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).
- Track repair: 9 s.
| Zone | Damage multiplier (lower = thicker) | Raw shell damage to destroy through this zone |
|---|---|---|
| Hull front | 0.66 | 803 |
| Hull side | 1 | 530 |
| Hull rear | 1.3 | 408 |
| Roof | 1.7 | 312 |
| Turret front | 0.66 | 803 |
| Turret side | 0.99 | 535 |
| Turret rear | 1.3 | 408 |
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 thinnest zone multiplier the shell gets through: zones below it stop the shell (10 % damage for AP, 20 % for HE). See how the numbers work.
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".
- Sides, rears and roofs are thinner on every vehicle; see each page's zone table.
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: drops a crate behind the tank; team-mates who drive over it within 60 s get 50 % of their 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 4).
- Prokhorovka 1943, Red (Axis side): 2x in an 8-vehicle line-up (first at position 2).
- Seelow Heights 1945, Red (Axis side): 1x in an 8-vehicle line-up (first at position 6).
- Stalingrad 1942, Red (Axis side): 1x in an 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 | 18 |
| 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).
