"Fuhrer is convinced that immediately after the delivery of Sturmpanzers to the units there will be great need for this type of vehicles." – Albert Speer.
During a conference on October 2, 1942, Speer presented the plans of a new Sturmpanzer and on October 14, 1942, designs were shown to Adolf Hitler. Based on these designs, Hitler ordered production of 40 to 60 new vehicles that should be ready by spring 1943. The new Sturmpanzer was to use the Panzer IV chassis and the 150mm StuH 43 L/12 gun (developed into a tank mounted weapon from the sIG 33 by Skoda). At the same time, Hitler also requested that the new design be mounted with a 210mm or 220mm mortar, but this never happened. In February 1943, Skoda produced a wooden prototype of the new Sturmpanzer IV (Sturmpanzer 43). The vehicle was designated Sd.Kfz.166, Sturmgeschütz IV mit 15cm StuH 43.
"We always were considered a ‘fire brigade’ unit, and always were used when the infantry was in trouble and lots of artillery had to be brought down at the enemy and fast. More than one infantry regiment blessed us after we had smashed a heavy attack of the enemy…Funny thing, though. As happy as the commanders of the supported units were when we smashed an enemy attack, the ‘Landsers’, the line infantry, were glad when we left, because enemy artillery fire was pounding them to hell while we were there. They could not change the locations of their fox holes, but we could move back and forth and sideways to escape enemy artillery at least to some extent" – Joseph Scharrer, 3rd Company of Sturmpanzerabteilung 216, from May of 1943 to October of 1944.
In a departure from my normal build routine, this project finds me only dealing with the finishing aspects as the majority of the construction has been completed by Jeff Kleinhenz, Editorial Assistant of MMiR and fellow modeler. Jeff asked if I would be interested in applying the Zimmerit then finishing the beast. Of course I answered "Yes".
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This is only my second project on which I have applyed the anti-magnetic paste, the first being the 1:48 StuG IV. Once again I am using the Mori Mori putty. The putty is a 2-part process comprising of a tube of a toothpaste consistency paste and a second small bottle containing a yellow, liquid catalyst. Drying (working) time can be determined by the amount of catalyst that you mix into the paste…just a small hint of the catalyst to results in a light, creamy yellow appearance…..Perfect!
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