Fabulous, clear WW II AFV compilation Vid!

[John Kettler]

Found this marvel on LiveLeak while hunting for something else. It's got a lot of footage I've never seen before, to include Ferdinands at Kursk, Churchills in Normandy, Panzerwerfer 42 column, PaK 43 firing, an F-Killed (drilled sideways through the barrel) KV-1, Firefly, other Shermans, Goodwood footage, Panzer IVs in Normandy, Sturmtiger firing and loads more. The imagery is of astounding quality.No idea what the song is, but it seems appropriate.

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=8a0_1318732939

Regards,

John Kettler

[Ranger33]

Nice find. It's such an interesting juxtaposition how those tanks rolling down the street would seem like massive invulnerable beasts, but could be blown away in an instant (for the most part) if in the wrong place at the wrong time.

[Vanir Ausf B]

F-Killed (drilled sideways through the barrel) KV-1

I don't recognize the term "F-Killed". Neither does Google. Does it really mean to get shot in the barrel? What does the F stand for?

[John Kettler]

Ranger 33,

"No thanks! Those rolling foxholes attract the eye." Willie & Joe (Bill Mauldin)

Vanir Ausf B,

In weapon damage assessments against AFVs, there are three classes of kills--M-Kill, F-Kill and K-Kill. The first is Mobility Kill, the second Firepower and the last, Catastrophic Kill.

Usually, it's done on a percentage basis, but if you speak of a tank as F-Killed, sans a percentage, that means it has no viable firepower at all, whether through destruction of the weapons proper or their targeting means. For a tank, losing the main gun is pretty close to that, and the KV-1 in the vid has a hole smack through the 76mm gun barrel. I can't find it, but there's one like that for the KV-2, together with someone's girlfriend, in a big hat, sitting sidesaddle on the 152mm--which has a nice 88mm hole right through it.

I own an Unclassified (later versions Confidential) A-10 GAU-8 ammunition test live fire assessment (simulated Soviet tank company, combat loaded and with crew mannikins). After each pass, tanks were individually and carefully assessed as to what damage was inflicted, expressed in the above terms. Prompt result hits scored higher than did eventual kill hits. Thus, clobbering the drive sprocket was rated better than punching a hole in the oil tank.

Vulnerability assessment has advanced considerably since I was dealing with it professionally, but the core still remains. See particularly 2.4 on Page 4 of this report.

Degraded States Vulnerability Analysis of a Foreign Armored Fighting Vehicle (full link provided so the blasted thing works!)

https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:Nq_vy4CVkFwJ:www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?AD%3Dada273416+afv+damage+assessment&hl=en&gl=us&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESju6unVhqZANAPk5weyrL-gEPRSEWd-giKU17BfFgbT5Gy2ex6jlzd7ahBZohDCLjG11MZY8Sdya0X_hXzvFHvL95OoxOoaVrTL-4Pt4YalEzRqRi7z_q3kOcUyouSYjupU-9JW&sig=AHIEtbQcWHiDO00L9COxGTcFXn0RbvUt9g

Regards,

John Kettler

[John Kettler]

Vanir Ausf B,

Here's a KV-2 whose gun barrel isn't perforated, but is still useless. F-Kill on main armament!

http://skarachsworld.files.wordpress.com/2011/07/kv2775.jpg

Two more views of same KV-2. Note depth of ding.

http://media.photobucket.com/image/kv-2/Daytona-675/2b.jpg

I think this is a different one, but it's in the same state.

http://ww2armor.jexiste.fr/Files/Allies/Photos/USSR/4-HeavyTanks/KV2/Gallery/KV2-4.WW2.jpg

Close-up of KV-2 hit on 152mm tube.

http://albumwar2.com/images/stories/photo/25.08.2011/destroyed_kv-2.jp

Regards,

John Kettler

[Stalins Organ]

Ranger 33,

. I can't find it, but there's one like that for the KV-2, together with someone's girlfriend, in a big hat, sitting sidesaddle on the 152mm--which has a nice 88mm hole right through it.

I have sen a photo like that in "Soviet Panzers (sic) in Action" - an old Squadron/Signals publication from 1973 I have somewhere - it is a thin soft cover that is all German photos of Soviet tanks from the early days of WW2 - I have always thought the hole was quite small, but I'll check it out at home tonight.

The book is fascinating and a little revolting in places - eg IIRC 1 page has several photos of some T28's & towed artillery said to have been KO'ed by stka's - one T28's front-left MG turret is blown off, and the gunner's body is visible arched up out of the hole - blackened and sans his right arm!! He "features" in at least 2 or 3 of the photos.

[John Kettler]

Stalin's Organist,

Am familiar with the book, but I haven't seen it in a long time, so detail's eleusive. I was thinking it might've appeared in the really old Aero Armor Series. ARMOR ON THE EASTERN FRONT. ARMOR SERIES VOL. 6

by Spielberger, Walter J. and Feist, Uwe

BOOK DESCRIPTION

Aero Publishers, Fallbrook, California, 1968.. Unpaginated (approx. 52 pp.), small 4to (10 3/4" H), soft cover. Profusely illustrated with b&w photographs, color plates. Presents German and Russian armored vehicles of World War II. Interior

There's also a possibility it might be in Horst Scheibert's PANZER IM RUSSLAND.

Regards,

John Kettler