Let's Take A Look: Sturmgeschütz Panther

This article will feature a potential premium tank destroyer that could be added into World Of Tanks. I will be going over its history, stats, and how it would compare to other tanks of its class and tier. This tank is in no way confirmed to be introduced, this is merely a historical overview and a fan proposal. This post is dated as of patch 0.9.10

Notice: This article uses third-party sources for its information. While I have no reason to doubt the credibility of these sources, it's possible their information is not completely accurate. That said, I try to use numerous sources so I can cross-reference them and curb misinformation.

Pictured: early Jagdpanther prototypes. Notice the pistol ports on the sides of the tank, which would be absent on the production Jagdpanther. The StuG Panther would have looked remarkably similar to this early prototype [1; pg. 7]. Click the image for a larger view

Short Summary: The Sturmgeschütz Panther (Sd.Kfz.172) was one of the first conceptual designs for a heavy armored vehicle that could mount the 8,8 cm Pak 43. This early vehicle was based on the early VK 30.02 (MAN) Panther design and utilized Panther II components. It wouldn’t be until May 4^th, 1943 when the vehicle would adapt the Panther I chassis and adopt the Panzerjäger namesake, and seven more months until it became known as the Jagdpanther. During these early stages of development, the Sturmgeschütz Panther had thicker armor than the production Jagdpanther and a slightly modified superstructure.

I’ve made it no secret that the largest aspect of this blog is proposing new (German) tanks that can be introduced into World Of Tanks. The historical articles are a side effect of this effort, as part of my resource gathering so these tanks I propose are as historically accurate as possible, and to a further extent offer better representations of tanks already in the game. I’ve created my own “patches” so these changes can be made logically (provided Wargaming even considers them).

The first “patch” contains a full Sturmgeschütz branch, with eight new regular vehicles in addition to changes to several preexisting ones. But we start now with a Tier VII premium tank destroyer, the Sturmgeschütz Panther. This tank was the first conceptual design of what would become the Jagdpanther.

The Jagdpanther itself can trace its origins all the way back to 1940 with the development of an anti-air 8,8 cm Flak 36 L/56 mounted on a Panzer IV chassis (Pz.Sfl.IVc). The vehicle was initially designed to fire at fixed fortifications, but it was soon thereafter shown to be outdated. To a further extent, the vehicle’s armor was inadequate for offensive combat, in part because its role had been surpassed by the development of the VK 45.01 [1; pg. 2].

Sometime in late 1941, the Pz.Sfl.IVc was brought up again to see if the vehicle could be modified to mount the a newly developed 8,8 cm gun (most likely the Flak 41). Krupp prepared concept drawings for a “Pz.Sfl.IVc 2” and presented them to Wa Prüf 6 on January 6^th, 1942, and newer drawings were presented again at the end of the month. A wooden model was built in April of the “Pz.Sfl.IVc 2 mit 8,8 cm K. L/71” and in early June Krupp was ordered a contract for three trial vehicles. Sometime in mid-June the vehicle adopted the name “Pz.Sfl.IVd”.

But a major change in design direction occurred about one month later on August 3^rd, 1942 [1; pg. 3]. Wa Prüf 6 had informed Krupp that the Pz.Sfl.IVd should use Panther (VK 30.02 MAN concept) components, such its suspension and the Maybach HL 230 engine. It was also this turn in direction that gave the Pz.Sfl.IVd the first official desgination of its gun, the 8,8 cm KwK L/71. This gun is a derivative of the 8,8 cm Flak 41 it more than likely carried up until this point.

However, the vehicle still retained the Pz.Sfl.IVd namesake for several more months because it was still based on the Panzer IV hull. The transition to a Panther (VK 30.02 MAN) hull wouldn’t occur until before a meeting with Hitler on September 20^th, 1942. This final design was to be called the “schweren Sturmgeschützes auf Fgst.Panther mit Panther Motor und Panther Getriebe mit der 8,8 cm L/71”, or simply “Sturmgeschütz auf Panther” [1; pg. 3].

This tank is remarkably similar to the Jagdpanther. Its biggest difference is the slanted roof [1; pg. 3]. Click the image for a larger view

Numerous components would transition over from the Panther (VK 30.02 MAN): engine, fuel and cooling systems, drives, steering unit, and transmission. The following components would have to be newly developed or redesigned to fit: main drive shaft, exhaust system, shocks, driver’s compartment and controls, vision devices, crew hatches, gun shield and gun mount, ventilation, and ammunition storage [1; pg. 4].

It was concluded in October that Daimler-Benz would continue further design and development of this vehicle, since production was to occur at one of their plants in the summer of 1943. However, Krupp was to assist in the design and was still responsible for the design of the gun and gun mount. Even though they were relieved of primary responsibility, they still completed a full-scale wooden model on November 16^th, 1942 based on the drawings presented at the meeting with Hitler.

A 1:1 scale wooden model based on Krupp’s conceptual designs [1; pg. 3]. Click the image for a larger view

Problems were found with the driver’s visibility and the development of a shot-trap beneath the gun forced some changes, however. The result of these changes dropped the traverse arc and the gun elevation angles by 1°. On January 5^th 1943, Wa Prüf 6 met with Daimler Benz to review the “8,8 cm Sturmgeschütz 43 (Panther)” and the characteristics were as follows [1; pg. 4-5]:

• The gun shield was to be 100 mm thick at the rear, 60 mm thick at the sides, and 40 mm thick at the bottom.
• Changes to the hull weren’t necessary because MAN was redesigning the steering unit.
• The lower carriage of the gun was to be modified like what was found on the Ferdinand. The gun was shoved 30 mm to the right to make room for the driver. Instead of a visor for the driver, two periscopes were to be mounted in the front plate and pistol ports would provide vision on the side. 
• A machine gun was added on the opposite side of the gun. Daimler-Benz was to pursue and see if an AA gun could be mounted in a cupola on the top of the tank for the Commander.

The final armor schematics were as follows:

• 100 mm and 60 mm thick upper and lower front plates, respectively, both angled at 55° from the vertical. The superstructure sides and rear were 60 mm thick and angled at 35° from the vertical. The hull sides were 60 mm thick at 0° and the rear was 60 mm thick at 30°. The roof, engine deck, and underbelly were all 30mm thick [1; pg. 9].

The tank utilized a crew of five (Commander, Driver, Gunner, x2 Loader) and could mount a FuG 16, FuG 18, or a FuG 8 in the commander vehicles. However, the crew number would later increase to include a Radio Operator.

It’s important to understand that while this vehicle shared the armor values of the Panther II, it was not actually a direct conversion of the Panther II design. The StuG Panther and the Panther II were separate projects and not directly related, although Daimler-Benz used the Panther II as the basis for the StuG Panther’s construction. The Panther II had modifications from the original Panther to simplify production. So when on May 4^th, 1943, the Panther II project was shelved, these modifications found on the Panther II were to be adapted for use on the Panther I and StuG Panther. Because of this order, Daimler-Benz was ordered to redesign the StuG Panther so it would be more similar to the new Panther I [1; pg. 4].

It was this revision that gives us the Jagdpanther we know of. In June 1943, the vehicle was officially named the “8,8 cm Panzerjäger 43/4 L/71 Panther”. The name “Jagdpanther” would first appear later in November.

The last time Krupp’s “8,8 cm Stu.-Gesch.42 auf Panther-Fahrgestell” designation is referenced is before May 1943, which means this name was used when the armor schematics were detailed. What’s interesting to note is that a “Sturmgeschütz Panther fuer 8,8 cm StuK 43 (Sd.KFz.172)” handle is first referenced at the same time as the “Panzerjäger Panther fuer 8,8 cm Pak 43/3 (Sd.Kfz.173)”, the former referring to the StuG Panther and the latter referring to the Jagdpanther. Jentz even recognizes that this “Sd.Kfz.172” name is an outdated name for the Sd.Kfz.173 [1; pg. 7]. This is the last time “Sturmgeschütz” is used in reference to this vehicle.

So it appears that perhaps the final name for the StuG Panther is “Sturmgeschütz Panther fuer 8,8 cm StuK 43 (Sd.KFz.172)”, however it did carry “8,8 cm Stu.-Gesch.42 auf Panther-Fahrgestell” well up until the Panther II was shelved. After this point, the vehicle becomes the “8,8 cm Panzerjager 43/3 (L/71)”, and then later it becomes the Jagdpanther we know and love.

Here are my proposed stats for the StuG Panther. These values assume a crew with 100% skills and no additional perks.

Click the image for a larger view

The standard 8,8 cm Pak 43 L/71. The reason it’s called a Sturmkanone is solely because the StuG Panther is a Sturmgeschütz. There is no difference between the two guns than by name; it is identical to the 8,8 cm Pak 43 L/71 represented in-game. However, considering the renaming effectively causes for a “new” gun to be made in-game, it’s possible some of these values can change quite easily for balance.

The gun’s arc makes for a total of 26°, which is the historical value mentioned when the vehicle was transferred to the Panther I chassis [1; pg. 5]. It was 26° when it was still used Panzer IV hull as the Pz.Sfl.IVd [1; pg. 4]. Either could work, but the 26° makes the most amount of sense. It could be lowered potentially to 24°, but this value wasn’t discussed until a month after the StuG Panther became the Jagdpanther [1; pg. 5].

Ammo capacity had been dropped from 60 to 50 rounds sometime before the tank’s first Panther I based hulls would be built, and then increased back to 60 before construction of the early Jagdpanthers.

While this engine could push out 700 hp (like it is in-game on the Jagdpanther), it was typically found to operate at around 600 hp. For the sake of balance, I’ve gone with the lesser value. The actual weight of this engine is known to be about 1200 kg, and that’s represented in-game as well.

I don’t know what the FuG 16 and FuG 15 were, so I’ve gone with the FuG 8. This radio was mentioned as being an option for the Commander’s version of the StuG Panther. These values are taken from the values found in-game.

 

Click the image for a larger view

The combat weight of the vehicle is unknown, but it’s known the Jagdpanther weighed around 45 metric tons. Considering the StuG Panther had thicker armor, I added an extra five tons. The hull weight is the weight of the vehicle sans the modules. The crew is assumed to be a part of this weight. Combined with the 600 hp engine, this gives the StuG Panther a considerably worse (but still okay) power-to-weight ratio than the in-game Jagdpanther (which has 15.2 hp/ton).

There is a small sloped plate on the top of the tank between the flat roof and the front glacis. The thickness of this plate was to be between 120-130 mm and about 75° from the vertical [1; pg. 4]. But this angle wouldn’t have allowed for such a thickness, so I made it 76° for an effective thickness of 125 mm.

The first official designation of the vehicle as being a Panzerjäger by Wa Prüf 6 occurred on May 1^st, 1943. At this point the vehicle had six crew members, which would later be dropped to five before the first Jagdpanther hull was built [1; pg. 6].

The top speed of the StuG Panther is never mentioned before the Panther II cancellation. However, Panzer Tracts states the Jagdpanther’s top speed was 45 km/h [1; pg 92]. Considering the two tanks used the same engine, this value seems acceptable to use.

So, how does this vehicle compare to its peers in World Of Tanks? Why is it a Tier VII tank destroyer, and not a Tier VIII? The main reason for that second point is its gun: given new premium tanks are not going to have preferential matchmaking, its gun would not be able to stand up well against Tier X tanks. And given its lackluster speed and maneuverability, such a disadvantage can’t be excused. Not to mention its armor would be fairly middle-of-the-road for a Tier VIII tank destroyer.

At Tier VII, this tank is much happier. At around 150 mm effective frontal armor, its armor becomes one of the thickest of all Tier VII tank destroyers. Its effectiveness is actually nearly if not identical to the premium Soviet SU-122-44. In fact, the SU-122-44 is a very good tank to compare the StuG Panther against.

The SU-122-44 has about a 20% better DPM, deals an average 150 damage more per shot, travels 2 km/h better forward, a much better power-to-weight ratio, better hull traverse speed, gun elevation, and radio range.

However, the StuG Panther would have more than 25 mm better standard penetration, half a second better aim time, a full 0.8 better accuracy, 20 m better view range, carries 15 more shells, 200 m/s better shell velocity, 4° more gun depression and a combined 10° better traverse arc.

All this for a comparable level of armor, but given their sizes the StuG Panther will likely have a bit worse camouflage. The StuG Panther trades mobility for gun handling; unlike the SU-122-44, this tank is a sniper. But like the SU-122-44, it can also afford to get closer to the front lines and use its armor. Its armor will let it deal better against Tier VIII and IX tanks than most tanks of its tier.

It’s better than most Tier VII tank destroyers, but it’s not the best in any particular way. It’s effectively a Jagdpanther with its iconic Pak 43, just a bit slower to compensate for extra armor. In conclusion, I think this is certainly a viable tank for the German tech tree, and it helps introduce armor back into a nation whose vehicles have noticeably been straying away from armor as of late. Not to mention having a six-member crew premium tank destroyer would be nice, since we've lost the Jagdtiger 8,8 in patch 0.9.9. The other three premium tank destroyers not available in-store (Rh Skorpion, Steyr WT, and KanJPz) all have four-member crews.

The next article from me pertaining to my “Sturmgeschütz Patch” will be a brief overview of the entire branch, before a series of articles about the individual tanks themselves. In the meantime, there’s a few other tanks I want to cover beforehand.

Until next time,

— ThatTrafficCone [NA]

Source:

• Jentz, Thomas L. & Doyle, Hillary L. Panzer Tracts No.9-3 “Jagdpanther”, 2005.

Author’s Notes: 

• I would have also used Walter J. Spielberger’s Panther and its Variants as a source, but everything stated in that book is stated in the one I used. Panzer Tracts also contains much more data and is just as respectable of a source as Spielberger. I believe Panzer Tracts is the only source I need for this article.
• In my Jagdpanther II article, I mentioned Spielberger suggested this woodenmodel was of an early Jagdpanther, potentially the StuG Panther. However, after reading Panzer Tracts No.9-3, I’m convinced Spielberger was wrong on this.