15 cm Panzer-Haubitzer 18/1 auf Fahrgestell GW III / IV Hummel / Sd. Kfz.165 / "Hummel"
Structurally, the self-propelled howitzer is similar to the self-propelled anti-tank gun "Nashorn", however, in the conning tower, instead of the 88-mm anti-tank gun, a swinging part of the field 150-mm howitzer "18/40" with a barrel length of 30 cal are mounted on the machine. The howitzer could fire high-explosive fragmentation projectiles weighing 43, 5 kilograms at a range of 13, 3 thousand m. Since they used separate loading shots, its rate of fire was relatively low. The vertical guidance angle was 42 degrees, and the horizontal - 30 degrees. To reduce the recoil force, muzzle brakes were installed on some of the howitzers. For fire control, sights were used, which were usually used in field artillery, since the self-propelled howitzer was mainly used as a field artillery weapon and was in service with tank divisions in artillery regiments. The self-propelled howitzer was produced in series. In total, in the period from 1943 to 1944, more than 700 self-propelled guns "Shmel" were manufactured.
Muzzle brake prototype
"Hummel" was the last heavy self-propelled artillery unit developed by "Alquette", and installed on a special. chassis GW III / IV.
The engine, as in the case of the Nashorn self-propelled guns, was located in front, which made it possible to reduce the height of the fighting compartment. The gun barrel was at a height of 2300 mm, which was a good indicator for this type of vehicle.
The firm "Deutsche Eisenwerke" in the period from 1943 to 1945 produced 666 units. this effective and extremely powerful weapon, which was designed to equip tank battalions in tank divisions. The self-propelled gun could destroy any targets, and therefore the demand for a self-propelled howitzer, as a means of fire support, was very high. But the industry could not fully satisfy the demands of the army, and these self-propelled guns entered service only in the elite units.
The prototype guns were equipped with muzzle brakes, but the production vehicles did not have them - the lack of high quality steel made itself felt. In addition, the release of muzzle brakes required additional resources and time, which were not available. Non-assembly line assembly also made itself felt.
However, Speer did not represent the assembly line of armored vehicles as a virtue, saying that "German industry does not accept the American and Russian conveyor methods, but relies mainly on qualified German labor."
Although it was precisely the lack of large enterprises that became the reason that the German industry could not stand the competition with the tank building of the anti-fascist bloc. Serial German-made armor was divided into several groups according to steel grade and thickness. Along with heterogeneous armor, more homogeneous armor was produced. According to the production technology, the armor plates were divided into surface-hardened and uniformly hardened armor. After the loss of the Nikopol Basin, the supply of manganese to Germany decreased. Nickel was delivered only from the north of Finland.
The constant lack of alloy steels is the reason that the quality of serial armor has deteriorated sharply. The front plates of the "Royal Tiger" or "Panther" hulls often simply split when hit by Soviet 100-mm or 122-mm armor-piercing shells. They tried to eliminate this drawback by hanging protective screens, increasing the angles of inclination and thickness of the armor plates. Of the armored steel grades with reduced alloyability, no structural material has been found with satisfactory projectile resistance.
The self-propelled howitzer ammunition was limited to 18 rounds, which were placed in the fighting compartment in the ammunition racks. Therefore, it was necessary to use ammunition carriers, which were the same self-propelled guns, however, without weapons. Four self-propelled howitzers were served by approximately one ammunition transporter, but this was clearly not enough. For the production of a significantly larger number of auxiliary vehicles, the chassis of the tanks simply did not suffice.
The Hummel self-propelled gun was never used as an assault weapon. For this, the self-propelled gun was supposed to be part of the artillery units, which had equipment for fire control. In tank subunits, there was no need for this support, but there the self-propelled gun became an additional firepower capable of firing direct fire at targets that were visible to the gunner. Despite the fact that "Bumblebee" showed itself well in this role, its use in this role was tantamount to shooting at sparrows from a cannon. But the Eastern Front in 1943 was such a theater of operations, where firepower was taken into account in the first place.
The name of the self-propelled gun - "Hummel" - was harmless and neutral, but on 1944-27-02 Hitler, by order of the German army, forbade the use of this word to designate the machine.
The first self-propelled guns appeared in the troops in May 1943, and their baptism of fire took place near Kursk in the summer of the same year. First, self-propelled guns entered service with the SS troops, and then the Wehrmacht. As of April 10, 1945, the German troops had 168 vehicles of this type.
In the course of production, minor changes were made to the car, mainly associated with the development of a reserve of some components or the start of production of new ones. The vehicles can be conditionally divided into SPGs of early and late releases. Analysis of photographs of self-propelled howitzers "Hummel" makes it possible to establish the following external differences:
Early release self-propelled howitzers
- sloths from PzKpfw IV modification D;
- Exhaust pipes are stacked above the sloth on only one fenders;
- on the frontal armor plate, one backup spare roller is attached;
- Bosh headlamp installed on each slat;
- drive wheels are the same as on tanks PzKpfw III modification E;
- the supporting rollers of the track are rubberized, similar to the rollers of the PzKpfw IV tank of modification D;
- engine ventilation grilles in the left and right armor plates of the cabin;
- over the sloths, folding slats.
Self-propelled howitzers of late production
- sloths used on the PzKpfw IV modification F;
- exhaust pipes are laid on both sides on fenders;
- a pair of spare road wheels are placed on the rear armor plate;
- one Bosh headlight is installed on the front left slat;
- the driving wheels are similar to those of the tanks PzKpfw III of modification J;
- supporting steel rollers similar to the rollers of tanks PzKpfw IV modification H;
- the ventilation grilles of the engines cover the armored shields;
- hinged slats are not installed over the sloths.
Deployment of self-propelled artillery installations "Hummel" and the organization of units in which the ACS "Hummel" is in service.
The organization of artillery regiments of panzerdivisions was regulated by the staffing table of the Kriegsstarkenachweisung (KStN 431), the equipment of the artillery regiments was regulated by the staffing table of the Kriegsausrustungsnchweisung (KAN 431), two schedules were approved on 16.01.1943; 1944-01-06 approved a new staff - KStN 431 f. G. (Frei-Gliederung). One of the 3 motorized infantry battalions in accordance with the KStN 431 schedule (in most cases the first) was re-equipped with an ACS. Two of the three batteries of the tank division's artillery regiment received Wespe self-propelled guns; each battery consisted of six self-propelled guns and 1-2 Munitionstrager ammunition transporters.
The third battery received 6 Hummel self-propelled guns and 2 Munitionstrager vehicles based on this vehicle. The battery headquarters was armed with two Panzer-Beobachlungwagen vehicles (artillery spotter) created on the basis of the PzKpfw II and PzKpfw III. At the end of the war, the artillery batteries of the panzergrenadier separate divisions also received the Wespe and Hummel self-propelled guns for service. For the first time self-propelled guns "Hummel" were used in the summer of 1943 near Kursk, at the end of 1943 "Hummels" were used in all sectors of the front. The new self-propelled guns in 1943 demonstrated high combat effectiveness and reliability.
Marking and camouflage
In the first months of 1943, the newly built armored vehicles of Germany were gradually painted in a new dark yellow base color - Dunkelgelb. The Hummel was painted in the same color, but there are photographs of the Wespe and Hummel self-propelled artillery mounts from the 9th SS Panzer Division, where it can be seen that the self-propelled guns are painted in a gray base color, on which spots are applied with green paint.
Since the Hummel self-propelled guns were designed to fire from closed positions, which are located several thousand meters from the front line, there was no urgent need for sophisticated camouflage. Most of the pictures show that the ACS are painted in the base color Dunkelgelb (dark yellow), on top of which stains are applied using a spray gun with RAL6013 (green) and RAL8017 (brown) paints. In winter, self-propelled guns were completely painted white. New camouflage colors were applied in the second half of 1944. In some cases, in 1945, camouflage was applied at the factory, and not only with the use of a spray gun, but also with a brush. It is almost impossible to establish the exact coloration from black and white photographs from the Second World War.
Common to all self-propelled units "Hummel" was the place of application of the cross - the identification mark - on board the wheelhouse about one meter behind the engine ventilation grilles.
Instead of the three-digit numbers used on tanks, the sides of the self-propelled guns were marked with letters from "A" to "F" as is customary in artillery units, and vehicles with the letters "G", "O" and "R" were also found. In most cases, the letters were applied to the frontal and stern armor plates of the cabin. "Tank" three-digit numbers were extremely rare on self-propelled guns "Hummel", in particular, the self-propelled guns of the artillery regiment of the second tank division SS "Das Reich" and the one hundred and sixteenth artillery regiment of the fifth tank division (Pz. Ar. R. 116) were marked this way. There is a photograph of a self-propelled gun with the number "158" which is part of the 5th Panzerdivision. The number stands for the first company, the fifth platoon, the eighth car. However, "tank" numbers on self-propelled guns of artillery regiments remained a rarity.
A registration number (such as TZ-04) was printed under the identification letters, in some cases the number was written on the front left slat.
The letter "A" indicated the number in the battery.
In the second half of World War II, divisional emblems on German armored vehicles were rarely applied, and Hummel are no exception. The crews wrote their own names for the installations on the barrels of the guns by hand. Usually self-propelled guns were called by the names of wives, beloved girls or famous figures.
Surviving self-propelled guns "Hummel"
Today in the world there are 5 surviving self-propelled artillery units "Hummel". Perhaps there are several more SPGs of this type in Syria.
The performance characteristics of the 150-mm self-propelled howitzer "Hummel" ("Bumblebee"):
Model - "Hummel";
Military index - Sd. Kfz.165;
Manufacturer - "Deutsche Eisenwerke";
Chassis - GW III / IV;
Combat weight - 23.5 tons;
Crew - 6 people;
Highway speed - 45 km / h;
Country lane speed - 28 km / h;
Cruising on the highway - 21 km;
Cruising on the ground - 140 km;
Gas tank capacity - 218 liters;
Length - 7170 mm;
Width - 2950 mm;
Height - 2850 mm;
Clearance - 400 mm;
Track width - 400 mm;
Engine - "Maybach" HL120TRM;
Power - 300 hp;
Cannon - sPH 18 (M);
Caliber - 150 mm;
Barrel length - 29, 5 calibers;
The initial velocity of the projectile is 595 m / s;
Ammunition - 18 shots;
Additional armament - MG-42;
Reservation -20-30 mm.
Gunner of self-propelled guns "Hummel"
German self-propelled gun "Hummel" of the 13th artillery regiment of the 13th tank division, destroyed by Soviet troops in Hungary. The armor around the bove compartment was torn off by the explosion, part of it lies near the car
German 150-mm self-propelled guns "Hummel" based on the "universal" chassis GW III / IV, destroyed by an explosion of ammunition after being hit by a sub-caliber 57-mm projectile. Soviet trophy team number "273"
