12.8cm Sf L/61 (Pz Sf V)

The 12.8cm Sf L/61 (Pz Sf V) was a self propelled gun based on the VK 30.01(H) chassis. Only two were produced.

The VK 30.01(H) was one of the early designs in the process that led to the Tiger I. It introduced the interleaved road wheels used on the later tank, and had a similar layout, but would have been armed with the same 75mm gun as the Panzer IV. Several test chassis were completed, but it was under-armed, and the focus of attention moved to the VK 36.01(H) and then the VK 45.01(H) Tiger.

12.8cm Sf L/61 (Pz Sf V)
in the Snow

Two of the VK 30.01 chassis were modified to carry the massive Rheinmetall 12.8cm K anti-tank gun. This had first been developed as an anti-aircraft gun, the Gerät 40, with work starting in 1936. The anti-aircraft version entered production in 1942 and was used on a number of flak towers in Berlin, Hamburg and Vienna.

The new vehicle used a stretched version of the VK 30.01 (H) chassis. It used the same road wheels and torsion bar suspension as the original design, but with eight pairs of road wheels on each side instead of seven. The gun was carried in a heavily armoured but open topped fighting compartment that took up the rear half of the vehicle. The gun was carried on a pedestal just ahead of the engine.

The first photograph of a complete vehicle was dated to 9 March 1942. Two were built, and both were sent to the Eastern Front. One was destroyed but the other was captured almost intact at Stalingrad in 1943, and displayed in exhibitions during 1944. It had 31 kill marks on the barrel, suggesting that it had been a very effective weapon before falling into Soviet hands.

Names
12.8cm Sf L/61
12.8cm Selbstfahrlafette L/61
Panzerselbstfahrlafette V
VK3001(H)

Stats
Production: 2
Length with gun: 9.7m
Hull Width: 3.16m
Height: 2.7m
Crew: 5
Weight: 35 tons
Engine: Maybach HL116
Max Speed: 25 km/hr
Max Range:
Armament: One 12.8cm K L/61 and one 7.92mm MG 34
Armour:

Armour

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