88mm Flak Gun and Panther Tank found in villa.
Must admit, until now, I thought that the lump referred to at the end of the barrel was so that we could identify a T62, as opposed to the T55/54, where it was part-way down the barrel!!
lsh
lsh
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Other way round Ish. The lump was a fumes extractor - a series of baffles surrounding the barrel which caused fumes from the explosive charge to exit at the danger end of the barrel and not go back into the fighting compartment and gas the crew.
The main problem with the Panther and the Tiger is that they were highly engineered armoured vehicles which other have said were prone to breakdown, whereas the the T34 was rough ready and could be assembled quickly and with the 76mm gun very good. Produced in amazing numbers even driven out of the factory at the Battle of Stalingrad and straight into combat. Remember how many Warsaw Pact armoured vehicles if the Russians ever wanted a holiday in France had, you may have run out of anti-tank assets including missiles before they ran out of tanks.
In the end it does sometimes come down the quantity against quality argument, put enough armour into a small area, even though inferior you may win the battle. but sometimes with superior skills and tactics including the battlefield a small number of armoured vehicles may have a disproportionate effect on the outcome, for instance the Battle of Villars Bocage in Normandy.
In the end it does sometimes come down the quantity against quality argument, put enough armour into a small area, even though inferior you may win the battle. but sometimes with superior skills and tactics including the battlefield a small number of armoured vehicles may have a disproportionate effect on the outcome, for instance the Battle of Villars Bocage in Normandy.
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Air Pig.... Wittman may have destroyed 25 armoured vehicles on his own at Villers Bocage, but in the end the Brits won the battle for the town with the loss of four Tigers that the Germans could ill afford.
"Nazi Mega Structures" on More4 the other night was about German tanks -and Russian T34s were made in tractor factories, whilst German tanks were precision engineered, and thus a nightmare to maintain
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The T34 construction was poor, some of the welding was poor, but quantity has a quality all of its own' simple things like sloping the armour to increase its thickness was another innovation over the Tiger. The fact the Germans could outgun them didn't help when you are outnumbered.
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^^ Which all goes to prove Hitlers folly invading the USSR in the first place. The USSR always had the man power and political will to defeat the Germans, it was only a matter of blood and time.
As the Bulgarian ambassador to the USSR, Ivan Staminov, said to Stalin when the latter was considering offering terms to the Germans during the early stages of Barbarossa; "Even if you retreat to the Urals, you'll still win in the end!".
As the Bulgarian ambassador to the USSR, Ivan Staminov, said to Stalin when the latter was considering offering terms to the Germans during the early stages of Barbarossa; "Even if you retreat to the Urals, you'll still win in the end!".
Which all goes to prove Hitlers folly invading the USSR in the first place. The USSR always had the man power and political will to defeat the Germans, it was only a matter of blood and time.
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Given the logistical nightmare that the USSR proved to be, I don't think an extra 10 divsions would have made a difference. He bit off more than he could chew, and then ran his army ragged by continuously shifting the goal posts.
Even if he'd taken Moscow, Stalingrad and Leningrad and pushes the Russians back to the Urals, the outcome (imo) would have been the same. It just would have taken longer.
Even if he'd taken Moscow, Stalingrad and Leningrad and pushes the Russians back to the Urals, the outcome (imo) would have been the same. It just would have taken longer.
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I read a book on the Russian conflict, they used to work out the amount of guns the Germans had and the firing rate of them, they then worked out the time it would take to cross the ground, then calculate 1000 rpm, 2 minutes to cross the ground equals 2000 rounds, they would then send over 2500 troops thus assuring victory.
Hempy,
In 1941 the Whermacht was still to a great majority a horsedrawn army rather than mechanised, maybe another year or even two would have allowed the reverse to happen.
In 1941 the Whermacht was still to a great majority a horsedrawn army rather than mechanised, maybe another year or even two would have allowed the reverse to happen.
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airpig,
If Hitler wasn't Hitler you may have been right. If he'd consolidated his position in western Europe for a few years things might have been different (although they were still relying on horsedrawn transport in 1944).
He was a compulsive gambler, always looking for more as soon as possible. Barbarossa was always his 'end game' requirement for WW2 (see Mein Kampf)
p.s All that is on the proviso that the Soviets sat on their thumbs expecting nothing to happen in the interim. Even still Germany in 1940 had a population around 60 million, the USSR around 170 million. Do the math.
If Hitler wasn't Hitler you may have been right. If he'd consolidated his position in western Europe for a few years things might have been different (although they were still relying on horsedrawn transport in 1944).
He was a compulsive gambler, always looking for more as soon as possible. Barbarossa was always his 'end game' requirement for WW2 (see Mein Kampf)
p.s All that is on the proviso that the Soviets sat on their thumbs expecting nothing to happen in the interim. Even still Germany in 1940 had a population around 60 million, the USSR around 170 million. Do the math.
Hempy,
Can't disagree with your view, but a population of 170 million people over 5 to 7 time zones and some like the Ukrainians and the Baltic states very anti-Russia mass of a good few million. Remember Hitler did have some allies in Europe, not many I'll grant you.
Stalin also had his own eastern front to contend with and if he had come to an accord with the Japanese then maybe Stalin would also have had a war on two fronts. Germany did not have a land war in Europe on two fronts until 1943 with the invasion of Italy. He should have stayed out of North Africa but Mussolini needed the Afrika Korps to bail him out of trouble, same as in Greece.
If he'd stayed away from Africa and consolidated during 1942/3 he may have in my opinion with the Japanese on board, taken Russia. it would have taken time but it was doable.
Can't disagree with your view, but a population of 170 million people over 5 to 7 time zones and some like the Ukrainians and the Baltic states very anti-Russia mass of a good few million. Remember Hitler did have some allies in Europe, not many I'll grant you.
Stalin also had his own eastern front to contend with and if he had come to an accord with the Japanese then maybe Stalin would also have had a war on two fronts. Germany did not have a land war in Europe on two fronts until 1943 with the invasion of Italy. He should have stayed out of North Africa but Mussolini needed the Afrika Korps to bail him out of trouble, same as in Greece.
If he'd stayed away from Africa and consolidated during 1942/3 he may have in my opinion with the Japanese on board, taken Russia. it would have taken time but it was doable.
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Re. Reliability, German engines suffered in the cold especially the Maybach. On the russian front, they had to be started every couple of hours or they wouldn't start again. T34, built for the conditions.