Figure 1.--Here we see some junior German offcers with we assume the children of one of them having a look at the new sIG 33. We think the photograph was probably taken when it was first introcuced in 1936. The officers' caps also look like pre-War styles. The boys are not Hitler Youth boys, but younger boys that their has father dressed up in military uniforms.

The German schweres Infanterie Geschütz 33 (sIG 33) was the standard German heavy infantry gun during World War II. It was a 15 cm gun, the heaviest weapon classified as an infantry gun by any of the World War II beligerants. It was develoed in the inter-War period as German Army was developng ideas about Blitzkrieg. The sIG 33 was meant to provide artillery support for fast moving infantry units. This was something that German infantry lacked in World War I. The Germans of coure had artillery, but not a light gunthat the infantry could easily bring forward as they advanced. Like many new weapons the Germans intriduced, they were designed to address the problems encountered in World War I, and to speed up advances was a primary concern. The gun was of fairly conventional design. The design was approved in 1933 which acounts for the '33' designation. Production began in 936 as the NAZI rearmament program began to ramp up arms production. And like World War I artillery, early production models were horse-drawn and had wooden wheels. Subsequent had characteristic pressed steel wheels, with solid rubber tires as well as air brakes for motorized towing. The sIG 33 was eally too heavy for its intended purpose -- rapidy movement with infantry. As a result, the Army had it redesigned just befre Hitler launced the War (late-1930s). The primary innvation was to adopt light alloys in the production to reduce the weight. They managed to reduce the weight by 150 kilograms (330 lb), but the War meant that they had to go back to the original design. Hitler began the War with limited supplies of critical metals. And the Luftwaffe had the highest priority for the available suply of light alloys. A new carriage made with light alloys was tested,but never accepted. Itwas not built in huge numbers, but some 4,600 were produced (1936-45), not large by World War II standards. . The Stielgranate 42 was the primary shell used. Army thinkers had imagined the sIG 33 in part as an anti-tank gun, but early German victories meant that there was limited need. And when the Red Army intriduced the T-34, the sIG did not have sufficent hitting power. Heaver more effective weapnons like the 88 were needed. The Germans tended to to use the sIG 33 to attack infantry strong points as well as clearing barbed-wire obstacles and minefields. Of course these purposes were less needed as the Germans were forced on the defensive. This was done through the blast effect of the Stielgranate 42. Other I Gr shells were used for high explosive and smoke. There was also a hollow charge shell.

Created: 2:40 AM 3/10/2017
Last updated: 2:40 AM 3/10/2017