German predecessor to the Soviet Gun Carrier

Patriot Park now contains the world's largest collection of German vehicles from the Second World War. Today, most of the exhibits are displayed in display area #1, including one quite unusual vehicle. This is the Waffenträger für 8.8 cm PaK 43 L/71 (Ardelt), a tank destroyer that appeared towards the end of the war. In this case the concept of a "Gun Carrier" is quite literal, since the vehicle was developed to replace the towed carriage of the Pak 43 anti-tank gun.

The Germans made their way to the Gun Carriers gradually. The first ideas began to arise in the spring of 1942. Back then, the vehicles were collectively known as Grille. The concept consisted of a mobile AFV based on the chassis of a modified light, medium, or heavy tank. The only tangible products came from the GW III/IV chassis that was based on medium tank components. The first was designated Heuschrecke 10 and the other leFH 18/40/2 auf GW III/IV. Both vehicles were experimental.

The prototypes satisfied the ridiculous requirement that the gun had to be removable. The German artillery was obsessed with the idea of a gun that could be rolled up onto a high speed chassis and then returned to its original configuration. The 4th Department of the Weapons Office had enough Kniepkamps of their own. The Grille program (not to be confused with the SPG on the chassis of the Pz.Kpfw.38(t)) was slowly dying until a catastrophic situation with artillery tractors forced its revival.

Usually the reason for the Gun Carrier program is omitted from its history, but this reason is very simple. It can be found in Guderian's report to Hitler dated March 23rd, 1944. According to it, the number of halftracks the German army had in action was dangerously low. Only 52-53% of the necessary number of Sd.Kfz.11, Sd.Kfz.6, and Sd.Kfz.7 were available. While the 3-ton Sd.Kfz.11 could still be replaced with the Steyr RSO, the 8-ton Sd.Kfz.7 had no replacement. These halftracks were used to tow 15 cm guns and heavy anti-tank guns. By coincidence, this was the tier of artillery that the Gun Carriers were aimed at. Because of this, interest in the program grew. Losses among German artillery, particularly anti-tank artillery, were very high as moving the guns under fire was often impossible.

A meeting was held at the 4th Department of the Weapons Office on February 4th, 1944. The Waffenträger concept was defined there. 105 mm leFH 18, 88 mm Pak 43, 128 mm Pak 81, and 15 cm sFH 18 guns were prioritized. The goal was to develop a chassis that was as cheap as possible so that it could be produced as much as possible. The army dug their own grave, as the Pz.Kpfw.IV chassis was discarded as an idea and began working on something using Pz.Kpfw.38(t) components. Steyr was working on their own chassis.

Krupp and Alkett also took part in the tender. Another challenger appeared suddenly: Ardeltwerke GmbH. The lifting equipment manufacturer from Eberswalde was not previously involved in the development of armoured vehicles, although it did switch to producing ammunition since the mid-1930s. The company massively relied on slave labour provided by prisoners of concentration camps. The Waffenträger program piqued Dr. Gunther Ardelt's interest. He personally saw how Pak 43 anti-tank guns were abandoned on the front lines. Ardeltwerke began a joint venture with Rheinmetall, but the experimental Ardelt-Rheinmetall 8.8 Pak 43 Waffenträger was a failure.

Ardelt switched to working with Krupp, which turned out to be a much more productive partnership. On one hand, Gunther Ardelt had the support of an arms giant. On the other hand, Krupp could move its work from Essen to another safer location. Work on an improved SPG began after the first trials of a 8.8 cm Waffenträger Krupp-Ardelt. It was built exclusively as a carrier for the 88 mm Pak 43 gun. A decision was made to build a pilot batch of 100 vehicles after a demonstration at the Kummersdorf proving grounds. Since the ammunition capacity of the tank destroyer was limited, 12 vehicles would be built as ammo carriers.

Mass production of the Waffenträger für 8.8 cm PaK 43 L/71 (Ardelt) had to put up with the harsh state of German industry towards the end of the war. Even maximum simplification of the design didn't help. The start of production was constantly delayed as the tank destroyer began to appear questionable, especially when it came to mobility. Only 7 tank destroyers were made instead of 100. All of them were combined into a battery commanded by Oberleutnant Ardelt. It was tasked with defending Eberswalde. There is also a photo of a Waffenträger für 8.8 cm PaK 43 L/71 (Ardelt) in Berlin, which is not surprising given the distance to the German capital.

Gunther Ardelt is rumoured to have died in one of his tank destroyers. Ardeltwerke survived the war and even survives today under the name KE Kranbau Eberswalde AG. 

The Red Army captured not only a Waffenträger für 8.8 cm PaK 43 L/71 (Ardelt), but the factory where they were made and technical documentation. Krupp and Ardelt's product had a big impact on Soviet AFV development. The captured documentation was sent to Sverdlovsk in 1945 with an order to make something similar, but with the mobility of the GMC T70 (a sample was also sent to UZTM). A year later, UZTM created a multipurpose chassis that served as the foundation for the SU-100P, SU-152G, SU-152P, and others. The 2S3 Akatsiya, 2S4 Tulpan, and 2S5 Giatsint are its direct descendants.

To start, let us say that the final Gun Carrier concept turned out to be quiet controversial. The mass production that the vehicle was so radically simplified for never took place, resulting in a number of strange compromises. The 11 ton SPG had a 100 hp Maybach HL 42 engine. It showed a speed of 25 kph on trials. This later increased to 36 kph, but its real sustainable to speed was the same 25 kph. One can confidently say that the Gun Carrier would not have been popular with the troops, if only because all armies of the world like to hammer in nails with a microscope. No one would have cared that this is a gun carrier. It has a gun, it has armour, therefore it is an assault gun, however poor.

The Waffenträger für 8.8 cm PaK 43 L/71 (Ardelt) made for a quite poor SPG. The fact that this is meant to be a gun carrier is highlighted by the design of the driver's station. All the driver was meant to do was drive his gun into position, after which he would leave the vehicle and join the gun crew. This resulted in a very strange driver's compartment. One of the requirements was the ability for the driver to unlock the gun. He pulled a lever on the gun clamp, which released the lock. After that, the driver's station was covered by a removable shield and he joined the rest of the gun crew.

The running gear was developed with maximum cost reduction in mind. It was largely based on the Pz.Kpfw.38(t) running gear. Most Gun Carriers did this, but Gunther Ardelt went a step further. He eliminated the rubber rims and the wheels were entirely metallic. Krupp helped him in this. As a result, the running gear looked similar to that of the Pz.Kpfw.38(t), but there were differences.

The driver's station is more or less comfortable to ride in. Out of the four crewmen, two had to sit on uncomfortable folding seats on the back of the hull. Of course, it's better to get a poor ride than a good walk, but there's a limit. These seats were not there at all to begin with. Since they would be torn up by the crew's boots while working, the seats were made to fold down.

If one views the Waffenträger für 8.8 cm PaK 43 L/71 (Ardelt) as a gun carrier and not a full fledged SPG, it's not that bad of a vehicle. The gun carrier had a low center of mass and was capable of 360 degree traverse. Ardelt also omitted such oddities as a rapid gun dismounting system. The chassis was also optimized for just one kind of gun. As a result, the Waffenträger für 8.8 cm PaK 43 L/71 (Ardelt) was the best in its class.

The gun was the same as the towed 8.8 cm Pak 43, with the exception of hardpoints to carry spare track links on the gun shield and improved protection from the sides. The 6-round ammo rack on the right side was preserved, meaning that the Waffenträger für 8.8 cm PaK 43 L/71 (Ardelt) could open fire very quickly. One just had to disengage the travel lock and load from the ready rack.

Gunther Ardelt's design was the best of the bunch when it came to satisfying the initial requirements. It reused an existing gun and the chassis itself was as cheap as possible. The problem was that the requirements themselves were wrong. Discarding the Pz.Kpfw.IV as a chassis was a big mistake, since this chassis was already in production and didn't need additional time to set up. Otherwise, the result was an ersatz that never even made it into mass production.

To conclude, one may note that the Gun Carrier concept was implemented in many nations. The difference was that the post-war gun carriers had high mobility. The Germans could have had it, but for some reason didn't want to. Experience also shows us that commanders quickly see even lightly armoured gun carriers as assault guns, and not a single army in the world has managed to convince its troops to stop hammering in nails with a microscope.