AFV Modeller - Issue 25 - Emil.pdf - afv modeller - gaszek.karol

Sturer Emil

by Thomas Anderson

Emil from the rear. The combat crew of four stand on the vehicle being admired by nosy infantry men. (Photo courtesy Y. Kadari)

Well before WW II the German ordnance

bureau decided on the development of

heavy SP guns (10 cm and 12.8 cm

calibre) which would be able to destroy

enemy fortifications. A war against France

was planned so these SP guns would be

introduced in small numbers to bust the

bunkers of the Maginot-line. This schedule

had to be dropped but work on the two SP

gun development was continued. The

lighter weapon, the s. 10 cm Kanone was

mounted on a modified Pzkw IV chassis

and two vehicles were produced by the

end of 1940.

shelved the existing hulls could be used as

base vehicles but again, by 1941 only two

SP guns were produced under the

designation Pz.Sfl V, the nickname ‘Sturer

Emil’ was adopted later.

this box. During maintenance work the gun

had to fully depressed so that the engine

could be removed. It is likely that the rear

plate of this box could be opened for

smaller work, and possibly the roof plate of

the box could be removed as well.

Of a conventional design, the hulls were

lengthened to accept an additional set of

roadwheels. The final drive remained in the

front, the engine was located in the rear of

the vehicle in the middle of the fighting

compartment. The cooling system was

situated behind it under the fighting

compartment´s floor. The cooling air

supply was provided through two

armoured bays mounted behind the

angled back of the superstructure. The

combustion air was taken from inside the

vehicle and the engine was covered by a

box made from sheet metal. Ventilation

slots were added to the front and rear of

The driver was placed in an armoured bay

in the front of the hull and to his right were

the fuel tanks.

The running gear consisted of large

sprockets fitted at the front and 7 sets of

interleaving roadwheels at each side with

the idler wheels fitted at the rear. Uniquely

for a German vehicle, these were rubber

rimmed. The track was assisted by three

return rollers.

For the proposed SP gun mounting of the

ultra-heavy 12.8 cm Kanone 40 the hulls of

the VK 3001 prototypes were used. These

vehicles were developed in the late 1930’s

as heavy tanks, in principle scaled-up

Pzkw IV´s. Once plans for the VK were

The superstructure was fitted onto the hull

at the rear. It consisted of single armour

plates welded at different angles. Being

slightly wider than the hull, it was open

topped with a small roof over the forward

section. This forward section also carried

thicker side armour than the rear sections.

The slightly angled roof had two openings,

the left curved one was intended for the

Richtaufsatz/gunner´s periscope. The right

aperture allowed for mounting a rotating

stereoscopic sight used by the

commander. A further scissor´s periscope

was mounted further towards the back.

Compared to later SP guns the amour

protection was rather good, with 50 mm to

the front and 20 mm to the sides

Immediately behind the frontal armour

plate of the superstructure a massive gun

mount was fitted onto the hull sides. Here

the 12.8 cm K 40 was mounted and to the

left of the gun the sat the gunner. His seat

was fixed onto the left part of the massive

gun mount. The gunner used a standard

gun sight. Below the gun mount a number

of stowage bins were fixed, these

contained the periscope and other

equipment during travelling.

This vehicle was photographed quite often, although this was prohibited. Here a group of soldiers sit

on the prominent barrel of the 12,8 cm gun. Not that at this time the Pz.Sfl. V was provided with

standard headlamps. (Photo courtesy Heinrich)

To the right of the gun the commander was

placed in an identical arrangement to the

gunner´s . The commander used a

stereoscopic periscope fitted to the roof

plate. The Emil was delivered without a

radio system, this was added later. The

floor of the fighting compartment in the

rear was covered with wooden slats.

The Pz.Sfl. V at the Artillerie Lehr Regiment, Jüterbog, in early 1941. A large tarpaulin covers the

fighting compartment. The vehicle shows a plain dark grey colour. (Photo courtesy S. Clark)

In front of the superstructure two box-like

bays were fitted. The left one was made

from armour plate and covered the driver’s

position. On the front of this cabin a visor

(Fahrersichtblende 50) was mounted. The

driver could enter his compartment through

a hatch in the bay´s roof. There was also

an escape hatch fitted in front of the

second return roller, a left over from the

Pz.Sfl. V´s ancestor, the VK 3001. This

escape hatch was fitted to both sides of

the hull, even though the right one was

blocked by the fuel tanks.

To the right of the hull a second similar bay

was fitted. This was a dummy construction

made from sheet metal, which could be

folded to the front. This bay was probably

Another view to the SP gun. Note that the letter „L“ was painted on the hull´s front plate, probably for

Lehrregiment (instructional regiment). (Photo collection Anderson)

This is definetely the other Pz.Sfl. V, photographed at the same time in

Jüterbog. This vehicle lacks the left headlamp, but has brackets welded to the

frontal armour plates. Their purpose is unknowm. (Photo collection Anderson)

The vast plains of Russia were an ideal playground for Emil. The 12,8 cm was able

to destroy any enemy armour over far distances. (Photo courtesy F. von Aufseß)

This photo shows the absence of the dummy bay. A number of extra running

wheels are visible on the glacis plate, a hint that these caused problems? Note the

15 kill rings painted to the massive barrel. (Photo courtesy F. von Aufseß)

This is possibly the other vehicle following. Note that the dummy bay on right

hand side has been removed. A radio set was added, as evident by the

antenna. (Photo courtesy K. Münch)

used to store the personal kit of the crew.

This bay also covered the fuel tank filler

point and during action in Russia this

dummy bay was removed from one

vehicle.

around the gun barrel and the gun had a

three piece recuperator.

them to be most important. He expected

the introduction of heavy American and

English tanks later in the war. Thus it was

decided that the vehicles should be used

not only as mobile artillery, but also as tank

destroyers. Mass production should start in

1942. In early 1941 both pre-production

vehicles were transferred for evaluations to

the Pz.Jg.Abt. 521, a special purpose

battalion. 521 was mainly outfitted with PzJg

1, one heavy company received the two

s.10 cm Kanone auf Sfl IV a known as Dicker

Max, the other heavy company the two

Pz.Sfl V 12,8 cm SP guns. With the start of

Operation Barbarossa the unit was sent to

the central section of the eastern front.

The ammunition

The ammunition for the 12.8 cm K 40 was

a two-piece type. The cartridges and the

grenades were transported separately.

Inside the vehicle, 18 ready rounds were

stored, the brass cartridges in horizontal

boxes, the grenades in vertical fittings.

The 12.8 cm Kanone 40

This gun was derived from the 12.8 cm

Flak 40, which had to be heavily modified.

The barrel was largely unchanged, but was

fitted with a new cradle. This was of

tubular construction, similar to the type

later used for the Ferdinand and

Jagdpanther tank hunters. This cradle can

be described as a coat-like housing

Sturer Emil in action

Although these SP guns were not ready for

action in France, Hitler himself considered

Unlike it´s smaller brother which was used

rather seldom (and without great success),

the Sturer Emil saw extensive action during

offensive operations. While Max, because

of the 10 cm gun´s slow muzzle velocity,

had to be used in an artillery manner, the

12.8 cm K 40 was a high performance gun

with flat trajectory. It´s armour penetration

results were incredible. Eyewitnesses

reported that T-34 tanks were simply

perforated, the shell passing right through

the tank on the opposite side and causing

more damage there. Accuracy was good,

but did not match the results of the famous

8.8 cm Flak 36. The gun was able to

engage targets up to 3,500 m. Russia´s

vast steppes were a formidable

battleground for the Emil.

Unfortunately the SP gun suffered from

poor mobility. Emil reached a maximum

speed of 15 km/h over rough terrain, and

the driver´s were told to drive extremely

carefully in order not to cause damage to

the gun mount. The crew´s situation was

not very satisfactory with a running engine

beside them, reloading took place under

extreme conditions. The very large and

heavy rounds and the separate cartridges

had to be handled over the hot engine

cover and as a result burns were seen

quite often. As a result of these

shortcomings, like the Dicker Max SP gun,

the ambitious production plans for the

Sturer Emil were dropped in favour of more

economic solutions.

Emil has engine problems. A large wooden jib had to be erected to seize the engine of this Pz.Sfl. V.

No easy job, since the massive breech block is cumbersomely. (Photo courtesy A. Takigushi)

The Pz.Sfl. V, now called sturer Emil, at the front. Although slovenly covered with foliage, a number of alterations are visible. The headlamps

were substituted by armoured lamps. Only Emil´s smaller brother, „Dicker Max“, received these lamps, too. (Photo courtesy Y. Kadari)

After the war the SP gun was displayed under the open sky in

Kubinka. (Photo courtesy S. Netrebenko)

The sole remaining example is now preserved at in Kubinka in fairly complete condition.

AFV Modeller - Issue 25 - Emil.pdf

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