During WW2 the Third Reich made a name for themselves in many ways often to a horrifying
degree.
This is also the case for weapon designs with some of the most absurd weapons in history
being drawn up during the 30s and 40s including massive railway guns and land battleships.
For the most part these designs all focused around 1 goal, to carry the maximum amount
of firepower possible into combat.
This included both wonder weapons which were never built as well as numerous armored vehicle
designs which were both drafted and built throughout the war.
These include things as early as the Bison up to the Jagdtiger.
For today though we will not be looking at those vehicles but rather at one which was
essentially designed around
its main armament, the Sturer Emil.
Let me ask you a question, what is something about a tank that makes it instantly recognizable
and yet does not affect its performance on the battlefield? You might say its paint,
or maybe what nation created it but the answer is its name. For example the Tiger II has become
known as the Konigstiger or King Tiger and the Matilda II earned the name ‘Queen of the Desert”
during the fighting in North Africa. Now you may not be a WW2 armored vehicle but that doesn’t mean
you can’t also have a title like this and that where today’s sponsor Established Titles can help.
Based on a Scottish custom where landowners are referred to as Lairds, or as we would say
in English Lord and Ladies, you can officially add the title to your name on things such as
credit cards or plane tickets with the purchase of just 1 square foot of land. Along with your
title and a special certificate which you can proudly display, Established Titles will
plant a tree for every order they receive. So whether you want to force all your family
members to refer to you as Lord or just need a last minute gift for someone this is a fantastic
option which is both unique and helps preserve the natural landscape of Scotland. Established
Titles is running a big sale right now, and if you use the code ConeOfArc you get an additional 10%
off. Go to https://establishedtitles.com/ConeOfArc to get your gifts now or use the link in the
description below. Thanks to them for sponsoring now let’s get into today’s main topic.
Although the titles I just referred to may seem regal or even imposing in the case of
the Tiger II, today’s vehicle earned its nickname “Sturer Emil” or Stubborn Emil
in a slightly less glamorous way.
Before we get to that though we need to discuss what led to the creation of this machine.
As we’ve discussed in previous parts of this series the German designs from the late
30s were largely centered around dealing with fortifications.
Obviously the main tank force was less suited for this role with the weaker armaments of
that time, but larger caliber weapons did exist they just needed a way to transport
them.
In 1939 this would lead to early designs for a so-called “schwere Betonknacker” or
heavy concrete buster with the French fortifications
such as the Maginot line being the primary
intended target.
Although some designs prior to this had been suggested using the 10.5cm cannon it was decided
instead to utilize the 12.8cm flak to create a new powerful cannon capable of taking on
any current or future fortifications.
For this project the work was split between
two firms with work on the cannon and superstructure
going to Rheinmetall and the chassis being assigned to Henschel.
The new cannon known as the 12.8cm kanone L/61 would share the recoil cylinders and
gun barrel as the flak it was based upon; although the weight of the cannon assembly
was reduced from 12 tons to a slightly more reasonable weight of just under 8 metric tons.
Like with the FCM 36 conversion we covered recently this would then be mounted in an
open topped superstructure.
As the title of this video suggests though the gun was the primary focus of this tank
and that will become more apparent when we get into the performance of it in combat.
Still even by the end of the war the 12.8cm gun was the most powerful armament to be mounted
on a vehicle.
Though it was intended for fortifications at the start it could defeat any enemy armor
to a range of 2 kilometers.
With this incredible power and the weight of the gun the only suitable chassis available
at the time was that of the VK 30.01.
Interestingly later allied intelligence would label the photos of the finished vehicle as
a German mockup of a Panther with 8.8cm pak 43.
I guess that goes to show you shouldn't trust every historical document you find.
To accommodate the massive 12.8cm gun the 30.01 chassis was lengthened 1.5 meters with
reinforcement to the suspension being necessary due to this.
Although recoil management was likely one
concern the suspension would have needed improvements
regardless as the original vehicle sat at
around 32 tons while the new Panzer Selbstfahrlafette
V, as it was then designated, was estimated at 36 tons when completed.
Due to the increased length and weight an additional roadwheel was to be added on each
side as well as stronger torsion bars being added to the last two road wheels on each
side.
The latter of these changes was in direct response to the recoil as it was done following
firing tests where the rocking of the hull was shown to be so great that it was impossible
for the gunner to maintain sight on target until after the round had landed.
To power this machine the same 6 cylinder Maybach HL116 was to be used with the only
change being the cooling system being mounted lower.
This engine would feed into the same gearbox with the only change being a lower gear ratio
in the track drives to adjust for the longer track length.
This gave the vehicle a pathetic top speed of 19.6 kilometers per hour making it a great
contender for a drag race with the equally sluggish Maus tank.
Not only was the speed quite slow but in the stereotypical German fashion the engine would
prove to be unreliable when the vehicles reached combat.
In theory the Sturer Emil was capable of 25 kilometers per hour but the poor acceleration
gave it that sluggish 20kph we saw earlier When we consider the armor protection of this
vehicle it quickly becomes apparent that this slow speed and increased weight was more the
result of the massive cannon than the superstructure.
Unlike the original VK 30.01(H) hull with 60mms of armor on the front and 50 on the
sides the new protection was decreased to only 30 on the sides with the front being
50mms.
As mentioned earlier the vehicle was also open topped making the overall armor protection
fairly low on this machine albeit better than many similar vehicles like the Nashorn.
With a role as a bunker buster with the ability to hit targets at longer range this can be
seen as less of an issue but for such a large vehicle this did create a large vulnerable
target.
It was decided that a 5 man crew would be used to operate this tank with a driver in
the front separate from the remaining 4 crew.
You may notice what appears to be a second crew position opposite the drivers on the
front of the vehicle.
This was in fact a false cabin with the fuel tank sitting beneath it.
If you’re familiar with this vehicle's portrayal in the game War Thunder you may question this
as in-game this is the machine gunners position.
From what I can tell this aspect of the game is completely wrong as the setup of the loading
area clearly would support two loaders and on top of that the false cabin was later removed
from the vehicle.
I’m not sure what information they used when working on this particular vehicle either
as they include an optic on the side which clearly is not present on the real vehicles.
Definitely a weird mistake which I hope they can correct.
As for the remaining 4 crew they would be positioned in the rear superstructure acting
as the gunner, commander, and two loaders.
I have also seen the 5th crew member referred to as the radio operator so he may have performed
that role.
I personally tend to think he would have at least acted as a loader in combat though given
the radio seems to be positioned closer to the commander.
Having a second loader for the 2 piece ammo would also increase the reload speed.
Speaking of ammunition we get to another issue with the design, despite the relatively large
size of the vehicle and its impressive armament only 15 rounds could be loaded.
This meant that the crew could quickly run out of ammunition, but again this was likely
not seen as a concern at first due to the targets being intended as stationary bunkers.
This would change when the vehicles were instead pressed into service as tank destroyers.
These shells would be stored on the sides of the vehicle with the projectiles vertically
in the rear and the propellent in an enclosed rack to the front of them.
Some sources mention the vehicle carrying 18 rounds but from the interior shots we can
clearly see 15 open racks for projectiles and 13 propellent racks.
This does beg the question of where the remaining two rounds were stored but despite my best
efforts I cannot seem to find an answer to that.
My best guess is either the 2 remaining spots were not fitted yet similar to the missing
radio or the additional two projectiles were stored elsewhere.
In total two of these vehicles would be produced as prototypes being originally ordered for
1940 but it would not be until March of 1942 that they were finally completed.
By this point their intended role had shifted with rumors of Soviet superheavy tanks in
production as well as the real encounters with the KV tanks causing legitimate concern
in the German ranks.
As a result these two vehicles, now to act as tank destroyers, would put their massive
guns to work against the Red Army's tanks.
Following their completion and testing the two Sturer Emils would be assigned to the
521st Tank Destroyer Battalion following in the footsteps of their cousin the Dicker Max.
Over the course of their lives up to this point the Sturer Emils had been known by quite
a long list of different names as shown on screen now.
However, they would become known to their crews by the collective “Stubborn Emil”
due to the slow and unreliable nature of the tanks with one being named “Max” and the
other “Moritz” after the characters from a German story by Wilhelm Busch.
This further hints to the nature of the vehicles
as in the story the boys are unruly and troublemakers
showing that the tank destroyers did not make life easy for their crews..
For all their faults “Max” and “Moritz” seem to have performed well once in combat
with “Moritz” claimed to have knocked out at least 31 tanks and “Max” also claiming
some kills though not nearly as many as his brother.
From reports it seems these vehicles were mainly used at longer range keeping them both
safe from return fire and allowing them to take advantage of their superior firepower.
In one of the few documented engagements “Moritz” is said to have knocked out a KV tank at a
distance of around 1500 meters along with multiple T-34s as they tried to recover the
damaged tank.
The advantage of a mobile chassis to carry the gun is clear in the account by Oberleutnant
Kurt Hildebrandt which documents that engagement along with others over a two day period.
It’s hard to say for certain the reliability of that information given the one-sided nature
of it, but for experimental vehicles they do seem to have performed fairly well once
they were in combat similar to the Ferdinand.
Outside these engagements though they were clearly a pain in the ass for those assigned
to them.
In numerous cases “Max” is reported as out of action due to engine troubles and later
when “Moritz” was captured by the Russians it appears he was also under repair.
The crews had constant issues with the low ammo supply and frequent repairs.
Aside from the engine the suspension was also problematic with the rear road wheels wearing
out faster due to the increased weight in the rear.
Combine this with the fact that the VK 30.01 program was long since dead parts were not
exactly easy to come by.
Both Sturer Emils were eventually lost following their drive towards Stalingrad with “Max”
being lost prior to December and “Moritz” being abandoned not long after along with
other vehicles from the 521st Tank Destroyer Battalion near Stalingrad.
He was later found by the Red Army who took their prize for study.
It seems not much was actually done in terms of testing due to lack of parts to repair
the vehicle and no ammunition but eventually repairs were done and the last Sturer Emil
was put on display alongside other captured armor in Gorky Park.
Apparently the Americans took an interest in the vehicle at one point asking to take
it for study.
As this was the only example of the vehicle though this request was denied.
Today “Moritz” is on display at the Kubinka tank museum although sadly the interior has
been almost entirely removed.
Despite being capable of destroying anything they encountered in battle the story of the
Sturer Emil is one of near constant failure.
Although they did perform well against the enemy when they did engage them it was not
enough to continue their legacy.
With the VK 30.01 program being put aside in favor of what would eventually become the
Tiger tank the two brothers would be the only vehicles of their kind to be built.
Thanks so much for watching and I hope you enjoyed the video.
A huge thanks to Established titles for sponsoring the channel and one last reminder to use that
link below and my code ConeOfArc to become a Lord of Lady today.
As always thank you to my channel members who also help make this content possible.
If you guys want to check out more of my content you can pick one of the videos popping up
on your screen or check out my second channel where I’m releasing some gameplay from War
Thunder showcasing this vehicle.
Links to that and my other social media are in the description as always.
I’ll see you there.