Posted by DaninKansas on December 17, 2013 at 08:35:46 from (24.248.193.103):
In Reply to: Re: Breakthrough! posted by Billy Shafer on December 16, 2013 at 18:13:30:
Are you talking about the "Christie" tank?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christie_suspension
The 88 being used in a tank was not an American idea - it was the result of the Russian kicking the &^%$ out of German Panzer IVs.
The American long barrel 75MM (75 40 caliber) was a gun comparible to the German long barrel 75 (75 43 caliber). The "original" short barrel 75MM used in early Shermans was also comparible to the 75MM short barrel used in the early Panzer IVs.
The problem wasn't so much the gun but the fact that the US stuck with an obsolete design lacking armor that should have become secondary weapon by 1943. But the Sherman was easy to build and easy to ship - giving it high points from Harry Truman when he was leading the Senate Special Committee to Investigate the National Defense Program. Slowing production for any reason (even for a better weapon) would have put you on his &^%$ list. So instead the US kept producing the flawed Sherman instead of switching at least some production over to the much more advanced Pershing or similar tank. That's part of the reason why the P40 stayed in production until the end of the war. No one really wanted it either but the high production numbers made reports to the Senate easy to make.
The only reason the Germans had such "good" tanks was the fact the Russians had them. When Hitler invaded in 1941 the main German battle tank was the Panzer III, armed with a high velocity 37MM gun. The Panzer IV with it's short barrel low velocity 75MM was considered an infrantry tank and was hopelessly out classed by the Russian T34. They also had numerous tanks from the French inventory as well. In 1942 the Germans were removing the Panzer III from the from the front line and the Panzer IV (with its larger turrent ring) was up armored and up gunned with the longer barrel 75MM gun - giving it a chance against the T34. The Panzer IV that finished the war was no where near the same Panzer IV that started the war.
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