Heuschrecke 10

The self-propelled howitzer grasshopper ( Sd.Kfz. 165/1 ) was referred to a German self -propelled gun with the 10.5 -cm light field howitzer 18 on the chassis of the Panzer IV, as Geschützwagen ( Gw ) IVb.

The vehicle had a length of 6.55 m, a width of 2.95 m and a height of 2.33 m. Furthermore, the self -propelled gun had an engine output of 300 hp and a weight of 17.3 tonnes and a crew size of five people. The top speed was 40 km / h

The peculiarity of the grasshopper was that the entire tower could be derated by a traveling crane mounted on the vehicle to the rear. The tower could then be placed on a concrete foundation, for example; after the addition of two wheels, it was also possible, however, herzuschleppen him behind the vehicle.

With the development of self-propelled guns for the artillery pieces, a first prototype was built in 1942. Since the installation of the Standardhaubitze the field artillery was not possible, however, this project was not pursued. Only in 1944 it was revived. From one armed with the leFH 18/1 variant 1942 eight cars were built and used in Russia.