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A friend asked if someone might be able to ID this thing, whatever it is.


Apart from the fact that there are Nazis in the picture, I have no clue about its origins. And yes, I know, it would be nice if the picture were clearer.

Looks like the Möbelwagen self-propelled AA gun platform to me. Or something similar.

It's a 15 cm sIG 33 (Sf) auf Panzerkampfwagen I Ausf B. Look at the location of the cross on the side and the bulge beneath it and the way the tracks extend further back then the fighting compartment.

Yeah that's a better match. I hereby rescind my suggestion.

Damn you Sirus! Yes, it's the SiG-33.

Huh. The first reaction I had to the picture was that it was a Goliath drone modified to allow infantry to fire from it (which is a pretty stupid idea, once you think about it).

It never ceases to amaze me how often the Nazis kept on recycling their chassis. Must have made maintenance a nightmare, especially once you factor in captured vehicles.

Thanks, gentlemen.

They were commonly used by the Germans in the invasions of Poland and France.

Big Orange wrote:They were commonly used by the Germans in the invasions of Poland and France.

Few were really made (less than a hundred, IIRC), though, since the 150mm gun overloaded the Pz Kpw IB's chassis.

Force Lord wrote:

Big Orange wrote:They were commonly used by the Germans in the invasions of Poland and France.

Few were really made (less than a hundred, IIRC), though, since the 150mm gun overloaded the Pz Kpw IB's chassis.

According to most sources, only 38. The Germans also tried the 150 mm IG 33 on Panzer II and Panzer III chassis, but both were produced only in very modest numbers in a typical willy-nilly German WW2 fashion.

The mass-produced version was the Bison/Grille on two (some sources claim three) different Panzer 38(t) chassis. Thery were made from February 1943 to September 1944 and used on all fronts. Some even made it to Tunisia before the Axis surrender in May 1943. It was an effective infantry support weapon, but armored only against small arms fire and due to the low velocity gun its self-defence capability against enemy tanks was rather limited. (There was a HEAT (Hohlladung) round for the gun, but hitting tank-sized targets beyond a couple of hunderd meters was quite difficult with such a weapon, and normally the inventory of HEAT rounds was very limited.)