Stugbrigade Holland november 1944

[Erwin L]

Hello All

I recently bought this picture. I think it is a Stug III ausf G. I'm not sure of it. What i know is that this one is abandoned/destroyed around the end of september/ beginning of november 1944 in Moerdijk Holland.

I know that Stugbrigade 244 and Stugbrigade 280 were in that area. Does somebody know to which brigade it belongs

Thanks in advance

Regards Erwin

[Erwin L]

This is the same tank. The picture is in the book Brabant Bevrijd from Jack Didden and Maarten Swarts. Maybe the picture is not sharp but it is the same one.

Regards Erwin

[Erwin L]

Maybe i'm in the wrong forum

regards Erwin

[Larry deZeng]

Maybe i'm in the wrong forum
regards Erwin

I doubt if anyone knows, Erwin. I do not see a number or a name on it, so it would be rather difficult to identify it from among the many hundreds manufactured. And then you would have to tap into one of probably no more than a dozen obsessed, crazed, foaming-at-the-mouth enthusiasts in the world who keep a data base of serial numbers for StuG III Ausf. G's. I do not think you will find one of these people on this web site. If you search on Google, I think you will find plenty of German AFV web sites where you would have a far better chance of getting an answer to your question, although I would say that still wouldn't be more than 1 in 10,000.

--Larry

[Erwin L]

Hello Larry

Thanks for your reply. What i know for sure that it was abandoned/ destroyed in Moerdijk (Holland). StuG brigade 244 and StuG brigade 280 were in that area around end of september/ begin november 1944. Stug brigade 280 fought in Arnhem as wel. I thought that a few StuG's from 280 were destroyed in Arnhem. A few came to this area. Most of the StuG's from this brigade had zimmerit on. So my guess is StuG Brigade 244. Is this panzer a StuG or Sturmhaubitze?

Regards Erwin

[Larry deZeng]

Is this panzer a StuG or Sturmhaubitze?

It must be the latter or a Sturmmorser. I would guess the barrel on that thing is for a 24 cm projectile with a range of no more than 5 to 7 km. You might want to search around on Google for Sturmmorser and Sturmhaubitze and see if you can find a photo that matches.

--Larry

[Erwin L]

Hello Larry

I found this from stug abteilung 280.

With the British paratroops landing in the Arnheim area the brigade was transferred to the Dutch border. On 19 September 1944 a portion of the unit arrived in the Arnheim area with 7 StuG III Ausf Gs and 3 StuH 42s. This portion of 280 remained in the Arnheim area until 29 September 1944. On 29 September they were loaded on railcars at Apeldoorn and transported to fight in the area of Eschen on 6 October 1944 while attached to the Fallschirm-Jäger-Regiment 6. On 23 October the brigade fought at Haarle. On 1 November they received 5 StuH 42s to replace lost StuG IIIs.
On 6 November 1944 the Moerdijk Bridgehead was abandoned and 280 was moved to Barentrecht and on 19 November 1944 they were loaded on railcars at Utrecht and transported to fight in the Alsace bridgehead arriving on 24 November 1944

Regards Erwin

[Larry deZeng]

What was the size of the weapon on the StuH 42s?

[Erwin L]

Hello Larry

StuH42 105mm L/28(36)
StuG ausf F StuK 37L/24(44)

if i'm correct

regards Erwin

[Larry deZeng]

Thanks. At least we know it isn't that. But I am wrong about the Sturmmörser. It seems that the only Sturmmörser was the 38 cm RW 61 auf Sturmmörser Tiger 5. However, the aperature on that weapon in the photo is much, much larger that 10.5 cm. 24 cm is still my guess.

--Larry

[Larry deZeng]

Okay, I think I figured it out. The photo is either a 7.5 cm StuG 40 Ausf G (Sd Kfz 142/1) or a 10.5 cm StuH 42 (Sd Kfz 142/2) with the gun barrel removed. The crew evidently removed the gun barrel when they abandoned it.

[Chamberlain, Peter and Hilary L. Doyle. Encyclopedia of German Tanks of World War Two: A complete illustrated directory of German battle tanks, armored cars, self-propelled guns and semi-tracked vehicles, 1933-1945. New York: Arco Publishing Co., 1978. ISBN 0-668-04565-5. pp.84-86.]

--Larry

[Erwin L]

Hello Larry

Then i think it is he same as this one. It is also a Stuh 42. I found this picture and it matches

regards Erwin

[Larry deZeng]

Yep, Erwin, that's it.......BINGO! But you still need to know which StuG-Brigade it belonged to, and I'm afraid I'm not much help with that. I hope someone comes forward with the information you need.

Best,

--Larry

[Erwin L]

Hello Larry

That's the second step. I believe both brigades used them, STuG Brigade 280 and 244.

regards Erwin

[Erwin L]

Hello Larry

I found another one in the book Brabant Bevrijd which was destroyed/abondoned in the same area. Looks like the same type of panzer

Regards