What's your favourite WWII Tank Destroyer?

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doggtag RE:Two favorites 9/28/2004 6:36:10 AM

regardless of the "ineffectiveness" of 50 cal aircraft armament: ask some of the Germans who came under fire from it. And certainly, several dozen locomotives found out the effectiveness of 50 cal firepower. If we are talking WW2 tank-busting aircraft, certainly the Ju-87 with its twin 37mm guns (in underwing pods) was credible, as was the Il-2 with its wing mounted 20, 23, or 37mm guns. But I'd opt for the hard hitting (4 20mm guns) Hawker Typhoon (it could also carry 8 rockets under the wings.) Of course, 20mm-cannon-and-rocket-armed F4U Corsairs faired decently enough against enemy armor in the Korean theater, also. But per ground vehicle, I'd opt for the Allies' M36 with its 90mm gun in a turret And fortunately for the Germans, the 32pdr gun (developed from the 3.7inch AA gun) matured too late in the war to be a formidable battlefield weapon. Had it arrived in 1943 or early 1944, it is certain it would have been the most potent Allied anti-tank weapon, ideally mounted on yet another modification of the Sherman/M4 medium chassis and modified Cromwell hulls..

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super general RE:Two favourites 9/28/2004 10:09:50 PM

I am still skeptical about the actual damage 50 cal guns did to German tanks, but I suppose eight firing at you at once is scary nonetheless.

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MikkoLn RE:Two favourites 9/29/2004 8:59:14 AM

I?m not saying that aircraft weren?t good in ground attack role or that there wasn?t a decent role for them. The thing is just that we?ve got to make a clear difference between ?ground attack? and ?tank buster? roles, of which in the latter planes weren?t as good as their reputation would indicate (again, not useless though). Like I said before, in general ground attack role they did fine and were an important aid. But against tanks they didn?t reach those same records, unlike air forces were understandingly insisting. Most credible successes were achieved in eastern front by both sides, where occasionally airpower was a major player, but notably the western allies made considerable overestimations by the achievements of their aircraft in form of tank destroyers.

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Yimmy RE:Two favourites 9/29/2004 10:40:11 AM

The best British tank busing aircraft, at least mid-war, was probably the Hawker Hurricane when armed with two 2 pounder QQF (40mm) cannon under the wings.

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lennard RE:Two favorites 10/2/2004 7:27:44 PM

A panzergrenadier with a Panzerfaust! A very effective and cheap tank destroyer, all beit a bit slow as it depends for speed on halftrack or truck.

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