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''Hummel'' (German: "
bumblebee A bumblebee (or bumble bee, bumble-bee, or humble-bee) is any of over 250 species in the genus ''Bombus'', part of Apidae, one of the bee families. This genus is the only extant group in the tribe Bombini, though a few extinct related gener ...
") was a
self-propelled gun Self-propelled artillery (also called locomotive artillery) is artillery equipped with its own propulsion system to move toward its firing position. Within the terminology are the self-propelled gun, self-propelled howitzer, self-propelled mo ...
based on the ''Geschützwagen'' III/IV chassis and armed with a 15 cm
howitzer A howitzer () is a long-ranged weapon, falling between a cannon (also known as an artillery gun in the United States), which fires shells at flat trajectories, and a mortar, which fires at high angles of ascent and descent. Howitzers, like ot ...
. It was used by the German '' Wehrmacht'' during the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
from early 1943 until the end of the war. Its ordnance inventory designation was Sd.Kfz 165. The full name was ''Panzerfeldhaubitze 18M auf Geschützwagen III/IV (Sf) Hummel, Sd.Kfz. 165''. On February 27, 1944, Hitler ordered the name ''Hummel'' to be dropped as it was deemed inappropriate for a fighting vehicle.


Development

The ''Hummel'' was designed in 1942 after the need for mobile artillery support for tank forces had been demonstrated during the invasion of the USSR. The self-propelled artillery already in service with the Wehrmacht had proven of limited value. The first option considered was mounting a
10.5 cm leFH 18 The 10.5 cm leFH 18 (german: leichte Feldhaubitze "light field howitzer") is a German light howitzer used in World War II and the standard artillery piece of the Wehrmacht, adopted for service in 1935 and used by all divisions and artiller ...
howitzer A howitzer () is a long-ranged weapon, falling between a cannon (also known as an artillery gun in the United States), which fires shells at flat trajectories, and a mortar, which fires at high angles of ascent and descent. Howitzers, like ot ...
on a
Panzer III The ''Panzerkampfwagen III'', commonly known as the Panzer III, was a medium tank developed in the 1930s by Germany, and was used extensively in World War II. The official German ordnance designation was Sd.Kfz. 141. It was intended to fight ...
chassis, rejected in favour of the same gun on a
Panzer IV The ''Panzerkampfwagen'' IV (Pz.Kpfw. IV), commonly known as the ''Panzer'' IV, was a German medium tank developed in the late 1930s and used extensively during the Second World War. Its ordnance inventory designation was Sd.Kfz. 161. The Pan ...
chassis. One prototype was built. This design was rejected in favour of mounting the more powerful 15 cm sFH 18 L/30 howitzer on the specially designed ''Geschützwagen'' III/IV, which combined elements of both the Panzer III (driving and steering system) and Panzer IV chassis (suspension and engine). The same chassis was also used for the ''
Nashorn ''Nashorn'' (, German for "rhinoceros"), initially known as ''Hornisse'' ( German "hornet"), was a German '' Panzerjäger'' ("tank hunter") of World War II. It was developed as an interim solution in 1942 by equipping a light turretless chass ...
'' tank destroyer. The engine was moved to the centre of the vehicle to make room for an open-topped lightly armoured fighting compartment at the rear housing the gun and crew. Late models had a slightly redesigned driver compartment and front superstructure offering more room to the radio operator and driver.


Variants

Because the basic ''Hummel'' could carry only a limited amount of ammunition, the ''Munitionsträger Hummel'' ("ammunition carrier ''Hummel''") was developed. This was basically a standard production ''Hummel'' without the howitzer (a 10 mm armour plate covering the gun mount) and with racks fitted to hold the ammunition. When necessary, these could still be fitted with the 15 cm howitzer of the normal ''Hummel''; this could even be done as a field conversion. By the end of the war, more than 700 ''Hummel'' had been built together with 157 ammunition carriers using the same design.


Combat history

The ''Hummel'' first participated in large scale combat at the
Battle of Kursk The Battle of Kursk was a major World War II Eastern Front (World War II), Eastern Front engagement between the forces of Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union near Kursk in the southwestern USSR during late summer 1943; it ultimately became the la ...
, when some 100 served in armored artillery battalions (''Panzerartillerie Abteilungen'') of the Panzer divisions. They were formed into separate heavy self-propelled artillery batteries, each with six Hummel and one ammunition carrier.


Foreign use

Romania received one unit from the Red Army after the war ended. This was assigned to the 2nd Armoured Regiment with its military registration number as U069009. It was officially known as the ''Hummel TAs self-propelled gun'' in the army's inventory. The gun could not be used because it was missing the breech's lock. It was showcased to the public in a military parade in Bucharest of 10 May 1946 with Romanian markings. All German armour in Romania was later phased out in 1950 and finally scrapped by 1954, the army deciding on the sole use of Soviet tanks and armoured fighting vehicles (AFVs) instead. Besides Romania, Syria was also another user of the Hummel post-WWII. Five were received from France, which captured several from Germany after the war, between the late 1940s and the early 1950s, with a limited supply of main gun ammunition obtained together with the vehicles (later on, the Soviets provided these Syrian Hummels a sizeable quantity of 150mm rounds they produced domestically following WWII). These saw service against Israel up until the 1960s and all were most likely scrapped shortly afterwards.


Surviving vehicles

Six ''Hummel'' survive in museums, at the
Munster Munster ( gle, an Mhumhain or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the south of Ireland. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" ( ga, rí ruirech). Following the ...
''
Deutsches Panzermuseum The German Tank Museum (german: Deutsches Panzermuseum Munster (DPM))''Deutsches Pa ...
'', the '' Wehrtechnische Studiensammlung'' in
Koblenz Koblenz (; Moselle Franconian: ''Kowelenz''), spelled Coblenz before 1926, is a German city on the banks of the Rhine and the Moselle, a multi-nation tributary. Koblenz was established as a Roman military post by Drusus around 8 B.C. Its name ...
and the Sinsheim Auto & Technik Museum in Germany, the ''
Musée des Blindés The ''Musée des Blindés'' ("Museum of Armoured Vehicles") or ''Musée Général Estienne'' is a tank museum located in the Loire Valley of France, in the town of Saumur. It is now one of the world's largest tank museums. It began in 1977 un ...
'' in
Saumur Saumur () is a commune in the Maine-et-Loire department in western France. The town is located between the Loire and Thouet rivers, and is surrounded by the vineyards of Saumur itself, Chinon, Bourgueil, Coteaux du Layon, etc.. Saumur s ...
, France and the Fort Sill Field Artillery Museum in
Fort Sill, Oklahoma Fort Sill is a United States Army post north of Lawton, Oklahoma, about 85 miles (136.8 km) southwest of Oklahoma City. It covers almost . The fort was first built during the Indian Wars. It is designated as a National Historic Landmark ...
and one has been reconstructed at the
Australian Armour and Artillery Museum The Australian Armour and Artillery Museum is a privately owned museum dedicated to tanks, armoured vehicles and artillery from the Second World War and post war periods. It was officially opened in 2014, in Cairns, Queensland, Australia. T ...
and is awaiting the Winterketten track.


References


Sources

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External links


Achtung Panzer! profile of the Hummel

World War II Vehicles

Surviving Panzer IV variants
- A PDF file presenting the Panzer IV variants (Jagdpanzer IV, Hummel, Nashorn, Brummbär, StuG IV, Flakpanzer tanks and prototypes based on Pz IV) still existing in the world {{WWIIGermanAFVs World War II self-propelled artillery of Germany 150 mm artillery Military vehicles introduced from 1940 to 1944