I findt it very interesting to see how armour schemes developed during II WW, but find it very diffuclt to actually compare the armour protction, especially looking at late WW II tanks. Statistics are mostly missleading, as they often only quote minimum and meximum thickness. For instance : comparing a Tiger 1 tank to a British Comet tank would show similar protecion (max armour 102 mm) but the Comet is qusually qoted with 14 mm ‘thick’ side armour, and is certainly less well protected against AT guns. I guees the armour lay-out of the Comet is the result of operational experience, based on casualty reports ? It seems most pre-ww II tanks had commom all-round basis of modest thickness (often 10-15 mm) protecting against small-arms fire and heavy machine-guns or 20 mm guns. Even the ‘heavy’ Matilda had almost uniform thickness instead of concentrating the thickest armour at front of hull and Turret, and gradually reducing thickness at less exposed surfaces. But soon experience showed this inadequate, and designers went from modest all-round proctection to an emphasis on protecting the most exposed areas ( frontal arches and turret). Can anybody recommend books and websites where I can more (reliable) information and preferably pictures showing the indivudal tanks armour layout, and how they developed during WW II ?
Without spending a large amount on some of the more technical books, the internet is probably your best bet. Remember Google is your friend, a quick search turns up all sort of goodies, like this: Tanks on the Prowl armour schemes for: IS-2 T-34 T-34/85 Tiger I KV-1 It just depends on what you're looking for I suppose. Regarding the Comet it's probably similar to the Cromwell, which keep in mind also had Christie suspension, so the springs are contained between a double hull wall, something like 32mm over 14mm for the crew compartment and 25mm over 14mm for the engine from memory.
Hi Gryle Thank you very much for the interesting links, this is exactly what I am looking for, hopefully I can find armour-schemes for US and british tanks too ( I have just bought two Osprey books dealing with Matilda and Cromwell tanks). If you can recommend any books I'll appreciate any suggestions, as I am on extended sick leave the next 3 months leaving plenty of time for reading. Luckily Danmark has a splendid public library system, I am able to loan book from military and univeristy libraries by the click of a mouse :lol: Regarding the side armour of the Comet tank : Yes I agree, I suppose the combined thickness of the plates is at least 28 mm (2 * 14), but so far I have only seen 14 mm mentioned. I find this subject interesing because I was quite surprised to learn how vulnerable most WW II tank actually were. This tell's a lot of the courage and commitment of tank crews of all nationalities !
Sorry, but I really can't recommend specific books because that kind of information is fairly rare and not something typically found in most books except the highly vehicle specific volumes like say the Hunnicut books and sometimes not even then. And I don't know I'm not sure I made myself clear regarding the Comet. The Christie suspension requires a double walled hull with the springs contained between the two walls. In the case of the Cromwell this meant from the front of the tank to the engine bay (the crew area) the side protection was formed by a 32mm plate, then the space for the springs, then another plate 14mm thick, a total of 48mm or nearly 2 inches of armour. From the front of the engine bay back (presumably to save weight) it's protected by a 25mm plate, springs, and a 14mm plate, or about 1.5 inches. The Comet being a sort of offshoot of the Cromwell design is likely the same sort of scheme (32 and 14 front / 25 and 14 rear, not 14 over 14). I doubt you'll find the armour schemes in the Osprey books, but one of the Matilda II can be found here. Which shows that the usually state 78mm is only on the nose and elsewhere is usually about 70-75, still an extremely well protected tank. US tanks are a little easier since they are mostly flat plates of the stated thickness welded together, I don't know of any picture type plans but the AFV Database will give you a pretty good break down of the actual plate thicknesses.
Comet fan, here is a book you might like; Tanks And Armored Fighting Vehicles Of WWII, by Jim Winchester
