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AFV Show & Tell


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Andy,

Not as crazy as you might think. Tons of people out there now would recognize the name Annie Oakley, and she was born in 1860  and died in 1926. People still use the expression "the bees knees," and it dates to the 1920s. Calling something a doozy derives from the renowned Duesenberg, a car so incredible that it performed the Indy 500 racers on several occasions, and that's from the same period. Did you know "pic" goes back to at least WW II? Gobs of people still know about the legendary Sergeant York. There are many more examples I could cite. Absent a direct statement from one of the crew of Lu Lu Bell, or maybe family, wife or girlfriend, we'll never know for sure, but I think it's a reasonable possibility, and Lulu Bell Parker embodied the attributes that a tank needed to have:  fearless, hard-charging, agile, excellent shot, etc. 

Regards,

John Kettler

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13 hours ago, mjkerner said:

An electrical gearbox? That's some funk right there.

57 minutes ago, Sgt.Squarehead said:

What.....Humphrey Bogart?  Probably gonna need a ouija board for that!  :P

 

We need a qualified AFV psychic.

Considering we're on the topic of American AFVs:

T55gmcHaugh%2520(2).jpg

T55gmcHaugh%20(1).jpg

T-55 3-inch Gun Motor Carriage. A wheeled tank destroyer, fancy that? I'm afraid I do not know much history about this prototype. Why was it dropped at the prototype phase?

Germans had the SdKfz 234/4, with a 7.5 Pak. I do not know how effective it was. However, the concept of a highly mobile gun sounds like it's perfect for scouting, finding and eliminating tanks. Put this thing in a treeline, or behind a hill and it's the perfect ambusher. Tanks try to hit them with the funky stuff and they're out of there.

Panzermuseum_Munster_2010_0404.JPG

 

Edited by DerKommissar
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This is a great site for all things Armoured Car:  http://www.warwheels.net/

1 hour ago, DerKommissar said:

Germans had the SdKfz 234/4, with a 7.5 Pak. I do not know how effective it was.

Not very.....The PAK overloaded the suspension and it wasn't very well armoured, facing anything more potent than small arms, it was in trouble. 

This was a weapon of borderline-desperation, like the Sd.Kfz.251/22:

SdKfz_251-22_D_am_Strassenrand.jpg

Or the RSO PAK-40:

rso-sides-down-spg.jpg

It went downhill from there.  ;)

Edited by Sgt.Squarehead
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59 minutes ago, Sgt.Squarehead said:

Not very.....The PAK overloaded the suspension and it wasn't very well armoured, facing anything more potent than small arms, it was in trouble. 

This was a weapon of borderline-desperation, like the Sd.Kfz.251/22:

SdKfz_251-22_D_am_Strassenrand.jpg

Or the RSO PAK-40:

rso-sides-down-spg.jpg

It went downhill from there.  ;)

All during the war and for some years before and after, most of the major combatants tried mounting what they hoped would be an effective AT weapon onto the chassis of any self-propelled vehicle that they had around that didn't already have a higher priority job to do. Some of these were fairly successful, like the StuG III, but most of them were mediocre fighting vehicles at best and at worst were just expensive ways to get their crews killed quickly.

Michael

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The 'panzer-wrecks' books are filled with images of what happens when a Marder type tank destroyer gets into a duel with an actual tank.  ;)

I'd class the StuG slightly differently.....IMHO it was an effective assault-gun that, by dint of necessity, became an adequate 'Jagdpanzer' (as opposed to Panzerjager).

42 minutes ago, DerKommissar said:

I can only imagine how overloaded their suspension is.

I could easily see that thing lying on its side if it tried to engage a target outside a front (or rear) arc of about 450:lol:

Edited by Sgt.Squarehead
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1 hour ago, Sgt.Squarehead said:

I could easily see that thing lying on its side if it tried to engage a target outside a front (or rear) arc of about 450:lol:

I just noticed that they added a muzzle break on the 100mm. Just so it doesn't do somersaults when firing.

Speaking of which, what's with that RSO's muzzle break on that Pak 40? It looks like an improvised counterweight -- not a muzzle break, at all.

Edited by DerKommissar
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1 hour ago, John Kettler said:

6429916_original.jpg

Looks like it might be armored, but it's seriously defective (wholly lacking) in the propulsion department. Kind of ingenious, though, and certainly no crazier than training US aerial gunners during WW II to fire while moving using shotguns from a moving truck.

Regards,

John Kettler

Interesting training aid. Why they didn't just use an old BTR for this? I'm guessing it's easier to shoot a MANPAD out of an open topped vehicle, as opposed to a top hatch. Is there an IR target up to the left. The half-assed Tetris camo makes me giggle.

1img_0012.jpg

1024px-BM_%C2%ABOplot%C2%BB_in_Kyiv.jpg

Now, finally -- a CM vehicle! I prefer the T-80 over the T-72, even despite the bad press. Glad to see the Ukranians modernizing and perfecting the design. If only we had Ukranian T-72s and RF T-80s.

Edited by DerKommissar
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2 hours ago, DerKommissar said:

Now, finally -- a CM vehicle! I prefer the T-80 over the T-72, even despite the bad press. Glad to see the Ukranians modernizing and perfecting the design. If only we had Ukranian T-72s and RF T-80s.

They now have.....Five:

931480_original.jpg

Fully upgraded and ready for intense action in.....European tank trials.  :mellow:

 

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I Believe the correct designation is T-84 Oplot.....That's as Oplotty as anything the Ukrainians have, all the others are in Thailand.

PS - The only T-80 equipped with Shtora by default is the T-80UK command vehicle, it's been suggested that the T-80UA was fitted with the system, but I've found no actual evidence of that so far:

19fb7860_resizedScaled_1020to573.jpg

T-80UK

Edited by Sgt.Squarehead
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More on the Oplot thing.....It seems they actually have.....Wait for it.....Six!  :o

All reconditioned for Tank Trials.....The others were allegedly sold to the US (condition unknown to me).

The various unserviceable chassis I referred to above all appear to have been reconditioned and are included in this total.

Edited by Sgt.Squarehead
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