Best tank of WWII

Good point about the Russian model of the Sherman. I had never heard about that variant.

 

There are six basic models of Sherman based on the engine used:

M4 / M4A1 Continental (Wright originally) R975C1 radial gasoline.

M4A2 GM 6046 diesel (two GM 671 inline diesels tied together)

M4A3 Ford GAA 111 V8 gasoline (half a Merlin).

M4A4 Chrysler A57 multi-bank gasoline (5 6 cylinder inline car engine blocks mounted around a common crankcase).

M4A6 Caterpillar RD 1820 Diesel (converted Wright G200 radial aircraft engine).

 

Thanks T.A. I never knew there was so much variety in the power plants. Were these all WWII variations or did this extend into the Korean War?

Which one would you choose, by the way?

 

I like "Tigers" to. They look like 64 Chevy Impalas. The box. Then the turret looks like the "Monitor". Whatever. According to some of my books the Panther had a better gun for penetration, but the Tiger had the kenetic energy of the bigger shell. When used against T-34s they'd often dislodge, or remove the turrets. Hence the saying from unknown German sources..."Tip your hat to the Tiger."

 

Tip your hat to the Tiger, I have to say that I really like that.

 

The Ford GAA V8. Very reliable with a good output.
Of course, post war the US went to the air cooled opposed Continental AV-1790 series of engines. These were either gasoline or diesel. They had the advantage of being both air cooled and of being fairly low in height. Both were advantages in a tank.

 

I'm a StuG fan myself but would have to say that for a tank I would go with the Pzkw V, the Panther. Good mobility, good armament. Might have a look at the JS I to see how they performed. Did they have reliability problems like the Tigers?

[ 14. November 2005, 10:01 AM: Message edited by: PzJgr ]

 

http://www.nemo.nu/ibisportal/5pansar/

Pretty impressive but kinda thin on the armour protection.

 

You did not last long up north did you ?

 

If the IS-2 had a shortcomming, I think it would be (18) total (HE+AP) rounds of main gun amunition, all in (2) pieces.
I believe most other tanks had between 60-80. Sherman/Panther. I'd have to look up others, but 18 seems skimpy (even if they're 122mm). The loading would have to be slower as well.
Used in the numbers they were produced, I guess they could just line up axel to axel and move forward.
In a one on one tank duel, I think it would be at a disadvantage, even with it's advantages of armor (frontal) and gun size.
I remember reading about 5 Finish Stug IIIs taking out over a dozen T-34 85s, with the loss of 2? They should have lost on paper.
IMHO the IS-2 is a paper giant. Unless of course, there's 3,000 of em.

 

Hmmmm. Kinda like the Tiger's shortcoming of operational range. She's not fast and can't go far.

 

When you are firing an 88 you don't have to go as far anyway, so why hurry?

 

My brother has a book with an account from the Eastern front where Tigers met Stalins for the first time (in mass). The tigers were scoring hits from 1,500 meters. The gunners were looking on in disbelief as shells were bouncing into the air. This was the first time multiple hits from Tigers were seen not to penetrate. When the range decreased to 1,000 meters the Stalins began to "brew-up". Also he has a wonderful photo of the aftermath of fist-fight between The same where there is the "Slug" of a Stalin stuck in the mantlet of a Tiger right where the monocular sight is. It did not go through. I imagine it was more than loud when it hit. A testiment indeed to the Tiger, standing up to the biggest and the best "Ivan" could throw from a tank. I'll try to get him to scan/send the picture to me and I'll post it for you.

 

That would be great Skunk Works. I would love to see that picture that is for sure. I would also love to know the name and publishing information for the book.

The Tiger could indeed take on the best Ivan had to throw at it. The problem was that there were not enough of them and that there were more than enough Russian tanks. Keep the Russians a kilometer away and the Tiger can sit there till they run out of ammo. There were more than enough of the Russian tanks to get closer than a kilometer, though. When the Russians got in close they could take on the Tiger and then their mass numbers would win the battle. More Russian tanks were burning on the batttlefield at the end of the day, but the battle went to the Russians.

 

I must state that German optics were far superior to the Soviets, and even this little item could win the battle during a 1/10th second duel

 

Hey BigIce
I got some information for you. The battle was in Romania at a place called Targyl Frumos (or something like that).
It was the Gross Duetschland division "Tigers" doing the work. I hear this particular battle was studied by NATO until the 80's as how to stage a defense against Russian superior numbers. The Germans held on inflicting 4-5 to "1" in losses of AFV's.
The picture is in a "sideways" magazine booklet thing about Tigers. My brother can't dig them all out and has no time to look through all of them right now. He's in Texas so that's not exactly next door to me. He'll e me the info when he has time.
The Tiger in question is pretty shot up and who knows if the picture was staged, still the evidence is very visual.

 

Thanks Skunk Works. I hope he comes through for us.

 

Firepower on the Military channel
Best tank of all time according to 6 factors, at the time of they first appeared.
1 firepower
2 armor
3 mobility
(know who's gonna win already, don't ya?)
4 production
5 innovation
(that gave it away)
6 fear factor

10 Sherman
9 Merkava
8 T-55
7 Challenger
6 Pzkw IV
5 Centurian
4 First WW 1 tanks (Cambrai)
3 Tiger
2 Abrams
1 T-34
Take it or leave, I'm just the mailman

 

Hard to argue with that list.

 

No body loves the little scout tank M3/M5 Stuart. It was good for scouting out the enemy and was a good runner and very versitile. It was not meant to go head to head with German main tanks. The M5 version had twin Cadillac engines and could go 40 mph. They also had 75mm howitzer motor carriage versions and an experimental 105mm howitzer version.