EnsignExpendable

Do you have the PDF for the T-64 article? There doesn't seem to be an online version of it in the link.

Sweet, thanks. Also clever Americans, shooting the LFP! Obviously the Germans don't have clownskins.

The Threat of the Premium Tank

Damn wallet warriors! 

The Mongolian tank march is cooler than the Soviet one, I find this a grave injustice.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-FoDo3pALJg#t=45

Most of mine are aerospace related, but I do have a couple suitable for this seciton.

Added.

Primary sources are a harsher mistress than heroin. Post your best docs, videos, and photos here! Make sure that your documents have good citations, photos have confirmed locations and dates (and are actually significant, we don't need millions of pictures of T-26 #550424). Use reliable hosting! Youtube, Picasa, or a government agency's hosting where you got them from in the first place. I will periodically update the OP with everything posted in the thread. 

Documents not strictly falling into "Allied" or "Axis" categories, or subcategories, will be sorted by country of origin.

Allied

British Empire and Commonwealth (excluding Canada)

• T-90S manual (Russian)

• T-72B Manual (Russian)

• T-64 1984 Manual (Russian)

• T-34 EARLY TANK SERVICE MANUAL

• 1976 US report on capabilities of and countermeasures to the ZSU-23-4 Shilka

•  

United States and Canada

• Ballistic Tests of Armor Materials (American penetration standards)
• MECHANISM OF ARMOR PENETRATION (Investigation of projectile shatter)
• THE PERFORMANCE OF SUB-CALIBER PROJECTILES COMPARED WITH THAT OF CONVENTIONAL TYPES
• Fragment Penetration Tests of Armor
• Principles of Armor Protection (Decapping plates research)
• Grooved Armor Plate
• Photographic Study of Impact of Ball and Armor Piercing Ammunition on Armor Plate
• Light Armor Plate Development
• Test of Laminated Thin Armor Plate
• Metallurgical Examination of Samples Representing Ninety-Six Two Inch Thick Ballistic Test Plates
• Welding of Armor: Summary of Ballistic Shock Test Results on 1-1/2 Inch Homogeneous Armor 'H' Plates Welded with Austenitic Electrodes and Tested at Aberdeen Proving Ground
• Armor. Metallurgical Examination of Cast Turret Number 757 for M4 Tank, Manufactured by Union Steel Castings Co., Ballistically Tested at Subzero Temperatures at Camp Shilo
• Historical Review of the Correlation of Ballistic and Metallurgical Characteristics of Domestic Armor at Watertown Arsenal
• Metallurgical Examination of 2 Inch, 2-1/2 Inch, and 3 Inch Rolled Homogeneous Armor Employed in the Ballistic Evaluation of Armor against 57 mm and 90 mm Armor-Piercing Projectiles
• Resistance of Various Steels to Perforation by Fragment Simulating Projectiles
• Metallurgical Examination of Sections from the Cast Armor Turret made by Continental Foundry and Machine Company and two Trunnion Pins from a Heavy Tank M6A2E1
• Comparative Effectiveness of Armor-Defeating Ammunition (Normalization and penetration)
• Armor Plate Ballistic Testing
• Metallurgical Examination of Section from 6 in. Experimental M4A3E2 Assault Turret Manufactured by Union Steel Castings Division of Blaw-Knox Company
• Metallurgical Evaluation of a Method of Anti-Personnel Defense for the Medium Tank M4A1
• Metallurgical Examination of Twelve 2 1/2 Inch Thick Rolled Homogeneous and Sixteen 2 1/2 Inch Thick Face Hardened Armor Plates Manufactured by Carnegie-Illinois Steel
• Penetration of Homogeneous Armor by 3-inch Flat-Nosed Projectiles
• Comparative Effectiveness of Armor-Defeating Ammunition
• THE EFFECT OF SYSTEM DESIGN CHARACTERISTICS ON FIRST ROUND HITTING PROBABILITY OF TANK FIRED PROJECTILES
• Handbook of Ballistic and Engineering Data for Ammunition. Volume 1. 20-1-95 to 75-1-310 Included
• Test of 105mm Shot, T182
• Development of 90mm Gun Tank, T69

• SOLID STEEL AP PROJECTILES. CONVENTIONAL, TRUNCATED AND TIPPED TRUNCATED OGIVAL TYPES

• History of the Subcommittee on Welding of Armor Ferrous Metallurgical Advisory Board Ordnance Department U.S. Army

• Welding of Armor. Summary of Ballistic Shock Test Results on 1/2, 3/8, and 1/4 Inch Thick Homogeneous Armor 'H' Plates Welded with Austenitic Electrodes and Tested at Aberdeen Proving Ground during the Period from 1 October 1942 through 31 March 1943

• REVISED SUMMARY OF ORO PROJECTS, SPECIAL STUDIES AND FIELD OPERATIONS TO MAY 31, 1952. VOLUME 1

• CONTROL OF GUN FUMES IN M-4 SERIES MEDIUM TANKS

• ADEQUATE HEAD ROOM IN TANKS

• APPRAISAL OF KIND AND DEGREE OF PHYSICAL EFFORT REQUIRED OF TANK CREWS IN RELATION TO FATIGUE

• Heavy Tank T26E1 Metallurgical Examination of Components which Failed Under Ballistic Tests

• Comparison Test of Tank, Combat, Full-Tracked, 105-mm Gun, M60A1

• STUDY OF ERRORS IN RANGE ESTIMATION WITH THE UNAIDED EYE

• Evaluation of American telescopic tank sights

• DETERMINATION OF THE AMOUNT OF HEAT TRANSMITTED TO THE FIGHTING COMPARTMENT OF TANKS UNDER FIELD CONDITIONS

• CONTROL OF GUN FUMES IN M4 SERIES MEDIUM TANKS BY POSITIVE-PRESSURE VENTILATION

• REPORT ON GUN FUME HAZARD FROM 37MM GUN IN M5 LIGHT TANK

• DETERMINATION OF BASIC VENTILATION CHARACTERISTICS OF TANKS OF THE M4 SERIES. DETERMINATION OF BASIC VENTILATION CHARACTERISTICS OF TANKS OF THE M5 SERIES

• PLACEMENT AND MOUNTING OF SIGHTS IN TANKS

• DISCUSSION OF VENTILATION REQUIREMENTS OF ARMORED VEHICLES

• Work on Sabot-Projectiles and Supplements, 1942-1944

• M4A3 Manual

• M103 armour requirements

• US Armor in Korea, pt. 1

• US Armor in Korea, pt. 2

• XM1 Engine Troubles

• Analysis of the effectiveness of American tank destroyers

• US testing of MTU MT883 Diesel engine for possible use in M1 Abrams

• Development of 105mm HEAT round T-384 (US)

• Human factors and safety assessment of the M1A1 Abrams

• Alternate armament for M551

• Anti-Armor Defense Data Study (A2D2) ‘How to Research’ Guide

• Anti-Armor Defense Data Study (A2D2). Technical Report

• Anti-Armor Defense Data Study (A2D2). Volume 2. U.S. Anti-Tank Defense at Mortain, France (August, 1944)

• Anti-Armor Defense Data Study (A2D2). Volume 3. U.S. Anti-Tank Defense at Dom Butgenbach, Belgium (December, 1944)

• Anti-Armor Defense Data Study (A2D2).  Volume 4. US Anti-Tank Defense at Krinkelt-Rocherath, Belgium (December, 1944)

• Evaluation of Siliceous Cored Armor for the XM60 Tank

• INVESTIGATION OF THE VULNERABILITY TO BALLISTIC ATTACK OF TWO T77 OSCILLATING TURRETS

• War Metallurgy

• Protection provided by steel and aluminum armor against fragments from high-explosive ammunition

• 3" M62 AP ammunition trials

• United States Ammunition Data Sheets

• An Overview of Novel Penetrator Technology

• Medium caliber ammunition effect on urban targets

• M36 Crew Training Manual

• 90mm M3 Armor Piercing Ammunition

• M4 (105) Training Manual

• M1A1/M1A2 TUSK 1/2 Manual

• Technical Manual for M6 and M6A1 heavy tanks

• Canadian war diaries of the Normandy campaign

Other

• Swiss Anti-Tank Guns (in German)
• Penetrator strength effect in long-rod critical ricochet angle
• AMX-13 prototype trials at Aberdeen
• 12cm kanon STRV 121/122. Skjuttabeller
• Renault FT-17 manual

Axis

Germany

• Armor: Metallurgical Examination of Armor and Welded Joints from the Side of a German PzKw Vf (Panther) Tank
• Metallurgical Examination of a 3-1/4 in. Thick Armor Plate from a German PzKw V (Panther) Tank
• Armor Plate. Metallurgical Examination of German Armor from a Pz. Kw. III Tank
• Principles of Armor Protection (ballistic testing of scale Pak 40 shells)
• Interrogation of Herr Stiele von Heydekampf (On Porsche's designs, Tiger/Panther development, T-34's influence on German tank development, and long term trends in German tank building)
• Pantherfibel.pdf
• German tank production, availability, and losses in WWII
• Leitchttraktor manual
• British analysis of King Tiger turret (Porsche)
• Vulnerability of Tiger Tanks
• Tiger Operations Handbook: Tigerfibel

Japan

• The Metallurgical Examination of a Japanese Samurai Sword
• Japanese light armour (part 1)
• Japanese light armour (part 2)
• Japanese heavy armour

Italy

Other

North Korea country handbook

It's sparse for now, but I'll slowly but surely transfer my collection. Contribute all you got!

I heard a good quip about tank turrets a while back: "They're like a reverse TARDIS, smaller on the inside"

Sweet. What's the citation?

Can I get a scan of that last part? It will be a wonderful thing to show wehraboos. 

It would be interesting to compare this to the Soviet data I have. Until I put up a proper article, have some scraps of info:

T-70s: 

Front hull: 8.5%

Turret front: 5.6%

Total front: 14.1%

Hull side: 43.8%

Turret side: 18.4%

Total side: 62.2%

Hull rear: 12%

Turret rear: 0.5%

Total rear: 12.5%

Hull roof: 2.4%

Turret roof: 5.0%

Total roof: 7.4%

About the same side shots, but a lot more rear and top shots. The numbers don't add up to 100% since there are other hits to weird parts of the tank I didn't take into account.

T-34:

Hull front: 22.65%

Turret front: 4.86%

Total front: 27.51%

Hull side: 50.5%

Turret side: 8.61%

Total side: 59.11%

Hull rear: 7.52%

Turret rear: 2.48%

Total rear: 10%

Hull roof: 0.19%

Turret roof: 1.11%

Total roof: 1.3%

Again, less hits in the front, a little more to the rear, about the same side. 

AT artillery calibers (knocked out by)

88: 35.2%

75: 46.2%

50: 12.8%

37: 5.0%

Mines: 0.8%

Looks like the Western Front had a hell of a lot more heavy guns.

Orel-Kursk Operation (tank types not given)

Turret: 38%

Hull front: 26%

Hull sides: 34%

Rear: 2%

Rechitskaya Operation (tank types not given)

Turret: 32%

Front: 23%

Sides: 41%

Rear: 4%

The amount of rear shots has fallen to about Western European levels, but the weirdness with counting turret shots as a separate category doesn't allow for a full comparison. 

Rogachevskaya operation: 20% of hits are 105 mm HEAT! So much for all the big guns being West.

T-34, summer 1944:

Turret front: 15%

Front hull: 16.2%

Total front: 31.2%

Turret sides: 23%

Sides: 35.3%

Total sides: 58.3%

Turret rear: 8%

Hull rear: 2.5%

Total rear: 10.5%

Again, really close to American numbers, but the rear of the turret gets hit a hell of a lot. I guess the Soviets are more inclined to rotate their turret actively in combat?

That's an interesting vehicle, even I know little about it. Looking forward to it!

Now, we are all in agreement that the best tank the Germans built was the StuG III.

But did you know that the Germans had other vehicles? It's true! You should talk about them here.

Links you should click:

Our Problem Child: Rossmum on the Panther tank

Germany's White Elephant, a look at the Tiger tank in theory and practice

Tiger II: A Royal Pain

An overview of Germany's armour quality