World War 2 Talk - View Single Post - T-34 no better than the M4 Sherman.

been there · 11-07-2007, 11:22 PM

You're kidding right? Next to shooting yourself in the head with a .45, the fastest way to die in WWII was to be a driver, assistant driver, gunner, loader, or tank commander of an M4 Sherman Tank. Those guys (I was in armored infantry) deserved a medal for just going through the hatch. As for the Tiger tank, there was nothing out there, let alone a Sherman, that had any business on the field with that 72 ton behemoth. It came equipped with the most lethal, flattest shooting canon of WWII, the 88mm.

When the Germans parked the Tiger and sent the 54 ton Panther out to mind the store, its 75mm canon fired armor piercing rounds with such staggering muzzle velocity that the poor 33 ton Sherman armed with a WWI vintage 75mm pop-gun, was like your grandmother trying to go ten rounds with Mike Tyson. That sorry 75mm couldn't chip the paint off a Panther. When the 76mm canon was finally developed and introduced later in the war, the Sherman became a little more respectable. The 76mm had some bite, more muzzle velocity. At the very end of the war, the army finally unveiled the new M-26 Pershing Tank. Coming in at 42 tons and carrying the attention getting 90mm canon, it was the tank we should have had to start with. The one we got with a top crew, went head to head with a Panther in Cologne and won a dramatic shootout — the entire sequence was caught on tape.

It's a disservice to American tankers to defend the Sherman tank. The public should know their grandfathers faced 88mm canons, Panthers and Tigers in "Ronson Lighters." The only thing I can say for the M4 was that we had an endless supply of them. Every time a Sherman was knocked out (with agonizing regularity), there was a replacement right behind it with a brand new crew. When the Germans lost a tank, they had to scrounge parts at night from their own burned out tanks to keep going. Those burned out tanks got burned out P 38s and P 51s dropping 500 lb. bombs on them. Back then our factories, out of harms way, could have out produced the world, and did.

Our production prowess shouldn't get the generals in our War Department who approved the Sherman tank, General Patton was one of them, off the hook. As far as I'm concerned, those generals should have been court-martialed for sending American kids out to fight a war in kiddy-cars.

The bottom line is, the German Panther was the best tank of the war for my money. The Tiger was a behemoth, but it spent too much time in the garage being tuned up — lots of nagging mechanical problems.

I don't know the T-34, but people I respect believe it was a first class tank that could fight anything in its class — but I'd still take the Panther.

Muse over this: In Altenkirchen, Germany, I saw a Panther put a 75mm AP shell through the front our lead tank, exit from the engine compartment (right under a squad of infantry on the rear deck), and whack out the halftrack behind it. This was even before we had moved up close enough to begin our assault. Trust me on this, no one there that day ever forgot Altenkirchen.

If you ever meet an old WWII tanker, get on your knees and kiss his feet.

11-07-2007, 11:22 PM	#26 (permalink)
been there Junior Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 2	You're kidding right? Next to shooting yourself in the head with a .45, the fastest way to die in WWII was to be a driver, assistant driver, gunner, loader, or tank commander of an M4 Sherman Tank. Those guys (I was in armored infantry) deserved a medal for just going through the hatch. As for the Tiger tank, there was nothing out there, let alone a Sherman, that had any business on the field with that 72 ton behemoth. It came equipped with the most lethal, flattest shooting canon of WWII, the 88mm. When the Germans parked the Tiger and sent the 54 ton Panther out to mind the store, its 75mm canon fired armor piercing rounds with such staggering muzzle velocity that the poor 33 ton Sherman armed with a WWI vintage 75mm pop-gun, was like your grandmother trying to go ten rounds with Mike Tyson. That sorry 75mm couldn't chip the paint off a Panther. When the 76mm canon was finally developed and introduced later in the war, the Sherman became a little more respectable. The 76mm had some bite, more muzzle velocity. At the very end of the war, the army finally unveiled the new M-26 Pershing Tank. Coming in at 42 tons and carrying the attention getting 90mm canon, it was the tank we should have had to start with. The one we got with a top crew, went head to head with a Panther in Cologne and won a dramatic shootout — the entire sequence was caught on tape. It's a disservice to American tankers to defend the Sherman tank. The public should know their grandfathers faced 88mm canons, Panthers and Tigers in "Ronson Lighters." The only thing I can say for the M4 was that we had an endless supply of them. Every time a Sherman was knocked out (with agonizing regularity), there was a replacement right behind it with a brand new crew. When the Germans lost a tank, they had to scrounge parts at night from their own burned out tanks to keep going. Those burned out tanks got burned out P 38s and P 51s dropping 500 lb. bombs on them. Back then our factories, out of harms way, could have out produced the world, and did. Our production prowess shouldn't get the generals in our War Department who approved the Sherman tank, General Patton was one of them, off the hook. As far as I'm concerned, those generals should have been court-martialed for sending American kids out to fight a war in kiddy-cars. The bottom line is, the German Panther was the best tank of the war for my money. The Tiger was a behemoth, but it spent too much time in the garage being tuned up — lots of nagging mechanical problems. I don't know the T-34, but people I respect believe it was a first class tank that could fight anything in its class — but I'd still take the Panther. Muse over this: In Altenkirchen, Germany, I saw a Panther put a 75mm AP shell through the front our lead tank, exit from the engine compartment (right under a squad of infantry on the rear deck), and whack out the halftrack behind it. This was even before we had moved up close enough to begin our assault. Trust me on this, no one there that day ever forgot Altenkirchen. If you ever meet an old WWII tanker, get on your knees and kiss his feet.