely that the Germans knew of the T28/T95. The theory goes that the Germans did somehow find out about the project and mistakenly thought it was in service due to a miscommunication.

[N4CR_ 537]

'removed the roof-mounted machine gun'

Oh, that'll fit right in with War Thunder StuG/StuHs then!

[SnakeMantis007@psn 30]

Why not.
 

We have the Ersatz M10, fans of the Battle of the Bulge - Operation Greif - will be delighted to see such this Stug III coming in the game.

 

+1

[Ghostmaxi 873]

I have read somewhere that it perhaps should be an M7 Priest.