Germany Sturmpanzer VI mit 38cm Mörser RW61 (Sturmtiger)

World War 2 Tank and Gun Database

The Sturmpanzer VI mit 38cm Mörser RW61 was a Self Propelled Artillery vehicle designed in 1943, manufactured by Alkett, it was based on the fully tracked Tiger chassis and was in use from 1943 to 1945. It was commonly called a Sturmtiger.

General Details (SP Artillery)

Specifications
Operational Date(s)	1943 - 1945
Quantity Produced	18
Weight	65 tonne
Crew	5
M.G's small	1
M.G's large(>10mm)	n/a
Length	6.37 mtr
Width	3.57 mtr
Height	2.87 mtr
Engine Details/Performance
Max Road Speed	25 mph
Max Cross Country Speed	13 mph
Range Road	75 miles
Range Cross Country	30 miles
Fuel Type	Petrol
Fuel Capacity	unknown
Horse Power	700 hp
Power/Weight	10 hp/tonne

General Information

The Sturmpanzer VI mit 38cm Mörser RW61 was a Self Propelled Artillery vehicle designed in 1943, manufactured by Alkett, it was based on the fully tracked Tiger chassis and was in use from 1943 to 1945. It was commonly called a Sturmtiger.

The vehicle was powered by Maybach 'HL230 P45 V-12,' petrol powerplant producing 700 HP which could drive the vehicle on roads at up to 25 mph with a range of about 75 miles before refuelling. Its cross country performance was good providing a max speed of about 13 mph and a range of about 30 miles.

It was armed with 1 light machine gun. Its main armament consisted of a 38cm RW 61 firing a shell weighing 349.0 kg to a maximum range of 5,000 metres.

The 38cm rocket mortar was install in the Tiger I chassis for destroying building and concrete installations, it was based on a Naval anti submarine weapon.

Armour Details

Turret
Front	n/a
Side	n/a
Rear	n/a
Top	n/a

Superstructure
Front	150mm	@	45°	(212mm)
Side	80mm	@	30°	(92mm)
Rear	80mm	@	0°	(80mm)
Top	35mm	@	90°	(35mm)

Hull
Front	100mm	@	25°	(110mm)
Side	60mm	@	0°	(60mm)
Rear	80mm	@	9°	(81mm)
Top	25mm	@	90°	(25mm)

Armour (x)mm @ (y)° (Effective mm @ 0°)

Effective Armour - Maximum 212 mm - Minimum 25 mm


Weapon Details
	38cm RW 61 38cm Raketenwerfer 61 (translates as Rocket Thrower)

		History
		This was originally a Naval weapon for use against submarines, but was fitted to the Tiger I as a large mortar.
		Manufactured	1944 - 1945
		Calibre	380mm
		Length	L/5

Ammunition Details
Name/Id	Calibre Weight MVelocity					Explosive Content
Raketen Sprenggranate 4581 (HE High Explosive)	380mm 349Kg 250M/Sec					125.000Kg explosive
Maximum Range 5000 Mtr
Range(Mtr)	500	1000	1500	2000	2500	3000	3500	4000
Flight Time(Secs)	2.05	4.2	6.46	8.83	11.31	13.91	16.64	19.49
lateral dispersion means the side to side variation of the shell from the aiming point
50%(CEP) of shells land within +/- (mtr)	0.13	0.27	0.40	0.53	0.67	0.80	0.93	1.07
80% of shells land within +/- (mtr)	0.17	0.35	0.51	0.68	0.86	1.02	1.19	1.37
95% of shells land within +/- (mtr)	0.25	0.53	0.78	1.04	1.31	1.57	1.82	2.10
range dispersion means the back to front variation of the shell from the aiming point
50%(CEP) of shells land within +/- (mtr)	0.17	0.33	0.50	0.67	0.83	1.00	1.17	1.33
80% of shells land within +/- (mtr)	0.22	0.42	0.64	0.86	1.06	1.28	1.50	1.70
95% of shells land within +/- (mtr)	0.33	0.65	0.98	1.31	1.63	1.96	2.29	2.61
Direct Fire
Range(Mtr)	100	200	400	800	1200	1600	2000	2400
Flight Time(Secs)	0.41	0.82	1.68	3.56
Hit Probability(%)	98	92	68	15
Blast/Fragmentation Effects
Burst radius Infantry in open 99% kill	8 mtr	Burst radius Infantry in open 66% kill						17 mtr
Burst radius Infantry in open 33% kill	43 mtr	Armour Penetration inc roof at 10 mtr						375 mm
An explosion within 8 mtr of infantry in the open will cause 99% casualties - lethal.
An explosion within 17 mtr of infantry in the open will cause > 66% casualties and could damage some AFV's.
An explosion within 43 mtr of infantry in the open will cause 33% casualties.
The blast effect of this shell exploding within 10 mtr of an armoured vehicle will penetrate 375 mm of the tank armour including the roof.

Range(Mtr)	100	200	400	800	1200	1600	2000
Raketen Hohladungsgranate 4582 (HEAT High Explosive Anti-Tank)	380mm 349Kg 250M/Sec
Quoted Penetration 585mm @ 2000mtr/0°
Flight Time(Secs)	0.4	0.81	1.62	3.37	5.65	7.53	9.41
Penetration(mm@30°)	585	585	585	585	585	585	585
Penetration(mm@0°)	585	585	585	585	585	585	585
Hit Probability(%)	98	92	68	25	3	3	3

About Penetration Figures

All penetration figures in this database are calculated to a common standard based on German WWII testing criteria (complete penetration with functioning fuze). This allows direct comparison between all nations' guns.

Original national test figures would be higher for some nations due to different criteria:

German: 1.00? (baseline - strictest)
British: 1.02? (slightly looser)
American: 1.05? (50% mass through plate)
Soviet: 1.10? (75% mass through plate)

For example, a Soviet gun showing 159mm here would be published as ~175mm in Soviet documents, and a German gun showing 120mm would be published as 120mm in German documents. The 159mm figure is directly comparable to the German 120mm - the Soviet gun really was more powerful.

National Testing Standards
German:	1.00? - Complete penetration, fuze functions (strictest)
British:	1.02? - Complete penetration
American:	1.05? - 50% of shell mass through plate
Soviet:	1.10? - 75% of shell mass through plate
All database figures are normalized to German standard for direct comparison. Multiply by the factor above to see original national test figures.

Hit probability is based on a static 2 x 2.4 metre panel at 0 degrees(vertical) at the range specified.

The data that has been used to create these records has come from Wikipedia, The Lone Sentry, The Bundes Archive and numerous books and websites that have provided the detailed information that has not been available anywhere else. The information we use to calculate the penetration tables, flight times and the hit probability comes from the Gun Calibre, the Shell Mass(Kg) and the muzzle velocity, plus range reductions to allow for gravity and wind resistance. This calculation originally came from a pre-war Krupp calculation which has been modified, and seems to fit the actual test results.