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Not quite. The Panzer 5, aka "Panther", was an excellent machine for its time; they just didn't have nearly enough of them. The older Panzer 4 was at least as good as the earlier-production American M4 Shermans.
Today's M2 Abrams Tank will easily outrun, outgun and outlast any WW2 German tank. If you've ever seen one in "run-and-gun" mode, you know that they can hit almost any target while running at speed across pretty rough terrain.
Oddly enough, today's M2 Bradley Fighting Vehicle (a troop-carrier) will outrun and outgun any WW2 German tank. Their armor would probably not withstand a direct hit by one of the late-war German 88mm tank guns -- but because of the Bradley's speed and maneuverability the German tank would have a significant problem actually delivering said round on target.
This^^. Me and the BF were just researching this topic this weekend, after watching FURY.
You're saying that their rounds would actually go through a tanks armor?
It depend's upon what tank you are talking about. A Bradley's 25mm should be able to penetrate the side and rear armor of a T-55 MBT. If not the armor plate spalling from blunt force trauma would be lethal to the crew anyway. It's on board TOW missile's HEAT warhead should make short work of the rolled homogeneous armor of previous generations main battle tanks.
I was recently speaking with someone who was in the military and he told me that bullets have been known to go around a human's skull and shoot out the back leaving the person unarmed. If a human skull can defend against that sort of firepower, then I don't think steel is a bad defense.
Do you think a human skull would stop an AGM-114 Hellfire anti-tank missile?
If you understood the advances in armor, mobility, optics, engines, targeting, detection, weaponry, serviceability, etc. between the two eras, you would realize what a silly question this is. The Abrams would be able to turn the Panzer into Swiss cheese before the Panzer even reached its effective kill range. It's not even a contest. The Abrams wins, hands down.
Last edited by Cleveland_Collector; 01-04-2015 at 08:45 PM..
Couldn't possibly be. It's not just the tanks that are several generations ahead but the type of ammunition they use. Uranium tipped armored piercing rounds as an example. Add night fighting equipment, rangefinders, fire control systems, composite armor, etc, a single Abrams would make mincemeat out of a German battalion of Tiger IIs.
I mean, the Abrams pretty much ravaged the T72s in the Gulf Wars. To be sure, these were manned by Iraqi crews of dubious ability. But when you realize that the T72 was multiple generations ahead of the T54, which would have, in turn, obliterated the King Tiger, there's no serious comparison between the Abrams and the best German tanks.
I mean hey, the ME262 was an amazing fighter at the end of the World War II. But it would have been mauled by jet fighters introduced a scant decade later.
You're saying that their rounds would actually go through a tanks armor?
Combat is a nasty business. To "kill" a tank the round must penetrate the hull, burn out the interior and turn the crew into blobs of flaming jelly. The round doesn't even have to be explosive; the mere act of penetrating the armor turns part of the armor into molten steel and sprays it all over the place. The spray is called "spall" and has been mentioned in other posts. The remaining pieces of the projectile ricochet all around the interior and add to the general mayhem. There is more, but this should suffice.
Rounds that don't penetrate the armor do little more than give the crew a nasty headache. You could shoot off a track or otherwise immobilize a tank, but that only makes it into a stationary threat.
Last edited by Nighteyes; 01-05-2015 at 06:39 AM..
Are American tanks today as good as German tanks back in WW2?
Is this a joke? Do you have any concept or realization how weapons technology has advanced since WW2? This is like comparing a tank from WW2 to an bronze age chariot armed with a bow.
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