Model Forum / General / Railroads / January 2009

If you pick the right date nothing would be running on the eastern front -  
but you'd need a good supply of bangs, flashes and smoke!

Greg.P.

...

Assuming that you survived long enough to "surround" said Tiger. I am
reminded what just three of them managed at Villars Boscage.

The Panther would have been a truly great tank if (a) It's gearbox
lasted more than a few miles before exploding (eventually fixed - sort
of) and (b) the armour had been properly manufactured - German tank
armour was notorious for its variable quality, the Panther suffered far
worse than most because it armour plates were so large - and
consequently difficult to make. The smaller panels on the MkIIIs and
MkIVs were much easier to make. Granted it had the third best tank gun
of the war the 75L70 - behind the 88L70 (of the Tiger II) and the 17pdr
(and slightly later derivative the 77mmHV)of the British. Granted if you
got a panther who's gearbox didn't explode and who's armour didn't
shatter when someone spit at it you had a great vehicle but it was very
much a case of pot luck.

And of course to the allies (especially the yanks who so very rarely
faced German armour despite that which Hollywood would have us believe)
every tank was a Tiger - that really says it all.

Matilda II, very, very reliable and kept in service all through the war.
Only taken out of front line use in Europe because its turret ring was
to small to take the larger turrets needed for 75mm guns.

The Valentine, granted not a main battle (medium) tank but a slow
infantry tank (like the Matilda) but no reliability problems at all and
even used post war (chassis, engine, transmission) in the Archer SPAT -
exceptionally albeit surprisingly so effective weapon.

The Churchill from the MkIV onwards - again kept in use post war, some
were even sent to Korea.

Crusader - fastest tank of the war but was the end of the line for that
particular development tree.

Cromwell/Centaur - good enough, but (with the exception of some 95mmH
gunned Cromwell CSs used by the Marines on D-Day) kept in second line
use because the Comet was on the way.

At the other end of the scale the humble bren gun carrier (and untold
variants) used throughout the war and post war.

Of course the great Sherman (which according to US sources won the war
for us - well we paid enough for them) was always known as the "Tommie
cooker" to the Germans because of its propensity to explode if farted
at.

I might not know my "chuff-chuffs" but "bang-bangs" are another matter