15 cm sIG 33 (Sf) auf Panzerkampfwagen I Ausf B

June 2017 German self-propelled gun 15 cm sIG 33 (Sf) auf Panzerkampfwagen I Ausf B Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-216-0406-37, Russland, getarnter Panzer I B mit I.G. 33.jpg 300 px A sIG 33 (Sf) on a Pz.Kpfw. I chassis in Russia, 1942 Nazi Germany Self-propelled gun yes 1940 - 1943 Nazi Germany World War II 1939-1940 Alkett February 1940 38 converted 8.5 t ton 4.67 m ftin 2.06 m ftin 2.8 m ftin 4 13 mm - 5 mm 1× 15 cm schweres Infanteriegeschütz 33 6-cylinder, water-cooled Maybach NL38 TR 100 hp kW 5 forward, 1 reverse gears 140 km 40 kph The 15 cm sIG 33 (Sf) auf Panzerkampfwagen I Ausf B, sometimes referred to (unofficially) as the Sturmpanzer I Bison, was a German self-propelled gun used during World War II. Development and history The invasion of Poland had shown that the towed sIG 33 guns assigned to the infantry gun companies of the motorized infantry regiments had difficulties keeping up with the tanks during combat.IG_Companies April 2026 The easiest solution was to modify a spare tank chassis to carry it into battle. A sIG 33 was mounted on the chassis of the Panzer I Ausf. B, complete with carriage and wheels, in place of the turret and superstructure. Plates 13 mm in thick were used to form a tall, open-topped fighting compartment on the forward part of the hull. This protected little more than the gun and the gunner himself from small arms fire and shell fragments, the loaders being completely exposed. The rearmost section of armor was hinged to ease reloading. There was no room to stow any ammunition, so it had to be carried by a separate vehicle. When mounted, the sIG 33 had a total traverse of 25° and could elevate from -4° to +75°. The gun used an Rblf36 sight. The chassis was overloaded and breakdowns were frequent. The vehicle's extreme height and lack of on-board ammunition were severe tactical drawbacks. Thirty-eight were converted in February 1940 by Alkett.Chamberlain and Doyle 2004, p. 24 Combat use thumb|left|A sIG 33 auf Panzerkampfwagen I in Greece in 1941 36 vehicles were organized into independent schwere Infanteriegeschütz-Kompanie (mot.S.) ("self-propelled heavy infantry gun companies") numbers 701–706, assigned to Panzer divisions in the Battle of FranceTrojca & Jaugitz, p. 5 as follows:https://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/Waffen/panzer1.htm Lexicon der Wehrmacht Panzerkampfwagen I de 2014-03-10 Company 701, to the 9th Panzer Division Company 702, to the 1st Panzer Division Company 703, to the 2nd Panzer Division Company 704, to the 5th Panzer Division Company 705, to the 7th Panzer Division Company 706, to the 10th Panzer Division As part of the 5th Panzer Division, assigned to the German XIVth Motorized Army Corps, the 704th company participated in Operation Marita, the invasion of the Balkans.http://niehorster.org/011_germany/41-04/corps_14.html XIV. Armeekorps (Motorisiert), 12. Armee, 05.04.41 Later in 1941, the same assignment was maintained for Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union.Niehorster, 1941 The 705th and 706th belonging to the 7th and 10th Panzer Divisions respectively, were destroyed at this time.March 2014 Of the remaining companies, only the 701st participated in the opening stages of the subsequent Case Blue in 1942, although it, and its parent 9th Panzer Division, were transferred to Army Group Center by the end of the summer of 1942.Niehorster, 1942 The last reference to these vehicles is with the 704th Company of the 5th Panzer Division during the middle of 1943.Chamberlain & Doyle, p. 24 Notes References Chamberlain Peter Hilary L. Doyle Thomas L. Jentz Encyclopedia of German Tanks of World War Two: A Complete Illustrated Directory of German Battle Tanks, Armoured Cars, Self-propelled Guns, and Semi-tracked Vehicles, 1933–1945 London Arms and Armour Press 1978 revised 1993 1-85409-214-6 Chamberlain Peter Hilary L. Doyle Encyclopedia of German Tanks of World War Two: The complete illustrated directory of German battle tanks, armoured cars, self-propelled guns, and semi-tracked vehicles, 1933–1945 London Silverdale Books 2004 1-84509-012-8 Niehorster Leo German World War II Organizational Series; Volume 3/I: Mechanized Army Divisions (22 June 1941) Hannover, Germany Niehorster 1990 Niehorster Leo German World War II Organizational Series; Volume 4/I: Mechanized Army Divisions (28 June 1942) Hannover, Germany Niehorster 1994 Trojca Waldemar Jaugitz Markus Sturmtiger and Sturmpanzer in Combat Katowice, Poland Model Hobby 2008 978-83-60041-29-1 External links wwiivehicles.com de "Lexicon der Wehrmacht" site, "Panzerkampfwagen I" page (accessed 2041-03-10) Category:World War II self-propelled artillery of Germany Category:150 mm artillery Category:Military vehicles introduced from 1940 to 1944