They were shipped to North Africa later that year, where they formed schwere Infanteriegeschütz-Kompanien (mot.S.) ("Heavy Self-propelled Infantry Gun Companies") 707 and 708. Twelve were built in December 1941 - January 1942. The vehicle carried 30 rounds for the gun which could traverse a total of 5° left and right and used a Rblf36 sight. Large hatches were added to the rear deck to better cool the engine. Its sides were notably lower than the front, which made the crew vulnerable to small arms fire and shell fragments. 15-millimetre (0.6 in) plates formed the front and sides of the open-topped fighting compartment, which was also open at the rear. The chassis was lengthened by 60 centimetres (24 in), which required adding a sixth roadwheel, and widened by 32 centimetres (13 in) to better accommodate the gun while preserving its low silhouette. B chassis when it was built in February 1941, but this was too cramped for use. The prototype used a standard Panzer II Ausf. The same gun was mated to the Panzerkampfwagen II chassis in an attempt to drastically lower its height while using a stronger chassis.
The 15 cm sIG 33 (Sf) auf Panzerkampfwagen I Ausf B that had participated in the Invasion of France in 1940 had proven to be too heavy for its chassis as well as being enormously tall. To improve its mobility 38 guns were mounted on a Panzerkampfwagen I chassis in February 1940. The 15-centimetre (5.9 in) sIG 33 gun was used as direct-fire artillery in support of assaulting infantry.
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