Posted on 11/10/2014 8:06:00 AM PST by C19fan
American tanks in World War II were generally inferior to their German counterparts. German tanks boasted better armor protection and more firepower.
But armor and lethality don’t tell the whole story. The same American tanks were superior to their rivals in other important ways. The M-4 Sherman, in particular, helped the U.S. Army win the war—even though, in battle, German tanks destroyed them en masse.
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The officer, recollecting about the event, said he knew at that point Germany was going to lose the war. There was no way they could compete with that level of industry.
Don’t forget the hundreds of thousands of GMC, Dodge, and Studebaker Deuce and a half trucks that hauled almost every round of ammo, every C-ration, every gallon of gasoline and a big chunk of the GIs. By the end of WWII, the only armies that did not rely on American two and an half ton trucks for their logistical support were the Germans and the Japanese.
Not quite that simple. There were instances in Leningrad and Stalingrad where tanks were driven off the assembly lines to the front. After the Soviets shifted tank production to the Urals (centered around Chelyabinsk)the distance from Chelyabinsk to Moscow is 1500 KM. The distance from Berlin to Moscow is 1800 KM. What is more telling is the production numbers. The Germans manufactured 8484 Panther and tiger tanks. The Soviets manufactured 57300 T-34s. In addition, from 1943 on, German tanks damaged in battle could seldom be recovered due to being drive back by the Reds. On the other hand, the Soviets had a very effective tank recovery and rebuild program. Some T-34s were battle casualties and rebuilt a many as 6 times. After 1944, the 76 mm gun models were upgraded to the 85mm gun version.
The Soviets only drove tanks from the Stalingrad production facility directly to the front in late 1942 until the German destroyed the factory. Soviets shifted all armor production to the Chelyabinsk area of the Urals by the end of 1942. New Soviet tanks headed for Moscow had a train ride of over 1500 kilometers to get to the front. As the Germans were pushed back, the distance to transport new tanks grew greater.
The suspension system had its origins in the Christy design of the 1920s. The sloped armor, cast turrets and diesel engines were Soviet design elements. The combination made for one hell of a tank.
The Germans also used T-34s when they could get their hands on them.
The only part of a T-34 that was Christy in origin was the suspension system. The Soviets used the Christy design in their tank suspension systems from the late 20s onward. The rest of the T-34, low profile, slope armor, diesel engines were Soviet ideas, not Christy.
agreed. Though American practice would have introduced one design weakness into the T-34 that the Soviet version did not have. The U.S. Army required the use of gasoline engines in tanks. T-34s didn’t burn nearly as easily as the Sherman’s because of their diesel fuel. The Soviets were even willing to put unarmored exterior mounted diesel fuel tanks on their armor to extend their range.
Yes they were, although I had no first hand knowledge. I was thinking more about high tech fighter/bombers as an example. The Israelis tear out all the high tech and have their “jockeys” fly by the seat of their pants. They perform very well to superb without all the fancy stuff. This kind of thing is pervasive in the military.
Communications was another problem area for the T-34. Only the tank platoon sergeant had a radio to communicate to company and battalion levels. This meant the tank platoon movements were done with hand signals. Both American and German tanks had good radios.
True, but part of that might have been the crew training, and part of it might have been the upgrade to the Sherman’s optics, stabilization, etc.
My father, a career Army officer and veteran of WW2, Korea, and Viet-Nam, said the same thing.
I’m sure diesel was a big plus for tolerating bad fuel quality, low maintenance, and less flammability.
Was the black smoke emitted (obviously these weren’t like our new diesels with precision fuel injection) an issue for observability?
Does not appear to have been. Have seen lots of film footage of Soviet armor in action, and diesel exhaust smoke does not seem to note any attention. BTW, our Marine Corp,
used the Diesel powered variant of the Sherman in the Pacific. This model was developed specifically at the request of the Soviets for Lend Lease.
One of my college engineering profs (himself a WW2 former POW) told us “if the Germans would have had 0W20 (arctic) motor oil back then, they darn well might have beat the Russians”
I suppose that may have had some influence. But I think other factors had a greater impact. The German army in front of Berlin suffered 130,000 frost bite casualties in Dec/Jan. The infantry was still in summer weight uniforms. The grease used as a lubricant on tank and artillery cases froze solid and the ammo could not be used. The grease in axle bearings, breach blocks and rifle bolts froze solid.
The Germans were completely unprepared, in all areas, for operations in weather reaching 20 below zero. The Russians on the other hand, were able to function militarily at such extreme temperatures.
A major problem with the Tigers was that its transmission was overburdened and prone to failure because of its massive weight.
Another problem was that if the Tiger driver ‘rotated’ the tank in place (one track forward, other track reversed) it would often bust a track. Not a fun thing to deal with in the midst of combat.
Also the Tiger I, Tiger II, and Elephant were so heavy that they could only be recovered by one of their own kind. Most recovery vehicles the Germans had could not budge them.
The Inter leaved road wheels also became a problem for both Tigers, Elephant, and Panther if: 1) they broke a torsion bar and had to remove the inter leaved road wheels to change one or 2) the inter leaved road wheels got packed with freezing mud.
Good points. Thanks.
Yes, that is a good point.
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