Ferdinand from the star assembly. "Ferdinand" - the most terrible self-propelled gun? Disadvantages of the set, what can be improved

Not long ago "Star" removed from sale the model of the German self-propelled guns "Ferdinand", which was a repackaging of the old Italeri. And now, the domestic manufacturer has already released a completely new model of this machine under the catalog number 3653 .

Packaging and equipment.

More than standard for most armored vehicle models from "Stars"– The orange plastic sprues are packaged in a new type of transparent bag, and the whole thing is hidden in a cardboard box with a colorful print on the front. The kit also includes a sprue with transparent parts, nylon mesh, decals and black and white instructions.

Workmanship, detailing, advantages of the set.

TO overall quality We have no complaints about castings at all. The inspection did not reveal any serious technological deficiencies - there is no burr in any significant amount, traces of pushers on the inner sides of the parts. You can see this for yourself by looking at the photo. We managed to find a couple of small sink marks, but they didn’t seem to be on critical parts.

The various small things on the model are also very pleasing – both in quantity and quality. The heads of the bolts and rivets are cast well and without displacement. The various fasteners, fasteners and even wiring look good. Even the handrails were cast quite thin. Model abounds a large number well imitated welds, they are even on the protective strips of the radio operator’s and driver’s hatches!

Observation devices are provided with transparent parts. The barrel is made in ONE piece, just like on their Pz.IV model. From the “interior” there is the breech of the gun.

But what we liked most were the caterpillars. They are cast in a very delicate manner; traces of pushers are found only on a few examples. The main thing is that they correspond to their prototype - without chevrons, with two “grooves” on each track and with a ridge “every other”. The tape is assembled from individual links and ready-made parts. How good or bad this is depends on the preferences of a particular person.

The model is generally very accurate in terms of hardware and repeats many of the typical features of its prototypes. The engineers are here "Stars" They tried very hard, which is good news. Many subtle but significant details have been completed. For example, mounts for attaching the fender to the hull, a case for the antenna, wiring to the guard light and its armor, etc. Those who sawed through the early "Ferdinand" from the previous Zvezda set, which contained a late copy of this car (better known as the “Elephant”). There is also slight variability in the assembly of some parts, but here you need to rely on photographs of specific prototypes.

The instructions are clearly printed, understandable and in book format. Decals without noticeable thick backing. Three coloring and marking options are provided.

Disadvantages of the set, that it can be improved.

Unfortunately, I didn't really like the implementation of the cable. He himself and the thimbles are made well, but the integral attachments to the body cast with him spoil the whole picture. Although at the same time, the jack fastening, for example, is made in two separate parts. Those wishing to install a metal cable will have to make efforts to independently manufacture the fasteners.

On the decals of the crosses, the black color seems to have not been fully printed; whitish “bald spots” are visible. Maybe we came across such a copy, check before purchasing. The nylon mesh looks rough, but it shouldn’t be noticeable. The eyelets for dismantling the over-engine plate look a little thick. The jack cushion is made without any imitation of wood texture. It is better to replace standard springs for mud flaps with twisted ones made of thin wire.

Conclusions and comparison with analogues.

In our opinion, "Stars" it turned out to be a worthy implementation of the famous German self-propelled gun "Ferdinand". The model is distinguished by good workmanship and a high level of historical accuracy. Of course, you can purposefully look for “fleas” in its hardware (and they will definitely do this), but do you need it? For assembling at your own pleasure from the box or with minimal modifications, this kit is more than suitable. In addition, it should have no competitors in this price category.

True, according to the latest information, the Modelist company also has its own “Fedya”. We haven’t looked into the box yet, but probably it contains the well-known Italeri sprues.

Our set rating: 4.5 out of 5.

Whether the Germans had the best self-propelled guns in the world or not is a moot point, but the fact that they managed to create one that left an indelible memory for everyone Soviet soldiers, - That's for sure. It's about about the heavy self-propelled gun "Ferdinand". It got to the point that, starting from the second half of 1943, in almost every combat report, Soviet troops destroyed at least one such self-propelled gun. If we add up the losses of the Ferdinands according to Soviet reports, then several thousand of them were destroyed during the war. The piquancy of the situation is that the Germans produced only 90 of them during the entire war, and another 4 ARVs based on them. It is difficult to find an example of armored vehicles from the Second World War, produced in such small quantities and at the same time so famous. All German self-propelled guns were recorded as "Ferdinands", but most often - "Marders" and "Stugas". Approximately the same situation was with the German “Tiger”: it was often confused with medium tank Pz-IV with a long gun. But here there was at least a similarity in silhouettes, but what similarity there is between “Ferdinand” and, for example, the StuG 40 is a big question.

So what was “Ferdinand” like, and why is he so widely known since the Battle of Kursk? We will not go into technical details and design development issues, because this has already been written in dozens of other publications, but will pay close attention to the battles on the northern front of the Kursk Bulge, where these extremely powerful machines were massively used.

The conning tower of the self-propelled gun was assembled from sheets of forged cemented armor transferred from the stocks of the German Navy. The frontal armor of the cabin was 200 mm thick, the side and rear armor was 85 mm thick. The thickness of even the side armor made the self-propelled gun virtually invulnerable to fire from almost all Soviet artillery of the 1943 model at a distance of over 400 m. The self-propelled gun's armament consisted of an 8.8-cm StuK 43 gun (some sources erroneously cite its field version PaK 43/2) with the barrel length was 71 calibers, its muzzle energy was one and a half times higher than that of the gun of the Tiger heavy tank. The Ferdinand gun penetrated all Soviet tanks from all angles of attack at all actual fire distances. The only reason, which caused the armor to fail to penetrate when hit - a ricochet. Any other hit caused the armor to be penetrated, which in most cases meant putting the Soviet tank out of action and causing partial or complete destruction his crew. This is something serious that appeared to the Germans shortly before the start of Operation Citadel.

The formation of self-propelled gun units "Ferdinand" began on April 1, 1943. In total, it was decided to form two heavy battalions (divisions).

The first of them, numbered 653 (Schwere PanzerJager Abteilung 653), was formed on the basis of the 197th assault division StuG guns III. According to the new staff, the division was supposed to have 45 Ferdinand self-propelled guns. This unit was not chosen by chance: the division's personnel had extensive combat experience and participated in battles in the East from the summer of 1941 to January 1943. By May, the 653rd battalion was fully staffed according to the staff. However, at the beginning of May 1943, all the material was transferred to staff the 654th battalion, which was formed in France in the city of Rouen. By mid-May, the 653rd battalion was again almost fully staffed and had 40 self-propelled guns. After completing a course of exercises at the Neuseidel training ground, on June 9–12, 1943, the battalion left for the Eastern Front in eleven echelons.

The 654th heavy tank destroyer battalion was formed on the basis of the 654th anti-tank division at the end of April 1943. Its personnel, who had previously fought with the PaK 35/36 anti-tank gun and then with the Marder II self-propelled gun, had much less combat experience than their colleagues from the 653rd battalion. Until April 28, the battalion was in Austria, from April 30 in Rouen. After the final exercises, from June 13 to 15, the battalion departed for the Eastern Front in fourteen echelons.

According to the wartime staff (K. St.N. No. 1148c dated 03/31/43), the heavy battalion of tank destroyers included: the battalion command, a headquarters company (platoon: control, engineer, ambulance, anti-aircraft), three companies of “Ferdinands” (in each company has 2 company headquarters vehicles, and three platoons of 4 vehicles each; i.e. 14 vehicles in a company), a repair and recovery company, a motor transport company. Total: 45 Ferdinand self-propelled guns, 1 ambulance Sd.Kfz.251/8 armored personnel carrier, 6 anti-aircraft Sd.Kfz 7/1, 15 Sd.Kfz 9 half-track tractors (18 tons), trucks and cars.

The staffing structure of the battalions varied slightly. We must start with the fact that the 653rd battalion included the 1st, 2nd and 3rd companies, and the 654th battalion included the 5th, 6th and 7th companies. The 4th company “fell out” somewhere. The numbering of vehicles in the battalions corresponded to German standards: for example, both vehicles of the headquarters of the 5th company had numbers 501 and 502, the vehicle numbers of the 1st platoon were from 511 to 514 inclusive; 2nd platoon 521 - 524; 3rd 531 - 534 respectively. But if we carefully look at the combat strength of each battalion (division), we will see that there are only 42 self-propelled guns in the “combat” number of units. And in the state there are 45. Where did the other three self-propelled guns from each battalion go? This is where the difference in the organization of improvised tank destroyer divisions comes into play: if in the 653rd battalion 3 vehicles were assigned to a reserve group, then in the 654th battalion 3 “extra” vehicles were organized into a headquarters group that had non-standard tactical numbers: II -01, II-02, II-03.

Both battalions (divisions) became part of the 656th Tank Regiment, whose headquarters the Germans formed on June 8, 1943. The formation turned out to be very powerful: in addition to 90 Ferdinand self-propelled guns, it included the 216th battalion of assault tanks (Sturmpanzer Abteilung 216), and two companies of radio-controlled BIV Bogvard tankettes (313th and 314th). The regiment was supposed to serve as a ram for the German offensive in the direction of Art. Ponyri - Maloarkhangelsk.

On June 25, the Ferdinands began to advance to the front line. By July 4, 1943, the 656th was deployed as follows: west of railway Orel - Kursk 654th battalion ( Arkhangelskoe district), to the east is the 653rd battalion (Glazunov district), followed by three companies of the 216th battalion (45 Brummbars in total). Each Ferdinand battalion was assigned a company of radio-controlled B IV tankettes.

On July 5, the 656th Tank Regiment went on the offensive, supporting elements of the 86th and 292nd German Infantry Divisions. However, the ramming attack did not work: on the first day, the 653rd battalion got stuck in heavy fighting at height 257.7, which the Germans nicknamed “Tank”. Not only were thirty-fours buried up to the tower at the height, but the height was also covered with powerful minefields. On the very first day, 10 self-propelled guns of the battalion were blown up by mines. There were also heavy losses among personnel. The commander of the 1st company, Hauptmann Spielmann, was seriously injured when he was blown up by an anti-personnel mine. Having determined the direction of the attack, Soviet artillery also opened fire. As a result, by 17:00 on July 5, only 12 Ferdinands remained on the move! The rest were damaged to varying degrees gravity. Over the next two days, the remnants of the battalion continued to fight to capture the station. Ponyri.

The attack of the 654th battalion turned out to be even more disastrous. The 6th company of the battalion mistakenly ran into its own minefield. Within just a few minutes, most of the Ferdinands were blown up by their own mines. Having discovered the monstrous German vehicles barely crawling towards our positions, the Soviet artillery opened concentrated fire on them. The result was that the German infantry supporting the 6th Company attack suffered big losses and lay down, leaving the self-propelled guns without cover. Four “Ferdinands” from the 6th company were still able to reach the Soviet positions, and there, according to the recollections of German self-propelled gunners, they were “attacked by several brave Russian soldiers who remained in the trenches and armed with flamethrowers, and from the right flank, from the railway line, the artillery fire, but seeing that it was ineffective, the Russian soldiers retreated in an orderly manner.”

The 5th and 7th companies also reached the first line of trenches, losing about 30% of their vehicles to mines and coming under heavy artillery fire. At the same time, the commander of the 654th battalion, Major Noack, was mortally wounded by a shell fragment.

After occupying the first line of trenches, the remnants of the 654th battalion moved in the direction of Ponyri. At the same time, some of the vehicles were again blown up by mines, and “Ferdinand” No. 531 from the 5th company, being immobilized by flanking fire from Soviet artillery, was finished off and burned. At dusk, the battalion reached the hills north of Ponyri, where they stopped for the night and regrouped. The battalion has 20 vehicles left on the move.

On July 6, due to problems with fuel, the 654th battalion went on the attack only at 14:00. However, due to heavy fire from Soviet artillery, the German infantry suffered serious losses, retreated back and the attack fizzled out. On this day, the 654th battalion reported “about a large number of Russian tanks arriving to strengthen the defense.” According to the evening report, the self-propelled gun crews destroyed 15 Soviet T-34 tanks, with 8 of them attributed to the crew under the command of Hauptmann Lüders, and 5 by Lieutenant Peters. There are 17 cars left running.

The next day, the remnants of the 653rd and 654th battalions were pulled to Buzuluk, where they formed a corps reserve. Two days were devoted to car repairs. On July 8, several “Ferdinands” and “Brumbars” took part in an unsuccessful attack on the station. Ponyri.

At the same time (July 8), the headquarters of the Soviet Central Front receives the first report from the chief of artillery of the 13th Army about the Ferdinand being blown up by a mine. Just two days later, a group of five GAU KA officers arrived from Moscow to the front headquarters specifically to study this sample. However, they were unlucky; by this time, the area where the damaged self-propelled gun stood was occupied by the Germans.

The main events developed on July 9–10, 1943. After many unsuccessful attacks on the station. The Pony Germans changed the direction of the attack. From the northeast, through the May 1 state farm, an improvised combat group under the command of Major Kall struck. The composition of this group is impressive: the 505th battalion of heavy tanks (about 40 Tiger tanks), the 654th and part of the vehicles of the 653rd battalion (44 Ferdinands in total), the 216th battalion of assault tanks (38 Brummbar self-propelled guns "), a division of assault guns (20 StuG 40 and StuH 42), 17 Pz.Kpfw III and Pz.Kpfw IV tanks. Directly behind this armada the tanks of the 2nd TD and motorized infantry on armored personnel carriers were supposed to move.

Thus, on a front of 3 km, the Germans concentrated about 150 combat vehicles, not counting the second echelon. Of the first echelon vehicles, more than half are heavy. According to reports from our artillerymen, the Germans used a new attack formation “in line” for the first time here - with the Ferdinands going ahead. The vehicles of the 654th and 653rd battalions operated in two echelons. 30 vehicles were advancing in the line of the first echelon; another company (14 vehicles) was moving in the second echelon at intervals of 120–150 m. Company commanders were in a common line on staff vehicles carrying a flag on the antenna.

On the very first day, this group easily managed to break through the May 1 state farm to the village of Goreloye. Here our artillerymen made a truly brilliant move: seeing the invulnerability of the newest German armored monsters to artillery, they were allowed into a huge minefield mixed with anti-tank mines and land mines from captured ammunition, and then opened hurricane fire on the “retinue” of medium-sized ones that was following the Ferdinands. tanks and assault guns. As a result, the entire strike group suffered significant losses and was forced to withdraw.

The next day, July 10, Major Kall's group delivered a new powerful blow and individual vehicles broke through to the outskirts of the station. Ponyri. The vehicles that broke through were the Ferdinand heavy self-propelled guns.

According to the descriptions of our soldiers, the Ferdinands advanced, firing from a gun from short stops from a distance of one to two and a half kilometers: a very long distance for armored vehicles of that time. Having been subjected to concentrated fire, or having discovered a mined area of the terrain, they retreated in reverse to some kind of shelter, trying to always be facing the Soviet positions with thick frontal armor, absolutely invulnerable to our artillery.

On July 11, Major Kall's strike group was disbanded, the 505th heavy tank battalion and tanks of the 2nd TD were transferred against our 70th Army to the Kutyrka-Teploye area. In the area of the station. Only units of the 654th battalion and the 216th assault tank division remained in Ponyri, trying to evacuate damaged materiel to the rear. But it was not possible to evacuate the 65-ton Ferdinands during July 12–13, and on July 14, Soviet troops launched a massive counteroffensive from the Ponyri station in the direction of the May 1 state farm. By mid-afternoon the German troops were forced to withdraw. Our tankers supporting the infantry attack suffered heavy losses, mainly not from German fire, but because a company of T-34 and T-70 tanks jumped out onto the same powerful minefield where the Ferdinands were blown up four days earlier. 654th battalion.

On July 15 (that is, the very next day), the German equipment shot down and destroyed at the Ponyri station was inspected and studied by representatives of the GAU KA and NIBT of the test site. In total, on the battlefield northeast of the station. Ponyri (18 km2) there were 21 self-propelled guns "Ferdinand", three assault tanks "Brummbar" (in Soviet documents - "Bear"), eight tanks Pz-III and Pz-IV, two command tanks, and several radio-controlled tankettes B IV "Bogvard" "

Most of the Ferdinands were discovered in a minefield near the village of Goreloye. More than half of the vehicles inspected had damage to the chassis from the effects of anti-tank mines and landmines. 5 vehicles had damage to their chassis from being hit by shells of 76 mm caliber and higher. Two Ferdinands had guns shot through, one of them received as many as 8 hits in the gun barrel. One vehicle was completely destroyed by a bomb from a Soviet Pe-2 bomber, and one was destroyed by a 203-mm shell hitting the roof of the cabin. And only one “Ferdinand” had a shell hole in the left side, made by a 76-mm armor-piercing projectile, 7 T-34 tanks and a ZIS-3 battery fired at it from all sides, from a distance of 200–400 m. And another “Ferdinand”, which had no external damage to the hull, was burned by our infantry with a bottle of COP. Several Ferdinands, deprived of the ability to move under their own power, were destroyed by their crews.

The main part of the 653rd battalion operated in the defense zone of our 70th Army. Irreversible losses during the battles from July 5 to July 15 amounted to 8 vehicles. Moreover, our troops captured one in perfect working order, and even with its crew. It happened as follows: while repelling one of the German attacks in the area of the village of Teploye on July 11–12, the advancing German troops were subjected to massive artillery fire from a corps artillery division, a battery of the latest Soviet self-propelled guns SU-152 and two IPTAPs, after which the enemy left them on the battlefield 4 "Ferdinand". Despite such a massive shelling, not a single German self-propelled gun had its armor penetrated: two vehicles had shell damage to the chassis, one was severely destroyed by large-caliber artillery fire (possibly an SU-152) - its frontal plate was moved out of place. And the fourth (No. 333), trying to get out of the shelling, moved in reverse and, once on a sandy area, simply “sat down” on its belly. The crew tried to dig up the car, but then they were confronted by attacking Soviet infantrymen of the 129th rifle division and the Germans chose to surrender. Here our people were faced with the same problem that had long been weighing on the minds of the command of the German 654th and 653rd battalions: how to pull this colossus out of the battlefield? Pulling the “hippopotamus out of the swamp” dragged on until August 2, when, with the efforts of four S-60 and S-65 tractors, “Ferdinand” was finally pulled onto solid ground. But during its further transportation to the railway station, one of the gasoline engines of the self-propelled gun failed. Further fate car is unknown.

With the start of the Soviet counteroffensive, the Ferdinands found themselves in their element. Thus, on July 12–14, 24 self-propelled guns of the 653rd battalion supported units of the 53rd infantry division in the Berezovets area. At the same time, while repelling an attack by Soviet tanks near the village of Krasnaya Niva, the crew of only one “Ferdinand”, Lieutenant Tiret, reported the destruction of 22 T-34 tanks.

On July 15, the 654th battalion repelled an attack by our tanks from Maloarkhangelsk - Buzuluk, while the 6th company reported the destruction of 13 Soviet combat vehicles. Subsequently, the remnants of the battalions were pulled back to Oryol. By July 30, all “Ferdinands” were withdrawn from the front, and by order of the headquarters of the 9th Army they were sent to Karachev.

During Operation Citadel, the 656th Tank Regiment reported daily by radio about the presence of combat-ready Ferdinands. According to these reports, on July 7 there were 37 Ferdinands in service, on July 8 - 26, on July 9 - 13, on July 10 - 24, on July 11 - 12, on July 12 - 24, on July 13 - 24, on July 14 - 13. These data do not correlate well with German data on combat personnel strike groups which included the 653rd and 654th battalions. The Germans recognize 19 Ferdinands as irretrievably lost, in addition, 4 more vehicles were lost “due to a short circuit and subsequent fire.” Consequently, the 656th Regiment lost 23 vehicles. In addition, there are inconsistencies with Soviet data, which photographically document the destruction of 21 Ferdinand self-propelled guns.

Perhaps the Germans tried, as often happened, to write off several vehicles as irretrievable losses retroactively, because, according to their data, from the moment of the transition Soviet troops During the offensive, irrecoverable losses amounted to 20 Ferdinands (this apparently includes some of the 4 vehicles that burned out for technical reasons). Thus, according to German data, the total irretrievable losses of the 656th regiment from July 5 to August 1, 1943 amounted to 39 Ferdinands. Be that as it may, this is generally confirmed by documents, and, in general, corresponds to Soviet data.

If the losses of the Ferdinands to both German and Soviet coincide (the only difference is in the dates), then “unscientific fiction” begins. The command of the 656th regiment states that during the period from July 5 to July 15, 1943, the regiment disabled 502 enemy tanks and self-propelled guns, 20 anti-tank and about 100 other guns. The 653rd battalion especially distinguished itself in the field of destroying Soviet armored vehicles, recording 320 Soviet tanks destroyed, as well as a large number of guns and vehicles.

Let's try to figure out the losses of Soviet artillery. During the period from July 5 to July 15, 1943, the Central Front under the command of K. Rokossovsky lost 433 guns of all types. This is data for an entire front, which occupied a very long line of defense, so data for 120 destroyed guns in one small “patch” seems clearly overestimated. In addition, it is very interesting to compare the declared number of destroyed Soviet armored vehicles with its actual loss. So: by July 5, the tank units of the 13th Army consisted of 215 tanks and 32 self-propelled guns, another 827 armored units were listed in the 2nd TA and 19th Tank Corps, which were in the front reserve. Most of them were brought into battle precisely in the defense zone of the 13th Army, where the Germans delivered their main blow. The losses of the 2nd TA for the period from July 5 to 15 amounted to 270 T-34 and T-70 tanks burned out and damaged, the losses of the 19th Tank - 115 vehicles, the 13th Army (taking into account all replenishments) - 132 vehicles. Consequently, of the 1129 tanks and self-propelled guns deployed in the 13th Army zone, the total losses amounted to 517 vehicles, more than half of which were recovered during the battles (irretrievable losses amounted to 219 vehicles). If we take into account that the defense zone of the 13th Army in different days The operation ranged from 80 to 160 km, and the Ferdinands operated on a front from 4 to 8 km, it becomes clear that it was simply unrealistic to “click” such a number of Soviet armored vehicles in such a narrow area. And if we also take into account the fact that several tank divisions, as well as the 505th heavy tank battalion "Tigers", assault gun divisions, self-propelled guns "Marder" and "Hornisse", as well as artillery, it is clear that the results of the 656th regiment are shamelessly inflated. However, a similar picture emerges when checking the performance of the heavy tank battalions “Tigers” and “ Royal Tigers", and indeed all German tank units. To be fair, it must be said that the combat reports of Soviet, American, and British troops were guilty of such “truthfulness”.

So what is the reason for such popularity of the “heavy assault gun”, or, if you prefer, the “heavy tank destroyer Ferdinand”?

Undoubtedly, the creation of Ferdinand Porsche was a unique masterpiece of technical thought. The huge self-propelled gun used many technical solutions (unique chassis, combined power plant, location of weapons, etc.) that had no analogues in tank building. At the same time, numerous technical “highlights” of the project were poorly adapted for military use, and the phenomenal armor protection and powerful weapons were purchased at the expense of disgusting mobility, a small power reserve, the complexity of the vehicle in operation and the lack of a concept for using such equipment. This is all true, but this was not the reason for such a “fear” of Porsche’s creation that Soviet artillerymen and tankmen saw crowds of “Ferdinands” in almost every combat report, even after the Germans took all the surviving self-propelled guns from the eastern front to Italy and They did not participate on the Eastern Front until the battles in Poland.

Despite all its imperfections and “childhood illnesses,” the self-propelled gun “Ferdinand” turned out to be a terrible adversary. Her armor couldn't be penetrated. I just didn't get through. At all. Nothing. You can imagine what the Soviet tank crews and artillerymen felt and thought: you hit it, fire shell after shell, and it, as if under a spell, rushes and rushes at you.

Many modern researchers cite the lack of anti-personnel weapons of this self-propelled gun as the main reason for the unsuccessful debut of the Ferdinands. They say that the vehicle did not have machine guns and the self-propelled guns were helpless against the Soviet infantry. But if you analyze the reasons for the losses of the Ferdinand self-propelled guns, it becomes clear that the role of the infantry in the destruction of the Ferdinands was simply insignificant; the vast majority of the vehicles were blown up minefields, some more were destroyed by artillery.

Thus, contrary to the popular belief that V. Model, who allegedly “did not know” how to use them correctly, was to blame for the large losses on the Kursk Bulge of the Ferdinand self-propelled guns, we can say that the main reasons for such high losses of these self-propelled guns were the tactically competent actions of the Soviet commanders, the tenacity and courage of our soldiers and officers, as well as a little military luck.

Another reader will object, why are we not talking about the battles in Galicia, where slightly modernized “Elephants” took part since April 1944 (which were distinguished from the previous “Ferdinands” by minor improvements, such as a front-facing machine gun and a commander’s cupola)? We answer: because their fate there was no better. Until July, they, consolidated into the 653rd battalion, fought local battles. After the start of a major Soviet offensive, the battalion was sent to the aid of the German SS division Hohenstaufen, but ran into an ambush by Soviet tanks and anti-tank artillery and 19 vehicles were immediately destroyed. The remnants of the battalion (12 vehicles) were consolidated into the 614th separate heavy company, which took part in battles near Wünsdorf, Zossen and Berlin.

ACS number Nature of damage Cause of damage Note
731 Caterpillar destroyed Blown up by a mine Self-propelled gun repaired and sent to Moscow for an exhibition of captured property
522 The caterpillar was destroyed, the road wheels were damaged. It was blown up by a landmine, the fuel ignited. The vehicle burned down.
523 Caterpillar destroyed, road wheels damaged Blown up by a landmine, set on fire by the crew Vehicle burned down
734 The lower branch of the caterpillar was destroyed. It was blown up by a land mine, the fuel ignited. The car burned out.
II-02 The right track was torn off, the road wheels were destroyed. Blown up by a mine, set on fire by a COP bottle. The vehicle burned down.
I-02 The left track was torn off, the road wheel was destroyed. It was blown up by a mine and set on fire. The vehicle burned down.
514 The caterpillar was destroyed, the road wheel was damaged. It was blown up by a mine, set on fire. The car burned down.
502 Sloth torn off Blown up by a land mine The vehicle was tested by shelling
501 Track torn off Blown up by a mine The vehicle was repaired and delivered to the NIBT training ground
712 The right drive wheel was destroyed. Hit by a shell. The crew abandoned the vehicle. The fire has been extinguished
732 The third carriage was destroyed. Hit by a shell and set fire to a KS bottle. The car burned down.
524 Caterpillar torn Blown up by a mine, set on fire Vehicle burnt out
II-03 Caterpillar destroyed Projectile hit, set on fire with a KS bottle Vehicle burned down
113 or 713 Both sloths destroyed Projectile hits. The gun was set on fire. The car burned down.
601 The right track was destroyed. Shell hit, the gun was set on fire from the outside. The vehicle burned down.
701 The fighting compartment was destroyed by a 203 mm shell hitting the commander’s hatch -
602 Hole in the left side of the gas tank 76-mm shell from a tank or divisional gun Vehicle burned out
II-01 Gun burned out Set on fire with a COP bottle Vehicle burned out
150061 The sloth and caterpillar were destroyed, the gun barrel was shot through. Projectile hits in the chassis and gun. The crew was captured.
723 The caterpillar is destroyed, the gun is jammed. Projectile hits in the chassis and mantlet -
? Complete destruction Direct hit from Petlyakov bomber

Good day, dear users of the project.

BOX WITH MODEL

Tank destroyer "Ferdinand": 3653: 1/35: Star: Box with model

BRIEF HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

"Ferdinand" (German: Ferdinand) is a German heavy self-propelled artillery unit of the World War II class of tank destroyers. Also called "Elephant" (German Elefant - elephant), 8.8 cm StuK 43 Sfl L/71 Panzerjäger Tiger (P), Sturmkanone mit 8.8 cm StuK 43 and Sd.Kfz.184.

This fighting machine, armed with an 88 mm cannon, is one of the most heavily armed and heavily armored representatives of German armored vehicles of that period. Despite its small number, this car is one of the most famous representatives of the class of self-propelled guns; a large number of legends are associated with it.

The self-propelled gun "Ferdinand" was developed in 1942-1943, being largely an improvisation based on a chassis that was not accepted for service heavy tank Tiger (P) designed by Ferdinand Porsche.

The debut of the Ferdinand was the Battle of Kursk, where the armor of this self-propelled gun demonstrated its low vulnerability to the fire of Soviet main anti-tank and tank artillery, but the tank destroyer turned out to be completely defenseless against the Soviet infantry, since Porsche did not equip the self-propelled gun with a machine gun; also had low chassis reliability and poor cross-country ability.

Subsequently, these vehicles took part in battles on the Eastern Front and in Italy, ending their combat journey in the suburbs of Berlin.

The Ferdinands made their debut in July 1943 near Kursk, after which they actively participated in battles on the Eastern Front and in Italy until the end of the war. These last fight self-propelled guns received in the suburbs of Berlin in the spring of 1945.

Battle of Kursk
As of July 1943, all Ferdinands were part of the 653rd and 654th heavy anti-tank battalions (sPzJgAbt 653 and sPzJgAbt 654). According to the plan for Operation Citadel, all self-propelled guns of this type were to be used for attacks against Soviet troops defending the northern front of the Kursk Bulge.

Heavy self-propelled guns, invulnerable to fire from standard anti-tank weapons, were assigned the role of an armored ram, which was supposed to penetrate the well-prepared in-depth Soviet defense.

The massive use of Ferdinands by the Germans began on July 9 in the area of the Ponyri station. To storm the powerful Soviet defense in this direction, the German command created a strike group consisting of the 654th Ferdinand battalion, the 505th Tiger battalion, the 216th Brummber assault gun division and some other tank and self-propelled gun units.

On July 9, the strike group broke through the May 1 state farm, but suffered losses in minefields and from anti-tank artillery fire. July 10 was the day of the most fierce attacks near Ponyri; German self-propelled guns managed to reach the outskirts of the station.

The German armored vehicles received massive fire from artillery of all calibers, including 203-mm B-4 howitzers, as a result of which many self-propelled guns, trying to maneuver, went beyond the cleared passages and were blown up by mines and land mines. On July 11, the strike group was greatly weakened by the redeployment of the 505th Tiger Battalion and other units, and the intensity of the Ferdinand attacks decreased significantly.

The Germans abandoned attempts to break through the Soviet defense, and on July 12 and 13 they were engaged in attempts to evacuate damaged armored vehicles. But the Germans were unable to evacuate the damaged Ferdinands due to their large mass and the lack of sufficiently powerful repair and evacuation means.

On July 14, unable to withstand the attack of Soviet troops, the Germans retreated, losing 21 Ferdinands and blowing up some of the equipment that could not be evacuated. Another formation of heavy self-propelled guns (653rd battalion) operated in the area of the village of Tyoploye on July 9-12. The fighting here was less intense; the losses of German troops amounted to 8 Ferdinands.

Subsequently, during the retreat of German troops in July - August 1943, small groups of “Ferdinands” fought periodically with Soviet troops. The last of them took place on the approaches to Orel, where Soviet troops received several damaged Ferdinands prepared for evacuation as trophies.

In mid-August, the Germans transferred the remaining combat-ready self-propelled guns to the areas of Zhitomir and Dnepropetrovsk, where some of them were undergoing routine repairs - replacing guns, sighting devices, and redecorating armor plates.

Tank destroyer "Ferdinand": 3653: 1/35: Star: Prototype

Battles near Nikopol and Dnepropetrovsk
Due to heavy losses, the 654th battalion handed over the remaining self-propelled guns to the 653rd battalion and left for reorganization in Germany. The remaining Ferdinands took part in fierce battles at the Nikopol bridgehead. At the same time, 4 more self-propelled guns were lost, and the combat count of the Ferdinands reached 582 by November 5, according to German data. soviet tank, 133 guns, 3 self-propelled guns, 3 aircraft and 103 anti-tank guns, and the crews of two self-propelled guns knocked out 54 Soviet tanks.

Italy
In January 1944, the first company of the 653rd battalion, consisting of 11 “Elephants” (modernized “Ferdinands”), one repair and recovery vehicle also based on the Tiger (P) tank chassis and two ammunition transporters, was transferred to Italy to counter the British offensive. American troops. Heavy self-propelled guns took part in the battles of Nettuno, Anzio, and Rome.

Despite the dominance of Allied aviation and the difficult terrain, the company proved itself to be the most the best side, so, according to German data, only on March 30-31, on the outskirts of Rome, two self-propelled guns destroyed up to 50 American tanks, armored personnel carriers and cars and were blown up by the crews after running out of fuel and ammunition. On June 26, 1944, the company, which still had two combat-ready Elefants, was withdrawn from the front and transferred first to Austria and then to Poland to join the 653rd battalion.

Ukraine
The two remaining self-propelled gun companies were transferred to the Eastern Front, to the Ternopil area in April 1944. In addition to 31 "Elephant", the companies included two repair and recovery vehicles based on the chassis of the Tiger (P) tank and one based on the Panther tank, as well as three ammunition transporters.

IN heavy battles At the end of April, the company suffered losses - 14 vehicles were disabled; however, 11 of them were quickly restored, and the number of combat-ready vehicles even increased due to the arrival of repaired vehicles from the 1st company from the factories. In addition, by June, the company was replenished with two unique types of armored vehicles - Tiger tank(P) with frontal armor reinforced to 200 mm and a Panther tank with a turret tank PzKpfw IV, which were used as command vehicles. In July, a large-scale Soviet offensive began, and both Elephant companies were involved in heavy fighting.

On July 18, they were thrown without reconnaissance or preparation to the aid of the SS division Hohenstaufen and suffered heavy losses from Soviet anti-tank and self-propelled artillery fire. The battalion lost more than half of the vehicles, and a significant part of them was subject to restoration, however, since the battlefield remained with the Soviet troops, the damaged self-propelled guns were destroyed by their own crews. On August 3, the remnants of the battalion (12 vehicles) were transferred to Krakow.

Germany
Having suffered heavy losses from the Soviet troops, the 653rd battalion began to receive new Jagdtiger self-propelled guns in October 1944, and the remaining Elephants were combined into a separate 614th heavy self-propelled anti-tank company (sPzJgKp 614). Until February 1945, this company, consisting of 13 self-propelled guns, was in reserve.

On February 25, 1945, the company was transferred to Wünsdorf to strengthen the anti-tank defense of German units. Last fights The Elephants were held in Wünsdorf, Zossen and Berlin.

Tank destroyer "Ferdinand": 3653: 1/35: Star: Prototype

The fate of captured self-propelled guns in the USSR
In the Soviet Union in different times there were at least eight captured complete Ferdinands. One vehicle was shot near Ponyri in July - August 1943 while testing its armor; another one was shot in the fall of 1944 while testing new types of weapons.

At the end of 1945, various organizations had six self-propelled guns at their disposal. They were used for various tests, some of the machines were eventually disassembled in order to study the design. As a result, all of them, except one, were scrapped, like all the cars captured in a badly damaged state.

VIDEO ABOUT THE PROTOTYPE

ASSEMBLY INSTRUCTIONS

Tank destroyer "Ferdinand": 3653: 1/35: Star: Assembly instructions

PHOTOS ARE CLICKABLE

BOX CONTENTS

Tank destroyer "Ferdinand": 3653: 1/35: Star: Contents of the box

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CLOSEUP DETAILS

Tank destroyer "Ferdinand": 3653: 1/35: Zvezda: Close-up details

PHOTOS ARE CLICKABLE

Additions from the Armata-models.ru store

PHOTOS ARE CLICKABLE

CONCLUSIONS:

The first thing I would like to start with is plastic.

It seems that the success of a particular model from this manufacturer is influenced by the type of plastic from which the model is cast. If the plastic is gray or orange, as here, then all the details will be well drawn and clearly visible. And the assembly will be really pleasant and comfortable.

If the model is cast from green or black (like Borey) plastic, then hemorrhoids await us.

This time the assembly of Zvezda’s Iskander-M brought me to similar thoughts. Not only are there, as always, errors in the instructions and some parts do not fit into place, but there is also a feeling of poor-quality casting.

And it seems that all the details are as they should be structurally. And a slight blurring is visible, turning into a feeling of poor quality work.

Here, on Ferdinand, there are simply no such problems.

All parts are perfectly cast. Each structural element has clear edges.

This set does not cause any rejection.

So, a huge request, guys - use high-quality plastic when creating models.

Everything else is no problem. At the first inspection.

Perhaps there are shortcomings in the instructions, something is mixed up somewhere - but now it will not be possible to identify this. Need a test build.

In general, this model should not cause problems with assembly.

The tracks, as on most models of the Zvezda BTT, are of the semi-set type. Molded quite normally. The assembly does not require any special show off.

What really arouses interest is the pumping kit from the Armata-models.ru online store.

It includes a metal barrel, muzzle brake and a cover for it. As well as a paint scheme and decal for the captured Ferdinand, captured in battles near the village of Podmaslovo on July 15-18, 1943.

These additions will help enhance the visual effect of the finished model, bringing it closer to the historical prototype.

RATING: 4

Overall, this set turned out to be quite sane. And for connoisseurs of BTT of this time period it will be a good replacement for the old whales from Italeri.

Even if there are inaccuracies in the layout of parts and instructions, they will not become a stumbling block that will force you to postpone the assembly into an uncertain, foggy future.

After many years of modeling, we can draw conclusions about some specific features of our creativity. One of them is this: you want to build a certain modification of a tank or self-propelled gun.

But instead of buying the one you need, you take some model as a basis and modify it into the desired version yourself. But the required model is already available as a separate set. But no! And the point is not that you feel sorry for the money (or there is none). On the contrary, you have the money and the model is available, but you still build it yourself. I believe this is a consequence of a kind of “boring” of models. And this is a transition to new level creativity: so what if there is no time (and there is always not enough time) - you take it and do it! In general, I have a strong feeling that the older you get, the faster time passes. Remember, in childhood there was not so much of it, but generally INFINITELY MUCH! And it doesn’t make you bored (you still don’t know how to be truly bored), it’s not fun, but you can’t even say it’s boring!

And now family-work-work-home-friends-science-work-family-drinking-hobby-work-family.....
And the days fly by as if they are not 24 hours long but 6-8.
Just think: “What kind of manner is this - inviting people to a birthday party six months in advance!” AND SO TOMORROW YOU HAVE TO GO!
And the most hopeless thing in our creativity is to look at previously purchased boxes with models!
There are so many models built, so many in boxes that you begin to ask yourself a question (more rhetorical than practical):
“How much has not been done!? And how much remains to be done!”

And the boxes look at you with silent reproach: “Tell me, why do you need us? Did you intend to live two lives for yourself? Are you really planning to gather us all? Even if you really want it, you still won’t succeed - because models are bought much faster than they are assembled!”

It is clear that considering myself a completely sane person, I do not enter into dialogue with the boxes, but begin to talk with myself. But again the dialogue fails!
You say to yourself: “Look how much has been collected in 20 years!” And the number of models built is even pronounced out loud (probably to convince... yourself!) And he (well, that is, me) answers you:
"Yes? What's in the boxes, in what century do you plan to finish it? Before retirement??? (hereinafter a quote from an anecdote) ... And you are a brave, pale-faced warrior! How many are you already planning to buy? Meng FT-17? Do you also want their T-90? Have you already sold Tiger from the same company? And why do you need it? Why do you need four Elephants? Why did you plan the federal American cavalry from Masterbox? And I already bought it! And do you want Hungarian tanks too? Will there be Nimrod?
AND SO TO INFINITY!
How conversations can end is common knowledge!
What's the solution? URGENTLY GET TO YOUR DESK AND BUILD ANOTHER MODEL! The Muse comes in very handy!

I don’t know why I decided to build Ferdinand from Zvezda’s Elephant! After all, the normal Dragon Ferdinand is in the box! Probably, a person who has everything sometimes wants a simple pickled cucumber, but from a stinking barrel!

This year marks the 70th anniversary of the victory of our troops in Battle of Kursk- in connection with which, in the summer, a thematic exhibition is being planned. If almost all of our equipment is represented in my collection, then for the Battle of Kursk the German Ferdinand and Brumber (early) are missing. Well, I’ll find Brumber, but here’s the thing with Ferdinand: the owner of our model store and my good friend Oleg brought me the Tamiya Elephant - I ordered it because I wanted to collect the Tamiya one - the Muse remained indifferent to the Dragon one, that is, indifferent. There was an idea to remake Tamiya's Elephant into Ferdinand, but friends dissuaded me.
And the Zvezdinsko-Italerivskoye miracle has been lying with me for years since 2004 - that is, the aging period of the model is comparable to the aging period of good cognac.

But something was holding me back from assembling!
I understood why I haven’t collected the Zvezda-Italer opus for so long - Zvezda presents Italian plastic as Ferdinand, and the Italians released Elephant and there are differences between them. I was outraged by Zvezda’s unceremonious forgery - passing off one model as another for commercial gain. I think that’s why I didn’t want to assemble the model, and I don’t remember why I bought it!

The muse wanted Ferdinand from “Zvezda” and so it began...
There is a lot of information on Ferdinando-Elephants. I used the drawings of the publication Military vehicles "Ferdinand" No. 81 (No. 82 is dedicated to Elephant).
The main alterations were the replacement of the commander's cupola with a double-leaf hatch and the removal of the front-mounted machine gun. The plastic of the first castings is soft (I don’t know what kind now). As I already said, the Italians have made a modernized self-propelled gun. What I decided not to alter on the model is that I won’t grind down the additional armor plate on the bottom under the driver’s and radio operator’s seats. It's troublesome and not very visible!

In the reserves was found a metal barrel from the Eduard company purchased a long time ago for Elephant-Ferdinand. It was purchased... and I remember, in 2005, from the Lab Company, in Moscow. I’m not a fan of turned barrels, but I remember they sold it to me very cheaply and as trade-in (someone sold it to the store for cheap on consignment). Well, I think the good stuff shouldn’t go to waste. It is irrelevant to install it on the Tamiya Elephant, there is already a beautiful trunk there, but it will work on the Zvezda!

First of all, I cut off the base of the commander's cupola. I glued a round hatch into the hole, from which I ground off all the fasteners and hinges. I secured it at the bottom with polystyrene sheets. I filled the gap with glue and polystyrene shavings. I use putty in such cases extremely rarely - it shrinks.

From the front wings you need to cut off the flange, which for some reason was made by the Italians. They made their model with an eye on the Elephant at the Aberdeen Proving Ground, but it is not there. I carefully cut off all the fastening bolts from the additional frontal armor plate and removed the machine gun’s armor.

The model, repackaged by Zvezda, was released by the Italians before 1979 - it is already in the Italeri catalog for 1980 and is not presented as a new product - so it is a kind of rarity, the level of model production of the 70s of the last century!

The Italians designed the chassis to be movable, and I decided to make it that way. It seems to me more convenient to assemble the fastenings of the track roller bogies not as in the instructions or as in the photo. I melted the fixing washers of the axles of the support, guide and drive rollers with a burner - faster, stronger and you can’t fill it with glue!

I mounted the chassis and put on the tracks (just for clarity). All tracks are made with guide ridges. In fact, they alternated with smooth ones after one. Naturally, I cut off half of the ridges. I don’t know why the Italians made all the tracks with ridges. All vehicles of the Ferdinand family (prototypes, production models, tow trucks, and even the only Porsche Tiger that fought) had tracks with alternating smooth and ridged tracks. Over time, I will replace the rubber tracks with metal ones from Fruilov or epoxy from Master Club or some others.

The hole for the directional machine gun was sealed with a millimeter polystyrene insert and covered with glue and polystyrene shavings. and after drying, I returned the bolts to their place - six in the top row, five in the bottom.
After installing the fenders, I reinforced them with bonks, five on each side, and placed them by checking the drawing.

The commander's hatch was made according to the drawing (dimensions on a scale of 1:35 - 17 by 17 mm). I cut two blanks 17X17 and 16X16 mm from millimeter polystyrene, glued them into a trapezoid one on top of the other, ground the edges at an angle of 45 degrees and glued strips of 0.3 mm polystyrene onto the edges, after drying I smoothed the corners with sandpaper, made hatch hinges and handrails from polystyrene and drawn sprue I made it from staples for a stapler, melted them into the hatch, and heated them with a burner.

From the aft sheet of the felling you need to cut off the mounts for the sledgehammer (these are two cubes on the right side). I mounted three handrails on the aft deckhouse slab. They were taken from the Miniart model of Valentine (on Valentine these are brackets on the additional fuel tank). They were just the right shape and size. The small upper handrail bracket is also taken from Valentine, only shortened.

On the main armor plate of the frontal part, you need to seal a groove with a millimeter polystyrene insert, which was not on the prototypes - for some reason the Italians made it on the model.

The headlight supports made on the model were cut off and replaced with homemade polystyrene ones. By the way, so that the polystyrene does not break at the bend when bent at an angle, I advise you to dip the cut strip into liquid Tamiya or Akan glue (you can also use solvent), remove it and wait for the glue or solvent to dry (about a minute), after which the polystyrene does not break when bent.

I took the headlights from spare parts for T-3 models. I just found two pieces and mounted them on the model according to the drawing.
All that remains is to complete the cooling system covers, lock the gun in the stowed position, insert the periscopes made of transparent plastic into the driver's hatch cover, place the cables and the entrenching tool (found it in spare parts). After the glue had dried, I covered the covers of the engine cooling system with liquid Tamiya primer to imitate a cast surface.

The Italian cables are made curled into a pig's tail. On Ferdinands they were attached to the front thimbles and laid along the sides of the hull.

I put the gun stopper in a combat style. I found wire in the bins and laid the cables on the sides.
I did the wiring to the headlights. The car is almost ready for painting, then I’ll install periscopes made of transparent plastic into the driver’s mechanic’s hatch!
Over time, I will replace the tracks with metal or epoxy ones, but for now I will leave the rubber ones from the kit.
The final stage is painting, tinting!

The model reproduces the self-propelled gun of Lieutenant Heyen of the 1st platoon of the 2nd company of the 654th Ferdinand battalion. The self-propelled gun crew fought throughout Operation Citadel. In August, the self-propelled gun was transferred to the 653rd battalion.