1/35 Sturmpanzer IV Brummbar (Mid Version), Airfix A1376

Sturmpanzer IV Brummbar (Mid Version) 

 

The Sturmpanzer IV is often referred to as the Brummbär, which roughly translates to grumbling or bad-tempered bear, but it is thought that this was an Allied reporting name for the vehicle and not one actually used by the Germans - they simply referred to the assault tank as a Stupa 43, a direct reference to the gun the vehicle used. The Sturmpanzer served with 4 Assault Battalions, with Sturmpanzer-Abteilung 216 being the first committed to combat during Operation Zitadelle and the mighty clash of armour in the Kursk salient. These vehicles would go on to see significant action throughout the Soviet Union, as well as in Poland, Italy and the Battle of Normandy, although as was the case with most German armour during the latter stages of the war, there were never enough serviceable Sturmpanzers available at any one time and as mounting losses could not be replaced effectively, their operational numbers dwindled steadily as the fighting intensified.

Around 306 Sturmpanzer IVs were built, with only three or four of the distinctive armoured fighting vehicles surviving in various museums to this day.