No Panzer IV

[Kome]

Just a random thought i had while playing soccer. What if for whatever reason the Panzer IV is not accepted into service or not fully developed. Rather instead lets have the Stug III be developed quicker and used as the alternative.

Not really looking for reasons why this could happen or for plausibility, just curious on how it would effect WW2. Because i have a soft spot for anti tank and assault guns right now. So in this scenerio the mainstray armor units of the German army would be the Panzer III and Stug III, probably with high parts compatibility. Effects and thoughts?

I imagine things will be very bad for Germany in the long run.

 

[AmericanCataphract]

I imagine things will be very bad for Germany in the long run.

Possibly. You're sacrificing offensive utility due to loss of a traversable turret, and sacrificing a lot of firepower in the anti-tank role.

On the other hand, I think it would lead to faster development of a Panther-like tank, maybe one that's easier to mass-produce due to need for a large number of actual tanks. This could offset the numbers deficiency - but it still won't be enough in the long run.

 

[BlairWitch749]

I can't see any major change other than somewhat increased AFV production levels, and a bit better crew survivability (due to STUGG's lower profile and better armor layout)

The development curve between the weapons was very similar (they shared most of their parts after all)

 

[ArmchairPhilosopher]

Probably a smaller, less potent, more reliable Panther-like tank--probably something that is more like a T34, comes out of this.

 

[karprin]

I think Germany would have been fine in the early part of the war using the Stug III instead as the early PzIV was not really an anti-tank weapon. Its gun was a low velocity gun, good at firing HE and smoke to support the tanks against infantry and anti-tank threats. The Stug could have fulfilled that role. However, in 1942 the Mark IV was upgunned with a powerful anti tank weapon that the Mark III was too small for. From 1942 until the end of the war, the Mark IV was their mainstay. The Stug would not have been as good because of the lack of a turret.