The self-propelled gun was developed on the basis of the T-IV tank in 1942. The components of the T-III tank are widely used in the design. For a self-propelled installation, the chassis of the tank was rearranged: the fighting compartment is located at the back, the power plant is located in the center of the hull, and the drive wheels, transmission and control compartment are located in the front. The fighting compartment is an open-top armored wheelhouse, in which a 71-caliber 88-mm semi-automatic anti-tank gun is mounted on the machine. The gun fired at a speed of up to ten rounds per minute.
For firing, high-explosive projectiles weighing 9, 14 kg could be used (while the firing range was 15, 3 thousand meters), armor-piercing tracer, sub-caliber and cumulative projectiles. An armor-piercing tracer projectile from a distance of 1000 meters at an angle of 30 degrees to the normal is capable of penetrating 165 mm armor, and a sub-caliber armor with a thickness of 193 mm. In this regard, the installation "Nashorn" was very dangerous for all enemy tanks in the event of battles at long distances. At the same time, in close combat, the self-propelled gun lost its advantages - insufficient booking affected. Serial production of the Nashorn self-propelled gun began in February 1943 and continued until the end of the war. About 500 self-propelled guns were produced. These self-propelled guns were part of the heavy anti-tank fighter units.
After the invasion of Soviet territory and the clash of German tank units with domestic KB and T-34 tanks, even the most optimistic German leaders realized that mate. some of the previously invincible Panzerwaffe are largely inferior to new Soviet-made tanks. Sometimes crudely worked, but having excellent armor protection and powerful armament, equipped with a V-2 diesel engine, Soviet armored vehicles in 1941 "reigned" on the battlefields. When the last hopes for a blitzkrieg were dispelled, German engineers had to take to work to bring the prototypes to serial production.
The development of new medium and heavy German tanks was delayed. In addition, it was required to start mass production of completely original designs. It was obvious that the tanks "Panther" and "Tiger" would not soon become really massive in the army. The following suggested itself. the solution is to use the tracked bases of tanks widespread in the army to install powerful artillery systems on them, capable of solving various tactical tasks. Thus, the troops received a whole family of various self-propelled artillery installations, which belonged to the "class of field systems on a mobile carriage." This technique was characterized by the placement of guns in a semi-open wheelhouse. The armor of the cabin protected the self-propelled gun crew only from shrapnel and bullets. According to this scheme, an anti-tank artillery mount was assembled and built, which later received the designation Sd. Kfz.164.
The unified self-propelled gun carriage (tracked base) of the new self-propelled artillery mount was developed in 1942 by the Deutsche Ieenwerke company. The base widely used the standard assemblies of the undercarriage of the PzKpfw III and IV tanks, which were widespread among the troops. This chassis, called "Geschutzwagen III / IV", was designed as a multipurpose base for a whole family of self-propelled guns: anti-aircraft, anti-tank, artillery fire support, etc. A feature of this design was the placement in the front of the transmission and engine housing near the drive wheel. The fighting compartment was shifted to the stern and was spacious. This made it possible to install a large-caliber artillery system in the wheelhouse, including a powerful anti-tank gun. But the anti-tank gun for the self-propelled guns had to be designed in a new way.
The first ideas for creating a self-propelled "tracked carrier" for Rak43 were expressed as early as 28.04. 1942 at a meeting in the armaments department. Since the development of a completely original design would take a long time, during the discussion they put forward the idea of the possibility of developing some intermediate model using units of mass-produced machines, which could be put into production at the beginning of 1943. The design contract was concluded with the Alquette-Borzingwalde company ". In turn, the company took advantage of the development of Deutsche Eisenwerke to create a unified self-propelled carriage from the units of the PzKpfw III and IV undercarriages. The demonstration of the prototype was scheduled for 1942-20-10.
A column of German armored vehicles is advancing along a clearing north of Lepel to support the German units in the fight against the partisans. The Nashorn self-propelled guns (Nashorn) are moving behind the ZSU on the basis of the tractor. Two captured T-26 light tanks are visible behind it. Photo taken in late April - early May 1944
On October 2, 1942, at a meeting with the participation of the Reich Minister of Armaments Speer and Hitler, a ready-made chassis project from the Alquette-Borsingwalde company was considered. This chassis in German documents received the traditionally long name "Zwischenloesung Selbstfahr-lafette". Inspired by the rapid pace of structural design, the Fuehrer began to make plans that by 1943-12-05 the industry would be able to produce 100 self-propelled guns per month.
The Alquette-Borsingwalde company, at the request of the armaments department, developed a hull that has the same width as that of the PzKpfw III tank. The components and assemblies of the new self-propelled artillery unit, including the drive wheels, differentials and transmission, were taken from the PzKpfw III. The engine with the cooling system, radiators, muffler - from the average PzKpfw IV modification F. The carrier and support rollers, track tracks, sloths, were also borrowed from the "four". The Maybach HL120TRM engine (12-cylinder, volume 11867 cm3, V-shaped, camber 60 degrees, four-stroke, carburetor, power at 3 thousand rpm 300 hp) was installed in the central part of the body. The "flooring" above the engine was maximized to accommodate the artillery system near the center of gravity of the self-propelled gun.
However, due to the new purpose of the designed self-propelled gun, some units had to be redesigned. The design differences were described in the self-propelled artillery installation manual.
Air duct ("Kuehllufifuehrung"): to cool the engine, air is taken in through an intake window made in the port side and, bypassing the radiator and the engine itself, which is inclined on the left side of the engine, is discharged through a hole in the starboard side. Air is supplied by two fans located on the right side of the engine. The driver-mechanic of the self-propelled guns carried out the adjustment of the air intake hole.
An inertial starter ("Schwung-kraftanlasser") mounted to the left of the engine was connected to the shaft through a device ("Andrehklaue") mounted on the rear wall of the firewall. The inertial starter was designed to start the ACS engine in emergency situations. The inertial starter was driven by the muscular strength of the crew by means of a kickstarter placed in the fighting compartment.
Fuel (fuel-leaded gasoline, octane rating of at least 74) was in two tanks with a total capacity of 600 liters. The tanks were located under the bottom of the fighting compartment, and the filler necks of the tanks went inside in such a way that refueling could be carried out even under fire. In addition, special drain holes were made on the bottom of the hull, through which the fuel spilled in the event of an accident was "removed" from the self-propelled gun hull. Such devices were closed only when self-propelled artillery installations ford water obstacles.
The cooling device of the "Fuchs" ("Kuehlwas-serheizegerat Fauart Fuehs") water heater was installed on the left side of the ACS hull.
The armoring of the gun shield and the wheelhouse was original. The thickness of the armor plates in the stern and sides was 10 millimeters, which gave the self-propelled gun crew protection from small fragments and non-armor-piercing bullets. Initially, the deckhouse sheets in the stern and on the sides were to be made of 20 mm, and in the frontal part of 50 mm SM-Stahl steel. However, to save weight, 30-mm hardened armor plates were used only in the frontal part of the self-propelled gun body.
In the cabin of the self-propelled guns with the upper part of the carriage, an 88-millimeter artillery system "Panzerjaegerkanone" 43/1 was mounted, the barrel length of which was 71 caliber (88 cm Rak43 / 1 - L / 71). Structurally, this artillery system was identical to the towed 88-mm PTP Rak43 / 41. However, the gun shield had a rounded shape, which ensured the rotation of the system inside the wheelhouse. The recuperator was installed above the barrel, and the recuperator was installed below. Counterbalance cylinders were located on the sides of the gun. Guidance sector in the vertical plane - from -5 to +20 degrees. The pointing angle in the horizontal plane was 30 degrees (15 degrees in each direction).
In 1944-1945. These self-propelled anti-tank guns were fitted with 88-mm barrels from the Rak43 PTP on a cruciform carriage manufactured by the Veserhutte company. However, relatively few of these samples were made - 100 pieces.
Standard ammunition for 88 mm anti-tank guns Rak 43/1 and Rak 43:
- Pz. Gr. Patr39 / 1 - armor-piercing tracer projectile;
- Pz. Gr. Patr. 39/43 - armor-piercing tracer projectile;
- Spr. Gr. Flak 41 - frag grenade (old model);
- Spr. Gr. Patr. 43 - frag grenade;
- Gr. 39 HL - cumulative projectile;
- Gr. 39/43 HL - cumulative projectile.
Thus, in a short time, with the widespread use of serial tank units, a tank destroyer was created, for the first time for German tank building (together with Ferdinand) equipped with a long-barreled (71 caliber) 88-mm artillery system. This vehicle could hit all heavy and medium Anglo-American and Soviet tanks from a distance of more than 2, 5 thousand meters, however, due to the lightly armored and open wheelhouse, it was vulnerable during close combat, and at an average distance domestic KB and thirty-four "left this design with very little chance of survival. Such a self-propelled gun was a kind of "ersatz", which is able to operate successfully only from ambush, very distant positions. As it turned out later, a truly effective tank destroyer must have powerful armament, be well armored and have a low silhouette, which makes it difficult to defeat such a vehicle. This self-propelled gun did not have the last two advantages.
The production plan for the fourth financial year was approved on May 4, 1944. According to this document, Alquette was completely exempted from the assembly of the Sd. Kfz.164 ACS. Thus, the Stahlindustri corporation became the main contractor for the production of these self-propelled guns. The enterprises of this company were supposed to hand over 100 cars in 1944: in April - 30, in May - 30 and in June the last 40.
This program was revised on June 14, 1944: in April 1944 - 14 Sd. Kfz.l64 self-propelled guns, in May - 24, in June - 5, in July - 30, in August - 30 and in September - 29. Total 130 machines were to be manufactured.
88-mm heavy anti-tank self-propelled gun "Hornisse" (Hornets) with its own name "Puma" (Puma). Belongs to the 519th Tank Destroyer Division. Belarus, Vitebsk region
It should be noted that in parallel with the production, an epic was unfolding on the renaming of this SPG, the transformation of Sd. Kfz.164 from Hornisse (Hornet) to Nashorn (Rhino).
For the first time, the idea to rename Hitler's Sd. Kfz.l64 was visited on November 29, 1943. The new name of the self-propelled gun was already mentioned on February 1, 1944 in the OKW (Wehrmacht High Command) documents, and on February 27, in the OKH (Ground Forces Commander-in-Chief) orders.
However, in the official correspondence dated in the summer of 1944, the old name is still present - "Hornisse" ("Hornet") and only from September 1944.the new - most concretized - designation "Nashorn" was introduced into the document circulation.
The motivation behind this renaming remains unclear. Probably "Rhino" in German sounds more menacing than "Hornet"; Probably, the pedantic Germans wanted to identify the entire "subclass" of new types of self-propelled guns (tank-destroying self-propelled guns) and tanks with mammals (although in this case there are exceptions - the Pz IV / 70 fighter tanks never received the name). Perhaps there is a third option: the Hornisse self-propelled artillery mounts were supposed to be equipped with an 88 mm Rak43 cannon, but this never happened in practice. But in any case, the "reincarnation" was over, and in September 1944, the "new-old" self-propelled gun appeared in the Wehrmacht - Sd. Kfz.164 "Nashorn" ("Rhino").
The serial production of self-propelled guns of this type was delayed (in total, it was planned to release 500 self-propelled guns "Hornisse" and "Nashorn"). But since the Anglo-American aviation, following the principles of General Douay, the theorist of air strikes, continued to methodically destroy German arms factories in accordance with the next program for the production of armored vehicles, from January 30, 1945, the Stahlindustri factories were ordered to hand over 9 aircraft in January 1945, and in February - the last two.
On March 14, 1945, at a meeting with the Inspector General of Tank Forces, production issues were discussed, including the issue of the difficulties of starting serial production of new 88-mm Waffentraeger self-propelled guns and 150-mm self-propelled guns of artillery support Hummel (Bumblebee), of the same type. with "Naskhorn" on a tracked base.
At this meeting, the cessation of production of the Naskhorns was documented. In addition, the German industry tried to start large-scale production of its "successor" Sd. Kfz.164 - the tracked carrier "Waffentraeger" equipped with the 88mm Rak43 artillery system.
The 560th heavy tank destroyer division took part in the Forty-second Army Corps in Operation Citadel and did not irrevocably lose a single SPG. The battalion's batteries supported the Wehrmacht's 282nd, 161st and 39th Infantry Divisions. However, already in August, the 560th separate division lost 14 vehicles, of which several self-propelled guns went to the Soviet troops as trophies. On September 3, five vehicles arrived to replenish the losses, five on October 31, and the same number on November 28. The last replenishment of the material part - four self-propelled guns - took place on 1944-03-02.
According to the headquarters of the 560th division, by the end of 1943 the self-propelled gun crews destroyed 251 tanks during the fighting.
On February 4, 1944, the division received an order as soon as possible to withdraw to the rear, from where it was to be transferred to Milau for re-equipping with new self-propelled guns "Jagdpanther". According to the report from 01.03. 1944 combat losses of the unit during the operation as part of the Fifty-seventh Panzer Corps amounted to 16 Hornisse self-propelled guns. The 560th division at the end of April was completely re-equipped with Jagdpanther tank destroyers.
From 1943-11-07 to 1943-27-07, the 521st battery of the 655th tank destroyer battalion took part in defensive battles east of Orel. On August 27, 1943, the combat experience of the unit was summarized in special. report.
By the beginning of hostilities, the battery had 188 soldiers, 28 non-commissioned officers, 4 officers, 13 heavy self-propelled guns Sd. Kfz.l64 "Hornisse", 3 anti-aircraft guns "Flak-Vierling". This unit was part of the Thirty-fourth Army Corps of Army Group Center. The 521st battery took part in the hostilities from 11 to 27 July.
Self-propelled guns in two weeks of fighting destroyed one KV-2 tank, 1 M3 "General Lee" of American production, 1 MLRS on tracked chassis, 1 T-60 tank, 3 trucks, 5 T-70 tanks, 19 KB tanks, 30 T-tanks. 34, one MKII Matilda II tank was disabled.
German losses mate. units made up one Kfz.l and "Maultir", two tank destroyers "Hornisse". Killed - one gunner and one vehicle commander; missing - one vehicle commander; wounded - 20 soldiers, six non-commissioned officers and two officers.
For self-propelled guns "Hornisse" in battle the following tactical method was the most effective: self-propelled artillery mounts Sd. Kfz.164 should operate from camouflaged positions, reflecting the offensive of enemy armored vehicles.
A successful example is the battle on July 13, 1943.platoon ACS 521st battery. Then the Hornisse platoon knocked out four T-34 and 12 KB tanks from a well-camouflaged position. The platoon did not suffer losses even though the Soviet troops attacked with air support.
When stationary tanks were used as artillery firing points, success could only be achieved after careful reconnaissance on foot and only with sudden fire from a short distance, which the Hornisse self-propelled gun went out secretly. The self-propelled gun after a high-speed "fire raid" again retreated to cover.
An example of such action was the battery battle on 23 July. During the extremely dangerous advance of enemy infantry and tanks to the rear and flank of the grenadier regiment, the battery moved into the hollow and, after reconnaissance on foot, took up firing positions. One T-34 and one KB were destroyed from the new position. Thus, the Soviet troops were temporarily stopped.
In total, in the period from 1943 to 1945. of the 500 vehicles planned for construction, according to German data, 494 vehicles were produced. We can say that the program for the release of "Nashorns" has almost been fulfilled. By February 1, 1945, there were still 141 vehicles of this type in the army, but by April 10, only 85 Sd. Kfz.164 self-propelled guns remained.
The performance characteristics of the self-propelled artillery unit "Hornisse" / "Nashorn" ("Hornet" / "Rhinoceros"):
Combat weight - 24 tons;
Crew - 5 people (commander, radio operator, loader, gunner, driver);
Dimensions:
- full length - 8440 mm;
- length excluding the barrel - 6200 mm;
- width - 2950 mm;
- height - 2940 mm;
- the height of the line of fire - 2360 mm;
- track base - 2520 mm;
- track surface length - 3520 mm;
- ground clearance - 400 mm;
Specific pressure per pound - 0.85 kg / cm2;
Power reserve:
- on a country road - 130 km;
- on the highway - 260 km;
Speed:
- maximum - 40 km / h;
- cruising on the highway - 25 km / h;
- on a country road - from 15 to 28 km / h;
Overcoming obstacles:
- slope - 30 degrees;
- trench width - 2, 2 m;
- wall height - 0.6 m;
- ford depth - 1 m;
Engine - "Maybach" ("Maybach") HL120TRM, power at 2, 6 thousand rpm 265 hp;
Fuel supply - 600 l;
Transmission (early / rest):
- forward speeds - 10/6;
- back - 1/1;
Management - differentials;
Undercarriage (one side):
- front drive wheels;
- 8 double rubberized rollers assembled in four carts with a diameter of 470 mm;
Track roller suspension - leaf springs;
Track width - 400 mm;
Number of tracks - 104 per track;
Connection:
- Fu. Spg. Ger radio station for linear machines. "f" or FuG5;
- for ACS of battery commanders - FuG5 and FuG8;
- intercom;
Reservation:
- gun shield - 10 mm (from May 1943 - 15 mm);
- cutting forehead - 15 mm;
- deckhouse sides - 10 mm;
-6 of the body - 20 mm;
- body forehead - 30 mm;
- body roof - 10 mm;
- body feed - 20 mm;
- case bottom - 15 mm;
Armament:
- 88 mm cannon Rak43 / 1 (L / 71);
machine gun MG-34 caliber 7, 92 mm;
two 9mm MP-40 submachine guns;
Ammunition:
- shots - 40 pcs.;
- cartridges of caliber 7, 92 mm - 600 pcs.;
- cartridges of 9 mm caliber - 384 pcs.
German anti-tank self-propelled gun "Rhino" (Panzerjäger "Nashorn", Sd. Kfz. 164). Photo taken on the Soviet-German front in early 1944
Canadian soldier on the captured German self-propelled guns "Nashorn". Summer 1944
Soldiers of the Westminster Regiment of the 5th Canadian Armored Brigade (Westminster Regiment, 5th Canadian Armored Brigade) in the fighting compartment of the German self-propelled guns Nashorn (Sd. Kfz. 164 "Nashorn"), knocked out from the PIAT anti-tank grenade launcher on the street in the Italian village of Pontecorvo (Pontecorvo)
Sending the Sd. Kfz.164 ACS to the front. It can be seen that these are modernized self-propelled guns: the barrel-shaped silencer is no longer there, but the retainers of the guns of the old design. Most likely these are the vehicles with which the 650th heavy tank destroyer was equipped. May 1943.
Disguised self-propelled guns Sd. Kfz.164 "Hornisse" in the original combat position. Most likely it is Italy, 525th heavy tank destroyer battalion, 1944
After installing the SflZFIa sight, the gunner exposes the sighting system cylinder ZE 37. Italy, 525th tank destroyer division, summer 1944
SAU "Hornisse" of an early type in anticipation of an attack by Soviet tanks. The bracket is folded, on the barrel there are marks about 9 or 10 knocked out enemy tanks. Army Group Center, 655th Tank Destroyer Division, summer 1943.
A snapshot of one of the early self-propelled guns "Hornisse"
Self-propelled gun Sd. Kfz.164 "Hornisse" of an early type. The wheel-gate of the rear lock of the 8V-mm cannon is clearly visible in the opening of the wheelhouse; there is a barrel-shaped silencer at the rear of the hull. An armored antenna input is located in the rear right upper corner of the wheelhouse - such antenna inputs were available only on command vehicles equipped with a FuG 8 radio station. Summer 1943
Sd. Kfz.164 vehicles of the first series, assembled at the Alquette firm in February - March 1943 and delivered to the 560th separate heavy tank destroyer battalion. You can see the characteristic differences between the early-built self-propelled guns: the drive wheels from the Pz. Kpfw.m Ausf. H, two headlights, an external bracket for the gun barrel (early type), a barrel-shaped muffler, STEPS, tool boxes, fastening sections of the banniks. Spring 1943
