Originally Posted by bulldogg

German engineering is something else. The thought of something that large and so heavily armed and armoured moving at 40 km/h is truly something that would give infantry a pause for the cause. German tanks were better by far than the American machines but if this were possible earlier in the war in vast numbers, one can imagine the impact.

It quite possibly would have given them cause for concern however I seriously doubt that they could have built any more than a handful of them before the wars end and I also doubt that their numbers would have had any effect on the outcome of the war.
Essentially by 1945 they would have been little more than bunkers on tracks due to the lack of fuel.

Right, but if they had undertaken this venture earlier on in the war, say start development in 1939, on the field by 42-43... aerial bombardment would seem the best option to defeat the beast reading the stats.

I think the Sturmtiger was more of a psycolocgical weapon rather than a practical weapon, like the railguns Annie and Bretha.

The M60A2 was around the samething, big gun, lots of armor, and all the add-on's, but she had no practical use other than to scare the hell out of the enemy.

The Germans liked large armor anyway and its was impractical. The Tiger of which only 440 where made, really was a beast and had a big gun but, in every other way was out gunned. The Sherman had a better fuel system, was faster, turret speed was faster, huge numbers, faired better in rough terrian and mud, could fit in Europian tunnels and on rail bridges. Same goes with the T-34, much better tank than the Tiger.

I think the real "DeathStar" of WWII was the Panther Mk.4

It terms of German Armor, I am more impressed with the smaller designs than the larger armored monsters. They were better designed, much easier to produce and had a better war record.

For Example The Hetzer Tank-Destroyer...

The Hetzer was an ingenious design. It used a captured Czech 38(T) light tank chassis (a very sturdy but obsolete vicheal). The German removed the turret an provided very good sloping armour that provided excellent protection. The Hetzer was very small and only about 2 meters high (size of a man). This meant it was very hard to spot and difficult to kill as Allied Tanks had difficulty travesing their guns downward in order to hit it.
It was perfect for ambushing Allied Tank convoys. For Punch it packed a fast firing 75L48 that could destory any Allied Tank at range with the exception of the Russian the IS-2.

Germany could build 3 Hetzers for the price of a Tiger.