Top 5 tanks

[Finkeren]

In the spirit of the popular Bovington YT videos asking people to name their top five tanks, I thought we could do the same here, might spark some fun discussions.

 

To keep things simple, the list can include any WW2/interwar AFW, including things that aren't strictly speaking "tanks". As long as it's armored, can move under its own power and has some way of dealing damage to the enemy, it qualifies.

 

It'd be great if you post a cool picture and a few words explaining the reasoning behind each choice (again: any reason can be valid)

 

I'll kick off:

 

No. 5: IS-1

This one just looks right to me, unlike its younger brother the IS-2, which just seems in danger of tipping over with that massive gun sticking out. It's a pity only a little over 100 of these were made. I can see a lot of potential in the combination of the IS's improvements in armor and mobility over the KV-1 combined with a pretty good gun that comes with none of the issues of the monstrous 122mm. I get, that it was probably not what the Red Army was looking for in a breakthrough tank, but I find it really cool nonetheless.

 

No. 4: M4A1 W76

There just had to be a Sherman here, and the 76mm version is both the most aesthetically pleasing to me and arguably the most effective version of that tank. Reasonably well armed and armored, reliable, survivable, not too heavy, without any serious drawbacks and always available - the Sherman as it should be.

 

No. 3: PzKw III aus. L

German engineering at its best, before they went bonkers and tried to make everything bigger, better and stronk'er than the Soviets. A very pretty little tank that was immensely adaptable, reliably, with lots of development potential and a marvel of crew comfort (for its time). This was the tank that brought the Germans on the brink of looking like they could actually win the war, and it certainly looks the part. 

 

No. 2: T-34/85

No list of this sort would be complete without the T-34. I had a hard time choosing between this version and my personal favorite - the '43 version with commander's cupola. In the end I had to go with the T-34 in its final and ultimate form. Yes, it's crude, yes it must have been a nightmare to crew (less so for the 85) but it was there from beginning 'till the end, always available always dependable. And it just looks soooooooo good. It is one of the few tank designs that's not only immediately pleasing to the eye, but actually looks better the more beat-up, dirty and worn-out it becomes.

 

Before the no. 1, some honorable mentions:

 

 Jagdpanther:

Dayum, it's good-looking.

 

Mathilda II:

Pretty damn nice early war tank and the last time the Brits were really on top of that whole tank design-thing in a long while.

 

M24 "Chaffee"

One of the prettiest tank designs of the war and arguably the best light tank in a world that didn't really need light tanks anymore.

 

And finally: 

 

No. 1: Su-76M

Probably a bit of an unusual pick, but this is really a favorite of mine. Nothing revolutionary about the design, nothing spectacular about its stats, it's not even that good looking. Simple, humble and somewhat unremarkable. Yet, it provided exactly what the Red Army needed in its long slog towards Berlin: An armored self-propelled artillery piece that could be counted on to provide direct fire support in just about any situation, and there the Su-76M delivered: It had excellent mobility, being practically the only AFV that could reliably operate in swampy terrain, it was fairly reliable, easy to repair and transport and had a very good range, it had a low noise level and a low silhouette, so it had a better chance of entering the battlefield undetected, its ZiS-3 gun was good all-round with a reasonable HE round and better than average anti-tank capabilities, it's open crew compartment made coordination with the infantry effortless and it could even provide reasonable indirect fire and act as highly mobile field artillery. This and the fact that they were everywhere (they made over 14,000 of them in just 3 years) gave the soldiers of the Red Army a much needed boost in firepower - it was just the right instrument for the right job - at least after they stopped attempting to make it a dedicated tank destroyer.

 

That's my list, let me see yours.

Edited July 8, 2019 by Finkeren

[Elem]

8 hours ago, Finkeren said:

No. 1: Su-76M

I have to say, I'm in full agreement with your No.1. I have always thought it was under recognised by AFV buffs, but it was a favourite of mine when I was doing table top war gaming. We simply MUST have it in TC but I've not seen it mentioned for future addition.

[SCG_Slater]

Super Pershing

 

The M26 Pershing was a heavy tank/medium tank^[1] of the United States Army. The tank was named after General of the ArmiesJohn J. Pershing, who led the American Expeditionary Force in Europe in World War I. It was briefly used in the final months of World War II during the Invasion of Germany and extensively during the Korean War.

 

Elefant tank destroyer

 

The Elefant (German for "elephant") was a heavy Jagdpanzer (tank destroyer) used by German Wehrmacht Panzerjäger during World War II. Ninety-one units were built in 1943 under the name Ferdinand, after its designer Ferdinand Porsche, using tank hulls produced for the Tiger I tank design abandoned in favour of a Henschel design.

 

Sd.Kfz.164 Hornisse of the 2nd Schwere Panzerjäger Abteilungen 560, Kursk, summer 1943.

These were proven solutions, fast-built at low cost. Older tank hunters equipped with the Pak 40 75 mm (2.95 in) gun, like the Marder, were barely sufficient against the KV-1, so the adoption of the most efficient piece in the German ordnance came as a necessity. Following the specifications of 1942, a tank hunter was planned to carry the ubiquitous 88 mm (3.46 in) gun. It was to be built by Alkett (Altmärkische Kettenwerke GmbH) in Berlin.

 

Marder I auf Geschutzwagen Lorraine Schlepper(f)

By the time the Western Campaign began in May 1940, there were already eighteen tank-hunters available, all Panzerjäger Is. They were based on the obsolete Panzer I Ausf.B chassis. This vehicle was found quite unsatisfactory regarding crew protection. But its Czech-origin 47 mm (1.85 in) gun performed well against most French light tanks of the day, and even the better-protected B1 bis and SOMUA S35. On the other hand, the Panzer III‘s puny 37 mm (1.46 in) often failed in this respect. But there was still room for improvement. After the fall of France, more than three hundred French Lorraine 37L supply tanks (of an estimated 600) fell into German hands. Some officers did not take long to see the potential of these chassis, which were tested and found particularly reliable and sturdy. Although many Lorraines retained their original supply rôle in German service, others were converted for various other tasks and the most famous and prolific of them all was the Marder I (for “Marten” or Weasel). Ordnance name was 7.5 cm Pak 40/1 auf Geschützwagen Lorraine Schlepper (f)/Sd.Kfz.135, Marder I.

 

Sturmgeschütz III

Production data does not lie. Although quite underrated by Allied intelligence during WW2 and still somewhat underestimated today, the StuG III was, nonetheless, the most produced tracked German AFV during the conflict. Its evolution mirrored that of the more famous Panzer IV. At first, the StuG was a simple derivative of the Panzer III for infantry support only, but ended as one of the most important German vehicles of the war. With its low-profile and low-cost, it was the real battle horse of the Wehrmacht, shifting from a close support vehicle to a tank-hunter of first magnitude, soldiering without interruption anywhere from North Africa to Europe and Russia. The crews loved it because of its low profile and good armor, and the infantry it was supporting was grateful for its firepower and availability.

 

[Finkeren]

1 hour ago, Elem said:

I have to say, I'm in full agreement with your No.1. I have always thought it was under recognised by AFV buffs, but it was a favourite of mine when I was doing table top war gaming. We simply MUST have it in TC but I've not seen it mentioned for future addition.

 

I don't know if it would be viable for a game, where it's just a lot of tanks slugging it out. Even with its good moblilty it'll just get bodied by the heavies. 

 

I do agree, that the Su-76 is criminally overlooked. We are talking about the second-most produced AFV of the USSR in WW2, which by all accounts gave excellent and much needed service. Yet it is completely overshadowed, even by other SPGs like the ISU-152, because it performed more menial tasks and wasn't specifically known for killing Tigers and other meme-worthy tanks. It hardly produced any tank aces, and as we all know, the value of any AFV is measured solely by its K:D ratio against other AFVs, so people tend to ignore it. 

 

Still, to me it is the unsong hero of the Eastern Front. 

[pa4tim]

I have so many that I can not really choose. Oh, I am totally not German biased. It is pure coincidence that I for most play German planes and tanks in WT and TC

 

1) Tiger , the  love for that thing dates from the early 80's when I was building WW2 tank scale models.

The rest not in any order: 

- BMW R 75 Sahara (side car)

- HD Liberator (I have restored one 20 years ago and still wished I had not sold it) 

- Tiger II,

- Jagt panther (same reason)

- Fully dressed Pz IV-H, good looking and all Pz IV's are my favorite lower rank tanks in WT

- jagtpanzer IV,

- Stug III

-  Wirbelwind 

- Sturmpanzer 

- M24, indeed the prettiest WW2 tank

- any half track (The looks, I always wondered why any (non-British) country would want to add wheels to a tracked vehicle)

- Super Pershing (with the spaced armor)

- Mathilda (in the 90's I used to have an English Bulldog with that name) 

- Crusader (the proof of alien existence)

- Kettenkraftrad HK 101 As a long time biker/triker I just love it but I still have no clue why they made a motorcycle-halftrack. 

 

 

And I know, I need help, I kinda love the Churchill  ?  This video featuring one is hilarious. 

 

and if I am really honest I must say I like the looks of the T34-85.