Based on the Geschützwagen III/IV chassis and armed with the 15 cm sFH 18/1 L/30 howitzer, it saw action from early 1943 until the end of the war.

[1] The Hummel was designed in 1942 after the invasion of the USSR had demonstrated the need for more capable self-propelled artillery support for Wehrmacht tank forces than those that were available at the time.

This design was rejected in favour of mounting the more powerful 15 cm sFH 18 L/30 howitzer on the specially designed Geschützwagen III/IV, which combined the driving and steering system of the Panzer III with the chassis, suspension, and engine of the Panzer IV.

The engine was moved to the centre of the vehicle to make room for an open-topped lightly armoured fighting compartment at the rear housing the gun breech and crew.

This was basically a standard production Hummel without the howitzer (a 10 mm armour plate covering the gun mount) and with racks fitted to hold the ammunition.

[1][2] The Hummel first participated in large scale combat at the Battle of Kursk, when some 100 served in armored artillery battalions (Panzerartillerie Abteilungen) of the Panzer divisions.

Only a limited supply of main gun ammunition was provided (supplemented some time later by the Soviet Union, which had produced a sizeable quantity of compatible 150mm rounds domestically).