I just watched this Russian made movie about tankers in WWII. It is a great action movie with lots of drama, good CGI in the tank fight scenes. I highly recomend it.
If Walter Christie would have been a little less stubborn and the U.S. military a little more forward thinking, the T34 may not have occurred. The chassis was very futuristic for the time as its long history can attest.
As effective as the design was, much of its effectiveness was due to the numbers fielded. It is another example of "quantity has a quality all its own."
Look like they came straight from the factory with a bad set of rings.....
Yep noticed the fresh paint. Might not be that far off actually.... Tanks came straight from tank-o-grad,delivered by rail to the front. Drove a few miles to get knocked off by a german 88.....
If Walter Christie would have been a little less stubborn and the U.S. military a little more forward thinking, the T34 may not have occurred. The chassis was very futuristic for the time as its long history can attest.
As effective as the design was, much of its effectiveness was due to the numbers fielded. It is another example of "quantity has a quality all its own."
Yep, it was a numbers deal, how many can you lose vs. how many can we lose.
I watched a thing last night on H channel about the Nazis and the phenomenon of the Blitzkrieg. The buzzards managed to cover so much ground in so little time so efficiently because they were all under the influence of "Crystal Meth". Hitler was so doped up that by the time he invaded Russia he couldn't even get out of bed until he had his intravenous fix. They basically destroyed a generation with drugs.
I watched a thing last night on H channel about the Nazis and the phenomenon of the Blitzkrieg. The buzzards managed to cover so much ground in so little time so efficiently because they were all under the influence of "Crystal Meth". Hitler was so doped up that by the time he invaded Russia he couldn't even get out of bed until he had his intravenous fix. They basically destroyed a generation with drugs.
Look like they came straight from the factory with a bad set of rings.....
that V 12 A/C engine smokes more than a 71 Pinto.....
The engines weren't machined very well and the procedure was to run the engines a certain number of hours, drain the oil, change the filter, fill with oil and run them. It was a crude system but worked well.
The Panzer IV Panther was the superior tank of the war!
The various militaries involved all used tanks differently. If your looking for "the best" tank of the war you have to honestly assess how you will use it, its mechanical reliability, and the ease of manufacture and perhaps equally important the ease of field repair.
The Sherman was a fine tank...especially by 1944-45. Its inferiority is hugely over blown by Americans and brits...who by the way suffered relatively few casualties and generally fought second tier German units. You guys have to keep in mind...the war was over in 1942. It was just a matter of time and more useless human death and suffering. When the Germans were crushed in front of Moscow...their slim chance for victory was GONE. It was a slow long death ride post december 42
People always to talk about how inferior the M4 was to German Panther and Tigers etc. What they don't realize is that Panthers and Tigers did not make up a significant percentage of German armor in the west. Even by 1944 it made up roughly 30% of german front line armor. The Mk iv was the most numerous German tank followed by the MkIII...our Sherman was able to play rough with those guys
Panthers and Tigers did most of their fighting and dyeing in the east...
Even a MK IV would eat a Sherman's lunch any day. The great German tank ace Kurt Knispel with 168 confirmed and 195 unconfirmed kills said in a TV interview years ago, my tank could engage and destroy ten Shermans all day long. The only problem was, the Americans would always show up with at least eleven..
Expect those loose cylinders on the T-34 made them easier to start during the winter months.
"Meth" was issued to certain German units from time to time and yes, AH used it too.
The Sherman was an equal to the German tanks of 1942 but not those of 1944. A Sherman might knock out a Panther at 500 yards but the Panther could knock out a Sherman at 1500 yards.
The M4A1 & M4A1 75mm/L40 Sherman was as good as or better than the T-34 76mm or the panzer MKIV with the 75mm/L43 gun. The M4A3E8, aka the Easy 8 with e 76.2mm was the equal of the MKIV with the75mm/ L48 or the T34-85. In Korea American tankers with M4A3E8 Shermans, M26 Pershings and M46 Pattons had no problem dealing with North Korean & Chinese T-34/85's. Unlike the MiG-15, the tanks did not have Russian operators.
American tank engines lived longer than anyone else's did, no real surprise there, but any tank engine's life was pretty short, especially compared to a modern engine.
If Walter Christie would have been a little less stubborn and the U.S. military a little more forward thinking, the T34 may not have occurred. The chassis was very futuristic for the time as its long history can attest.
As effective as the design was, much of its effectiveness was due to the numbers fielded. It is another example of "quantity has a quality all its own."
FWIW the T-34 Russian tank was from an American design
The Panther was PZKW 5, the Tiger was PZKW 6. The drivetrain of the Panther was not very reliable, and difficult to service.
An overlooked advantage of the Sherman was that it easy for the crew to escape when hit. The Sherman had a lot of its initial faults corrected as the war went on. The Russians received thousands of Shermans under lend lease. All the Russian Shermans were diesel powered,
See Zaloga's book on the Sherman titled Armored Thunderbolt.