The Best Possible T-34 / panzer hybrid

AdA

KACKO said:
I believe that is Australian tank Sentinel.
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In fact it is the prototype of the ACIV version with the 17pdr. It used a complicated engine, but shows what can be done if people dare to think outside the box. It would be a neat Brit equivalent to the idea of puting a 75/70 on a T34/85, wwich is why I brought it up.
 

Cryptic

AdA said:
Possibly. I don't see wich French turret you're thinking about. The one they had lot of was the 47mm APX but that was even more cramped, being a 1 and 1/2 men turret (not tyrion lannister, the loader was able to assist from a half in the turret half in the hull position).
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That was my impression as well. I was just grasping that the Germans might have inherited a true medium turret from the French.

The only real options seem to be a German turret or keeping the Soviet one. The Soviet turret with German optics and a German gun would be good for the Ariete Division, but I think German engineering pride and crew doctrine would require that any tank on tank usage by German crews would call for a German turret.
 
NORGCO

NORGCO

Cryptic said:
That was my impression as well. I was jsut grasping that the Germans might have inherited a true medium turret from the French.

The only real options seem to be a German turret or keeping the Soviet one. The Soviet turret with German optics and a German gun would be good for the Ariete Division, but I think any tank on tank usage by German crews was going to need a German turret.
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Well the trick would be to use the limited number available where it would make the biggest difference. Who is most desperately in need of better tanks?:rolleyes:

Re-equipping the Italian Army with upgraded T-34's - or even unmodified ones - would make them a great deal more effective then they actually were. I think most people on this list would agree that the vehicles Ariete were using were less effective than the Soviet medium we are discussing, :cool: and even with the two man turret should be a match for the early Sherman etc.

It all depends on whether threre is a few hundred tanks useable with spares - from scrapped vehicles - for a few years or a few dozen or a few thousand. Does anyone have numbers we can plug into this calculation?
 

Richter von Manthofen

I found that (I think) mid 1943 the Germans had 50! T34 on the whole Ostfront And NONE elsewhere.

And 1945, April 10th a total of 71 "Beutefahrzeuge" in the Eastern Front. (not all battleworthy)

Those numbers don't warrant to set up ammunition factories or even dedicated workshops for conversion.

USe the available as long as ammo and the like is in stock and then blow em off...
 

Cryptic

NORGCO said:
It all depends on whether threre is a few hundred tanks useable with spares - from scrapped vehicles - for a few years or a few dozen or a few thousand. Does anyone have numbers we can plug into this calculation?
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True numbers may be hard to find, but I think the Germans had enough to easily equip at least one armoured Division (150 initial tanks, say 50 more as attrition replacements).

One SS Panzer division alone at Kursk had 18 T-34s in use as infantry support tanks. German counter attacks on Soviet units trying to implement "Big Saturn" led to T-34 equipped Soviet armoured Brigades being isolated way behind German lines and over run. Likewise, other German advances and counter attacks siezed depot level refurbishment yards.

Then factor in that if the Germans made a systematic, front wide effort to rapidly collect damaged T-34s before they deteriorated in the weather and also ordered troops not to "vandalize" recoverable T-34s (if it is mobility killed and abandoned, dont put additional rounds in it just to see if a catastrophic hit can be produced, dont throw gernades in it for fun...)

I would not be surprised if a concentrated German recovery effort could yield enough tanks for two divisions or more.
 
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