Sturmpanzer IV missions were generally in support of infantry units, against enemy bunker fortifications or in the elimination of small- to medium-sized artillery concentrations. First use of these vehicles came along the East Front versus the Red Army at Kursk, Kharkov and Dnepstroy as part of the Sturmpanzerabteilung 216. Despite the 50 fielded in the ensuing actions, many were lost to enemy fire as the Red Army picked up steam and began to put the German Army on their heels in many areas.
Attacking the stout Sturmpanzer IVs usually involved tank-killing infantry squads utilizing "magnetic" mines. These mines could be affixed to the metal sides of the vehicle and set to explode, at least knocking the vehicle out of commission for lengthy periods or at most destroying them outright. To counter these mine attacks, the Germans coated armored vehicles with "Zimmerit" paste designed to resist the contact of such magnetic mines. Additional protection was also added through side armor "skirts" (known as "Schurzen") to help protect the more vulnerable sides of the lower hull and track systems from enemy fire.
By late 1943, the Sturmpanzer IV design was modified, particularly along her superstructure, to help reduce overall operating weight. A lighter form of the 150mm main gun - the StuH 43/1 L/12 - was also fitted. The driver position was addressed with periscopic vision blocks over the original Tiger I-style vision port. These new redesigned vehicles went into production in December of 1943 and eventually sent to war. Another series redesign occurred the following year as operation action dictated. It was about this time that the aforementioned Zimmerit anti-magnetic paste was being used and a new front-facing, Kugelblende 80 ball-mounted 7.92mm MG34 machine gun was fitted in the front superstructure panel for a self-defense measure. The key design feature of these new Sturmpanzer IVs was its commander's cupola atop a redesigned superstructure emplacement that shortened the overall height of this inherently tall vehicle. Sturmpanzer IVs fought through to the end of the war but losses mounted. One of the last recorded actions involving these vehicles was near Budapest, Hungary of the Sturmpanzerabteilung 219 as part of the 23rd Panzer Division. Like other fighting groups before them, these Sturmpanzer IVs were useful for their intended role but fared no better in combat. Regardless, German authorities (including Hitler himself) were still impressed with such weapons simply because they provided devastating fire support to fulfill a variety of mission requirements - often softening target areas ahead of a main thrust.
Troops called the Sturmpanzer IV the "Sturmpanzer" or "Stupa" for short and the name "Brummbar", meaning "Grizzly Bear", became tied to the machine in the post-war years (the name never formally used by the German Army itself). One true negative of the design was her limited off road capabilities due to her operating weight (approximately 28 tons), making her extremely heavy and slow (with a top listed speed of just 25 miles per hour in ideal conditions) and giving the vehicle a terrible tendency to get bogged down on wet terrain. Unfortunately for the German Army, such terrain was in large supply on the East Front. Steel-tired road wheels also replaced later rubber-tired types to help offset the Sturmpanzer IV's excessive weight on stable ground but only had a limited effect on operation. She was a tall vehicle that proved difficult to conceal against the terrain and limited space within the fighting compartment meant a limited ammunition supply.
At least 313 Brummbar examples were produced in all including a command vehicle version fitting additional communications equipment and identified by their antenna installations. These were designated in German Army nomenclature as the "Befehlsturmpaner IV". The British and Americans both evaluated captured Brummbar's in the years following the end of the war.
Content ©MilitaryFactory.com; No Reproduction Permitted.