hey i have a project to do on WW2 tanks, and decided just to talk about the Sherman, which is kinda used by most of the Allies forces ( US, UK - firefly, and Canada - RAM), and i also wanto talk about a german tank, and compare them. Which tank do you think i should use? the panzer IV, or the tiger? I want to take the tank that was the most influencial during the war, and ive heard that there was only about a few hundred tigers made?

which tank do you think i should use?

thanks,
paat

I'd suggest the PzKw IV as being more comparable to the Sherman. Both were classed as 'medium' tanks whereas the various Tigers were heavy tanks in every sense.

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"Stand by to pull me out of the seat if I get hit" - Guy Gibson

Looks good info on this site about Tigers

http://www.fprado.com/armorsite/tigers.htm

The Sherman, known as the Tommy cooker or ronson.
Not many fans on this side of the Atlantic from tank crews.

To get an idea of what life was like in a Sherman, I highly recommend Ken Touts 'Tanks advance' and '40 hours of battle' great writer.

Andy

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What about the Russian T-34

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Facta non verba. "Deeds, not words"

yea, i dont know. My initial idea was to take 1 tank from every country and then compare them, but my teacher said that just taking one from Germany, and a Canadian tank would be fine (i took the Sherman, since many allied country used it).

BTW, Ottawa Valley -> u wouldn't coem from Orléans by chance?

paat

Really, the equivalent of the Sherman in German service is the Pz III. I know I'll take alot of flak over this but here's the reasoning:

Both vehicles represent, respectively, the initial main battle tank intended for use in the war. The Pz III started development in 1935 and represented a fairly advanced design for that time. The Sherman, likewise, was developed about 5 years later and represents changes in design and development that occured in that period (the M3 medium was never intended as "the" medium tank for the US but an interm model to get production rolling).
Both tanks proved versitile machines forming the basis for a whole variety of AFV. The StG III, M 10, M36, etc. Both had room for upgrades in armor, gun and, automotive performance. Both served as main battle tanks for about 5 years before being relegated to a secondary status (for the US the M 26 was just replacing the Sherman in 1945 and the Pz IV and Panther did the same for the Germans in 1943 (ie 1939- 1943)).

Nope, Renfrew

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Facta non verba. "Deeds, not words"

ahhh, well atleast its good to know someone else from ottawa [img]smile.gif[/img]

paat

If we want to compare tanks that fought each other in 1944 I´d say the PzIV long barrel version.

Like this:

http://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/...Panzer4H-R.htm

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I don't agree, I suppose the PzIV would be a closer equivalent altough this is an apples to avocados comparison.

The calibre was the same or thereabouts (PzIV abd Sherman), both guns at time of specs draft were general purpose instead of the specialist anti-tank PzIII gun. And I suppose we can't argue much further as both tanks had no relation at all with each other, and I see no reason for their designers to take the other design into consideration. Of course design can be influenced by other tanks (see Panther vs. T-34 or PzIV L/43 vs. T-34) but I very much doubt this is the case. So in very in general terms we can compare the Sherman with the PzIV.

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Take 3
Panzer IV G(long 75)
T-34 76 c
Sherman 76 M1A1
A diverse yet equal mix covering most aspects.

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There's one way to find out if a man is honest-ask him. If he says "Yes", you know he's a crook. Groucho Marx

Sorry, I meant M4A1, not the M1A1 rifle.

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There's one way to find out if a man is honest-ask him. If he says "Yes", you know he's a crook. Groucho Marx