Sturmpanzerwagen Oberschlesien
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| Sturmpanzerwagen Oberschlesien | |
|---|---|
.png) | |
| Type | Assault Tank |
| Place of origin | German Empire |
| Service history | |
| In service | Never used |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | ~19 t |
| Length | 6.7 m (22 ft) |
| Width | 2.34 m (7.7 ft) |
| Height | 2.9 m (9.5 ft) |
| Crew | 5 |
| Armor | 14 mm (0.55 in) |
Main armament | 1 x 57 mm (2.2 in) or 37 mm (1.5 in) cannon |
Secondary armament | 2 x 8 mm MG 08 machineguns |
| Engine | Argus As III 190 hp (140 kW) |
| Power/weight | 10 hp/t (7.4 kW/t) |
Operational range | 60 km (37 miles), ~100 km (62 miles) paved road |
| Maximum speed | 16 km/h (9.9 mph) on roads 9 km/h (5.6 mph) off-road |
The Sturmpanzerwagen Oberschlesien ("Assault tank Upper Silesia" from German: der Sturm, the assault; German: der Panzerwagen the tank) was a German tank project of the First World War. It was a radical design for a fast-moving, lightly armoured assault tank.
The Oberschlesien included a track which was placed under the tank and only wrapped around half of it. The design sacrificed armour for the sake of speed and only required a 180 hp (130 kW) engine for the 19 ton body, giving it a projected ground speed of 16 km/h (9.9 mph) on roads and 16 km/h (9.9 mph) cross country.[1]
The tank featured such advanced features as the main armament mounted on top of the tank in a centrally placed revolving turret,[2] separate fighting and engine compartments, a rear-mounted engine and a low track run.[citation needed]
Towards the end of the First World War it was clear that the only operational German tank, the A7V, was too expensive to produce and had too large a crew. Therefore, it was decided that a lighter tank was required which could spearhead assaults and which could be mass-produced.[citation needed]
Thirteen companies bid for the contract and in the middle of 1918,[citation needed] construction of a design by Captain Müller was assigned to the Oberschlesien Eisenwerk of Gleiwitz,[1] which had partially completed two prototypes by October. The project received the pseudonym Oberschlesien (Upper Silesia).[citation needed]
Neither the ordered test models, nor the improved "Oberschlesien II" already planned were finished before the end of the war.[1]
