January 8th, 2007, 12:47 AM
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WW2F Veteran
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Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Virginia
Posts: 1,553
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Quote:
Originally posted by Seadog:
The war changed so fast that it is hard to pinpoint a top tank. The Sherman may have been a later model tank than the T34, but it was built to 1940 specifications before we had any real knowledge of what woulld be its role. Despite its shortcomings, the Sherman was easy to manufacture, versitile and easy to maintain, comparitively. What most fail to think about, is that it was a medium tank, in a battle against heavy tanks. By U.S. standards, even the Panther medium tank was a heavy.
Should U.S. resources have been spent on designing a new, better tanks? That was a possibility, but many felt that the resources were better spent on getting enough M4s to overwhelm the enemy forces. The Germans made the mistake of too many designs, and it was a source of grief for them.
A lot depends on how the tanks were used, and how effective their leadership and crews were. In many ways, some of the tank destroyers were close to tank designs and operation.
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In no way do I want to flame Gardner's Thread, but I don't consider having the ability to mass produce a tank as being a "top 10" candidate.
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