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Sturmpanzer IV Brummbär – The High-Calibre Grouch



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We are pleased to present a new German self-propelled gun - the long-awaited Brummbär, coming to hangars in the next major update in War Thunder.

The Brummbär (German - "grounchy bear") is a self-propelled gun on a Pz.IV medium tank chassis, created to directly accompany infantry in urban warfare and to destroy fortified structures. The SPG was produced from 1943 to 1945 and took part in battles on both the Eastern and Western fronts. Advancing in battles alongside storm troops, the Brummbär suppressed firing positions and destroyed sniper and machine gun nests with the help of its monstrously powerful gun – the 150 mm Stu.H 43 (L/12) howitzer. The Brummbär’s excellent armour protected it not only from bullets and shrapnel, but also from anti-tank guns – the armoured frontal projection reaches 100 mm in thickness at a reasonable sloped angle.

The military classified this tank as a ‘storm tank’ (Sturmpanzer), which is how it received its unofficial nickname of ‘StuPa’ among the troops. It was the Allies that dubbed it ‘Grouch’. In its various production runs, it used the chassis from the Pz.IV model E, F and G tanks. The cabin underwent significant changes and the SPG was given add-on armour in the form of screens on the sides of the hull. The Brummbär used special tracks designed specifically for the war on the Eastern Front. No armour piercing ammunition is included in the list of shells used, since the vehicle was not designed for jousting other tanks, however it did use the powerful 38 kg high-explosive shells and hollow-charge shells.

In War Thunder, the Brummbär is very similar to the ISU-152 Beast Slayer in its gameplay: it has similar armament, a similar calibre, comparable speed and invokes a similar sense of fear in the opposing team - however, there is an interesting fact - though its shells had less projectile mass, they had more explosive - 8.6 kgs against 5.9 kgs of the ISU-152 shells. As has already been noted, the front of the SPG’s cabin is very well armoured, but you have to take good care of its sides and rear: the side armour thickness is 50 mm on upper works, 20 mm on the hull and 20-30 mm in the rear.

The high calibre of its howitzer and the heavy shells require the gunner to use high lead angles, but a direct hit from one of its high-explosive ‘gifts’ deals simply catastrophic damage, as a rule sending any opponent back to the hangar with one or two hits. Its ammunition complement of 38 shells is enough for any battle, even the most active.

The Brummbär will be a rank three Premium vehicle in the German tech tree. You'll be able to take the Grouch into battle for youself very soon in the nearest Major Update in War Thunder!