With its low silhouette, short-barreled main gun, and distinctive superstructure with sloped armor, the Sturmgesch?tz III Ausf.B is a popular subject for military modellers. Tamiya now releases this accurately reproduced early variant of the widely produced assault gun as the latest addition to our signature 1/35 scale Military Miniature Series. About the Sturmgesch�tz III Ausf.B At the beginning of WWII, as the German army was on their rapid offensive, the need arose for a highly mobile infantry support vehicle that could provide heavy firepower to help infantry breakthrough defenses. The Sturmgesch�tz III was designed to meet this requirement, with the Ausf.B being the first mass produced variant. Featuring a well armored crew compartment with 50mm front and 30mm side armor and armed with a 75mm StuK 37 L/24 gun, these vehicles were used during the invasion of the Balkans as well as in Operation Barbarossa. As the war went on, the StuG III found itself evolving into a tank destroyer in addition to its assault gun role, and were often used as replacements for actual battle tanks.