It's time for the Oct Q&A Thread!
Added 2020-10-05 02:46:40 +0000 UTCPlace 'em here!
Comments
Towed anti-tank guns were pretty-much outclassed my the middle of WW2. They took too long to set up, could only be used in the defensive or ambush rolls, and got abandoned quite often. In the post-war era and into the 1950s, hand held recoilless rifles and to some extent bazookas were used to fill that roll, but I can’t speak to the their effectiveness. Ever since the early cold-war days, the best anti-tank weapon has been another tank.
Duncan MacQueen
2022-01-26 16:48:22 +0000 UTCWhat is the technical difference between a cannon, gun and rifle?
Masonke
2020-11-03 01:21:04 +0000 UTCThe apocalypse is happening and you get 3 friends to tag along with you. What type of skill class people would you most want to be in your group? IE, Farmer, engineer, carpenter, cook etc.
TNSheep
2020-10-12 09:43:00 +0000 UTCWhat point in the development of the US military does it reach such an advantage over 1945 era germany that advances in technology and doctrine no longer shorten the time it takes the US to conquer the country?
Persons Familiar with the Matter
2020-10-11 06:45:48 +0000 UTCAlso, besides which i assume would be mechanical failure as the leading cause, are there definitive numbers for how tanks were knocked out in WW2
Charles Sherrange
2020-10-10 13:42:28 +0000 UTCHi Chieftain, how are you ? This month I've got a question regarding oscillating Turrets ( or rather several aspects thereof) : Are Tanks like the AMX 13 or Kürassier NBC-proof - If yes, how is this achieved ? If no, would you consider this one of the reasons this otherwise mechanically relatively sound construction method fell out of favor in the 60s ?. IIRC, the swedes tried to build Kranvagn with the turret as a self-contained unit not connected to the drivers position, which in my opinion would make hermetically sealing the compartments possible. Also, considering the advancements of technology since when the concept was abandoned in tank construction ,is there a possibility that it might resurface in the next Generation of AFVs? It would seem as a very good method of constructing a Turret with an Autoloader containing the Ammo and the Breech in one compartment which, combined with Blowout-panels would eliminate the danger of ammuntion cooking of hurting/killing the crew. Loosing the Loader ( or rather 4th crewman) in the Tank itself could then be countered by copying the french idea of putting all of a Platoons/Companies spare crewmen inside an armored transport. What are your thoughts on the Matter/ the concept I described ?
Benedikt Wagner
2020-10-10 10:22:35 +0000 UTCGot another two would love to have you cover but feel free to pick one if needed. Given the trouble DD Shermans have in surviving what seems like anything but calm water, and the fact that some LCTs were already carrying normal Shermans onto the beaches of Normandy, were the DD tanks worth the effort? Wouldn't it have been better to have the LCTs drop their 4 Shermans on the beach all at once (especially since they can fire while onboard), with the other LCTs carrying normal Shermans, causing a more sudden concentration of firepower and armor? This seems like it would have made it more difficult for the Germans to counter, than small numbers of DD Shermans rolling up in drips and drabs as they made their slow progress out of the sea. How did the designers of the Sherman get so much right, so quickly with it in regards to ease of production, maneuverability, upgradability, usability and availability all while being handicapped with limited budgets and no real world fighting experience? The evolution of the M2A1, M3 to M4 happened very quickly yet it was arguably the best tank when fielded and was perfectly serviceable throughout the war and after. Was this through careful planning and great forethought, or stumbling upon the right design due to the evolutionary steps of the M2 & M3 prior to it?
The Hernz
2020-10-09 19:56:16 +0000 UTCWhat are the best battles to study to best understand how tanks operate and are used? On the flip side, which battle/s are the best example of how not to use tanks?
Christopher Whitmer
2020-10-09 14:37:27 +0000 UTC(1) Much hubbub surrounds the inefficiencies and diseconomy seen in later German tanks of WW2 (see, King Tiger, Panther, Jagdwhathaveyous). While even the most economical shovel wasn't going to dig Germany out of its hole, do you think any changes in production or design could've made them any more effective in practice than on paper, or at the very least more economically suitable? Or do you think said discussions overinflate these inefficiencies, and German war industry was doing the best that it could? (2) If "Canadian Dry-Pin Track" implies the existence of Wet-Pin Track, does "Raw Sewage" imply the existence of Cooked Sewage?
Sofa Mods
2020-10-08 20:22:50 +0000 UTCAny plans to do a myths of german/ british/ soviet armour like the US one? That video has helped to educate a lot of folks
Charles Sherrange
2020-10-08 18:37:43 +0000 UTCWhen an AFV is swimming or fording through water, do the holes for torsion bars cause a significant amount of leakage?
RA W
2020-10-07 21:27:35 +0000 UTCFYI: An amusing point for other Patreons is that WWII M62 76mm APCBC is in the ballpark of 127mm penetration at 0 yards at 0 degrees (perpendicular hit), so a little less than modern 40mm APFSDS (but a much bigger hole plus an explosive charge), and M93 76mm HVAP is in the realm of 246mm penetration at 0 yards at 0 degrees (but a bigger hole than 40mm APFSDS), and penetrates about 171.45mm (6.75in) at 1280 yards at 0 degrees, 820 yards at 20 degreees, and 200 yards at 30 degrees. So... if a 40mm L/70 can pen it, a WWII 76mm with WWII HVAP can pen it, and perhaps from wider angles and a longer range (HVAP was VERY sensitive to range, and very sensitive to angle as well - it did poorly at higher angles compared to APCBC).
Entry Level Research
2020-10-07 20:25:32 +0000 UTCFrom what angles and ranges is something like a 40mm L/70 like on the CV9040 with the latest ammunition dangerous to common Cold War and modern tanks? I'd have to imagine a hostile CV9040 showing up directly behind or on the side of T-72, T-80A, Leopard 1 or 2, or M1A? in a city would be bad news for a tank, but at 20 degrees from the perpendicular, or 30, or 40, or at longer ranges? Assume the context is that the 40mm gets to start shooting while the tank is unaware of its location. My best references for the 40mm L/70 are Steel Beasts with 170mm RHA penetration at ? range at ? angle for the 2005 vintage APFSDS, and 135mm penetration at 1000m at ? angle from Jane's Ammunition 2009-2010 p.307, and 120mm penetration at "combat ranges" at ? angle for an older APFSDS variant from Jane's Armour and Artillery 1998-9 p.356 My best references for tanks are from Steel Beasts wiki diagrams and quora comments, which seem to indicate that the rear side hull armor is usually quite vulnerable to that, and the rear hull armor too - sometimes rear or rear side turret armor.
Entry Level Research
2020-10-07 19:32:20 +0000 UTCThree Questions: 1: in 1920 the U.S. Tank Corps was disbanded, and the development of tanks went to the infantry branch for the interwar era. the Cavalry branch during the interwar era wanted to develop tanks but called the “combat cars” because the 1920 national defense act gave the development of tanks the infantry branch. If the U.S. tank corps was not disbanded in 1920, and the development of tanks was left to the tank corps, the U.S. Army have been better prepared (both in terms of equipment, and doctrinal maturity) to fight the German panzers in world war two? 2: Should the U.S. Army invest in and develop a heavy (50-60 ton) IFV or APC like the Israeli Namer, German Lynx, or Russian T-15 Armata? 3: also, what do you think of the Tracked Stryker?
xu da
2020-10-07 05:17:01 +0000 UTCHere we go! A) The LOSAT system (MGM-166) was cancelled and there isn't much information on the successor programme CKET's progress. However, considering Navy exploration of electromagnetic propulsion for naval weaponry, and development of hypersonic missiles having been going on for some time with air forces around the globe, would it be feasible for an army (US or otherwise) to start looking back to a hyper-velocity solution for anti-tank guided munitions, even if not reliant on pure kinetic energy like HVM/LOSAT/CKET were? B) Zaloga's book on the Sheridan notes that the caseless propellant for the Sheridan's 152mm ammo had a chance to break and spill inside the tank, creating a risk of catastrophic detonation. But what exactly was the nature of the caseless propellant (powdery? Gelatinous?) of the Sheridan's ammo and how did it pass service trials, considering the other major 'caseless propellant' military project, the 4.73x33mm caseless ammo of the H&K G11 was plagued with issues of thermal detonation?
Kazuki K.
2020-10-06 14:37:26 +0000 UTCSince the failure of the Shillelagh missiles, has the US military ever looked at bringing back gun launched missiles like the Isreali LAHAT? Also since its almost Halloween, what tanks would fill five main roles of a tank themed horror film. The roles being the Monster, The Jock, The pretty Girl, the Responsible Girl, and the Skeptic Guy.
Grim
2020-10-06 13:30:34 +0000 UTCQ&A As tanks were upgraded was it feasible/practical for crews to acquire/keep the outdate equipment for use as emergency spares/repair equipment, and as a corollary how common would it be for crews to adopt captured equipment like rifles/smgs etc for use and how well policed was this practice if forbidding.
Robert Henry Illston
2020-10-05 22:54:25 +0000 UTC1. Each of the major conflicts that the US military been part of from WW1 have had a major impact on US tank doctrine. WW2 saw the doctrine develop a great deal from tanks being machine gun centric to almost proto main battle tanks. What were the developments in US tank doctrine of note for the Korea war? What were the lessons for the Soviet/Chinese armies incorporated into their doctrines? 2. If there was one battle/event that you could take a time machine back to see, which would it be and why? Assume in this case you have free movement around the area at will and are immune from harm or interaction.
VanOwen
2020-10-05 22:42:51 +0000 UTCWhat can you tell us about Chinese tank use in WW2, did they ever fight Japanese tanks and how effective were they generally? Not expecting much, but I want to know more about Chinese armour than "Germans gave a few panzers to China, the end".
Timo Fiebich
2020-10-05 22:26:08 +0000 UTCDo you know of any reports concerning the acceptance of Soviets Tanks in East Germanys National People's Army? How they liked their Soviet equipment (or had to like)? Did they find anything they considered as design flaws and tried to fix it or reported that back to the designers if they there allowed to "criticize" their brother nations creations? And if so were any of East German improvements adapted in other Warsaw Pact countries? And what thought West Germanys tank designers when they were able to have a first hand look on eastern tanks, did they adopt any eastern design features in their developments? And how did former NPAs like their new western equipment, would they have preferred to keep the BMP instead of Marder for example?
Nachtelfirokese
2020-10-05 20:59:21 +0000 UTCHey, dont know if you can answer this short or long. How was tanks used in the vietnam war? Was there any major tank battles in the vietnam war?
Oscar
2020-10-05 19:31:10 +0000 UTCA1 Independent vs T35, which do you think would win in a no-holds-barred cage match?
Caleb Engelhardt
2020-10-05 18:52:41 +0000 UTCIn your Book of Armaments video you read a comment that more WP rounds were required as they were useful against tanks. Would that have been simply blinding them or was there some nasty way you could actually get it to affect the crew directly? In a similar vein, what is the smallest single HE round that would be effective against a Tiger or equivalent? In Think Tank it was mentioned that a Panther was knocked out by multiple 75mm HE rounds concussing the crew to death while 152mm HE seemed to be overkill in direct fire.
Andrew
2020-10-05 18:48:12 +0000 UTCThanks, it looks like it is a long way off
Jonathan Schreiber
2020-10-05 18:10:08 +0000 UTCWhat is the most unholy looking Sherman variant you have ever seen?
Ghoul
2020-10-05 16:51:18 +0000 UTCGet the feeling that the role was still there, but performed by recoilless rifles rather than guns.
Hammer of Terra
2020-10-05 16:37:15 +0000 UTCThinking back to your video on tanks defending themselves against aircraft, is the process for engaging a helicopter the same as engaging a fixed wing aircraft, i.e. do you attempt to throw up a wall of tracers to scare them off, or since they fly lower and slower, could you attempt to engage a helicopter directly?
Timebomb757
2020-10-05 14:19:45 +0000 UTCDARPA is actually playing around with "Virtual windows" for ground vehicles. Starting at 1:30 in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HrQrJ57J9eE
Timebomb757
2020-10-05 14:11:39 +0000 UTCMost challenging aspect of operating a tank is the limited visibility and ability of enemy infantry to operate in the blind spots. Has anyone tried to create a "see-through" headset similar to the F-35? A tank that offered true 365 degree visibility for its crew would be the ultimate. It would be extremely difficult to protect the sensors, but the ability would help tanks operate more independently and with less support. Any thoughts?
Jonathan Schreiber
2020-10-05 13:46:13 +0000 UTCWhy does the myth of the Polish military incompetence in 1939 continue to persist ?? Especially the Polish dragoons charging with swords at German tanks. As someone with some heritage from Poland, this is deeply interesting to me. Thank you
Admiral Tiberius
2020-10-05 12:20:14 +0000 UTCThat's right, it's another opinion piece. But what are your general thoughts on the halo Scorpion tank (Halo 1-3) as an actual tank, and which real world cold war or modern counterparts (either prototype or mass produced) would you most compare it to in terms of technical specifications and role? Ignoring, of course, the fact that it has six pedals and twice as many tracks for funless hours of endless tensioning.
Jamie McMillan
2020-10-05 09:36:37 +0000 UTCThe Unitron tank seems quite capable for the 21st century - high mobility and top speed, good ground clearance, well armoured and with an advanced remote control, when there’s no Mysteron interference that is. It is, however, armed with a coaxial flamethrower. Assuming such weapons are still permitted on the battlefield in the first place, is there any non-psychological role that a modern alternative cannot perform at least as well, with fewer or no humanitarian issues?
Hammer of Terra
2020-10-05 08:44:47 +0000 UTCWhy did the US go so long without a long range anti-tank system like SPIKE NLOS? (the Israelis have had this capability since the mid 80s, and given that we have no qualms with buying from them, why did we go without?)
Persons Familiar with the Matter
2020-10-05 07:39:35 +0000 UTCWhat and when did the Western Allies know about the T-34? Did the Soviets give or sell a copy to the west for trials ? (and yes you say my name as U S A U S A. Just like you say B A R and not Bar.)
USAUSA
2020-10-05 07:12:02 +0000 UTCHas any AFV you know of personally been saved by ERA?
George Parremore
2020-10-05 06:54:48 +0000 UTCIs there any penetrator that is better than DU but not used due to supply/cost reasons?
George Parremore
2020-10-05 06:53:18 +0000 UTCWhen did HEAT become truly effective as a tank shell? To the point of replacing AP
George Parremore
2020-10-05 06:50:41 +0000 UTCRather than upgrading to a 130 or 140mm gun, why don't NATO tanks up the velocity of the 120mm? What are the limiting factors on the velocity of a projectile?
Nuxes
2020-10-05 06:06:28 +0000 UTCWhat is your take on the upcoming Leopard 2 A7V?
Alexander H.
2020-10-05 06:02:07 +0000 UTCWhat was the relationship between the Irish and British armed forces during the Troubles? I realize that you cannot give an exhaustive history of the British occupation of Northern Ireland, I'm just curious if this was something that you observed firsthand.
Adam Schindler
2020-10-05 05:57:24 +0000 UTCIf liquid propellant can be made to work reliably, would the size of the ammunition be sufficiently changed to make the change to 130 or 140 or 155 guns more reasonable?
Gerald Hoag
2020-10-05 05:26:07 +0000 UTCHi Mr.Cheiftain, you served on both the M2/M3 Bradley Armored fighting vehicles and the M1 Abrams MBT correct. What are the pro and cons you had with being assigned to both vehicles? If there was something you would change on either vehicle what would it be?
Josh Conti
2020-10-05 03:52:47 +0000 UTCWas there a reason as to why some later-war casemate TDs/SPGs lack cupolas? Jagdpanzer IV, Jagdpanther, Jagdtiger, and ISU come to mind, while StuG, SU-122/85/100, which were *generally* earlier designs, had them. Also, what's with the KV's hull machine gun phasing in and out?
Hugo Yu
2020-10-05 03:13:01 +0000 UTCIs there any specific reason as to why towed anti tank guns seem to fall out of favor in the immediate aftermath of World War Two? Were there anti tank crews in Korea that we simply do not hear about for one reason or another?
N008X
2020-10-05 03:03:08 +0000 UTCI was about to go to bed, but may as well ask my question. In WWII there were plenty of vehicles that were so thin skinned that it was feasible that most anti-tank weapons would zip right through and cause no damage unless they hit something like a engine or a transmission. I recall reading, for example, that a armor attack by the Japanese on Saipan was defeated by Sherman's but only when they switched to HE from their AP, which was just overpenning with little effect. So, did ordinance or anyone else do testing of the effect of 75mm HE directly impacting on thin armor (not the effect of shrapnel from a close burst), similar to a armor penetration test for AP rounds but with HE. Was there a armor thickness where a HE shell would just shatter the armor, or where a shell with delay fusing could penetrate and then detonate behind? And were there recommendations in any manuals about armored vehicles that should be engaged with HE (things like Nashorn, or a sdkfz 251 half track, or Japanese tanks) over AP?
Commissar Carl
2020-10-05 03:02:07 +0000 UTCWhy don't cannon coaxial machine guns such as 12.7 or 20mm show up that often, and why where they on the tanks such as the amx 30
Skino Gaming
2020-10-05 03:00:24 +0000 UTCIn your last Q&A you mentioned how European and American conceptions of firearms and firearms ownership are different. Since you’ve lived in both cultures pretty extensively, I’m wondering if you would expand on what these differences are. Thanks!
Ashley
2020-10-05 02:50:22 +0000 UTC
