In the middle of the war, the Wehrmacht, in dire need of as many tank destroyers as possible, forced the German designers to improvise. Some of the improvisations were successful, some were not. One of the hasty attempts to create a tank destroyer was the adaptation of a self-propelled gun carriage, which was originally designed to install on it a powerful 150-mm field howitzer sFH 18. This self-propelled gun carriage was called - Geschtitzwagen III / IV, since the vehicle was based on the chassis of a medium tank Pz IV using a large number of units of the Pz III tank. As a result of combining a self-propelled gun carriage with an 88-mm long-barreled gun Rak 43, an anti-tank self-propelled gun was born. The car began to enter the troops in 1943 and was originally called Hornisse (Hornet), but since 1944 its official name has become Nashorn (Rhinoceros).
In 1943, on the Eastern Front, German troops were faced with the problem of deploying new anti-tank guns Rak 43/1, caliber 88 mm. They were supposed to form the basis of the anti-tank defense of the Wehrmacht. These guns had a wheeled carriage and were too heavy (weighing about 4.5 tons), for this reason they lacked tactical flexibility. In order to change the firing position, it was necessary to attract special towing equipment and a large number of people. All this was enough to significantly reduce the advantages of this weapon.
That is why in the German army the question of how to make this gun self-propelled came up on the agenda. To achieve this goal, the Pz IV tank was taken as a basis. At the same time, the gun was too heavy for him, and even with the use of wide tracks, the specific ground pressure was quite large. Therefore, there was no question of any serious booking of the ACS. At this time, Germany was already experiencing a shortage of high-quality steel, so the already weak armor of the Nashorn self-propelled gun was worsened by the use of unhardened steel, which made the self-propelled guns more vulnerable.
The high silhouette possessed by the self-propelled gun "Hummel", built on the basis of a self-propelled gun carriage - Geschtitzwagen III / IV, was uncritical for her, since she fired from closed positions. However, this disadvantage made life much more difficult for a tank destroyer, and camouflaging the vehicle turned into a very non-trivial task for the crew. Most often, Nashorn was used from positions that were at least 2 km away from the enemy. While the vast majority of tank destroyers were usually used from much shorter distances.
Taking this into account, the Germans gave priority to the production of the Hummel 150mm self-propelled howitzer. During the war, 724 Hummel and 494 Naskhorn were built. A powerful anti-tank gun with good ballistics made the Nashorn a formidable tank destroyer, while the self-propelled gun was too large and, unlike the Ferdinand, did not have anti-cannon armor. Only the lack of specialized vehicles forced the Germans to use the "Rhino" as a tank destroyer. Toward the end of the war, the Nashorn was replaced by the more advanced Jagdpanther tank destroyer.
Design features
At the request of the Armaments Directorate, the Berlin company "Alquette" developed a hull of the same width as that of the armored hull of the PzKpfw III tank (slightly wider than that of the PzKpfw IV tank). The components and assemblies of the new ACS, including the drive wheels, differentials and transmission were taken from the PzKpfw III tank. The engine with the cooling system, radiators and mufflers from the medium tank PzKpfw IV Ausf. F. The elements of the self-propelled chassis: support and support rollers, track tracks, sloths were also borrowed from the PzKpfw IV.
ACS Nashorn was equipped with a 12-cylinder gasoline engine "Maybach" HL120TRM. The 60-degree V-type carburetor engine had a displacement of 11,867 cm3 and developed a maximum power of 300 hp. at 3000 rpm. The engine was mounted in the central part of the ACS hull, and the "flooring" above it was maximally reinforced in order to easily place the artillery gun near the center of gravity of the "Nashorn".
The fuel was placed in 2 tanks with a total volume of 600 liters. The tanks were housed under the bottom of the fighting compartment, and their filler necks were located inside the fighting compartment. Thus, refueling could be carried out even under enemy fire. Also in the bottom of the hull there were special drain holes, which were supposed to remove fuel from the ACS hull in case of emergency. These devices were closed by the crew only in case of fording water obstacles.
The ACS crew consisted of 5 people. In front of the hull, in an isolated wheelhouse, there was a self-propelled gun driver, 4 crew members, including the commander, were in the fighting compartment of the wheelhouse. Front, back and sides, they were covered with thin armor plates. From above, the wheelhouse was open, if necessary, a tarpaulin could be pulled over it.
The spacious fighting compartment was located in the rear of the ACS. The barrel of the cannon was at a height of 2.44 m above the ground, which was at least 0.6 m higher than the standard level when the gun was placed on its standard cruciform carriage. It was the very high altitude that was the main drawback of the "Nashorn". The side walls of the fighting compartment were installed vertically and had only 10 mm. thickness, so they could not provide the crew with reliable protection. The frontal slab of the casemate had a good ballistic profile, but its armor also did not exceed 10 mm. A distinctive feature of the ACS was the engine air intake louvers, which were located on both sides of the cabin approximately in the middle of the vehicle body. They were located above the fenders and were slightly recessed inside the fighting compartment. In general, the Nashorn self-propelled gun was a successful carrier for the 88-mm anti-tank cannon, although it was very vulnerable when firing direct fire.
In the cabin of the Nashorn self-propelled gun, along with the upper part of the carriage, an 88-mm StuK 43/1 cannon (a self-propelled version of the Rak43 / 1 gun) with a 71 caliber long barrel was installed. Structurally, it was similar to the towed version of the gun, but the shape of the gun shield was made rounded in order to provide the ability to turn the gun inside the wheelhouse. The gun had a recuperator (recuperation - the return of energy, which is consumed during technological processes), which was mounted above the gun barrel, the knurler was placed under the barrel. On the sides of the gun were special counterbalancing cylinders. In the vertical plane, the gun had aiming angles from -5 to +20 degrees. The horizontal guidance sector was 30 degrees (15 degrees in both directions).
The main part of the gun ammunition, which consisted of 40 rounds, was located in the shelves of the fighting compartment along the sides of the wheelhouse. The gunner had several sighting devices at his disposal, including a panoramic artillery sight. For self-defense, an MG-34 machine gun was used on the ACS, and the crew also had at least two MP-40 submachine guns.
Features of use
ACS "Nashorn" were used in specialized divisions of tank destroyers (Panzerjaeger Abteilung). Such divisions were independent combat units that were not part of the organizational structure of the tank divisions. All of them were transferred to the disposal of the headquarters of the corps or armies and were attached to various units in the form of reinforcement as needed.
The divisions armed with the Nashorn self-propelled guns had high mobility and, despite the weak armor protection of the crew, often did not need tank support. In addition, with their appearance, the infantry units of the Wehrmacht received at their disposal mobile and better protected (in comparison with field anti-tank guns) means of anti-tank defense and fire support. Most often, these anti-tank self-propelled guns were used in batteries, rarely in one sector of the front it was possible to meet the whole part as a whole, this happened only in extraordinary cases. The ACS achieved the greatest efficiency, being the most powerful firepower when firing direct fire at a distance of up to 3.5 km, when a communications and observation platoon was included in the division, which was supposed to timely detect the enemy and notify the crews about it.
Most often, when interacting with tanks, the Nashorn self-propelled guns followed their battle formations at a sufficient distance and sought to suppress the self-propelled guns and enemy tanks from ambushes and pre-selected positions. They were also often used as a mobile anti-tank reserve, the composition and strength of which changed based on the situation. In general, they served as a combined means of defense and attack, both in cooperation with tank and infantry units of the Wehrmacht. In fact, the crews of the Nashorn tank destroyer, maintaining a certain combat distance, were able to carry out various combat missions, quickly switching from one tactical technique to another. They could attack from an ambush, use the hit-retreat method, cover a false retreat, and so on.
Tactical and technical characteristics: Nashorn
Weight: 24 tons.
Dimensions:
Length 8, 44 m, width 2, 95 m, height 2, 94 m.
Crew: 5 people.
Reservation: from 10 to 30 mm.
Armament: 88-mm cannon StuK43 / 1 L / 71, 7, 92-mm MG-34 machine gun
Ammunition: 40 rounds, 600 rounds.
Engine: 12-cylinder liquid-cooled gasoline engine "Maybach" HL 120TRM, 300 hp
Maximum speed: on the highway - 40 km / h
Progress in store: 260 km.
