Built for its Gun, the Sturer Emil | Cursed by Design

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.

Channel: ConeOfArc

Views: 714,660

Keywords: ConeOfArc, cursed by design tanks, ww2 tanks, cursed guns, cone of arc cursed by design, war thunder, cursed by design, ww2 tanks documentary, sturer emil war thunder, sturer emil wot, sturer emil world of tanks, sturer emil real life, sturer emil tank, sturer emil gun depression, sturer emil tank encyclopedia, sturer emil vs dicker max, sturer emil, stubborn emil, schwere Betonknacker, Panzer Selbstfahrlafette V, vk3001h, vk3001 tank, vk 30.01(h), vk 30.01h

Id: 5tm4kI_dcrA

Length: 14min 16sec (856 seconds)

Published: Sun Jun 12 2022