guys there is a great article on this tank in a back issue of a magazine called Finescale modeller from Vol 14 No.8 October 1996 (yes I have been building models a damn long time and I'm finally good at it
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one part that I find lends creedence to the debate on 20mm effectiveness on tanks is quoted below from one of the skinks engagements with german armor:
"Potent as it was the skink required tank escorts. This support was justified when the skink fired on an unidentified German tank. The Skink retired with no damage, and 76mm sherman VC Fireflies took up the fight. The German Vehicle Knocked out two fireflies and retired in anonimity.
A report of one demonstration for the 1st Canadian Army reads: 'In a ground role, the vehilce [skink] was an infantry mop-up weapon, advancing with the second wave of armor to clean out infantry positions bypassed by the first wave. Using HEIT amunition, the skink proved most valuable in setting fire to buildings, thus forcing the enemy out into the open.'
Other reports agreed on the dramatic effect of a burst of 20mm HEIT directed against enemy occupied buildings or hedgerows. In one instance, the skink attacked a building occupied by 50 enemy soldiers. Ten of them were wounded by HEIT fragments, the rest surrendered in terror.
Another time the Skink commander came under sniper fire. Ussually, snipers are hard to ferret out. But the commander guessed the direction of the shot and blew away everything nearby. The sniper and his companion emerged immediately."
this is mearly theory and conjecture on my part but it would seem 4 20mm would tear aluminum aircraft, buildings and people to bits, but bounce off all but the thinest top armor of tanks?? hence the reason for 76mm/88 mm and larger guns vs. tanks? however the panzer was a lightwieght early war tank with thinner side armor and its possible the skink above came upon a Tiger or panther or other main battle tank.
