In 1942 the German army converted a StuG, SturmGeschutz, into a close support infantry weapon. The StuG started out as infantry support weapon but over time it became a successful tank destroyer and fulfilled another role. The gap was filled in by placing a 10.5 cm light Field Howitzer 18 on a StuG III and giving the infantry back their close support weapon. The base of the StuH 42 is the Panzer III. The Sturmhaubitze, assault howitzer, was developed in 1942 and abbreviated with StuH 42 and numbered Sd.Kfz 142/2.
Shells of the 10,5 Howitzer weighed 15,55 kg instead of the 5,74 kg from the StuG. It had a maximum distance of 5400 meters. Normally targets at the battlefield were no more than 2000 meters away.
Next to usual howitzer shells it could fire armor piercing shells which penetrated 90 to 100 mm of armor regardless of the distance.
