Author Topic: Tanks rounds shooting down aircraft.  (Read 18488 times)

Offline Nemisis

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Re: Tanks rounds shooting down aircraft.
« Reply #255 on: August 05, 2010, 02:11:06 AM »
Well yes, but the defender has the advantage of cover, and usually the first shot. When moving, he will be pulling back toward friendly tank. You are correct that it would be a wash (to a certian extent), but the defenders still would have a larger advantage than they hold now.


I can also see tank battles happening in slow motion. Instead of numerous tanks exploding in several minutes time, I could see 1 tank being destroyed in 1 minute of combat.
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Offline Chalenge

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Re: Tanks rounds shooting down aircraft.
« Reply #256 on: August 06, 2010, 02:35:55 AM »
Hmm just last week I killed six tanks in under a minute. Yes it was defense but I was up against greater numbers from the first moment of launch from the hangar and against faster firing tanks that already had cover and position on the spawn. They all died with one shot and Im not that good with tanks either.

Whats this slow motion your talking about?
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Offline Ack-Ack

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Re: Tanks rounds shooting down aircraft.
« Reply #257 on: August 06, 2010, 04:04:19 AM »



I can also see tank battles happening in slow motion. Instead of numerous tanks exploding in several minutes time, I could see 1 tank being destroyed in 1 minute of combat.

Belton Cooper in his book "Death Traps" talks about a battle near the town Paderborn in Germany in which an entire task force (Task Force Doan) from the US 3rd AD was completely wiped out by 10 King Tiger tanks.  Within a span of 10 minutes, the 10 King Tigers knocked out 17 M4 (mix of M4A4 75/76mm) Shermans, 17 M3 half tracks, three GMC trucks, two jeeps and one M36 tank destroyer.  

Task Force Doan was caught in the open by 7 King Tigers that advanced on the left side of theTask Force when suddenly the King Tigers turned to the right into a column formation and opened fire.  The Task Force didn't have any time to maneuver and then 3 more King Tigers appeared on the right side of the Task Force, trapping them in this wide open field.  The seven King Tigers on the left proceeded up and down the length of the column, when they got to one end, they'd turn around and then come back up the column.  An observer said it looked like a naval enagement rather than a land tank battle.  

The 3 King Tigers on the right were keeping position as a blocking force to keep Task Force Doan from escaping to the woods on the right.  One Sherman was able to break out and took refuge behind a small farm building that was just to the left of the Task Force.  As the Tiger column came back around and passed the small farm building, the Sherman that was hiding swung its 76mm cannon and fired at the rear of one of the Tigers at very, very close range hitting the engine compartment and causing the Tiger to burn.  The Sherman was killed about a second afterwards by the following Tiger.

A Sherman near the middle of the task force column was close to the 3 Tigers that were on the right of the task force, swung the 75mm towards the closest of the three Tigers and fired a white phosphorus round at the Tiger.  The round struck the glacis plate right above the driver's compartment.  The smoke from the white phosphorus completely engulfed the tank and the fan in the engine compartment sucked in the smoke inside into the tank.  The German crew, thinking they were on fire and not realizing it was just a white phosphorus round abandoned the tank (later recovered by US forced undamaged).  The Sherman commander had another white phosphorus round loaded again and fired at the 2nd Tiger, with the same result.  The Sherman was completely destroyed seconds after he fired the 2nd white phosphorus round, killed by the 3rd Tiger.  

After the Tigers destroyed Task Force Doan, they withdrew down the road that was next to the open field, leaving 3 Tigers behind (1 knocked out, 2 abandoned).

When you read it, it kind of does appear it happened in slow motion but just look at the fight between the Sherman and the 3 Tigers, it probably lasted within a span of 3-5 seconds tops.  

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Offline Bronk

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Re: Tanks rounds shooting down aircraft.
« Reply #258 on: August 06, 2010, 05:16:15 AM »
See Rule #4
« Last Edit: August 06, 2010, 12:57:33 PM by Skuzzy »
See Rule #4

Offline Masherbrum

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Re: Tanks rounds shooting down aircraft.
« Reply #259 on: August 06, 2010, 09:19:22 AM »
I can also see tank battles happening in slow motion. Instead of numerous tanks exploding in several minutes time, I could see 1 tank being destroyed in 1 minute of combat.

A factual account of "slow motion" being non-existent in tank warfare:


My grandfather (USMC PTO - 43-46) worked with a fellow who was in 3rd AD (Tank Commander).    In France he recalled of a story that puts one in the driver's seat, per se.    He often stated: "The Sherman was a joke."  

Here is one of his encounters while in a Sherman:

"One day we're East of Paris and we get a call over the radio that two Tigers have stalled the line.   I move forward and had time to count 76 burned out Shermans.   I order the driver to proceed cautiously and we immediately get hit.   We jumped out and watched our Sherman go up with a second round fired at it.   I hop into another tank and we try and get it reversed in enough time to try and flank their position.   Nope, by the time the Sherman rolled backwards, another hit.    We jump out and I commandeer another Sherman to try again.   Nope.   Yet another round hit the track of this Sherman destroying the Main Drive Sprocket on top of it.   We again hop out and now move rearward on our line and I order the remainder of my unit to flank the two Tigers' positions.  We were surprised when the crews exited as they had exhausted their ammo.   I was able to talk to one of the crews gunners while waiting for someone to escort them rearward as POW's."   The gunner said "You displayed more class and honor than we were expecting, from the amount of carnage we caused.   The gunner in the Tiger on the South position had graduated from Harvard in 38."  

Edit:  Hardly "slow motion".
« Last Edit: August 06, 2010, 09:22:27 AM by Masherbrum »
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