Best Tank of WW2

If it was followed by the centurion then it sounds british to me. It's familiar to the challenger model in name i think, the centurion that is.
 
How about the M24 Chaffee as the best light tank of WWII?


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M24_Chaffee

300px-M24_Chaffee_lt_tank.jpg
 
Oh most definatly, It was an incrediable design. Speed and mobility of the obsolete M3 Stuart with the reliability and firepower of a M4 Sherman.

Awesome bit of American ingenouity, and one of the few instances where we outdid German tank Engineering. Also give lots of credit to American Armored Recon vehicles such as the M8 Greyhound.
 
Fox....It was a British design and British built, 200 of them were made before the war ended and the production line was closed down
 
Dependability & Speed

I like the Sherman's including the Firefly! Reliable could be fixed in field.

The M-18 Hellcat for a Medium Destroyer! (53 Panthers and Tigers taken out
in July 44 with only 17 M-18's ) " Shoot and Scoot"

Panther and Tiger's for Heavyweight and Firepower including range,and also
Trajectory.

(The Germans built Tanks in smaller #s partially due to building in
low quantity production facilities,where Allied Tanks were built in Automobile
factories for higher production rates!)
 
i would have to say the t-34 for a medium tank, and the king tiger for a heavy, and the hellcat for a tank destroyer. put them all on the same side, and i would be flying the white flag.
 
''Stars and Stripes" Feb 19 1945

3rd Army toll of German Tanks placed at 1,988
Tanks and TDs of Lt. General George S Patton's Third Army since
late august have knocked out 1,988 tanks while losing 1,044 tanks
and TDs,Major Gen. H.B.Sayler,Eto chief of ordnance.said yesterday.

Third Army tank and TD men destroyed 515 enemy tanks and 302
pieces of wheeled artillery during the reduction of the Von Rundstedt
bulge.Gen Sayler said Third Army losses during that period were at
168 tanks and TDs and 91 artillery pieces.

Many were Tigers
Included in the 3rd's kill for the entire period were 718 mark VIs
the ememy's vaunted Tiger Tank.TD's included the M-18 armed with
with the high velocity 76 mm gun and the M-36 with it's 90 mm gun
were given much credit for the victories over enemy armor all
along the Western front. Gen Sayler said M-36 td had knocked out
German Tigers at distances up to 4,000 yards.

Although the German Tiger is more heavily armed and armored .
The U.S. Shermans are faster and usually get the first shot,which
often proves to be the last one. Gen Sayler said.
The Tiger carries an 88 but is capable of only 20 miles per hour. The
Sherman is armed with a 76,does 30 miles an hour and has a
mechanically operated turret which gives it an advantage over the
Germans hand operated turrets. The U.S. M-18 carries the 76
and does 30 miles per hour while the M-36 packs a 90 and has a
maximum speed of 26 miles per hour.



Directly from the article!
​
 
Patton ....did not want an upgrade in the Tanks, he argued long and loud about any changes to the Sherman and also had a greater leaning towards TD and moblie artillery rather than Tanks
 
Easy: Panther tank! A nice combination of punching power, speed, good engineering and reliablilty (especially compared to the Tigers). I certainly wouldn't want to go up against one, while sitting in a Sherman.
 
Ted said:
Easy: Panther tank! A nice combination of punching power, speed, good engineering and reliablilty (especially compared to the Tigers). I certainly wouldn't want to go up against one, while sitting in a Sherman.
Click to expand...
Just to say that there really wasn't anything wrong with the reliability of the Tiger I. It wasn't as reliable as the Panzer Mk IV but it was decently reliable nonetheless. Perhaps you're thinking of the Tiger II?

In any case I agree with your choice. Although over-engineered and although the overlapping suspension wheels were prone to clogging (especially on the Eastern Front) the Ausf G version of the Panther is IMO the best overall tank of WW2.

BTW, the less said about Patton's advice regarding retention of the Sherman the better.
 
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I think some of the problems with late war German designs can be attributed to poor metallurgy. The Germans lacked the needed alloys to make good steel at the end of the war.
 
2dold4this said:
I think some of the problems with late war German designs can be attributed to poor metallurgy. The Germans lacked the needed alloys to make good steel at the end of the war.
Click to expand...

This is definately true, although not a problem inherent in the designs themselves. Late production Tiger IIs in particular were affected by this.
 
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