Sturmtiger! The Weirdest Tiger Tank

[@Absaalookemensch]

Ironically there are more pictures of the Sturmtiger than numbers produced. They were very photogenic.

[@robertcuny934]

No long barrel overhang. No need to step back into a shell hole

[@scockery]

Unlike the camera shy Drangtigers.

[@nematolvajkergetok5104]

There are more videos by Mark Felton than there are Mark Feltons.

[@robertcuny934]

@nematolvajkergetok5104 Mark Felton may need to clone himself if this continues

[@Absaalookemensch]

@@nematolvajkergetok5104 LOL

[@lunaticfringe8066]

Looking at the Sherman peeled like a banana is terrifying evidence of the power of these weapons.

[@NVRAMboi]

Aside from B-17/24 crews, Sherman crews must've had to live very careful lives.

[@robertsolomielke5134]

You must mean 03:00 and yes , if that was a miss, most nearby troops would be vapor before any emotion was able to be offered. The terror of the brute shells... rockets? came from survivors.

[@MikeS-um1nm]

Yes. And "peeled like a banana" is the PERFECT description. I've never seen that image before even though I have a TON of picture books and watch A LOT of WW-2 videos. I've been building tank models for many years and I'm always on the lookout for good pictures to represent in my dioramas. If I were to depict THAT scene, I don't think anyone would believe it, without seeing the photo! And considering the thickness of the M-4's side armor, I can't imagine the power of the blast that "peeled it like a banana"!

[@DrakonPhD]

@@NVRAMboi Any tank crew does. Sherman crews had far higher survival rates then other tanks though.

[@lucaamedeowilber1557]

not sure that photo is from the Sturmtiger encounter

[@JoeDiGiovanniIV]

Once again, this is classic Mark Felton content right here and we absolutely love it

[@adamskiyo]

Yes I agree, I love his content. A most remarkable observation.

[@yoda5565]

The "Sturmtiger" in Munster was still mobile under its own power well into the 1980's. I believe its last official duty was to bare the coffin of a Bundeswehr General, who was also a WW2 veteran who passed in the late 1980''s. (possibly von Senger). I took note of this because I had seen the vehicle in Munster in 1983 and noticed it still had "drip pans" under it while on display. I was in the 11th ACR at the time and noticed such things.

[@DasPanzermuseum]

Interesting story, considering the fact that the Sturmtiger joined our exhibition only in 2003.

[@toastedt140]

As the poster says. Offical duty before the donation​@@DasPanzermuseum

[@yoda5565]

@@DasPanzermuseum NO, what was the Bundeswehr museum in Munster. That was clearly 1984 as it was part of a "Battle of the Bulge" tour my regiment took. Help I'm not senile and the Sturmtiger is not easily mistaken....

[@mercedesbaleron]

@yoda5565 It could have also been the Brummbär, similar in shape, although of lesser stature

[@DasPanzermuseum]

@@yoda5565 The German Tank Museum was indeed opened in Munster, Lower Saxony, in 1983. The only vehicle in our collection between 1983 und 2003 that resembles the Sturmtiger slightly , was the Brummbär. The Sturmtiger was in Techmnikmuseum Sinsheim in the period bewteen 1994 and 2003.

[@giovannidispirito9056]

Mark Felton Notification = instant watch

[@rodneyjackson7147]

ikr? and its the weekend..normally so hard to find content.

[@n.v.1258]

Yes.

[@redrocket597]

Same I click immediately, always love the intro too

[@WalkSkyWalker]

Factual

[@Jimmy_Watt]

​@@redrocket597The intro perks my ears up like a trained labrador. 😂

[@michaeleastes1705]

I’m always happy to see another entry from Mr. Felton. I have been a military history buff since childhood, and I always learn something new from his videos. Keep up the good work, sir!

[@ronandanne1]

Imagine trying to move these rounds inside the tank, reloading the gun. Also, that crew was very admirable in their concern for the people and cultural teasures in the town around them.

[@davemoore53]

Yes, it made a refreshing change from the destruction that usually accompanied their withdrawal

[@CalgarGTX]

They had an onboard crane to move them around, those shells are 345kg u aren't gonna shoulder lift them xD

[@kennethwood2089]

Yes--that German crew--HONORABLE WARRIORS.

[@muskokamike127]

14 rounds inside? where the hell did they put them! When I first saw one I thought the recoil would be massive, I didn't realize the rounds were rocket propelled.

[@clydeblair9622]

Oh yeah admirable.

[@keen8549]

My favorite derp tank.

[@dakoderii4221]

It devastates everything in Battlefield 5. Huge blast radius.

[@ansalander]

Ork tech right there…

[@NVRAMboi]

"But it borked." (Like many other German toys).

[@blacklupos]

KV2 was the original Derp tank (from WoT)

[@JohnSmith-zr3yz]

Yes! New panzer video! On a hungover Sunday morning! Thanks Mark!

[@LofusYanchi-jt1yp]

Prost! 🍻🍺

[@nw8000]

Morning? It was a long night wasent it...

[@elconquistador98]

You shouldn’t drink.

[@elgenvalcin6885]

I saw this video whilst holding my 1 72 Dragon Sturmtiger so i clicked it immediately. What a coincidence

[@mikebrase5161]

Spooky

[@jamesdellaneve9005]

I was looking at a leftover chocolate Sturmtiger from Easter.

[@nw8000]

Gosh I hope it wasent loaded

[@justliam2768]

I saw this video whilst sat mere feet away from a 1/12 scale figure of Hitler in uniform. I didn't let him watch it, though. Don't want him getting above his station. Again.

[@guyfawkesuThe1]

Lot of great scale models out there.

[@johnandheather6372]

Wonderful!! I just came up from my model room, where I'm working on a Rye Field models 1/35 Sturmtiger, clicked on You Tube and this was waiting for me! Thanks for the photos, there are a couple that I didn't have. You really are the BEST sir!!

[@TheSaturnV]

Yeah there were at least 2 photos I've never seen. How is that RFM kit? I built their M4A4 Firefly and was really impressed.

[@johnandheather6372]

@@TheSaturnV Well, like most kits from the newer manufactures, it's pretty amazing . Lot's of detail, full interior, etc, etc... Glad to hear you enjoyed their Sherman. I haven't seen that one yet. CHEERS!!

[@Droopybear]

Thanks again Dr Felton. I never read much about this beast and was surprised at the damage one round can cause. Imagine the impact such machines would have made if effectively supported and employed.

[@TheSaturnV]

None to very little impact. This was another waste of resources committed by the Germans. The rockets were inaccurate as pointed out in the video, reload time was painfully slow and the chassis was overloaded making it even more unreliable than usual. As always, the required support is the most vulnerable component and the Allies were having a field day strafing softskin vehicles in rear areas.

[@bradsanders6954]

@@TheSaturnV To build this monster gun carrier on a tank chassis, and have it fail due to inability to get fuel to it. Im sure the mileage was horrific at it's 78 ton weight.

[@bigpaint3337]

Alas, even if it did work properly it would prob run out of ammo far quicker than a standard tank because of the size of its rounds. Could be wrong, but can’t imagine it holding more than 5 shells at a time

[@methodeetrigueur1164]

The Sturmtiger was built on a damaged Tiger chassis. It was to replace the Sturmpanzer IV Brummbär and SiG 33B, both of which were equipped with a 15 cm gun that was considered insufficiently powerful.

[@mumfordalien1794]

“Insufficiently Powerful” sounds like a very strange way of saying “too weak”.

[@Lerxstification]

The SiG 33B is in Panzer General 2, but sadly, the SturmTIger is not available at any prestige cost.

[@Kalleri13]

@@mumfordalien1794 You know it has to be terrible to be a human at the time when such powerful weapons are too weak....

[@mumfordalien1794]

@@Kalleri13agreed, and it’s use during the Warsaw Uprising is all the more disconcerting. It is still a very unique bit of history.

[@Treblaine]

​@@mumfordalien1794 I wouldn't describe a 15cm howitzer shell as "weak", it's an 84 pound high explosive shell, it would make a crater in earth about 15ft wide and 6ft deep. They didn't even want a gun this powerful, they wanted a 21cm howitzer but that wasn't available, what was available was an old Kriegsmarine depth-charge launcher. So this is a gun so massive it's more rightly considered a naval cannon. It really is overpowered for the job, almost no targets were so large or tough that they needed a warhead the size of a bomb dropped from an aircraft.

[@ragingmenace1984]

I just did a 1/35 sturmtiger! Thanks doc. Has this thing ever made its appearance on the Hollywood screens?

[@Edward-ik2cp]

I've never seen one in any war movie I've ever watched and I've seen about all of them

[@TheSaturnV]

No movie appearances to date.

[@luisitocomunista546]

Thing looks like a medieval mortar on tracks

[@rickandbrandonshow]

That’s pretty much what it is. The American civil war used mortars that looked just like that minus the tank

[@vinnyganzano1930]

Near enough yeah.

[@DaveSCameron]

I know right, some wunderbra this one 😂😂😂😂😂

[@de_anubis]

It is called "Storm-mortar" for a reason lol

[@frankgesuele6298]

Which you didn't want 2B on the receiving end💥

[@ecconomicus]

There is famous photo of Prudential Hotel hit by Sturmtiger during Warsaw Uprising. Unimaginable, but building survived it, was renovated and still remains as five-star hotel.

[@selfdo]

I believe that part of the reason the Sturmtiger isn't as well-known is that being an Assault MORTAR, it was, for all practical purposes, an AFV used on the OFFENSE, mainly to deal with fortifications. By the time it saw combat (1943), with the notable exception of Kursk, the Germany Army wasn't on those grand offensives of the prior years, and nor were their opponents making defense of those "monuments to the 'stupidity of man' " a cornerstone of their defensive strategy. I'd say that by the time the Americans had a couple of pontoon bridges thrown across the Rhine, attempts to finish the destruction of the original Remagen Bridge, hardly passable to Sherman tanks as it was, were a "Deustchmark late and a pfennig short." There was simply too little left with OB West as a reserve force to seal off any breaches in the "West Wall", or even the Rhine itself. Even if they'd had a credible reserve, MOVING it to would have been problematic as the "dreaded Jabos" (Jagdbombers, usually Republic P-47s roving about in the German rear in search of targets of opportunity) were practically unopposed, and shot up fairly much anything that moved.

[@richarddietzen3137]

You mean Reichsmark, not the later Deutschmark.

[@grahvis]

The problem with very specialised vehicles can be that they need equally specialised targets to be really useful.

[@georgeaitken2719]

The rounds were so big they need a crane to load into the tank

[@ffjsb]

As seen in the video....

[@ms3862]

800kg is difficult to carry for humans

[@mitchmatthews6713]

War always brings out the strangest of weaponry. The American Civil War was full of them. Cheers, Mark!

[@francoisriche2167]

Great work as a historian, this is my favorite channel to watch in the morning. You're easily knocking the History Channel out of position.

[@UFOalienX]

Mark I’d just like to take a second to say you look dapper as hell in that black north face jacket 🔥

[@thesleepyweasel3775]

Excellent production, as always, Dr. Felton!

[@yunghongchung3496]

謝謝！

[@Drboss-jt8bs]

Another banger from Dr mark felton

[@briannicklas109]

I've several books and articles on the Sturmtiger, and Dr Felton has covered aspects those do not mention. As always, thank you and well done! A plus was the launch of a V-2 in operational splinter camouflage, rather than the B&W test scheme!

[@peterdowdall8972]

Another history lesson thank you mark

[@DaveSCameron]

History is correct, hardly wunderbrawaffen…😂😂

[@PanzerdivisionWiking]

Loved the video Mark!

[@michaelwolfgadsby8958]

You're the best Mark

[@BionicRusty]

3:30 Was I the only one thinking, ‘How on earth……?” for a few seconds? 😂 Fantastic video, as always.

[@oldtop4682]

The one at the Panzer Museum was acquired from Aberdeen Proving Grounds in the US. Most likely after the US Army Ordnance HQ was moved to Virginia. Space was limited in that move, so some of the static display pieces were sold off and/or moved to other locations. I was fortunate to see the collection at Aberdeen years prior to the museum move from there to Virginia. A rare piece, these guys could do some serious damage when in the field.

[@melissasmess2773]

Tanks a lot Dr. Felton!

[@ShearWave89]

Another great video Mr. Felton, such a unique looking tank!

[@henryrollins9177]

Man, the Felton's treasures are always amazing. Never heard of this contraption. Cheers from Patagonia, Argentina.

[@lovisglinka-]

4:22 Mr. Felton, I come from Drolshagen, where Mr. Doll is somewhat considered a local hero. He also wrote a book later on. For him, the order was “not only nonsensical but also inhumane.” As a result, the crew made a fateful decision: no shooting, but also no surrender. The company commander repeated the order. The crew refused again. They drove toward the American tanks to attack in open terrain. “Our plan came to an unexpected end when, still in the village of Hützemert, just a few meters before reaching the main road, the tank’s left track broke with a loud bang,” Doll recounted. Repair was impossible, and destroying the tank was not an option either: “By doing so, we would have caused the very disaster in Hützemert that we wanted to avoid in Drolshagen.” The crew continued to refuse to surrender. A firefight broke out with U.S. troops. Two of Doll’s comrades, Karl Heinz Langer and Werner Herrler, were killed, and a third, Gerhard Gäbler, later succumbed to his injuries. Doll himself was wounded, managed to take shelter in a house, and received medical treatment. He eventually surrendered.

[@eddyjohan8650]

Stories like this are invaluable addition to official records. There are historical incidents incomplete because witnesses refuse to come forward for reasons unknown.

[@libertyvilleguy2903]

Good story, thank you.

[@oliverschlesinger6744]

@@eddyjohan8650 probably one reason could be shame by association

[@sthrich635]

Probably high on drugs or drunk, or Germans started recruiting from the left end side of the IQ curve. "Yeah let's not shoot our cannon at a very obvious and large building target the Sturmtiger was designed - no let's also drive around our 68 tons of steel and strain the transmission, engine, tracks, or anything not designed for 60 tons (which was pretty much everything), AND hunt some smaller Allied tanks that we had no intel or any idea where they are. Also no surrender and let's the American fired at us." That excuse of a German officer should be ashamed of getting two of his crews shot just weeks before the war ended, and probably jeopardizing the accompanying German infantries as well. Like if he was that incompetent then at least just let the men just surrender.

[@Kholdaimon]

I wonder why they refused to surrender, if they were aware the war was as good as done and they risked getting (and ultimately got) shot by the Allies...

[@lorincowell6944]

The magazine must have taken a huge portion of the vehicle.

[@michaelpettersson4919]

True but I suppose that used the intended way they probably only need a handful of rounds to complete its mission. After that, move on and get resupplied. It isn't really that odd considering that there are today mobile artillery units with no ammo carried and the crew working unprotected outside.

[@daniellebcooper7160]

Well done to Commander Dolle, for being a decent human being.

[@daniellebcooper7160]

@@robertsolomielke5134 i have no idea what youre on about?.

[@robertsolomielke5134]

He made a choice NOT to blow the Sturm Tiger, ammo , and the local village, into mere memories....lots of times those choices happened, but they seldom come up.

[@fouzanium]

3:28 I initially thought those 2 crew members were just casually lifting a 376kg round with just their arms 😅

[@peterhowe547]

does look like it 🤣

[@jacobprevost9962]

I thought the same thing but it looked like it was getting picking it up with a small "crane" on the top of the tank and they were just stabilizing it.

[@Drboss-jt8bs]

Another banger from Dr mark Felton

[@kilgore7778]

It's a great Sunday with a new Mark Felton video!!

[@gavinhodge2532]

Good morning Mark, really enjoying your shows! Your thumbnail for this show brought back memories, I remember cutting a picture of one out from a 'Battle' comic when I was around 9 years old. Happy days, haha!! Keep up the great work

[@jamesgarman4788]

Interesting story and many thanks for posting Dr. Mark!

[@ChaptermasterPedroKantor-kv5yw]

The crossing of 1st Army at Remagen may have been into unfavorable terrain, but it altered the course of the war in the West, shifting the main focus away from Monty's 21st Army Group to Bradley's 12th Army Group, relegating Monty to an advance towards the North East, mopping up the German ports, while the main Allied advance now shifted into central Germany towards the Elbe to meet the Red Army there.

[@sthrich635]

Sturmtigers were not just useful for destroying bunker or fortification, but also for demolishing fortified building blocks easily in urban combat, while its armor gave its higher survivability in those close combat environment too. Many seems to just assume since the Germans in late war were on defensive and not charging against Maginot Line or many fortifications so these specialized vehicles were "useless". In reality the last years of war the Germans saw many brutal urban battles in Europe, where this vehicle could easily clear out garrisoned buildings all around - a 300+ kg single shell was way cheaper than half of a German infantry company for such job, especially when there weren't much German infantries left. And lastly the Sturmtiger was made from existing Tiger chassis - Tiger I had been stopped production in mid-1944 - so any notion that these heavy vehicles could be "replaced" with more general Panther or StuGs are just applying video game money concept into actual German armament industries.

[@capriracer351]

"Unrepairable in the field" As someone that has to repair the 3 German 5 axis CNC machines in our shop, I feel their pain, lol.

[@chameemunasingheprasadika3944]

Hell...this guy can be a threat to even modern MBTs...& thanks for presenting brief information of this beast ❤❤❤

[@stevenewman1393]

😎👍Very totally cool and very nicely greatly well done and wonderfully informatively explained and executed in every detail way shape and format provided on the Sturmtiger indeed Sir!👌.

[@Freedomfighter76239]

Thank you for your continual amazing content ! They are highly appreciated

[@debbiestyer453]

Wow ..lots of new information for people like me who just started learning about the equipment of WWII. Thank you

[@Kallum-h4z]

The cutest, monster tank I ever did see!

[@n.v.1258]

Wouldn't want that coming your way😮 Thanks once again, Dr. Felton..

[@frankmccann29]

I've seen this one in the past a few times Dr. Felton and you sure cover the important stuff that's interesting.

[@billkingston4402]

Wow haven't watched your channel since lockdown, busy getting a life back, it's back

[@jammiedodger629]

Thanks for a great video Mark.

[@fishyc150]

We used these type of things until the late 90s. 165mm AVRE demolition tank. It was SOPs to have one on standby at all reserve demolitions to either destroy the abutments or bridge itself if the demolition failed.

[@Gary-Seven-and-Isis-in-1968]

Excellent upload as always. What a fascinating weapon.

[@AyatollahOfDahmsistan]

Thank you mark. Another wonderful show

[@davidrivero7943]

Always something unknown & quite interestin. TY again , Dr. It could have been a Parott , even a Dalgrin but it looks more like a Coehorn .

[@KG-tu4cl]

Wow that loading port picture is really incredible love the channel sir cheers from Texas🍻

[@janlindtner305]

Another well done Felton👍👍👍

[@sharpshooterpeonnut6919]

Nice work Dr. Felton. Can you perhaps do a show on the Jagdpanther and Jagdtiger including notable actions they may have seen, Two of my favorite WW2 AFV's

[@gregmiller9710]

...well this is a blessed Sunday when we get a Dr. Mark video! :)

[@WaVeTECH-b9z]

Incredible footage of advanced military machinery, built to withstand any challenge!

[@larryjohnson7591]

Yes, very strange tank indeed. Thanks for covering it, Mark.

[@thomassk7161]

Thank you for using the metric measurements so all can understand size and distances.

[@artawhirler]

I never heard about this tank before, so thanks for telling us about it!

[@FlorentinoRebuildingCo.5644]

I never noticed a round still in the barrel f rom 5:14 thru 5:36. Incredible.

[@prototyp3strik3r]

great research again, thx!

[@mirekkudzia7052]

As always, very interesting content. Thank you

[@thEannoyingE]

It’s not a week without another lesson from Dr. Felton.

[@dwaynekoblitz6032]

So gd interesting! Best war channel ever.

[@mer2705]

I've never heard of these. Thank you for the video

[@Russojap2]

Nice video! Greetings from East Tennessee 🤠

[@kingakahyper]

Loved this one!

[@craigw.scribner6490]

Thanks, Dr. Felton!

[@mitchgordon8199]

Right on time Sir. 👏

[@_Dovar_]

I remember it from the an old game called "Battlefield 1942: Secret Weapons of World War Two".

[@monkjohn4833]

A MAD Tank!!

[@jamesbodnarchuk3322]

Very interesting tank

[@keithrickson8522]

I remember playing 'A Bridge Too Far' on windows 95 as a teenager and this "tank" was very useful for blowing up entire buildings, although it took 20 minuets to reload.

[@theidahotraveler]

so cool thanks again mark

[@rolfagten857]

I love the Sturmstiger because it's a beast.

[@ferdinandwerger9454]

I' ve seen all three pieces.. awesome!!

[@RW4X4X3006]

I have three uncles who served in the war, two in the ETO. When I was a kid I always tried to eavesdrop on their recollections when mom wasn't looking. They'd talk about all the strange and fantastic German machines they'd come across. This was probably one of them.

[@kurtsunderbruch4711]

The photos of the Sturmtiger that had the damaged track was taken either by my dad or a member of his combat photographic team. I have one from his scrapbook, and another in that scrapbook shows Ike looking at the photos they took of the Sturmtiger.

[@Nerfherder3]

BOOM! another upload

[@Zbigniew_Nowak]

I remember the discussion about this machine and the arguments of a modern soldier, if I remember a tanker, that it made sense because - he argued - it was still more mobile than Karl-Gerat... and the potential for destroying buildings - no worse. :)

[@danmadden1080]

Great video for a Monday morning (NZ time).

[@kenc9236]

I didn't know and now I do. Thanks Mark.

[@michaelnaven213]

Excellent research!👍👍

[@harrydoku8268]

Mark, you put all other historians to shame. No one comes close!

[@truthseeker9454]

3:08 - That looks like the inside of a single lens reflex camera -- what protected the crew from back blast when there is hardly any breech?

[@outlet6989]

Recently, I watched a video showing a similar weapon used at Iwo Jima. It wasn't vehicle-mounted but deployed like a mortar.

[@MOTA_KRAMPUS]

It is amazing that it actually worked. Too bad for the accuracy. Beautiful monster, wish there was more videos of them.

[@cuddlepaws4423]

We had never heard of this one. Very interesting.

[@glenngosline3303]

Good stuff as always

[@freemenofengland2880]

Due to the weight of the projectile I'm assuming it was equipped with at the very least a semi-auto loader mechanism. Awesome video! Hope you had a lovely Sunday.

[@slinkerdeer]

This thing is bloody brilliant in Company of Heroes 2

[@EricDaMAJ]

These are always fun in Avalon Hill’s _Squad Leader_ game.

[@Napoleon1815-l8c]

If the Germans weren’t so focused on heavy tanks and various variants and focused on producing the StuG III, the Panzer IV, and perfecting the Panther, the war would have been a lot harder.

[@danielslocum7169]

True; but once the allies gained air superiority,they were essentially done.

[@Namkify]

Preposterous! How else are the manufacturers supposed to get filthy rich, if they cant sell metric tons of overengineered prototypes to the Reichs arms department (themselves)!? Silly you.

[@scockery]

That's an old debate. The Tiger made sense when it was in development. But air power was essential. Maybe focusing more in getting those jets and rocket fighters out earlier. You can't make lot of Stugs and Panzer 4's if your industry is getting plastered day and night.

[@Bonanzaking]

Making more stugs and panzer 4’s might not have been as productive as you think. They lacked enough fuel for their vehicles. Making more would’ve been pointless if they couldn’t fuel them.

[@angrydoggy9170]

Nope. They didn’t have the manpower. If you’re low on manpower you try to compensate by fielding superior technology.

[@neilfoster814]

Although I was aware of these beasts, I'd never seen one firing it's mortar. I wouldn't fancy being on the receiving end of that projectile. Weighing 68 tons, it must have been a nightmare to transport it from A to B, and I guess not many bridges could handle that tonnage.