Post-war Swedish trials of different tanks' off-road capabilities:
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmXEly5_u38
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmXEly5_u38
Interesting comparison of tank mobility
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Airframes
Benevolens Magister
Interesting comparisons.
GrauGeist
Generalfeldmarschall zur Luftschiff Abteilung
really interesting video, thanks Tomo!
syscom3
Pacific Historian
The Sherman tank doesn't seem to be as good as I thought it was.
GrauGeist
Generalfeldmarschall zur Luftschiff Abteilung
I will admit at being surprised at how well the Panther did
- Thread starter
- #6
Me too. On the other hand, the Sherman received 1st the 'grousers' to widen the footprint, and later the new, wider tracks were produced. The Swedish did test the early, a bit narrower tracks on that Sherman Firefly. Interestingly enough, the shape (loosely a 'V') of track links/pads seem not to be such a good idea afterall.
Interesting video! Thanks for sharing.
GrauGeist
Generalfeldmarschall zur Luftschiff Abteilung
The "V" tracks actually did provide lateral traction to a certain degree, where the surface was uneven and covered in ice and or snow.
At my former place of employment, we had a snowcat (1961 Thiakol Imp) that had straight "cleats" on it's tracks, which worked fine on level or incline/decline surfaces, but if we tried to traverse a road (or path) that had a slope to it, the snowcat wanted to slide sideways. This was usually in areas like the side of a mountain where slipping sideways off the road meant tumbling down 500 feet or more - making for a very stressful trip.
I solved this problem by welding small "V" cleats (patterened after the Sherman, by the way) to the tracks and it performed well after that.
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davebender
1st Lieutenant
The first scientific explanation for WWII era tank mobility I've seen anywhere. That army training film deserves an academy award.
fastmongrel
1st Sergeant
Great find thanks. Would have been interesting to see a T34/85 in the test as well. The section on hill climbing I could almost smell the clutch plates burning
parsifal
Colonel
Its an interesting comparison. I always understood it was a function of two main variables, ground pressure per m2 and power to weight ratio
GrauGeist
Generalfeldmarschall zur Luftschiff Abteilung
In looking back at the types used in the evaluation, it's actually a shame that all the main players in the war weren't compared, as they were readily available, like the King Tiger, the KV-1, Matilda and others.
I know it would have been made for a lengthy movie (or video by today's standards) but certainly worth watching.
I know it would have been made for a lengthy movie (or video by today's standards) but certainly worth watching.
davebender
1st Lieutenant
Tiger tank and German 3/4 tracks employed suspension similar to Panther tank so adding them probably wouldn't reveal much.
T-34 would be a great addition as it uses suspension system different from all the test vehicles. Centurion and Pershing would be interesting too.
T-34 would be a great addition as it uses suspension system different from all the test vehicles. Centurion and Pershing would be interesting too.
GrauGeist
Generalfeldmarschall zur Luftschiff Abteilung
The Tiger II (King Tiger) was over 23 tons heavier and had 9 guide wheels per side, so it would have been interesting to see it's performance based on the formulas used in the film.
Same with the Soviet KV-1, which had 12 guide wheels per side, at a weight of 45 tons (just a shade over the Panther's weight). So a direct side-by-side comparison of the KV-1 and the Panther would have been great.
davebender
1st Lieutenant
That might be interesting as we'd get to see how early Soviet torsion bar suspension stacks up. Probably should have Panzer III for comparison purposes.
Very interesting stuff!
