Best Tank of World War II

[USMA2010]

The Sherman early on was a quite capable tank destroyer so long as it was equipped with AP shells. The US Army's problem was that its updates in the A2, A3 forms was that sufficient changes were not made to keep up with the new tanks of the German Army.

[FreakNasty]

Originally Posted by [11PzG] USMA2010

The Sherman early on was a quite capable tank destroyer so long as it was equipped with AP shells. The US Army's problem was that its updates in the A2, A3 forms was that sufficient changes were not made to keep up with the new tanks of the German Army.

yep, that's right, but as i said it wasn't meant to fight tanks. so you have to blame the pentagon and
not the Sherman for the late and insufficent upgrade in armament. The Firefly i.e. had an adequate maingun and it was feared by german tankers.

[J-Dub']

Lets get something straight here- the Sherman of WWII sucked! It was inferior in nearly every way possible to all the other tanks of the war. Thin armor, weak(er) gun, yep; this baby's got it all.

The US Army's problem was that its updates in the A2, A3 forms was that sufficient changes were not made to keep up with the new tanks of the German Army.

Therefore making the tank and innefective fighting machine.

[NiteStryker]

Originally Posted by .:Mätresse:..:SS:.

[size=2]

My borther has a model of a Panzerkampfwagen and I think it's sexy. I have found a picture on the Internet:

What model Panzer? Saying 'a model of a panzerkamfwagen' is like saying 'my brother has a picture of a plane and I think its sexy...' its too generic.

[pesci_fan]

If it was so ineffective, how come Patton's 3rd Army smashed right through German lines, You can say the Sherman sucked, but if it really did, then America would of lost the war. Last time I checked I was still speaking english, so I think the sherman was good tank. And for those who say T-34 how cliche.

"A man who chooses the best through only statistics, is only to godd*mned chickensh*t to see for himself"

[NiteStryker]

Exactly... I think the Sherman was the best for what we needed. Russian T-34's wer eproduced on the same CONTINENT. The US and Britian had to ship our stuff overseas.

[USMA2010]

So? We could have built and shipped T-34s just as good as Shermans. Thats how good our control of the seas was by 1943 when Shermans should have been declared out of date.

Praetorian, the standard Sherman 75s were terrible. But there were several Sherman tank models that fought quite well...

M4A3E2 Jumbo. This baby was made in small numbers, but had so much armour that a Tiger had to outflank one to kill it! It came standard with the regular A3's 75mm gun, but most were field modded to have a 76mm cannon.

M4A3E8 76(w) "Easy Eight"
This model made the Sherman nearly as good as, if not as good as the T-34/85. It gave it a 500HP engine, wider tracks, better all around armour, a big 76mm gun, and a wet ammo storage system so that if ammo was hit, it would be less deadly to the crew. In several places, the E8's Armour is thicker than a Panther G's.

Jumbo Sherman

E8 Sherman

[Hohenzollern]

Originally Posted by pesci_fan

If it was so ineffective, how come Patton's 3rd Army smashed right through German lines, You can say the Sherman sucked, but if it really did, then America would of lost the war. Last time I checked I was still speaking english, so I think the sherman was good tank. And for those who say T-34 how cliche.

"A man who chooses the best through only statistics, is only to godd*mned chickensh*t to see for himself"

Patton did the smashing because like the old Russian proverb says: " Numbers Annihilate." Everyone taking part in this discussion ask yourselves this question:

If the Germans had had material equality with both the Americans and the Russians and there was a Panther produced for every T-34 and a Panther produced for every Sherman .......would either of these excellent Allied tanks even be in this debate?

[Count Nosferatu]

Not to mention the Firefly. IIRC the Shermans in the 75 and 76mm incarnation were the most numerous tank of WWII

[Anlushac11]

Actually late model Panther G was my vote for best tank, I also hold the T-34/76 and T-34/85 in very high regard.

I just dont agree with the statement Shermans suck. It depends on what model Sherman. M4A1(75) to M4A3(75)W were great tanks in North Africa in 1942. By July of 1943 Germans had a new generation of tanks out and US was running almost the exact same model. The term Ronsons refers to the early versions exploding or catching fire if hit in the side sponson mounted ammo bins. By the E8 the ammo was stored in 3mm armored bins that had a water jacket. If the armor was penetrated into the ammo the water drained into the ammo eliminating majority of fires. Self sealing fuel tanks were also used that greatly reduced fuel spillage when hit.

When they did get off their butts the US got the M4A3E2 "Jumbo" and the M4A3E8 "Easy Eight". Comparing the T-34/76 to the M4A1(75mm) the T-34 is clearly the better of the two tanks. Comparing E8 Sherman to T-34/85 I feel they are very evenly matched.

If I had to go against a Panther or a Tiger, Sherman Jumbo or E8 with the M1A1 76mm gun would be the models of choice.