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Marek_Tucan said:
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whdonnelly said:
One possibiliy for the T-34s reputation could be the opposition. The T-34 faced a lot of the earlier German and Italian models, (PzKfw 2,Pz 35t, Pz 38, etc)that the Sherman never got to meet. The T-34 outclassed all these in armor, weapon, and mobility.
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Bingo! Cannot agree more! Had Sherman encountered PaK-36 and Pz-IIIE's/Pz-38(t)'s in the North Africa, it would fare probably even better than T-34 due to better ergonomics etc. But it was faced by first Tigers and by long-barrelled 75mm guns instead...
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That will be the tiger tanks on the battlefield of El Alamein in October 1942, then?. Nope - the Allies first met the tigger in Tunisia. British in Feb 43, USA apparently later in 1943, at Fais Pass. (I do not have a precise date for that)).
At El Alamein, the main German force would have been PzIII, both long and still some short barreled 50mm versions. Shermans could deal with these. A few long barreled 75mm PzIv would be present, which would be a problem for the early Sherman.
However - the Sherman/75mm is a useful tank (WRT tank killing) from El Alamein till Tunisia in SPWW2. I tend to go for the Cromwell when that arrives as the 6pr is a better AT Gun (and its speed allows "cavalry tactics" as with the T-34), or 6pr Churchills as these are reasonably resistant to the 75mms (but s l o w).
The Sherman then becomes interesting again when the 76 or Firefly editions arrive. But the 75mm version still can be used as a main battle tank till these arrive, if you are careful, and prepare the advance with arty and keep mech infantry up close, and avoid long range duels or advancing over wide open fields of fire (use smoke!).
The advantage with the T-34 (once even the long 50 becomes common and its armour starts to get permeable) is it's speed, as the German tanks are not that fast, and all including Panther are vulnerable from the side. But later on I get interested in some KV or IS as the "sluggers" with 34s as the flankers. The 34 I use as a supporting APC to the carried guard rifle section with AT mines, of course!.
Naturally - in the Pacific, the Sherman is overkill (the Tiger of the PTO!
. I find Stuarts will do the job against Japanese tanks, as the main line tank.
The Bovinton tank museum journal for the restoration of Tiger #301 (captured in Tunisia) can be found here:
http://www.tiger-tank.com/secure/journal.htm
cheers
Andy