November Q&A
Added 2020-11-09 14:01:16 +0000 UTCBring it!
Comments
On Sherman, It seems to me there is a disconnect between the defense of 75mm and then moving onto 76mm. The common "defense" of 75 is that it had an excellent HE round and then tanks were rare but then the shift goes to 76mm which sacrifices HE for penetration. What's more, I've read reports that the 76mm was pretty pedestrian in terms of penetration and that in a test struggled against a PZ.IV G or H as German steel was harder than US steel. Zaloga seems to agree that 76mm was less than stellar as he suggests a high velocity 75mm would have been an overall superior weapon as it'd theoretically retain the exceptional HE while also improving anti armor capability. TLDR, the shift to 76mm seems to undermine the usual defense of 75mm plus 76mm was apparently pretty mediocre. Agree/Disagree with Zaloga?
Christopher Whitmer
2020-12-08 07:09:55 +0000 UTCHow effective would it be to try to hit a helicopter with MPAT or similar? Is this just something they put in marketing brochures, or is it actually a realistic expectation to swat helicopters with those things?
RA W
2020-12-04 10:15:52 +0000 UTCI deleted my comment on accident, but TLDR my dad and I are restoring an M16 Halftrack including it's turret. I found that the stamped warning label on the mount is in Portuguese of all languages. In your research, have you ever come across a reason for why an M45 quad mount might have been in Portuguese service?
Jaxon Fox
2020-12-01 05:52:46 +0000 UTCWas there any advantage that the short 75mm had over the long 75mm used by the stug when looking at it from its original doctrine such as a better HE effects on concrete etc...
Garrett
2020-11-21 04:21:43 +0000 UTCI’ve seen references to the T18 and T19 90mm Guns in some materials I’ve read. Were they any good, and where could I find out more about the guns?
Ghoul
2020-11-19 03:23:16 +0000 UTCI believe I recall your mentioning some TD crews used naval 3" starshell at Anzio, mating the naval projectile with their own casings. For a Sherman 76mm, what other contemporary 3" ammunition could have been used that way to overcome the limited US ammunition supply? I found references to Russian Sh-350 canister rounds, and I'd have to think they should work fine - no worries about rifling or velocity. Were there any 3" WP rounds that were actually used in the 76, or that existed and can be reasonably assumed to have been able to be mated with a 76mm case and probably worked?? Context: The 76mm appears to have had 4 or so areas it was inferior to the 75mm. The lower HE filling needed better metallurgy and/or different velocity and more training to fix. The bigger cases were required for velocity. The lack of canister and WP rounds, however, seem to be something that at least a few lucky units could have solved with some horsetrading.
Entry Level Research
2020-11-17 01:46:14 +0000 UTCOkay, late to the party again. Hopefully not too late. 1) Was water ingress ever an issue with riveted vehicles? I'm aware of the structural inferiority of rivets compared to welds, but did a riveted vehicle ever suffer water ingress into the vehicle during testing or in AARs? 2) The Teledyne entry for the AGS program, the Expeditionary tank, suffered major reliability issues for the autoloader mounted on the top. Are those reliability issues still a factor in the M1128, and do you think externally mounted cannons with little or zero maintenance access from inside the vehicle (different to an unmanned turret) have a future?
Kazuki K.
2020-11-17 01:30:16 +0000 UTCVegetables that you feel should be banned.
TNSheep
2020-11-15 13:58:03 +0000 UTCFollow up: What were the pros and cons of serving in both the Irish and the US Army?
Josh Conti
2020-11-14 21:20:31 +0000 UTCWhy did you enlist in the armed forces of the Irish Army?
Josh Conti
2020-11-14 21:19:44 +0000 UTCBesides the Culen Plow; did any other "field modifications" by common soldiers become "standard issue" modifications.
USAUSA
2020-11-13 01:29:26 +0000 UTCAre tanks/AFVs easy to get stuck in muddy terrain compared with a civilian 4wd wheeled vehicle?
Adam Schindler
2020-11-11 03:33:19 +0000 UTCIf you have a vehicle with a turret then add a RWS on top, you're getting pretty close to reviving the multi-turreted tanks of old. So, HIFV with a remotely-operated heavy weapons turret surrounded by multiple RWS operated by the dismount. Would that be viable or useful?
Andrew Sebastian
2020-11-11 02:44:18 +0000 UTCSo, I watched the tank biathalon with the T-34-85's and my god the smoke signature coming off of those tanks was insane. So, were those just poorly maintained and usually don't have that kind of smoke signature? Moreover, how much did smoke signature impact countries decisions to go with gas or gas turbine engines?
Commissar Carl
2020-11-10 17:32:11 +0000 UTCYup it seems you’re right - I never knew! Also sourcing vehicles for FPSRussia
Hammer of Terra
2020-11-10 15:55:36 +0000 UTCI'm pretty sure that this isn't the context of the original question, but I love the answer anyway.
Andrew Sebastian
2020-11-10 15:26:16 +0000 UTCWhat can you tell us about the T-6 Device attached to Sherman tanks, as used during the landings at Okinawa?
Minion
2020-11-10 14:49:19 +0000 UTCI believe you mentioned that the Char B1 was created as more of a general's pet project instead of having any use in a tactic or doctrine, was there any other vehicles created as a pet project as well?
Sface
2020-11-10 13:13:34 +0000 UTCCompared to contemporary Soviet tanks the M60 was exceptionally tall, thinly armored, and under-gunned. Did American military planners simply make up for these deficiencies via combined arms / doctrine? Because there didn’t seem to be any particular rush in developing a replacement tank. Thanks!
Ashley
2020-11-10 01:15:41 +0000 UTCIIRC The Chieftain was a consultant on GuP
Ashley
2020-11-10 01:06:11 +0000 UTCDuring the Dieppe raid, the Canadians lost every one of their Churchill tanks. What role were tanks supposed to play in the raid, and how did the British plan on recovering them?
Nuxes
2020-11-09 23:00:36 +0000 UTCI've noticed a lot of British tanks have mirrors installed on the fenders or attached to the hull, presumably for the driver. Why wasn't this a more universal design choice?
Hugo Yu
2020-11-09 21:58:43 +0000 UTCGiven Russia's recent penchant for announcing striding new advances with no evidence (looking at you Roscosmos) if you were in charge of Russian Armour what random new tank would you pull out of your arse, just something built upon the existing gear. Technically plausible but absolutely the kind of thing you'd doodle on the back of an envelope then hand to engineers who would promptly bang their head on the desk hoping it'll just go away.
Sim Crawford
2020-11-09 21:40:37 +0000 UTCThere's literally a drain hole in the bottom of the hull.
Sim Crawford
2020-11-09 21:35:56 +0000 UTCI did obviously watch the two part hatch vids, but was more curious about its employment and usage, and feelings by the crew who used it.
Charles Sherrange
2020-11-09 21:27:28 +0000 UTCWhat are your biggest pet peeves / general frustrations when it comes to this sort of work here on the internet, whether it be discussions of history, hardware, or their depiction in games or other media?
Sofa Mods
2020-11-09 21:18:37 +0000 UTCBonus question: Have you ever heard an active-duty tanker, ever, ask their crew to 'knock it off with them negative waves', and if so then how quickly did something get thrown at them?
Hammer of Terra
2020-11-09 20:05:45 +0000 UTCI have seen on the T48 tanks that they did not have the famous/infamous commanders cupola. How did the US military come to the decision to add as WOT players would call it, a 'Tumor' on top? It also seems that many countries removed that cupola and used a more traditional set up, how come the US never seemed to get rid of them and kept them for as long as they did, I seem to remember even the last M60's the marines had still had the "Tumor" on it. While I know we know next to nothing about it, I am curious what you think about North Korea's 'Wish.com' Armata? To me it looks like they just stretched out a pokpung-ho and then made a tank that looks like its not sure if its an Armata or an Abrams or a bit of both.
Grim
2020-11-09 19:12:31 +0000 UTCOf all the prototype and limited production US heavy tanks, which ones do you think had the most potential? Which were complete wastes of time and money?
Caleb Engelhardt
2020-11-09 18:47:25 +0000 UTC1. There are instances of captured Allied tanks being pressed into German service in WW2, i.e. T34's, KV1s, Shermans etc... Besides the Soviets, did the other Allied nations ever bother doing this in combat? Was this done in other major conflicts like Korea, Vietnam, etc? 2. I've read accounts of US and German tank recovery teams being good (or at least notable) during WW2. The German's out of necessity of 'expensive' hard to maintain tanks that can't be replaced, and the US due to very reliable or easy to work on vehicles that lend themselves to being recovered. How did the other nations fair with recovery of AFVs during WW2? Did the Soviets just write off all loses and make more? Did the British have to custom make every replacement lightbulb/gasket in the field?
VanOwen
2020-11-09 16:22:46 +0000 UTCHow does one scuttle a tank?
Chris Elyea
2020-11-09 15:06:44 +0000 UTCWhat are the "gut feel" factors that you care about when evaluating the combat effectiveness of various tank crews and tank units when you first see them? Example factors are unit interaction, equipment type, historical performance, etc.
John Rehberger
2020-11-09 14:44:30 +0000 UTCReturn rollers, what's the advantages of them and why don't some tanks have them
Ian Barlow
2020-11-09 14:29:14 +0000 UTCFor "Gun of the Month": What is your every day carry gun?
Alexander H.
2020-11-09 14:25:28 +0000 UTCAre there any documented cases of a shot down the barrel?
George Parremore
2020-11-09 14:22:43 +0000 UTCHave you ever come across an M231 Port Firing Weapon?
George Parremore
2020-11-09 14:21:12 +0000 UTCI don't know if you've ever watched Girls und Panzer. During the show the girls are throwing their tanks around like mad, and yet only in the final episode does a track break, as a Panzer IV slides sideways at a rate of knots to get behind a Tiger. At no point in the show are the girls shown properly tensioning their tracks, or performing much other maintenance for that matter. How long can an MBT track keep running in combat conditions if you don't perform that maintenance (i.e. inspection, tension, lubrication) regularly? (PS I know the sci fi and anime backstories aren't necessary for the question, it's just fun to see what responses they inspire)
Hammer of Terra
2020-11-09 14:21:05 +0000 UTCIt seems like the French tank helmet was popular with American tankers towards the end of the war. Was this a personal choice by individual tankers or did units adopt it wholesale ?? What advantages, disadvantages did it offer vs other helmet designs in use ??
Admiral Tiberius
2020-11-09 14:14:27 +0000 UTCSoviet consumer goods had a reputation for being of poor quality. Did Soviet tanks suffer from this problem and if so, did this reduce their combat effectiveness?
Matthew Lesich
2020-11-09 14:06:39 +0000 UTCWas the archer successful? If it was why weren't there more rear facing TDs? If it wasn't why were so many made and used into the 60s. Just looking for an Archer deep dive I guess as it's a weird little unique vehicle.
Charles Sherrange
2020-11-09 14:02:59 +0000 UTC
