Stu 40 G Sturmi

The StuG G assault gun was by far the most widely produced and used in the StuG series. Between 1942-45 over 7,700 were produced. The StuG G used the hull of the Panzer III M with a low-profile superstructure. This made the assault gun incredibly difficult to spot as it lay in ambush amongst dense terrain.

Production of the StuG III G was so prolific that Germany allowed Finland to purchase a number of these vehicles to aid in their continuing war effort against the Soviets. In 1943, the Finns took delivery of thirty StuGs with a further twenty nine vehicles were purchased in 1944.

The Finns were quick to modify the StuGs before they entered service; first, the paint scheme. The vehicles were delivered in still painted in the standard German base color of the period; Dunkelgelb (Dark Yellow) However, the Finns quickly repainted them in their standard three-color (Moss Green, Sand Brown and Light Grey) hard-edged camouflage scheme.

Other notable modifications included the replacement of the German MG34 machine-gun with the Soviet DT tank machine-gun and the addition of a large wooden stowage bin on the rear of the vehicle.

Later modification included the addition of spare track links to the lower-front hull, concrete reinforcements added to upper hull on either side of the main gun, the addition of logs to provide extra protection to the fighting compartment and the addition of bolt-on armor plate to the sides of the hull between the running gear of the tracks.

The Stu 40 G Sturmi as it was known to the Finns only saw limited action against the Soviets both during and after the summer offensives of 1944. Despite their small numbers, the vehicles and crews performed extremely well in the face of the Soviet juggernaut that was the Red Army.