Tankies - Tank Heroes of World War II - documentary on the 5th RTR.

BBC ^ | 1/17/2013 | Mark Urban (presenter)

[Vanders9]

Tankies - Tank Heroes of World War II

[Vanders9]

Agreed. There’s a bit about fighting in the bocage in this documentary. It sounds pretty brutal.

[DuncanWaring]

Ping.

[virgil283]

" I’ll never understand why the American government built thousands of tanks, but not nearly big enough to take on Tigers or T-34’s..... Lots of good reasons posted here, let me add another : Distance from Detroit to the Front in France was 4000 miles----Distance from Germany to the front was 400 miles. Since there was only so much shipping available the decision was made to have a lot of medium tanks instead of a few large ones.....If You would like to play what if, then why were U.S. troops issued such crappy boots. Trench foot caused as many casualties as wounds....

[SoCal Pubbie]

Because according to Army doctrine at the time, enemy tanks were supposed to be taken out by the Tank Destroyer Force using such weapons as the M-10, M-16, and M-18, as well as towed anti tank guns. It was a flawed concept but due to limited thinking by largely infantry generals of the time, it was the guiding principle.

Add to that the fact that A) there were not enough train cars to ship bigger tanks such as the M-26 Pershing in great numbers and B) many bridges in Europe would not support the greater weight of heavier vehicles, thus slowing armored advances, the decision was made to stay with the Sherman long after it was capable to going toe to toe with the main German tanks.

[Vanders9]

Sorry, part 2 is here

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OsSHlw4vV7I

[STD]

Just finished watching Part One, wonderful. I can’t wait until Part Two becomes available. Please ping me, put out the word.

[SoCal Pubbie]

A book I have written in 1946 about the Chrysler Tank Arsenal in WWII stated that two Shermans could be shipped on a single flat car that would accommodate only one Pershing. If memory serves these were longer cars of which the numbers were limited to boot.

Also overlooked is the model M4A3E2 Jumbo Sherman. It had thicker front armor and a thicker gun shield. Only 254 were built in the summer of 1944 and in the spring of 1945 some were upgraded to 76 mm guns.

Here’s an unusual tactic for a Sherman to knock out a King Tiger.

http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/showthread.php?126970-New-Allied-Tactic-How-to-Take-out-Tigers-Easy-w-Sherman

[AppyPappy]

Shortly before WW2, the standard anti-tank gun was a .50 machine gun. The 75mm gun on a General Lee was for infantry and the 37mm for tanks. Things just escalated so quickly.

[yarddog]

This is the first Russian tank to enter Berlin. The monument is under construction in this picture. A few days after it was completed, it was blown up during the night. This was at Tiergarten Park. I know very little about Russian tanks but this one was a Stalin tank.

[OKSooner]

" there is a video of pershings engaging tigers in front of the cathedral in Koln."

Got a link?

[Vanders9]

Looks like a JS-II to me, although I’m not a soviet tank expert either.

[yarddog]

I think another person also told me it was a JSII. This is after the monument was completed. After it was blown up the Russians simply found two other "First" tanks. If you go to Tiergarten Park now you will find two T-34s.

[blueunicorn6]

You were on an M60A2? I know they had the Shileleigh (sp) missile, but what kind of rounds did they have for the gun?

[Little Ray]

The M-3 Lee/Grant had a problem with its sponson - it could not go properly hull down. Doesn't help that the armor was riveted on many tanks of that type.

The Brits absolutely LOVED the M3 Stuart. Fast, and reliable, but, like the Brit tanks of the time, terribly under-gunned. However, unlike the British 2 Pounder (40mm) it actually had a useful HE Round.

[AppyPappy]

Both the Brits and the Americans were uncomfortable placing all their trust in an unproven tank design. They felt the same way about anti-tank guns which is why we always seemed to use underpowered ones.

The Allied strategy of “flush them out with armor while punching them with planes” ended up being very successful. Allied air power devastated the German war machine

[virgil283]

'Both the Brits and the Americans were uncomfortable placing all their trust in an unproven tank design. '...Well said....The NAZIs put too much confidence in tanks, so much so that I've read that the King Tiger was too heavy and wide that there was almost no bridge in Europe that it could cross or no paved road that its weight and tracks would not destroy, so that vehicles following had difficulty........

[fattigermaster]

Interesting stuff, saving to watch later, thanks!

[Lazamataz]

Thanks for this. Watching.

[Vanders9]

Part two can be found here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OsSHlw4vV7I

[Vanders9]

You can see a Churchill tank at 0.58-0.59 in part one.

Apparently 5RTR were not issued with them.