tank detroyers
 

Just wondering your thoughts on tanks destroyers? I've just started a lc with the british and iam trying to keep the core cost low so thought having a few td troops and keeping them as a backup for flanking any tanks I see on the battlefield but how effective are they? Or shall I buy them with support points?
Cheers

Re: tank detroyers
 

I like tank destroyers, but I have never used them in the open terrain, like desert, where it's hard to hide.
With WinSPWW2 you can try yourself if they are useful to you and if not - delete them, as you can modify your core during the campaign.

Re: tank detroyers
 

British soft skin portee tank Destroyers? - avoid like the plague, IMHO.

In the offence - easily spotted by the enemy and hosed down with even rifle and LMG fires.

No HE round to deal with grunts, and no co-ax MG either.

In the defence - easily killed by the smallest mortar bomb.

So either use a proper AT gun, and a 15cwt truck or Bren carrier tow, or pay a few points more and buy a Daimler armoured car when those become available.

A proper ATG, once deployed out of enemy LOS in ambush is less easy to spot and much more survivable than the portee truck. A Bren carrier or later halftrack tow has an MG, and can risk going into indirect fires to recover its ATG as well.

The Daimler is a rather useful nippy little armoured tank destroyer, if used correctly on the flanks. I always by a section or 2 of those and eventually upgrade to AEC with 6pdr.

Any towed 2pdr I buy, is for flank security really, esp in 41-2 when not of much use frontally, so they have to fire from the flanks to have any hope of success. (The 6pdr changes that equation right round, but its a long wait coming). Some Daimlers are more use than towed 2pdr in that period - nippy and can hose infantry with the BESA MG.

The only UK portee I bother with is a section or so of the 3.7 inch howitzers, in the rear zone. I relocate them after each fire mission naturally!. Useful for counter battery on his on-map arty etc. due to range.

The later Deacon is a marginally useful portee since its a 6pdr and slightly armoured , but hellatiously slow, and very limited ammo, so again avoid like the plague. Use a towed 6pdr and Bren carrier combo instead.

The only useful tank destroyer in the early years is of course the Churchill with 3 inch AA gun. It blows panzer 3s away for breakfast!. (See experimental/prototype formation in misc section). However, only 50 or so were made and they were limited to the UK only. But if your PBEM German enemy insists on using the rarer-than rocking horse poo SP 88mm on a truck chassis (a mere 18 or so made) then by all means go for them :smirk:!.

Andy

Re: tank detroyers
 

Thanks for the detailed answer mobhack. I will leave them be I think. Just to say I have had a lot of success with infantry killing tanks. Just done a battle in norway and there was an awfull lot of woodland and my infantry prob had about 80% of the tank kills and my tanks were used as support against enemy infantry.I bought an american engineers platoon( I think with 2 squads?) And they were shot at by a plane and taken down to one squad which then flanked a troop of german tanks and killed all 3!! Awesome

Ill give some atgs a go and see how I get on with them.

Re: tank detroyers
 

Don't give up on TD's yet!

The U.S. M10 or Wolverine Brit's version. can be very useful,if used in hilly terrain where they can use thier fast speed to shoot and scoot.

They have the longer ranged guns with a punch, so should also kept far back., they are thin skinned and eventually will catch a hit in a long campaign,so might be better bought as support.

Just my 2 cents:D

Re: tank detroyers
 

I have actually experimented with these for some 1940 battles in the western Europe, and found out that they can be somewhat useful in ambushing German armour in delaying action in that sort of terrain, with lots of small forests providing opportunity to shoot and scoot into a new firing position. But they'll better shoot well and scoot fast, since any return fire will be deadly. And even this role would probably be performed at least equally well by a cruiser tank or armoured car armed with a 2 pounder ATG.

I certainly would not try getting them as a part of long campaign core force, since they are likely to be more of an asset than liability most of the time, and have rather short life expectancy. Or at most I would get them for the very first battles in Europe (if I wanted extra challenge) and exchange them for something better armoured once the campaign would move to Africa.