The StuG III - Germany's deadliest AFV 

"It's a complicated thing, politics." *pats armored fighting vehicle*

"please be forgiving of this model, I made it when I was 11" dude... when I was eleven I learned how to make lego cars!

Concrete on a Tank?! "Hans can we use our new Stug?" "No frank it has to cure at least 2 more days"

You didn't choose Stug life, the Stug life chose you.

Fiendishly clever of the Finns to disguise their Stug as a self propelled log cabin...

I was in a WW2 Re-enactment Group in California, that had a StuG III. We all fell in love with the suspension, that was so smooth, like riding on a boat, and the interior was roomy and nice. It was a late production StuG III from Finland.

The logs are actually more to be used in cases where the tanks is getting stuck to roll under tracks for extra traction, rather than needing assistance to get out of a mess. Although they do provide minimal additional armor, not so much against high calibre but more against shoulder fired shaped charge weapons later in the war by creating a larger stand off distance from the armor. They do also protect to some degree from magnetic charges particularly grenades!

"Be forgiving of the model he made when he was 11." I'm 31, and I WISH I had that kind of modeling skill

3:50 - The reason Finnish (and some German) Stugs carried logs was not primarily to act as extra armour. Rather, they were to assist if the vehicle got stuck in mud or snow - and you get a lot of both in Finland. The idea was that you lashed a log cross-ways to the tracks, and this would provide sufficient grip for the the vehicle to pull itself forward one length (by which time the log would be at the rear and would have to be untied). Repeat as necessary. The reason why Stugs in particular had logs strapped to them was because they were turretless. Logs strapped to a true tank would get in the way of turret rotation. Of course, if you ARE going to carry logs (and the Finns were never short of timber), you may as well use them as extra armour - in much the same way that spare track links were often fastened to a tank's front glacis plate.

Oil - Germany's deadliest enemy.

3:11 Stug III: "Oh, Lindy, is that a Panzergranate in your trousers, or are you just happy to see me?"

You are one of very few RU-vid content makers that don't nauseate the hell out of me with their cornball and mostly feeble attempts at humor. As I age, I find myself appreciating you more and more. Thank you for uploading this video as I have a fascination for the Stug 3's and 4's and variants. Unlike many men and boys I do not salivate over discussions of Panthers, Tigers and King Tigers. I much prefer the Stugs and Mk. 4 tanks as the true workhorses of the Wehrmacht.

Zimmerit was placed on the metal fenders because an anti-tank mine placed there would blow off the track immobilizing the tank rendering it vulnerable.

The StuG III is probably the reason I speak Finnish as a mother tongue instead of Russian

my father was a stug driver in the finnish arny, thank you germany for delivering these to us. When my father had the money, then he bought himself a mercedes, if one has been used to KVALITÄT, then german is the only thing.

I think that sweater could withstand significant punishment

My grandfather drove a Stug III in WW2, he actually named my mother "Sonja" after his particular tank.

StuG life!

The StuG 3Gs served us very well in Finland. Partly thanks to them, Helsinki remained one of three European capital cities of the countries taking part in WWII, never to be invaded. The other two were London and Moscow.

The Stug also had the advantage of usually being on the defensive.

The StuG has always been my favorite "tank" design. Great to see it show up on the channel!

putting a magnetic mine on the tanks track guarder rail is not a stupid plan because it would just blow the track right off the tank.

Oh man, just when I was going to pull the trigger on E-Bay for one, that failure to neutral turn is a big show stopper. Thanks for the heads up. ;-)

Outstanding presentation. Thank you for sharing your expertise in such an entertaining way, Lindy.

Makes me sad i havnt caught up and missed a lot of lindy's videos recently. Caught this one and has definitly got me back to binge watching. Love it

I'm not finnish myself, but the whole thing about finland during WW2 really bugs me, they didn't start any war, they tried to be neutral, but got invaded by soviet union, they requested help from the allied nations since they didn't plan on joining hitlers war, but unfortunatly the rest of the allied nations like the US, England and so on refused to in any way help finland since it would upset the soviet union that they were suppose to be allied with to defeat the german threat. So finland did what anyone would have done and took what ever help they could, and this was only offered by the germans, so they recieved weapons and armoured viencles from the germans to fight off the soviet union and mannaged to do so quite well while the majority of soviets forces were facing off against Germany, ofcourse this benefitted germany making soviet have yet another front to fight alongside without sacrificing more german manpower. but Finland was only ever really defending them selves from an invasion, and successfully did so since they mannaged to not get claimed by the soviet union in the after match of the war much like most of eastern europe! how ever after the war finland got forced by the allied nations including US & England & France + Soviet union, to pay a war depth to the soviet union, a pretty hefty one at that even though they didn't start the war, neither did they ever invade anyone.. so yeah pretty big dick move by the so called " Heroes " of the WWII as many of those nations like to see them selves as..... Also Finland was also the only country that ever did pay their full dept back from the war aswell... so yeah.. There was one upside of this for finland, since most of the dept was agreed to be paid with industri productions to the USSR rather then finacial money, it did help finland get their industri going pretty quickly after the war, much faster then most other nations, and it helped them keep the industri much bigger and modernized compared to countries of same population in that area, and once the payment was done (think it was sometime in the 80's) from there on it was a big benefit for finland to already have a pretty hefty industri going on that they now could focus on making stuff for the free market and making some decent money.

You never make mistakes. You just have an inordinately large number of learning opportunities. I'm guessing that's how you got to be so knowledgeable about the world and so willing to shoot off onto new and exciting tangential subjects related to whatever main topic that you're covering. You're videos are brilliant! Keep up the great work! Best of luck on October 31!👍👍

Cracking video and love Lindibeige enthusiasm even his jumper/miniskirt! Smiles

Finnish markings. Finnish nickname was: "Strumi" Those Stugs played very important role in summer -44, when Finland stopped Soviet invasion.

How noble you are my good sir. Admitting to ones flaws is never easy, but it does indicate a person of good character 👍 Really enjoy your content, I am glad to have found your channel.

Stug life. You can see the 500mm wooden armor on the side- bounces everything.

Excellent video , very informative...well done !

Not to forget how Finns used to stop Soviet tanks by jamming pieces of wood between the tracks so it would dislodge and fall off. Takes some balls to do that too.

I didn't choose Stug life *Stug life chose me*

What a fantastic video. And thank you for not removing the mistakes. They are indeed how we learn!

You are so good at this. Enthralling history and humor

Good video on the StuG III. There's a couple of corrections I'd like to make, though: Those peepholes are for the driver's periscope in case he wants to drive with the armoured glass viewport covered. Also, all panzers were kept in red oxide below the fenders. The Germans were never "low on paint"; the last tanks to leave factories were still finished in complex, factory-done paint schemes. And no, no tanks ever left a factory in red primer. In late 1944 they ordered the insides to be left hull red entirely, but they went back to painting the off-white in early 1945. The Germans running out of paint is a myth. 1299 of the StuG III were actually "StuH", Sturmhaubitze, with howitzers and another 24 were built as StuIG 33B. "Zimmermint" had me though. Lol. It's also more barium sulfate powder and sawdust than it is glue.

The STUG, in every variant, is my favorite tank of all time. Its effectiveness was undeniable, and I like the profile.

I just love you including your models. Please keep it up. Ive made a heck load of 1/72 and 1/76 models as well. I sell them when I move on to my next phase.

Ps 531-44 "Maija" is on display at the Finnish armour museum in Parola, close to Hämeenlinna. Interesting museum. They've got an armoured train and plenty of other rare stuff as well.

The Finns didn't really have much choice.

Just want to say thank you for all your videos.. they are so good to watch and you put a lot of care into them which i think people take for granted.. many thanks sir

Honestly, I just tripped over this film. Man, well explained (safe for a few... mishaps... corrected marvelously by the bloody way!!!, congrats), I love the english accent, it is so mature and ... well... nice, overall. Quite flippin' humorous as well, ol' chap! Well done, if I might say so!!! Going to look into your films right now! :)

Big fan of the StuG III, Lindybeige, and wool sweaters. This video is an instant hit!

I didn't choose the StuG life, the StuG life chose me ~ Panzer III

I suspect most British people (the ones who don't watch Lindybeige) would be surprised to learn that within living memory their country declared war on, and bombed, Finland.

Great presentation!! Very informative.

Great presentation. Thanks.

Random fact: Zimmerit was made by German company Zimmer & Co, which was owned by the father of Hans Zimmer. Yes, that Hans Zimmer.

Phff not even reping chin ups in the thumbnail

Excellent video on this fine piece of machinery

Great video man!

Magnetic mine on the mudguard would break the tread. It would be a much more effective attack than standing directly in front of it and trying to attack its thickest armor.

Lindy makes mistake, Lindy accepts his mistake and corrects it. Lindy is honest. That is why we like Lindy.

Amigo, you are a awesome teller. You'r video's are great and your information isn't copied or just filling up the time. You don't have any fancy music in the background, what is great and you don't try to make a show of it, you'r just yourself making a vid. about tanks. You are good.

I love the Stugs. Awesome tank killers. Ty for posting.

A shaped charge (magnetic mine) on the mudgaurd would quite possibly damage the track and/or drive sprocket and cause a mobility kill. And you don'thave to stand quite as much in teh buttoned down crews LOS. And once you have an M kill the darn thing is much easier to attack. Or ignore. BTW a turret does not pivot, it traverses. A gun pivots on it's trunnions. I love a stug too. Actually found a half built 1/35 Stug when I moved house recently. I think I'll have to dig out the paints and glue and finish it, 'specially since I have a room I can put that kind of thing on display now. Thanks for reminding me. Love your work.

2:37 I reckon it's because if a magnetic mine does go bang on the mudguard the wrecked guard could get caught in the track or in its guide wheels and bugger up the manoeuvrability

Good Sir, you had me laughing and so as a reward I subscribed to you channel. Good show.

I am most impressed, One of your best....

Ahhh, a stug. Finns loved those things and put them to good use against russians. They stayed in finnish army after the war and were still used in the 60's as trainer tanks. I believe this stug here is even in finnish colours, right? Beautiful beast

I'm pretty sure the logs were used to help move stuck vehicle from mud and swamp or other rough terrain. You would put them in front and drive over. Soviets had tree logs on every tank really for that very purpose.

I was surprised how well you pronounced Maija. I was expecting butchery, but it was pretty excellently done. Bravo!

Thanks for another great vid

Ooh hey I know how Maija ended up in Bovington! She was traded for couple of british tanks (dont ask me which I cant remember) by the finnish tank museum at Parola. I heard the story from the head of the Parola museum while he gave us a tour of the place last year.

5:26 red lower half is also good for morale when the some crew inside is bleeding...

so many different topics on your channel ;) great ! :-D

Great vid!

What I find amazing Is that he still has the model Stug that he made at 11.

A magnetic mine on the mud guard comes in handy to disable the tracks I'd guess.

Good job, sir ! Thank you very much.

First of all thanks for a very entertaining vid! as usual if i might say. Hope you will continue making them. I have though two minor things I'd like to adress - 2:37 Detonating a magnetic mine on the tracks mud guard would render the vehicle immovable and vulnerable/dead - thus the coating on the mud guard - 4:12 The Finns did not change sides! They were on their own side. They drove the Germans out of Finland accordingly to the peace treaty with the soviet. A little like if you have two bullies in the school yard who hate each other. One of them starts on you too, and of cause you go together with the other against your enemy. The Germans were not a threat to the Finns (for now - they might have been later after a victory). The soviets though were to every one - look at later history (app. 60mio russians killed by their own leaders) continoue. I have the utmost admiration for the Finns and their Sisu. They lost app. 80.000 young men in the two wars they fought. And because of that they stayed independent. Don't forget they knew that the soviet demands were only the beginning of making them a vasal state. They claimed independent december 1917 and were dragged into a soviet induced bitter civil war. They knew that in order to stay free they had to do "what ever" I hope every country would fight like that for their country - then no war would be fought ~ Si vis pacem para bellum

*_StuG: Shoot tanks und GO!_*

7:02 excellent tour/explanation of this stuff. Very well done, this guy is the Monty Python of tank world. Very entertaining.

love ur vids I share a passion for ww2 history as well, and tanks and planes definatly keep up your cool work its important we never forget

Couldn't a mine on the mudguard de-track the vehicle?

Finnish Sturmi. TORILLE

great self-correction on the nuetral turn. taught me something about the churchill. that's what makes really quality history

that was a great presentation

Stug needed a little Lindy love 💕😊

The early model StuG was built by a guy in the UK from a wreck, and he did a LOVELY facebook page showing the entire restoration. He also brought a Marder III to Tankfest this year. Most of that particular tank is original, although it has the drivetrain from a British AFV (original StuG engines are a tad hard to find and get parts for), and he had to hand fabricate a lot of it (including those hinges you were so impressed by...hand made from blocks of steel, and fully documented on his page!). Here's a link to the facebook page that covered it: facebook.com/StugIIIAusfDRestoration/

Thank you Sir! Good video 😀👍

Well done ! Thanks !

This is interesting, and you built that model when you were ELEVEN?! holy shit i wonder what your models look like now! That's really cool!

Did they use a waffle iron to make that "Zimmerit"? Time for a Zimmerit video. And how it's still used today, my city covers outdoor elecrical cabinets with it as an anti-poster paint but the design looks very much like midwar German Zimmerit. Just do it for the word Zimmerit, i would love to hear you say Zimmerit more often. lovely word, ins't it? Zimmerit.

I was realy confused you said one track went backwards on a neutral turn, I'm glad you corrected yourself :)

Fun fact when Lindy was born the sweater was already on...it has now completely fused to his body and he has become one with the sweater..during childhood the other kids would play ball, but good ole lindy would give lectures on world war 2 to his sweater, his only true friend...

Finnish army used Stug III:s until 1966.

I'm as early and premature as Italy's entry to the war

Cool, I love seeing the inside of these things.

Kick-azz tank! Love the model at the end even though he was only 11 when he made it! Skillz!

Earlier variants were actually designated as self propelled guns and not tank destroyers.

Thumbnail had me convinced the three logs were the fingers on your right hand. Palpable disappointment, made up for by your magnificent content though

Well done,a human touch to what could be a rather dry subject!

Great video.

Did they ever get Stug in the mud?

They put Zemerit on this so named " Mudguard" because directly down under this thing is the "Power wheel" that keeps the tank moving .

Tank you Gewehry much, o noble educator.

For some reason I just find it fascinating that I saw the StuG with the side logs in December and you looked at it a few months later. It truly is an amazing machine

Scherenfernrohr does indeed just mean "scissor telescope".