As anti-tank technology became more and more effective, German engineers began to come up with a new way to counter it. By adding Schurzen (literally "skirting") around the turret and suspension system, the effectiveness of shoulder mounted anti-tank weapons could be reduced dramatically. Schurzen was a thin skirting of armor that was bolted onto struts in such away that it would encircle the turret. An anti-tank round would explode when it hit the Schurzen, but the explosion would not harm the turret itself. Similar Schurzen was added to protect the tank's suspension system from damage.

The Soviet Union's tank production process aimed for a minimal complexity in the tank designs since this would speed up the production process. Although the ideas behind Schurzen obviously occurred to Soviet engineers, it was seen as a waste of valuable production time and was thus never added to Soviet tanks. Yet resourceful Soviet tank crews often welded bedframes (complete with matresses) to the outside of their tanks, which served the same purpose, as well as showing that a little bit of ingenuity could be equal to a lot of finely tuned engineering.

WHERE TO LOOK FOR SCHURZEN

Look for an extra skirting around the turret of a German tank. In addition, if you can't see the tank's suspension system (wheels, treads, etc.) the tank probably has protective Schurzen.