10.5cm leFH 18/40/1 (Sf) auf 3t Zgkw. - Powerful But Exposed

[DMYEugen 688]

TL;DR: A German halftrack equipped with a 105mm howitzer.

 

History:

In 1943, the German military was beginning to notice that they were lacking in the self-propelled gun department. As such, developments on many projects to address this deficiency were greenlit. One such project involved the mounting of a 105mm howitzer onto the 3 ton Zugkraftwagen chassis, better known as the Sd.Kfz. 11. The howitzer chosen for this project was the 10.5cm leFH 18/40, a lighter and more easy to produce version of the standard leFH 18. The conceptual drawing of the SPG was completed by the 27th of September, 1943, which was immediately followed up by a single prototype being constructed and presented directly to Hitler on the 22nd of January, 1944. Hitler found the vehicle to be suitable for production, which led to the General d. Artillerie ordering for development and production of it to proceed at an accelerated rate, the goal being to outfit both motorized divisions and independent batteries with them. Once development was complete, 50 0-serie vehicles were ordered, with the first 4 being completed and shipped to Artillerie Schule II for troop trials and training by November. Unlike the prototype, these 0-serie vehicles were to be fitted with a partially armored superstructure. Unfortunately, bombing raids on the assembly factory made it very difficult to fulfil even the small order of 50 vehicles, with only 4 vehicles being delivered by the end of January 1945 and 12 in February. The vehicle itself was very simple in terms in construction. It was quite literally an Sd.Kfz. 11 fitted with a partially armored superstructure and a 10.5cm leFH 18/40 mounted on the bed. The howitzer was capable of traversing and firing in any direction, however, it was strongly advised for the gun crew to have a strong and secure handhold on the vehicle when firing the cannon off the side as the drastic tilt caused by the recoil could easily throw them off otherwise. If necessary, the howitzer could be dismounted from the vehicle and used as a stationary weapon, however, doing so took 15 minutes and required a towed lifting mechanism.

 

Place In War Thunder:

The recent addition of the Lancia 3Ro has made it very clear that the War Thunder playerbase very much enjoys low-tier howitzer carriers. Such vehicles, while not too terribly useful are a great change of pace from the monotony of high-tier gameplay. They are very high-risk, high-reward vehicles. If you manage to land your shot, just about whatever you hit will die, however, if you're caught moving or not paying attention, all it takes is a few quick machine gun bursts to take you out. The 10.5cm leFH 18/40/1 (Sf) auf 3t Zgkw would act as a German counterpart to the Italian Lancia 3Ro with the added benefits of more armor and better off-road mobility. Considering that this was a production vehicle, it could easily fit in the tech tree. That being said, its very limited production run would also make it ideal premium or event material.

 

Specifications:

Spoiler

Armament: 105mm leFH 18/40/1 howitzer

 

Dimensions: 5.80m, 2.20m, 1.80m (L,W,H)

 

Weight: 8100~kg

 

Armor: 8-15mm

 

Crew: 5

 

Ammunition: HE, HEI, HEAT, APHE, Smoke, Illumination, and Propaganda (Useless in-game but would be funny to smack someone with paper) (Further details and additional shells available in the "Sources" spoiler.)

 

Speed: 52~kph

 

Horsepower: 100hp

 

Pictures:

Spoiler

Prototype:

 

Pointed off the side:

 

Line Drawing:

 

Sources:

Spoiler

https://weaponsandwarfare.com/2020/08/22/heuschrecke/

https://www.militaryfactory.com/armor/detail.php?armor_id=413

https://panzer-modell.de/berichte/10_5lefh_auf_3t/10_5lefh.htm

https://www.armedconflicts.com/10-5-cm-le-F-H-18-auf-Sd-Kfz-11-t65659

https://tanks-encyclopedia.com/ww2/germany/2cm-Flak-38-auf-Selbstfahrlafette-Zgkw3t-SdKfz11.php

 

Panzer Tracts No.10 Artillerie Selbstfahrlafetten 15 cm s.I.G.33 auf Pz.Kpfw.I (ohne Aufbau) to Karl-Geraet (54 cm) by Thomas L. Jentz and Hilary L. Doyle

Bundesarchiv

Spoiler

 

Edited August 10, 2022 by DMYEugen

[kurururocks 210]

Open for discussion

[Rambolf 371]

God those germans really made alot of different tds and howitzers,,,

[Valcour 1,141]

I like it!  +1

 

[Ghostmaxi 873]

Uh nice, i was wondering when someone would finally suggest that.

On 08/08/2022 at 20:26, DMYEugen said:

 

Ammunition: HE, HEI, HEAT, Smoke, Illumination, and Propaganda (Useless in-game but would be funny to smack someone with paper)

You forgot Aphe.

And cince its the /40 with muzzle break, it also can fire the F.H. Gr. F. which has more filler and more muzzle velocity.

And it could (but doesnt need on this vehicle) fire the 10,5/8,8 cm Pzgr Ts Mbs. And the 10,5/7,5 cm Pzgr Ts Mbs. And which isnt represented in game, Kartätschen or Canister shot.

Edited August 10, 2022 by Ghostmaxi

[Milocat 4,857]

+1, would love to see this added to the game someday.  

[DMYEugen 688]

4 hours ago, kurururocks said:

Open for discussion

Thanks!

1 hour ago, Ghostmaxi said:

Uh nice, i was wondering when someone would finally suggest that.

You forgot Aphe.

And cince its the /40 with muzzle break, it also can fire the F.H. Gr. Fern. which has more filler and more muzzle velocity.

And it could (but doesnt need on this vehicle) fire the 10,5/8,8 cm Pzgr Ts Mbf. And the 10,5/7,5 cm Pzgr Ts Mbf. And which isnt represented in game Kartätschen or Canister shot.

Do you have a source where all of these are listed out so I can put it in the sources spoiler?

[Ghostmaxi 873]

4 hours ago, DMYEugen said:

Thanks!

Do you have a source where all of these are listed out so I can put it in the sources spoiler?