CMBB v CMAK

[Mad Russian]

Tank development in WWII.

Early war tanks were developed to destroy infantry formations.

Many of the early war tanks had MG's on them and not cannons.

But there was a movement afoot to put cannons on tanks plus MG's.

Most nations ended up with tanks that were MG only and then dual MG/cannon. The cannons on the tanks were dual purpose. They would fire both HE and AP rounds.

The British went a different route. They specialized their armored vehicles. They had MG carriers, tank destroyers and infantry attack vehicles. The tank destroyers like the Matilda could not fire HE rounds and were therefore only good against hard targets and other tanks.

As the war progressed the tanks and guns got ever larger. The tanks had more and more armour plating to help them survive the enemies guns and the guns got ever bigger with faster velocities to punch through that extra armour plating.

Take for example the German PzIV. It started the war with a 75mm gun as an infantry support tank. It was given AP rounds to help defend itself against other tanks. During the war the PzIV was upgunned several times.

It started with a 75L24, then moved up to a 75L43, then a 75L48. Each time the length of the barrel increased giving the same round a much improved AT capability.

Each time though it was a longer gun with a higher velocity. The PzIV was not being made a better infantry killer. It was being made a better tank killer.

In every case where tanks were upgunned they were given guns with faster velocities. In some instances to the detriment of their anti-infantry capabilities. The Sherman 75mm gun was a better anti-infantry weapon that the Sherman 76mm gun. The Firefly was not as good at fighting infantry targets as the 75mm gunned Sherman.

As the war progressed it was found that while the role of a tank was still primarily to destroy infantry and soft targets, hard targets and other tanks were a close secondary objective. In some cases they became the primary objective.

During the midwar years almost all of the tanks were made dual purpose.
Towards the end of the war they had started to specialize along the lines of the British model, but almost always with a eye towards a dual mode that was more capable in one aspect.


Good Hunting.

MR