German tank

https://youtu.be/1XIkZgCJZCs

He must have a really big basement!

Was in Germany in the 70s, stayed in Zimmerfrei or rooms to rent as toured the countryside, one farm we stayed at spoke thru a daughter to a German Farmer where discussed the TV(Gunsmoke in German language) and the photos of his deceased brothers on the shelf(in full NAZI regalia) two helmets and several medals in a frame alongside those photos.  He spoke calmly as to being led down a path by Hitler as the nation needed to work and the Great Depression had them starving.  He still had his 8mm Mauser service weapon complete with a Nazi emblem on the receiver.

DMiller wrote: Why is it a crime to own a antique tank you cannot buy parts for or ammunition to use the weapons on?? Or even drive on motorways?? It becomes nothing more than a moving yard ornament.

USA - you may own a tank.

Parts are available if you have the $$$. Tool budget needs increase.

Still can shoot - need BATF Destructive Device Tax stamp ($200) for main gun and another tax stamp per machine gun.

Drive on motorways? Yes, with weight/width restrictions in some places. The biggie is using rubber padded tracks to avoid chewing up road surfaces.

T34s Russian tanks were selling for $30k in 1990s and light British stuff under $20k. USA Sherman M4a1 runs around $140k now.

Sherman would be more reliable than a German Panther or Tiger! Myself I would prefer an M18 Hellcat Tank Destroyer except in Cold or rainy weather!

Gotta love Gunny! may he rest in peace!

@klinemar; I'd still prefer a Tiger I. Man those things look BAD@SS.

One statistic that many do not realize is the Germans total Tank Production of all types was 49,000. Russia built 109 to 115,000 " The Russians didn't share exact numbers" and the U.S. built 105,000 of all types. Approximately 1,357 Tiger Tanks were built with the majority facing the Russians.6,000 Panther tanks were built and again most faced the Russians. 45,000 Sherman and 50,000 T34's were built. In war he who gets there first with the most wins!

Edited by klinemar - 12 Aug 2021 at 1:33pm

JTool. One item the Russians did not share was a discovery they made on captured German Tanks particularly Panthers and Tigers. The armor on those Tanks was extremely hard and brittle better to stop armor piercing ammo. What the Russians discovered was that the armor did not have to be penetrated to disable the Tank. All that was needed was a suitable explosive charge hitting the outside armor and causing the interior to shatter sending steel shards throughout the interior of the Tank killing or wounding the crew. That is why the T34 was upgunned from 76mm.to 85 and the JS2 Heavy Tank was equipped with a 122mm. gun. The 76 mm. British gun in the converted Firefly was a good anti tank gun but inaccurate as the gun had to be mounted sideways in the turret with the gunner aiming by almost standing on his head. The American 76mm. was a good gun and accurate we just didn't have enough High Velocity Armor Piercing Ammo. HVAP ammo used carbide as the penetrating core and the US needed most of the carbide for machine tools for the War effort.

Thanks JTool. I grew up listening to WW2 Vets. Peaked my interest in History. I don't watch TV but do read articles and books and with the internet I can watch documentaries. One very good researcher is The Chieftain, a retired Armor Officer who served in both the Irish and American Armies. He is a researcher for the video game World of Tanks. Which I do not play but he posts videos on YouTube that I do watch.Look him up. He does videos in museums showing all about Tanks. Another source is the British Tank Museum at Bovington. They have the only fully operational Tiger Tank and loaned it and their M4A3E8 Sherman for the Movie Fury. Look them up . They have a YouTube channel called Tank Chats.

@klinemar; You're welcome brother. I'm a history buff myself. Especially military history. From the Greek and Persian Wars up to the present day I am absolutely enthralled with the personalities, strategies, weapon's and tactics of warfare through the years. Glad to find a kindred spirit. Also mega thanks for the resource's on YouTube. I'm going to check to check those out. 

caledonian wrote: Yeah I had a uncle that was a Major adjacent commander of a Tank Battalion in Europe. He used to talk about ganging up on a tiger tank. If you flanked them you could knock them out from the rear. Or you could blind them with smoke or phosphorus. Or you could use the lay of the land to your advantage get in close an ambush then from the flank or rear. Normally they didn't run into to many. Tigers were to heavy not only for bridges but some roads also. They were slow , very thirsty and inclined to break down. When they broke down the German's had to abandon them as they had no way to recover them from the field. They were lousy in soft ground. Yeah with their big gun and heavy armor they were scary but we had several ways of knocking them out.

JTOOL wrote: @klinemar; Yeah, air power made many things almost obsolete. Battleships, railway guns, heavy tanks, etc. but still, those Tiger I's and II's were pretty impressive machines. I remember reading a quote from an American tanker to the effect of we would have to engage the Tigers with 4 Shermansand expect to lose 3. Those were regular Shermans I'm sure and not the Fireflys. That info about the bridge's is interesting. Never would have thought about that. Thanks.

Well the fact of the matter is as fabulous as the German Tiger tank was or was supposed to be they still lost.