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The Battle of Kursk - Myths and Reality
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Sirdar Bahadur

Joined: 02-Aug-2004
Location: Eurasia
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Posts: 5221 		  Quote Temujin Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: The Battle of Kursk - Myths and Reality
    Posted: 19-May-2008 at 20:45
Originally posted by deadkenny

 
The part about the 'outdated IV's' is definitely wrong.  In fact most of the 'damage' done at Kursk was inflicted by the latest model IV's with the longer barrel 75mm.  The Panthers were only available in smaller numbers and many of them had experience mechanical failures.  True the Panther was an excellent tank, but it really took until '44 to work out the 'bugs'.  But one must also keep in mind the 'class' comparisons.  The up gunned and armoured IV was more in the same 'class' as the Sherman and T-34.  The Panther was roughly 50% heavier (around 30 tons for the others vs. 45 tons for the Panther).


well, the Panzer IV is still technically a pre-war model. that it remained so long in service and was still competitable at the end of the war through upgrades speaks in its favour but i can't compare it to a Sherman or a T-34 because they were later developments (1941/42 as opposed to 1938 for the P IV). the Panther was by definitions till a medium tank despite its weight, and its armour (other than the frontal armour) was rather mediocre.
 
I tend to agree about the inefficiency of the 'exotics'.  The Tiger I was of the older German pattern (kinda like a IV on steroids).  The Tiger II was an excellent tank, but just too late and too few in numbers make a huge difference.  Sticking with the IV, the Panther and the 'assault gun' versions of those 2 would have been much more efficient. 


i think the Tiger was more of a fast solution to counter the T-34 & KV threat. germany had previously no heavy tanks and not the doctrine for it until the T-34 shock made it necessary until the Panther got into mass-production to efficiently counter them without a significant loss of speed.
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