Very nice... Very nice... That Conqueror has a very moderns look, and a very efficient look as well. The Centurion looks like an upgraded Churchill. I like the Conqueror, but it has what looks like an inherited look from the Pershing. Actually it looks far more like and American tank than a British.Originally Posted by English assassin
The Tortoise is ugly, it hasn't got the sleek looks of the Jagdpanther, or the menacing appearance of the Jagdtiger or even the brutal efficiency of the SU-152 or 122. No wonder only a single was made.
It is with tanks as it is with planes, well designed tanks just look better (the Churchill does stand out however).
The trouble with the Ferdinand wasn't that it was a bad weapon at all, but how it was used. It was as unknown to the Germans as it was to the Russians (they actually fled at the sight of it first). By cahnce the Russians managed to seperate the Ferdinands from their infantry, and suddenly they were vulnerable to close assaults. The Germans on the other hand failed to grasp that the Ferdinands could never become anything but a support weapon (a superb support weapon perhaps) and thought that its gun would sweep the field before it. The initial encounters confirmed the Germans' idea but later... well, we know the result.
After Kursk the Elephant was used correctly and the remaining few served for a rather long time, giving valuable support against tanks. It found it's niche and performed outstandingly. But other weapons were simply better suited, such weapons as the Nashorn, perfect for the Russian plains.
Btw, the daily little interesting tidbit from WWII:
In Italy the Germans were pulling back, but a rearguard was posted in a small village, it consisted of a single 88 in its AA variant and a handful of close defence infantry. A few platoons of infantry would have cleared the village in half an hour or less. But unfortunately for the Allies the leading tanks had outstripped their infantry and were now alone.
The commander saw the village for what it was, an ambush, but he couldn't go around it, he had to follow the road more or less. So he did what any sensile commander would do, he sent a single tank ahead to scout. Bam and it was knocked out... He sent another tank and the result was the same. This went on for a good while until finally a single tank rolled into the little square where it found the crew of the 88 surrendering.
Understandingly the tankcrew was surprised at this, after all the gun was pointing right at the tank, it could have taken it out easily. So the tankcommander asked the guncommander why he had surrendered and the man gave a very interesting answer:
"I ran out of shells, you didn't run out of tanks."![]()
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