Best tank killer aircraft of WW2 Part I

[the lancaster kicks ass]

i thought they were pulled out of servise before then??

 

[Lightning Guy]

Mostly they were. I think Rudel's unit may have been the only one still using them in daylight but several night units continued to use Stukas for a while longer.

 

[plan_D]

That's interesting, I wouldn't have thought Stukas would have still been in service, especially in the defence of Berlin. The skies were full of Soviet and Allied fighters, it must have been hard going for them.
Anyway, it says that 15.4% of all T-34s were destroyed by 37mm calibre rounds. And even more amazingly 4.7% of all T-34s destroyed up to September 1942 were destroyed by 20mm calibre rounds, Bf-109s strafing maybe.

 

[Erich]

you guys are so fast I cannot keep up !

ok SG 2 was based at Wels in Austria taking on soviet armor invading Vienna and Wiener Neustadt. 10th staffel had the Ju 87G till the end of the war.

SG 77 also had the G variant in it's 10th panzer staffel opeating out of Cottbus and Pardubitz till war's end. other staffeln of the existing SG's in 45 had the Fw 190 as I mentioned.

10th and 14th staffels of SG 9 had the Hs 129 till war's end while 11, and 12th either dissolved or converted to rocket firing Fw 190's. 13th ? not sure.

one of my favorites the NSG units. NSGr 1 and 2 were split up to cover the north of Germany and the southern area of Bavaria and armed with D-5's during 1945. Both units were on the receiving end of the P-61's of the US ETO forces. NSGr 9 had the D-3 and D-5 while seriving on the Med and Italien fronts before being pulled back towards Austria.

 

[plan_D]

So it sounds reasonable that 5.4% of those destroyed in 1945 were by Ju-87Gs.

 

[Lightning Guy]

Very interesting bit about the 20mm ammo and the T-34 Plan-D. I would guess that would have been done by 190s but I'm not sure when they entered service against the Soviets.

 

[the lancaster kicks ass]

i didn't think a 20mm would be that effective against a tank??

 

[Erich]

Plan D it could of been misidentication from the 3cm tungsten rd's of the Hs 129. Fw 190F's and G's had 2cm weapons with the Panzerblitz rockets, but heavy pointed 2cm rd's along with the vicious Minen which tore MT's and other soft skinned vehicles to shreds

 

[plan_D]

Erich, a collection of German planes in service between June 1941 and September 1942 with 20mm calibre guns, please.
Now, I'm just being cocky. Still it would help shed light on what could have been destroying these things.

 

[Erich]

tjose years or during 1945 as this was the year I was talking about.

during 41/42 it would of been the Stuka but with only lighter mg type weapons and these would of done nothing except to puncture outside storage fuel tanks if the rds had AP/I shot. Possibly Ju 88's and He 111 with the MG 151/20 as well

 

[Lightning Guy]

I've never heard of the He-111 being used as a tank-buster.

 

[plan_D]

Well the T-34/76 Model 1942 had top armour of 20mm. In fact it only had frontal armour of 45mm but with slanting gave the strength of flat 80mm.
The majority of guns that I've got listed could pierce 20mm armour at 100m, so it wouldn't be that hard to destroy the tank from the top with a 20mm or 37mm cannon.

 

[Erich]

primarily using bombs but also forward firing 2cm and the ventral section rehoused a 2cm on a couple of field modified He 111's.

 

[Lightning Guy]

I had never heard that. Interesting. Thanks.

 

[Erich]

Plan, it was the use of hard point bombs

 

[plan_D]

Regular Fw-190s and even Bf-109s could have taken them out from the top. So, you didn't have to always use bombs to take out the first T-34s.

 

[Erich]

now again are we talking early war then ?

 

[plan_D]

Yes, going by numbers no T-34 was destroyed by 20mm calibre after September 1942. And of all T-34s destroyed up to September 1942 4.7% of them were destroyed by 20mm calibre rounds.
Now, I wasn't entirely correct in saying that 20mm rounds couldn't destroy a T-34/76 Model 1942 (There were Model 1939 and 1941 as well) on the ground. As the 20mm FlaK 30 38 with Pzgr40 ammo could destroy the T-34/76 within 100m if attacking at the rear.
Either these gun crews were lucky, or these tanks were taken out by aircraft armed with 20mm cannons. I'm going to go with the latter.

 

[Erich]

ok in response then I would have to say Ju 88's and He 111's before the advent of heavier cannon

 

[the lancaster kicks ass]

have you got any pics of a 111 with tank busting cannon??