Otrex

I believe the 37mm Stuka to be highly effective at stopping Allied tanks given a high-quality pilot at the controls. A 37mm round, served at high velocity (and from a plane speeding straight down, no less) would be able to penetrate the deck armour of just about anything the Allies could field. The only question is, with what accuracy is the Stuka attacking? Having had the chance to fly a Stuka in simulation, I found it's a VERY stable platform when the dive brakes are engaged. Suffice it to say, I'll bet a skilled pilot could put a 37mm round down a chimney if required. I have no trouble believing high kill totals for certain Stuka pilots, and I don't think comparing the Stuka to the A-10 is a reliable method for determining what a Stuka pilot could accomplish (provided the skies were clear for them to do their work, of course).

Sorry, I don't mean for you to read too much into the exact numbers posted, but rather that I was just answering the OP's title question. The StuG (in its various forms) killed more Allied tanks than any other German Armour. Agreed, the final tally is debateable, but the StuG IS indeed the correct answer to the original "subject line" question. I know the debate sort of shifted from there to other related questions, but since nobody hd bothered to answer the OP I thought I could take it.

Here's a little snippet from Wikipedia.. not my original source though. Overall, Sturmgeschütz series assault guns proved very successful and served on all fronts as assault guns and tank destroyers. Although Tigers and Panthers have earned a greater notoriety, assault guns collectively destroyed more tanks. Because of their low silhouette, StuG IIIs were easy to camouflage and a difficult target. Sturmgeschütz crews were considered to be the elite of the artillery units. Sturmgeschütz units held a very impressive record of tank kills—some 20,000 enemy tanks by the spring of 1944.[2] As of April 10, 1945, there were 1,053 StuG IIIs and 277 StuH 42s in service. Approximately 9,500 StuG IIIs of various types were produced until March 1945 by Alkett and a small number by MIAG

I've forgotten my source, but I recall reading that the StuG III/IV was the largest killer of Allied tanks during the war. It makes sense, considering it had a long life, was made in large numbers, and was upgunned throughout its time on the front lines. Whether or not it's the most EFFECTIVE killer is another discussion, of course.

Pardon my possibly antiquated question, but in regards to the single-player experience will the "turn based with replay" type turn from CMx1 will remain unchanged? This means it's basically a we-go system with the AI taking up one of the sides, correct?

Thanks for your reply. I checked "run as administrator" and also tried running it with "compatibility mode" for Windows XP. When that didn't work, I tried with compatibility mode off (but "run as administrator" still on). Unfortunately, it acts like it will run, but then just blips right back to the desktop. I haven't even had a chance to install the elicense. I assume that if I were able to get into the game that it would allow me to register the license? If I click on "configure ToW" in the start menu, it tells me that the .dll file containing the license cannot be found. Can anyone offer me any advice in this regard? I'm having a rough time with this getting this to run.

I now own ToW, before discovering, via the included readme file, that it won't run on my system. I'm running Vista Ultimate 64-bit. Is there any way to use this software, or any patch planned that will fix this compatibility problem? Thanks for any help that can be provided.

I do recall reading a book that mentioned engagement of Concrete Pillboxes. This one fellow in particular had managed to get his Priest (or some other heavy calibre gun) up to a hill overlooking a collection of PB's. He spent the afternoon bouncing HE shells off the tops of the PB's and when he was questioned about what he was doing he said "Doesnt matter. When you go down there later, you are gonna find the crews inside lying around dazed and you can take them easily." Turns out he was right, and troops just walked right in the back door and captured crews by the hundreds. Anyways, thats just what I read. Just as a side note, I like to put my PB's in ambush positions (i.e. around a sharp turn in a road, behind a line of dense forest), so that when a target emerges, it is unbuttoned (usually) and traveling at a high rate of speed (sometimes with the turret facing the wrong way). Usually, though I stick a support team nearby to hold the flanks from infantry assaults. Just put them on "hide" until enemy troops are sent over to deal with the problem.

I just found a picture dated 1945 showing a small calibre (the 28mm?) taper bore gun mounted on a german light truck, thus proving its use by non-paratroop divisions and its use after 1944. ------------------ "My Baloney has a first name..."

Thanks for the input guys. It really got me even more curious as I was positive the Germans used taper bore guns until the end of the war. I did some checking and here is what I found (summarized): There were 3 types of taper bore produced: The 2.8 cm PzB 41, the 4.2 cm lePak 41, and the 7.5 cm pak 41. And yes, it is certainly true that due to the rarity of tungsten the two heavier calibres of gun passed out of use at some point or another. However the smallest 2.8 Pzb 41 "stayed in use in 1945 as its small rounds made few demands on availible stocks" of tungsten. (Source:Encyclopedia of Weapons of WWII, pg 185) I find it interesting that the muzzle velocity was 1400m per second (4593ft). The armor penetration was 56 mm at 365m (400 yds)! This gun was made for both army, and airborne forces (the latter version using a lighter carriage). Certainly a weapon of this proficiency (sp?) is something that would have a valid place in a rare weapons patch of some sort. As a side note, the largest calibre of taper bore (the 7.5cm) was able to penetrate 171mm of armor at 455m (500 yds). A quite impressive display for a weapon that would still be kicking around in late 1944 (150 total production) ------------------ "My Baloney has a first name..." [This message has been edited by Otrex (edited 10-08-2000).]

I am curious to know how the designers (and players) of CM feel about the inclusion of taper-bore AT-guns into the new vehicle patch that I keep reading about. This weapon certainly was around in '44-'45 even if it was limited by constant ammo shortages. I'm sure it made many Sherman drivers grind their gears trying to back away!