Best/favorite WW2 medium tank

[Danielmellbin]

Okay - here goes again - I've added a few more choices and will be making a heavy and light thread soon - and most importantly: I remembered the T34


My choice is still "Guderians probelm child" - the Panther mark V - although it had reliability issues in the earliest model. However by the time it hit Ausf G it was the most well balanced tank of the war. T34 would be my second choice - simply because its too crude for my liking

 

[timshatz]

Still the Panther. Could take on all the tanks on the page with a very good chance of winning and only a couple (t34-85) have a chance to beating it.

 

[starling]

after the seine crossing,the welsh guards armd recon regt.came into its own,advancing 100miles in a day,it is perhaps a shame these same tanks/tactics;leaving strongpoints behind,after a good look see,were not taken advantage of during o.m.g.
my other choice would be the panzer mk4;a good allrounder,which spawned the jagdpanzer 4,and a good s.p arty.yours,starling.

 

[seesul]

Although I know in some aspects there were better tanks, my vote goes for T-34. With its new design, construction, mobility and firepower (T34/85 version) it´s my favorite tank of WW2.
BTW, look at Panther, where do you think Germans got this idea from...

 

[Marcel]

BTW, look at Panther, where do you think Germans got this idea from...

Exactly and remember, it could be build in vast numbers, being easy to construct. While the Panther probably was better in a tank to tank comparison, it was much harder to build and the output was never enough.

 

[renrich]

Once the teething problems were solved, the Panther may have been the best all around tank of the whole war. A good case can be made for the T34 also.

 

[Kurfürst]

Exactly and remember, it could be build in vast numbers, being easy to construct. While the Panther probably was better in a tank to tank comparison, it was much harder to build and the output was never enough.

Actually, from actual figures I have seen, the assemlby time required for the Panther was not that much different than a Pz III. 20% more or something like that from memory. Of course it is more raw material-hungry, but that is not generally the production bottleneck.

I voted for the Pz IV (I can not help but I simply like this compact little tank), and of course I voted for the Panther - its a technologically very advanced tank, and a well thought out, balanced package for medium tank roles.

 

[Marcel]

Hi Kurfust.

I took this from the Osprey - "Panther medium tank" publication

also be remembered that the Panther was a complex and sophisticated vehicle that proved both expensive and time consuming to produce -each tank took 2000 man-hours to complete - as well as to maintain in the field.

For the rest, I must admit, tanks are not my speciality

 

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

Armour is not really a strong point for me, but I have to go with the Panther.

In my opinion it had the best mix of armour and armament.

 

[Glider]

One question is 'is the Panther a Medium tank when you look at its weight and size?'

 

[KrazyKraut]

Hi Kurfust.

I took this from the Osprey - "Panther medium tank" publication


For the rest, I must admit, tanks are not my speciality

I assume that figure is from the Panther's very early days. I too heard that it could be produced in only slightly longer time than the Pz.IV. Around 6000 were produced in total, not bad considering Allied disruption and raw material shortage.

Overall for me it's the T-34 though, for the reasons mentioned in the other thread. It's only real drawback is the sub-par cannon.

 

[starling]

is it not true that the pz mk5 suffered the same as the pz mk6,with wheels hidden away behind eachother.if it was so advanced,why do the modern tanks not use this technological advanced suspention system.perhaps they should have copied the russian,british or american types of suspention.yours,starling. .

 

[Mitya]

Panther is a medium tank!!!?

 

[Kurfürst]

One question is 'is the Panther a Medium tank when you look at its weight and size?'

I guess one would rather have to look at the operational use of the vehicle (it was meant to be the standard tank of Panzer divisions, and its precedessor Panzer IV was only kept in order not to disrupt production), though there`s merit in the observation as many consider the Panther the first MBT of the world - a tank design encorporation the good traits of both medium and heavy tanks.

In any case, if one looks at the weight of typical medium tanks, it kept growing through the war - in 1940, it was about 20 tons (ie. Somoua, PzIII), by 1941, it was about 26 tons (ie. T-34, later Pz IVs), by '42-43 it grown to 32 tons (T-34/85, Sherman) and by 44-45 it increased to over 40 tons (Panther, Pershing). It settled down for a while at about this weight in the post war period, then it slowly crept up.

Nowadays, we have equivalents of the King Tiger in weight serving in the capacity of WW2`s mediums...

is it not true that the pz mk5 suffered the same as the pz mk6,with wheels hidden away behind eachother.if it was so advanced,why do the modern tanks not use this technological advanced suspention system.perhaps they should have copied the russian,british or american types of suspention.yours,starling. .

Actually, most post-war tanks use its suspension system and solutions.
They gave away with the interlapped roadwheels, though, but some post-war German and French tank designs continoued it for it has great cross-country properties.

I guess they abandoned the interleaved roadwheels because of their complexity, and the availability of much more powerful tank engines than available in World War II.

The Panther was state-of-the-art in this respect, Spielberger`s Panther volume is highly reccommended on this!

 

[Juha]

I voted for
Pz IV lang, workhorse (both kz and lg) of WM, good tank with very good HE 39-42 and had growth potential which allowed the upgunning to KwK 40 which allowed it to fight against Soviet tanks successfully excluding JS heavy tanks. Bit underpowered and a little weakly protected. KwK 40 was also adequated against Western Allies tanks.

T-34, revolutionary tank, was a great shock to Germans. Mother of all modern MBTs. Good protection and excellent mobility, easy to produce and use. Minuses 2 man turret and gun had mediocre penetrating power even if it has a good HE.

A34 Comet, fast and reliable tank with a gun which had excellent penetration power but mediocre HE. Reasonably protected even if armour arrangement was oldfasioned. Arrived late but was excellent for the job medium tanks were intended, deep penetrations behind enemy forces and was well able to fight against enemy mediums.

Juha

Juha

 

[KrazyKraut]

is it not true that the pz mk5 suffered the same as the pz mk6,with wheels hidden away behind eachother.if it was so advanced,why do the modern tanks not use this technological advanced suspention system.perhaps they should have copied the russian,british or american types of suspention.yours,starling. .

Because modern tanks have twice the horsepower at about the same weight.

 

[renrich]

We had M41s in my unit. It was regarded as a light tank and of course was not in WW2 but would have been an excellent medium tank in WW2, I believe.

 

[SoD Stitch]

One question is 'is the Panther a Medium tank when you look at its weight and size?'

Compared to the Tiger I and the Tiger II (and the later JS III) then, yes, it was a "medium" tank. A few years earlier, and it probably would've been considered a heavy tank but, as Kurfurst pointed out, the weight of all tanks continued to increase right up till the end of the War. There were even some "superheavy" tanks in development by the Germans toward the end of the War, most notably the famous "Maus" (at 180 tons+), and the uncompleted E-100 (at approximately 100 tons, hence the "100" designation; none were ever completed, but a completed chassis was found at Paderborn after the War sans turret and tracks).

 

[comiso90]

If we're talking about 5 tanks vs 5 tanks gladiator-type battle in an open field with equal crews, the Panther would clean up.

The reality is that cost, fuel consumption, production, manufacturing, reliability and numbers should be considered in addition to firepower, armor, speed and agility.

IMO the T-34 holds the crown in best overall medium tank.

.

 

[seesul]

The reason why I voted for T-34 and not for Panther is because T-34 was really revolutionary conception and Germans only used and improved (not in all aspects) it on their Panther. Should Panther have a simpler gears conception (wheels) and diesel engine, it would be the best tank of WW2.
But as I said T-34 came first with a really modern tank conception.
Panther saw the light of this world only because of T-34...