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Jackson tank destroyer


Georgie

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Well I could be a smart a$$ and say there's no such thing :) , but I won't and say only since the M-36 was not available in CMAK, I suspect it was never used in Italy. Even in Northwest Europe I don't think it was available for Combat before the Battle of the Bulge.

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The answer to the Panther?!!

Similar to the 17 pdr on the Firefly in that it depends on what ammunition is used. 90mm HVAP and special heat-treated T33 could penetrate the Panther glacis, but they were only issued in very limited numbers. The most common ammunition -- M77 and M82 -- could not, but would penetrate the turret and lower hull better than US 76mm.

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Vanir - M36s on Elsenborn ridge routinely holed Panthers crawling up to them. Sure turret penetrations can account for some of that, but slope effect might have also been involved, as well as late war German armor quality issues. The high protection of the Panther glacis depends on its steep angle - any downward shot, or the target itself on a downward slope reducing the vertical angle - can reduce that protection significantly. So, the statement that the Panther glacis is "proof" against US 90mm with AP needs some qualification...

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Also Panther manufacture was getting increasingly shoddy over time. Late war armor was brittle. If you didn't get internal spalling (think a steel tea plate with rasor edges bouncing around) the hull was liable to crack open at the weld seams. M36 90mm was roughly equivalent to 88 Tiger I gun. Sure, you might not get a clean penetration but you'd rattle the crew's tooth fillings loose. :)

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Vanir - M36s on Elsenborn ridge routinely holed Panthers crawling up to them. Sure turret penetrations can account for some of that, but slope effect might have also been involved, as well as late war German armor quality issues. The high protection of the Panther glacis depends on its steep angle - any downward shot, or the target itself on a downward slope reducing the vertical angle - can reduce that protection significantly. So, the statement that the Panther glacis is "proof" against US 90mm with AP needs some qualification...

Unless otherwise specified when I say something can or cannot penetrate something else I'm assuming equal altitude and head-on facing. But it's not a bad idea to point out that significant elevation differences can have a major impact on armor resistance since it changes the angle of impact. So can differences in facing along the horizontal axis.

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I have heard it said that the British defended the slab nature of the tank armour on the bais that in combat it would rarely be perpendicular to an enemy gun. Literally true but one feels it may be a post-event rationalisation.

The Valentine did actually have curved armour. I do have an English tank commanders memoir where he retreats from the enemy firing over the back deck. As he put it it had more slope than the front and he liked the idea of having armour and the engine between him and the enemy. The difference in speeds between a Valentinne in reverse and full speed across country probably being reasonable it does make some sense.

Now whether someone took this view for the Archer design .... : ) I kid.

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Now whether someone took this view for the Archer design .... : ) I kid.

I'm not sure that the Archer layout was such a bad idea for shoot 'n' scoot from ambush. It's just that it would be limited to doing just that. Not so good for an offensive weapon. The Brits should have had it a couple of years earlier. It would have been a great advance over the portee in the desert.

Michael

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The poor Archer drive had to literally exit the vehicle during combat for the gun to fire. Othewise the ejected shell would've hit him in the back of the head. There's also one annoying problem with front-engined firing platforms. Heat waves rippling off your engine deck tends distort what's being seen through the optics. Front engine tank design is one of those "We thought it was a good idea at the time" kind'a things. :)

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