The 75mm gun was a very poor choice of armament however, esp. for recon work. You need something which will keep heads down while you retreat, and the short slow firing 75mm gun won't, making it highly vulnerable to infantry which is what it most likely is going to stumble into.
Best/favorite WW2 Light tank
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Soren
M24 had also 3 mgs, in combat against infantry especially the co-axial and hull mgs were useful.
Not to underrate Luchs, but were was its second mg, one was co-axial and the other? 20mm automatic cannon wasn't a bad choice, the BW stunck with it after rearmament, but according to you, not to me, 75mm gun was excellent building burster, so excellent against buildings and barricades.
Juha
M24 had also 3 mgs, in combat against infantry especially the co-axial and hull mgs were useful.
Not to underrate Luchs, but were was its second mg, one was co-axial and the other? 20mm automatic cannon wasn't a bad choice, the BW stunck with it after rearmament, but according to you, not to me, 75mm gun was excellent building burster, so excellent against buildings and barricades.
Juha
Yes the 75mm gun was effective against buildings, however for recon work that is totally unnecessary, you'll need fast firing weapons for that, which the Chaffee's 75mm cannon is not. The 20mm KwK38 L/55 was ideal for the role, furthermore the Luchs itself was also extraordinarily fast, which is always a desirable feature for a recon vehicle.
As for the 2nd mg on the Luchs, well I don't see it anywhere actually, but I suppose it could be mounted in the right side vision slot.
As for the 2nd mg on the Luchs, well I don't see it anywhere actually, but I suppose it could be mounted in the right side vision slot.
Soren
according to specs Luchs only had one 20mm and one mg.
On armament general, it depends mostly on doctrine of the army in question. Light tanks were not purely recon vehicles, other uses were for ex. flank security. Clearly UK, US and CCCP doctrines demanded at least some A/T capacity, look their vehicles, for ex US M3, M5, M24 and after the war M41 and M551; CCCP T-60, -70 and after war the PT-76 and British reliance on 76mm gun which was capable to fire HESH shells. Germans stuck the 20mm automatic cannon concept after the war, but UK and US had global commitments and CCCP its steppes. Germans maybe thought that in Central-Europe 20mm was the best choice, others that they needed something more powerful, at least in some areas outside Central-Europe.
And also 222 with its 20mm had some creditable A/T capacity in 39-41 timeframe and IMHO mostly because their experience in Eastern Front (Soviet T-60s and T-70s) but also partly because experiences in Desert also Germans flirted briefly with a heavier gun, 50mm KwK 38, in Puma and in planned up-gunned version of Luchs. IMHO what was best is almost always an ambivalent question, answer depends for what and in what circumstances.
Juha
according to specs Luchs only had one 20mm and one mg.
On armament general, it depends mostly on doctrine of the army in question. Light tanks were not purely recon vehicles, other uses were for ex. flank security. Clearly UK, US and CCCP doctrines demanded at least some A/T capacity, look their vehicles, for ex US M3, M5, M24 and after the war M41 and M551; CCCP T-60, -70 and after war the PT-76 and British reliance on 76mm gun which was capable to fire HESH shells. Germans stuck the 20mm automatic cannon concept after the war, but UK and US had global commitments and CCCP its steppes. Germans maybe thought that in Central-Europe 20mm was the best choice, others that they needed something more powerful, at least in some areas outside Central-Europe.
And also 222 with its 20mm had some creditable A/T capacity in 39-41 timeframe and IMHO mostly because their experience in Eastern Front (Soviet T-60s and T-70s) but also partly because experiences in Desert also Germans flirted briefly with a heavier gun, 50mm KwK 38, in Puma and in planned up-gunned version of Luchs. IMHO what was best is almost always an ambivalent question, answer depends for what and in what circumstances.
Juha
Glider
Captain
If you want an off the wall idea, how about the Crusader AA tank, fast with twin or even triple 20mm in the turret.
starling
Airman 1st Class
i like the mk4 panzey,with the 37mm a.a gun,its nearly as good as the baiter 38t.starling.
.
.Might actually be a good choice.
Ok, but that doesn't subtract to its effectiveness however, the 20mm main armament fired so fast that MG's were unnecessary. However an additional MG could be mounted on the turret, which was then manned by the commander.
Well we were discussing recon work here, for which you need a small fast vehicle which can get in and out fast while laying down as much firepower as possible, making sure the enemy doesn't get a chance to think before you're gone. The M24 Chaffee is outfitted more to fullfill the role of infantry support, not recon work.
Ramirezzz
Senior Airman
M24 is a pretty good tank ,but it barely saw combat - my vote goes rather to Stewart - reliable and good in its recce role.
The topic is about light tanks, yes, but we were discussing light recon tanks, there's a difference. Don't try to muddy the waters.
