PANZERWAFFE.INFO

German World War II armored fighting vehicles gallery

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GRILLE

Heavy self propelled gun on Panzer 38(t) chassis

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FAST FACTS:

Grille (cricket) was a combat name for a heavy self-propelled gun based on Panzer 38(t) chassis. It existed in two different versions labeled Ausf. H and Ausf. M (Ausf. = Ausführung = version). Both of them were armed with 150 mm heavy infantry gun sIG 33. The gun and crew compartment was protected only by a lightly armored, open top superstructure.

Grille Ausf. H was produced from February till June 1943 with total output of 200 vehicles. It was powered by Praga AC engine, located in the rear of the chassis with maximum output of 160 hp at 2600 rpm. The machine weighted 10.8 tons and had a respectable maximum speed of 47 km/h.

Second generation of this vehicle came into production in October 1943 as Grille Ausf. M. The engine was moved from rear of the chassis to its center and the fighting compartment was therefore shifted to the back. Production of Grille Ausf. M continued until November 1944. There are several different figures to be found in the literature when looking for a total production score, varying from 172 to 282 copies.