StuG III Ausf. G
Assault Gun · Germany
Low, cheap and hard to spot, with the long 7.5 cm in an 80 mm casemate. The gun swings only 10° each way and the sides are thin: shoot from cover and let the enemy come into your arc.
(the vehicle's description in the garage)
At a glance
| Nation | Germany |
| Role | Tank destroyer (TD) |
| Modelled variant | StuG III Ausf. G (late, Saukopf mantlet, Schuerzen) |
| Price | 670 credits |
| Team stock | 2 per five-player team (scales with team size) |
| Hit points | 890 |
| Main gun | 280 damage per AP shot, 4.6 s reload |
| Speed | 40 km/h on roads, 13.6 km/h off-road |
| View range | 230 m |
| Ability (B) | Ammo Drop |
| Garage ratings | Armour 2/10 · Firepower 5/10 · Mobility 8/10 · Spotting 7/10 |
History
The Sturmgeschütz III was a turretless assault gun built on the Panzer III chassis. It started as infantry support with a short gun, but the Ausf. G, the most-built version, carried the long 7.5 cm StuK 40 L/48 and became one of Germany's most effective tank killers. More than 10,000 StuG IIIs were built, more than any other German armoured fighting vehicle.
Its low profile made it easy to hide and its frontal armour was thick, but the gun could traverse only a few degrees. The game models a late Ausf. G with the cast "Saukopf" (pig's head) mantlet and side skirts. StuGs fought on every front, including Stalingrad, Prokhorovka, Arracourt, the Ardennes and the Seelow Heights.
In Armor Heads
Compared with the other 34 WW2 vehicles, it is bottom 5 for off-road speed (#35 of 35); top 5 for accuracy (#3 of 35).
Survivability
- Hit points: 890. Damage taken multiplier: 1.05 (effective HP 848).
- Tracks: a hit on the running gear breaks a track 45 % of the time (the hit does no damage); the crew repairs it in 9 s.
| Zone | Real plate | Damage multiplier (lower = thicker) | Raw shell damage to destroy through this zone | AP of the other 34 vehicles that gets through |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hull front | 80 mm at 10° (81 mm) | 0.66 | 803 | 25 |
| Hull side | 30 mm at 11° (31 mm) | 1.02 | 519 | 34 |
| Hull rear | 50 mm at 10° (51 mm) | 0.81 | 654 | 30 |
| Roof | 10 mm | 1.68 | 315 | 34 |
| Turret front | 80 mm | 0.66 | 803 | 25 |
| Turret side | 30 mm at 11° (31 mm) | 1.02 | 519 | 34 |
| Turret rear | 30 mm | 1.03 | 514 | 34 |
Real plate: the thickness of the real vehicle's armour there, and its slope from vertical with the line-of-sight thickness in brackets; each zone's multiplier is worked out from it (see how the numbers work). The last column counts square-on hits under 100 m.
Main gun
- Mount: casemate, gun arc ±10° of the hull centreline at 16°/s; turn the hull to aim further.
- Elevation +17° / depression -8°, at 16°/s.
- Reload: 4.6 s.
- Damage per minute (AP): 3,652.
- Accuracy: 0.06° dispersion when settled, aim time 1.76 s, move bloom 0.09.
- Gunner's sight: Sfl.ZF 1a, 5x (binoculars 6x / 10x / 15x).
| Shell | Type | Damage | Splash | Blast radius | Muzzle velocity | Penetration threshold | Rounds | Crew shock |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Armour Piercing | AP | 280 | 20 | 2.5 m | 750 m/s | 0.54 | 18 | - |
| High Explosive | HE | 182 | 140 | 5.8 m | 550 m/s | 1 | 9 | 1 |
| 7.5 cm Pzgr. 40 APCR | APCR | 210 | 10 | 2.5 m | 990 m/s | 0.3 | bought (key 3) | - |
The penetration threshold is the lowest zone multiplier (the thickest armour) the shell still gets through: zones below it stop the shell (10 % damage for AP, 20 % for HE). See how the numbers work.
HE and the crew: every direct hit shakes the crew (slower reload and traverse, a wider aim circle) for about 1.9 s when the plate stops it and 3 s when it bursts through. It is big enough to knock crew members out of their seats even when the plate stops it.
APCR (7.5 cm Pzgr. 40 APCR) is bought in the garage, not issued: 3 rounds for 200 credits, at most 6 carried, from a team stock of 3 per player for the whole match (never resupplied). It gets through far thicker plate than the AP up close but loses its punch quickly with range:
| Range | AP needs | APCR needs | AP damage | APCR damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100 m | 0.54 | 0.3 | 280 | 210 |
| 300 m | 0.54 | 0.39 | 258 | 164 |
| 500 m | 0.54 | 0.54 | 235 | 118 |
| 700 m | 0.54 | 0.67 | 224 | 94 |
Matchups (AP against the hull front, square-on, under 100 m)
- Its AP gets through the hull front of 28 of the other 34 vehicles. It is stopped by: Panther, M26 Pershing, Tiger II, IS-2, Churchill VII, Jagdpanther.
- 25 of the other 34 vehicles' AP get through its hull front. Safe from the front against: M3A1 Stuart, Panzer II Luchs, Panzer III Ausf. L, M32 TRV, Sd.Kfz. 250/9, T-70M, T-60, 75 mm GMC M3, Stuart V "Honey".
- From the side, 34 of them get through its hull side; from behind, 30 get through its hull rear (every zone is in the table above).
Secondary weapons and equipment
- Roof machine gun: MG 34, the vehicle's own modelled gun on its hull, 13 rounds/s, 1 damage per round, overheats after 60 rounds. It elevates to 70° and can shoot down recon planes.
- Smoke: 1 salvo, each recharges in 40 s.
Mobility
- Running gear: tracks (pivot turns).
- Top speed 40 km/h on roads, 13.6 km/h off-road (34 %), reverse 8 km/h, acceleration 3.1 m/s².
- Turn rate 32°/s (19°/s at top speed). Mass 23,900 kg. Engine start 3.5 s.
Special ability (B)
Ammo Drop: a supply crate comes down by parachute just behind the tank and lands 8 s later; every tank of the team (this one too) that drives over it in the next 60 s gets 50 % of its full shell and smoke load back, once each. Ready 30 s after the round goes live, once per round; another use costs 150 credits.
Where it appears
Players can take it on all seven WW2 maps, on either team. The AI fields it on:
- Arracourt 1944, Red (Axis side): 2x in an 8-vehicle line-up (first at position 3).
- Bastogne 1944, Red (Axis side): 1x in an 8-vehicle line-up (first at position 6).
- Prokhorovka 1943, Red (Axis side): 2x in an 8-vehicle line-up (first at position 3).
- Seelow Heights 1945, Red (Axis side): 1x in an 8-vehicle line-up (first at position 6).
- Stalingrad 1942, Red (Axis side): 1x in a 7-vehicle line-up (first at position 6).
Where it ranks (1 = best of 35)
| Stat | Rank |
|---|---|
| Hit points | 21 |
| Effective HP | 21 |
| Hull front armour (lower multiplier = thicker) | 18 |
| Turret front armour | 16 |
| Road speed | 24 |
| Off-road speed | 35 |
| Shot damage (AP) | 23 |
| Damage per minute | 12 |
| Reload (shortest first) | 17 |
| Accuracy (smallest dispersion first) | 3 |
| Aim time (fastest first) | 26 |
| Turret / gun traverse speed | 22 |
| View range | 22 |
| AP penetration (lower threshold = goes through more) | 15 |
| Price (1 = most expensive) | 18 |
The real vehicle
| Variant | StuG III Ausf. G (late, Saukopf mantlet, Schuerzen) |
| Length with gun | 6.77 m |
| Hull length | 5.4 m |
| Width | 3.41 m |
| Height | 2.16 m |
Sources used for the model: 6.77 m / 2.95 m (3.41 m over Schuerzen) / 2.16 m: armedconflicts.com https://origin.armedconflicts.com/topic/view/538 and /6406 (Pz III M, same chassis/skirts); Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sturmgesch%C3%BCtz_III (6.85 m, 2.95 m, 2.16 m); hull 5.40 m measured off the-blueprints.com Ausf. G side views (44266, 45058) scaled to 6.77 m overall
In-game model: 6.76 m long (gun included) × 3.4 m wide × 2.34 m high (antenna excluded), 10,196 triangles, built at true scale.
Images
Renders of the in-game model in a plain nation colour (the game paints its camouflage at runtime).
