Sturer Emil Review

Experimental tank destroyer developed on the chassis of the VK 3001(H) heavy tank. Only two vehicles were manufactured. They fought on the Eastern Front. The tank destroyer was designated as “Sturer Emil” (German for “Stubborn Emil”) due to frequent breakdowns.

One of the most powerful TDs deployed during the second World War is now finally ingame. Is it worth getting it or not, the question is and we will tell you from every aspects, why it is or not!

foreword

8.9, the patch everybody was waiting literally for years. WG changed the date several times, but it was inescapable not to implent them, because of the high interests. (Just a small survey from the EU: 171 people voted on „yes they are lookin forward to it” in the related topic. Only 17 „poor” people voted on the no option, I think this demonstrates it very well.) The line’s tanks are almost all historical, expect the Waffenträger E-100(Star Wars tenk), others were in „already completed stage” or fought during the great war.

how does it perform in battle?

It can be described as one of the biggest glass cannons, having the same size as Ferdinand, having the armor of a low-medium equals bad survivability chances, you must be careful and prepare to die in every single battles. Top Gun is something that gets out of you this „I WANT IT NOW” effect. It can really cause hard times for those who unluckily drives into your aiming circle. Viewrange is correct as it stands on paper, you hide, hit, hide. Camo factor, don’t wish huge failure, it isn’t impressive, but can be hardly detected, when in bush or far away.

How should you play it? Never heared of Dickermax? Gold for win? Does armor count that much? Does size matter? Questions are set, shall we begin?

firepower

The Sturer Emil is armed with the 128mm Kannone 40 , the performance of which lies somewhere between the Jagdtiger’s 128mm and the 105mm K18 guns on the Dickermax. Better than the second, but inferior to the first. It is very much a real anti-tank gun, with better than avg. damage, penetration and a decent reload.

The penetration of this 128mm gun’s is enough to penetrate anything on tier 7,8, but has problems with tanks like T95 in tier 9. Knowledge of weak spots is essential, when fighting against the tanks of this tier. Other problem, besides this, is the fact it lacks APCR ammunation. (WG had a great historical look on this, because in reality it also had no APCR, just Pzgr(AP), Sprgr(HE)) 0.36 accuracy means that whilst you should everytime hit the target, you won’t necessarily hit it’s weakspots on range. Aiming time is very disappointing in numbers, actually it was a lot faster, than i tought with a 100% crew, no equipments.

The stock gun, I can only describe it as a huge failure. Penetration is very low until you get the big one, there is no other solution at the time. (WG stand for history’s side, because actually there were some Experimental Sturer Emils during the war, which used a „10,5 cm K” gun, no data, if this was the same as Dicker Max’s. Anyway it is highly possible not, because AP shell’s penetration is superior to the small Dick’s. 173mm [30 degrees] vs 169mm [0 degrees], both on 100m. WG better fix it) Back to the in-game one. Accuracy could be better, if reduced to 0,34-0,33. Right now you can’t hit any weakspot surely from 100m. Aim time is quite funny, you have to rotate the tank frequently and it is too long in this aspect. Somehow it feels 128 aims faster, than this one, or it is just me.

Ammunation

The Emil can’t use APCR on the Elite gun, nevertheless penetration is enough for anything what it meets. 10,5 cm is able to carry all the known projectile types.(AP, APCR, HE) APCR is a really saving point in terrible battles. 227 is more than enough to take out several Tier 9 vehciles frontally, if not then safely the sides from range too.

HE shells can be sometimes usefull, 128mm being a relatively big calibre at this tier, and so it can penetrate sides or rears.

Armour:

Just some words, as you can imagine 50mm is particularly weak against HE shells and anything till tier 1, those little guys need APCR to shoot through. Never ever try to meet any tank at close-range, some seconds will pass and you are already dead. Sides are even weaker, than this. This is even more dangerous, cus it can be penetrated by a loltraktor’s regular shells. Bitch stuff, no one can complain.

Mobility:

Again a big weakness of this tank destroyer is that it is slower than most counterparts. With a power/weight ratio of less than 9, avoid driving on rough and hilly ground at all costs. Fortunately the hull traverse speed is a respectable 34 deg/s which should give mediums and some lights a hard time circling you, providing you stay on hard, flat ground.

The low speed means that you can often find yourself left behind in faster paced battles: a frustrating problem. This makes it all the more important to pick your route at the start of a battle wisely. Generally you want to travel to an area of the map that sees long-range fighting, but doesn’t already have a strong friendly presence. If there are too many allied tanks, they will reach the enemy first, and kill them before you even get to fire a shot.

On the other hand it is never a good idea to travel anywhere alone. Your poor mobility and armor  leaves you very vulnerable to agile tanks if they catch you alone.

Equipment:

 My equipment load out is as follows:  Gun Rammer, Camouflage Net and Binocular Telescope although an Enhanced Gun Laying Drive wouldn’t be a bad choice either.  The Camo will assist to hide easier, while not in motion. The gun rammer is essential for any tank with a damage dealing role, especially for TDs. Binos maximazis your viewrange to perfection.

The Enhanced Gun Laying is a vital piece of equipment for any slow aiming tanks or tank destroyers with weak gun arc. The vertical stabilizer will assist with your aiming time, when shooting tanks in motion. It is vital to be fully aimed as your shells have to hit weak spots on higher tiers to deal damage or reach the target, because of the mediocore accuracy.

Consumables:

As with most tanks, I would recommend the standard setup of Small Repair kit, Small First Aid Kit and a Manual Fire Extinguisher. You could swap out the fire extinguisher for the Chocolate (This tank dont likes to burn as it might be known traditionally for german tanks) to improve every aspects of the tank, helping it move, aim and fire faster; making it an all round better tank. However it will cost you 20.000 credits or 50 gold a game which can be too much a little bit. If you have the cash however, and are just playing the Sturer Emil for fun, then go ahead and use the desssert.

Crew Skills:

Generally you always want to have a crew with a high camouflage in a tank destroyer.

One tank that I find has a similar play style and thus crew setup to the Emil is the Dicker Max’s.  The optimal skill choices for the Pz.Sfl.V, in my opinion, are as follows.

Commander: Sixth Sense, Mentor, BIA

Gunner: Camouflage, Deadeye, BIA

Driver: Camouflage, Clutch Braking, BIA

Radio Operator: Camouflage, Situational Awareness, BIA

Loader: Camouflage, Adrenaline Rush, BIA

Advantages:

•        Highest Penetrating gun on it’s tier. Superior in damage output also. (expect SU-152)
•        Godlike Elevation Arc (One of the highest in-game)
•          Good Rate of Fire.
•          High ammo capacity for stock gun.
•          Fast Traverse speed, cannot be circled easily.
•          Excellent View Range.
•          Good Camo-Factor.

Disadvantages:

•          No armor at all.
•          Very limited mobility capabilities.
•          So big as Ferdinand.
•          Painful stock grind.
•          Low ammo capacity for the elite gun.
•          No mid-gun between the 10,5cm and 12,8cm.
•          Medicore accuracy for both guns.

Tactics & Overall Play style:

•          Never go anywhere alone. You are vulnerable to being flanked, and will struggle to deal with multiple opponents. You’re a damage dealer and so often you’ll need the support of your allies to quickly get in cover and have cover fire, when detected.
•          You have no armor, never forget this.
•          Keep your distance. The optimal fighting range for this tank is between 200 and 400m. You want to stay far enough away that you are hard to hit, but close enough that you can still hit enemies, because of your accuracy.
•          It takes a long time to react to changes on the battlefield so make sure that you have great situational awareness.
•          Shoot at what you can kill(stock), don’t waste your time shooting at heavily armoured targets unless there’s nothing else to point your gun at.
•          Use your Rate of Fire (stock). If an enemy is moving at you, but he can’t still see you, blow his tracks off first, then shoot one freely and then again tracks.

Historical Overview

Development

Starting in 1939, preliminary designs were conceived for self-propelled guns, known as schwere Betonknacker (heavy concrete busters), which were intended to be used against strong fortifications such as those being constructed by the French. Utilizing a previously designed 12,8 cm Flak gun, the design of the superstucture and gun was assigned to Rheinmetall and design of the chassis was assigned to Henschel.

A 12,8 cm Kanone L61 was to be designed utilizing the Flak gun tube with carriage and recoil cylinders from the 12,8 cm Flak Gerät 40. The gun by itself weighted 7,835 tons. Mounted on a chassis and surrounded by an open top superstucture, traverse was limited to 12 degrees (7 degrees right and 5 degrees left) with an elevation arc from -15 to +10 degrees. A 12,8 cm Sprenggranate L/4.5 mit Rauchentwichler Nr.9 weighing 26 kg was fired at a muzzle velocity of 880 m/s. A 12,8 cm Panzergranate mit Lichtspurhuelse Nr.4 and weighing 26,35 kg (including 190 gram HE filler) was also fired at a muzzle velocity of 880 m/s.

Components designed for the VK 30.01 were to be incorporated into the Versuchs-Fahrgestell (trial chassis) for the Pz.Sfl.V. Details on the components and design considerations were related in the following Henschel report on the „Sfl.V”:

Weight: 36 metric tons, maximum speed 19,6 km/h

Pz-Wanne (armor hull): Special model due to its length and mounting a Rheinmetall-Borsig 12,8 cm gun that is to be dismountable. Armor on the front consisted of 50 mm thick rolled plates, while armor plates on the hull sides were 30mm thick. Superstucture without roof. The hull is longer than the VK 30.01 because of the location of the gun mount, but it is of single piece construction like the VK 30.01.

Gleiskette (tracks): Same as the VK 30.01, but longer.

Motor: Mabach 6 cylinder HL 116, but a special model because the engine is higher than the radiators.

Kuehlung (Cooling): Same as the VK 30.01 but mounted lower. The fan drives are aligned differently, as well as the cooling air path.

Ketten-Antrieb (track drive): Lower gear ratio because of the longer track contact requires increased steering capability

Laufraeder (roadwheels): One whell more (8 total per side) because of a higher total weight than the VK 30.01 Oberbaurat Kniepkamp had concerns that the track would be thrown because of the great length between the last outer roadwheel and the idler wheel. The order for the inner and outer roadwhells was selected so that it results in both ends having 1300mm distance between the track leaving the roadwheel and being supported by the drive sprocket or idler.

Stabfedern (torsion bars): As a backfit modification the last two roadwheels on both sides had stronger torsion bars. This was done to eliminate the vehicle rocking so strongly that the gunner couldn’t observe the target again until after the projectile had already hit.

A crew of five manned this self-propelled gun. As always, the names applied to this project evolved with time, as follows:

•          12,8 cm Selbstfahrlafette L/61 Pz.Sfl.V (Rheinmetall, 1940)
•          Schwere Betonknacker (In 6, 30Jul1941)
•          Pz.Sfl. fuer 12,8 cm K.40 (Wa Z 4, 14Jan1942)

Production

Henschel was awarded a contract by Wa Pruef 6 to complete two Versuchs-Fahrgestell (trial chassis) and Rheinmetall was given a contract by Wa Pruef 4 to complete 4 guns. It was still being designed in 1940. On 25 April 1940 WaJ Rue (WuG 6) reported on the status of new models in development by Wa Pruef 6, including a 13 cm Kan. (Pz.Sfl.) auf Fahrgestell des VK 30.01 weighing about 35 tons. At this time the two Versuchssteueck were planned to be delivered in December 1940. If testing proved these to be suitable, AHA intended to order about 100. As reported in July 1941, the detailed drawings needed for production were available to meet the scheduled delivery of both self-propelled guns in August/September 1941. Finally, both Pz.Sfl. fuer 12,8 cm K.40 were assembled and tested by Rheinmetall-Borsig in early 1942.