15 cm sIG 33

15 cm sIG 33
Type Heavy infantry gun
Place of origin Weimar Republic
Service history
In service 1927-1945
Used by Nazi Germany
Wars World War II
Production history
Designer Rheinmetall
Designed 1927–33
Manufacturer Rheinmetall, AEG-Fabriken, Bohemisch Waffenfabrik
Produced 1936–1945
No. built around 4,600
Variants sIG 33/1
Specifications
Weight 1,800 kg (4,000 lb)
Length 4.42 m (14 ft 6 in)
Barrel length 1.65 m (5 ft 5 in) L/11
Width 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in)
Shell cased separate-loading (6 charges)
Caliber 149.1 mm (5.87 in)
Breech horizontal sliding-block
Recoil hydro-pneumatic
Carriage box trail
Elevation 0° to +73° or -4° to +75°
Traverse 11.5°
Rate of fire 2-3 rounds per minute
Muzzle velocity 240 m/s (790 ft/s) (HE)
Effective firing range 4,700 m (5,100 yd)
Sights Rblf36

The 15 cm sIG 33 (schweres Infanterie Geschütz 33, lit. "Heavy Infantry Gun") was the standard German heavy infantry gun used in the Second World War. It was the largest weapon ever classified as an infantry gun by any nation.[1]

Sources differ on the development history, but the gun itself was of conventional design. Early production models were horse-drawn, with wooden wheels. Later production models had pressed steel wheels, with solid rubber tires and air brakes for motor towing, albeit at a low speed (only carriages with pneumatic tires and suspension system could be towed at highway speeds). As with most German artillery carriages, the solid rubber tires and lack of springing meant that the gun couldn't safely be towed above 10 mph, and horse-drawing was still extensively employed.

The sIG 33 was rather heavy for its mission, and it was redesigned in the late 1930s to incorporate light alloys. This saved about 150 kilograms (330 lb), but the outbreak of war forced the return to the original design before more than a few hundred were made, as the Luftwaffe had a higher priority for light alloys. A new carriage, made entirely of light alloys, was tested around 1939, but was not accepted for service.

Artillerymen of the Großdeutschland Division loading a sIG 33

Ammunition

Most of the shells used by the sIG 33 were unexceptional in design, but the Stielgranate 42 was different in fundamental ways from ordinary shells. The driving rod was loaded into the muzzle so that the finned projectile remained in front of, and outside, the barrel entirely. A special charge was loaded and would propel the projectile about 1,000 metres (1,100 yd). At about 150 metres (160 yd) distance, the driving rod would separate from the projectile. Unlike other Stielgranaten, this version was not intended for anti-tank use, but rather for the demolition of strongpoints and clearing barbed-wire obstacles and minefields by blast effect.

Shell Type Weight Filler
I Gr 33HE38 kilograms (84 lb)8.3 kilograms (18 lb) amatol
I Gr 38 NbSmoke40 kilograms (88 lb)oleum/pumice
I Gr 39 Hl/AHollow-charge25.5 kilograms (56 lb)cyclonite/TNT
Stielgranate 42Demolition90 kilograms (200 lb)27 kilograms (60 lb) amatol

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Hogg, p. 26

References

  • Chamberlain, Peter, and Hilary L. Doyle. Thomas L. Jentz (Technical Editor). Encyclopedia of German Tanks of World War Two: A Complete Illustrated Directory of German Battle Tanks, Armoured Cars, Self-propelled Guns, and Semi-tracked Vehicles, 1933–1945. London: Arms and Armour Press, 1978 (revised edition 1993). ISBN 1-85409-214-6
  • Engelmann, Joachim and Scheibert, Horst. Deutsche Artillerie 1934-1945: Eine Dokumentation in Text, Skizzen und Bildern: Ausrüstung, Gliederung, Ausbildung, Führung, Einsatz. Limburg/Lahn, Germany: C. A. Starke, 1974
  • Gander, Terry and Chamberlain, Peter. Weapons of the Third Reich: An Encyclopedic Survey of All Small Arms, Artillery and Special Weapons of the German Land Forces 1939-1945. New York: Doubleday, 1979 ISBN 0-385-15090-3
  • Hogg, Ian V. German Artillery of World War Two. 2nd corrected edition. Mechanicsville, PA: Stackpole Books, 1997 ISBN 1-85367-480-X
  • Trojca, Waldemar and Jaugitz, Markus. Sturmtiger and Sturmpanzer in Combat. Katowice, Poland: Model Hobby, 2008 ISBN 978-83-60041-29-1
  • Infanteriegeschütze : lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de (German)
  • 15-cm Heavy Infantry Howitzer, German Infantry Weapons, Military Intelligence Service, Special Series No. 14, May 25, 1943.
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