The Sturmpanzer is a German armoured infantry support gun based on the Panzer IV chassis used in the Second World War. It was used at the Battles of Kursk, Anzio, Normandy, and was deployed in the Warsaw Uprising. It was known by the nickname Brummbär by Allied intelligence, a name which was not used by the Germans. German soldiers nicknamed it the "Stupa", a contraction of the term Sturmpanzer. Just over 300 vehicles were built and they were assigned to four independent battalions.
Sturmpanzer, displayed at the Musée des Blindés, Saumur, France.
A Sturmpanzer in the Anzio-Nettuno area of Italy, March 1944.
Brummbär in March 1944 deployed to contain the Allied beachhead after landings at Anzio.
Sturmpanzer on display at the Deutsches Panzermuseum Munster, Germany
Zimmerit was a paste-like coating used on mid- and late-war German armored fighting vehicles during World War II. It was used to produce a hard layer covering the metal armor of the vehicle, providing enough separation that magnetically attached anti-tank mines would fail to stick to the vehicle, despite Germany being the only country to use magnetic anti-tank mines in numbers. Zimmerit was often left off late-war vehicles due to the unfounded concern that it could catch fire when hit. It was developed by the German company Chemische Werke Zimmer & Co (Berlin).
Close view of Zimmerit on the corner of a Tiger II
Close view of Zimmerit on the glacis of a Tiger II
Stug III with waffle-pattern zimmerit, IWM Duxford museum collection.