StuG III Thread (and also other German vehicles I guess)

[Sturgeon]

I was under the impression that the Tiger I would have needed a new turret with a bustle to mount the L/71.

[LostCosmonaut]

I think it would have, the image is just to show the absurdity of gun lengths.

[Priory_of_Sion]

Those German engineers had to get creative to not get sent to the frontlines you know. And by creative I mean write down bigger numbers. 

[Collimatrix]

I was under the impression that the Tiger I would have needed a new turret with a bustle to mount the L/71.

Tiger I mitt KwK 43 doesn't look that different:

 

 

The main difference is that the trunnions are moved forwards, outside of the turret ring (just like they are in the tiger II).

[LoooSeR]

It would have been great if they actually produced those things. Imagine how many manhours and machinehours, resources and logistics would have been wasted to produce guns with completely unnecessary penetration/MV characteristics.

[Sturgeon]

Tiger I mitt KwK 43 doesn't look that different:

 

 

The main difference is that the trunnions are moved forwards, outside of the turret ring (just like they are in the tiger II).

 

Pretty sure that's not a period drawing, and it's just a post-war rendition of an L/71 glued to a Tiger I.

 

We went over this ages ago on the WoT forums with Daigensui (who said much the same thing you did), and determined that there was no way it would work with the original turret.

[Walter_Sobchak]

I have a suspicion that the L130 gun would have suffered just a wee bit from barrel sag.  Still, it would have been very handy for hanging laundry out to dry.  

[EnsignExpendable]

dont let the wehraboos see this, lest they go on the usual "an 88 can easily stop a T-72" sperg

 

It can, the barrel jams up the tracks something awful.

 

 

I have a suspicion that the L130 gun would have suffered just a wee bit from barrel sag.  Still, it would have been very handy for hanging laundry out to dry.  

 

 

Yes. The gun barrel was designed in three pieces, to be transported separately.

[Priory_of_Sion]

I can now imagine 3 Tiger IIs with each a portion of the gun and they have to be linked together in order to fire. That's the magnificence of German engineering. 

[Collimatrix]

The squeezebore cannon barrels were three-piece.  There was the large-caliber section, rifled, the conical section, unrifled, and the small-caliber section (also unrifled?).  They were screwed together.

[CrashbotUS]

This was here in Texas. Apparently it was at Mullins Jeep Parts (company the restored WII vehicles) in College Station for some WWII reenactment a few years back. 

 

 

[LostCosmonaut]

I can now imagine 3 Tiger IIs with each a portion of the gun and they have to be linked together in order to fire. That's the magnificence of German engineering.

Like a really shitty voltron.

[Donward]

If Wehraboos reproduced sexually, the species would go extinct what with the masturbating theyd do over that gun, alt-histories of how it would knock out Abrams combined with the biological fact of the male refractory period.

Sadly this is not so.

[LostCosmonaut]

Is this last one legit (picture didn't give source)?

 

[Priory_of_Sion]

I've seen it in Spielberger's Pz IV volume before. 

[Walter_Sobchak]

So, some guy in Germany had a Panther in his basement.

[Tied]

I guess they call it a boiler room for a reason 

[Belesarius]

I guess they call it a boiler room for a reason 

OHSNAP.

[Walter_Sobchak]

Over at Tank-net, Ken Estes posted about being able to crawl all over the Tiger II at the Saumur museum in France.  He has this to say about the vehicle:

 

It's surprisingly roomy inside, if you forget about the 70 rds of 88mm that were stowed in the hull sides forward of the engine compartment to the driver's compartment, plus up to 22 more in the turret bustle. Tiger I had no main gun ammo in the turret and apparently the crews did not like to store rounds in the Tiger II turret, but the whole thing was an ammo box, and only the turret ammo would have been handy for loading. Perhaps because there is not a turret basket, there is much room for everybody but the gunner. I could stand fully upright in the loader and commander positions.

 

Gunner and driver controls were OK, and I don't know why the British found the manual traversing wheel awkward projecting into the gunner's lap. Interestingly, there is a second manual traverse located in front of the loader, so he could add his energy as well to the traversing load. They should have had this in other tanks as well, especially heavies. My eyes popped out when I saw the 8 speed transmission shifting lever, but it is apparently as easy to drive as the earlier Tiger. Many controls are redundant, for instance braking is via foot pedals and the usual levers; must help a lot for panic stops.

 

So well engineered I'd say, at first impression, but of course it's hopelessly underpowered and overtaxed by terrain limitations for which the suspension could not handle. As with the M103, it likely represented the limits of automotive engineering of its day.

 

I was accompanied only by one of the museum's volunteers, the co-author of Tanks in Hell, so our mutual USMC tank history connection quite simply led to this opportunity. I took about 160 pics in two hours, was almost exhausted by the effort required.

[EnsignExpendable]

That's pretty awesome, sadly the only museum exhibits I managed to get inside of were on Kubinka's scrap heap. 

[Walter_Sobchak]

Still, that sounds pretty fun.  I have not been able to visit many museums, just vehicles out in front of veterans halls and armories.  Recent events have put me and the wife on a more sound financial footing, so perhaps I can start making some travel plans.  I really want to go see the super Pershing tank outside of Chicago area, that would only be a four hour drive for me. 

 

Is it weird that occasionally I drive out to the M4A3 (small hatch hull, 75mm turret) Sherman tank near my house and just hang out with it?  The thing is, Sherman tank is a good listener.  He also is quite understanding, he knows what it's like to be judged unfairly.  Sherman tank is the closest thing I have to a therapist I guess. 

[Sturgeon]

We should snatch Ken away from tanknet.

[EnsignExpendable]

It's good to see that there are some competent restoration efforts underway in Russia that aren't headed by Yuri Pasholok. A guy on my LJ took some photos of the Snigeri tank "museum" (it's more of a field with some stuff in it), and I was pleasantly surprised. The last time I was there was maybe 20 years ago, and I remembered two vehicles particularly well, the Tiger, which was a rusted out hulk, but at least had a turret, and a PzII, which was missing the turret platform and also not exactly in fantastic condition. Here's what they look like now.

 

 

 

Apparently the top hatches were welded shut, but you can still get in though the emergency evacuation hatches if you're not afraid of getting dirty.

[Walter_Sobchak]

I've seen pictures of that "museum" before.  The tanks do look better than they have in the past.  Even a Tiger as beat up as that one is a prize worth preserving.  

[Collimatrix]

 

(Courtesy Tamara K)