00350 1/35 German 12.8cm Selbstfahrlafette L/61

The Sturer Emil was based on requirements for a heavier tank destroyer than what was available in the early stages of the war. At the time the Pz IV chassis was the heaviest German tank and only experimental vehicles were available to accept a large gun caliber. One of these experimental tanks was the VK3001 (H) chassis. It was intended to replace the Pz III and IV with a total planned weight of about 30 tons.

The VK 3001(H) was based on a further development of the well proven Pz IV chassis with a different running gear with interleaved wheels. In all only 3 VK 3001(H) were built and preparations were made to build 8 more vehicles. One complete turret with the short a L/24 gun was delivered for one of the vehicles. Two more chassis were built as tank destroyers. This version included lengthening the chassis, adding an extra pair of road wheels, and replacing the original Variorex gearbox with a SSG 77 similar to Pz III (ZW/7 and onwards). The engine was an unusual 300 HP 6 Cyl Maybach HL 116. In this superstructure the large 12.8 cm PAK40 L/61 gun was mounted. The gun was originally designed for AA defense in 1939, and some alterations were needed for it's new anti tank gun role. This gun was even more powerful than the PAK44 used in the Jagdtiger, and the 28 kg shells could penetrate 13,2 cm of 30 degr. sloped armour at 1500 m distance. The vehicle had only internal space for about 18 rounds of Ammo in the open fighting compartment and had a total weight of about 35 tons, with a top speed of 19.6 km/h.