Ad: This forum contains affiliate links to products on Amazon and eBay. More information in Terms and rules
UnwittinglyI'm just wondering, why did you put T-34 into the "decent" part and not "excellent"?
Who's guessing?I guess the criteria is your subjective feeling about certain equipment that you personally like or dislike?
Okay, my list of excellent/decent/not good when Soviet Union is concerned would be pretty much same as Tomo's only I would put T-34 into excellent category... 8)
I guess the criteria is your subjective feeling about certain equipment that you personally like or dislike?
You made a great point and you have changed my mind...The Garand goes in decent.Tomo,
I'm not sure that all the issues you cite with the T-34 were necessarily serious. The weakening of the glacis plate due to the inclusion of a driver's viewport and BMG position is a weakness shared by virtually every tank from the FT-17 up to the Challenger 2. For example, the Panther, which we would mostly consider to be a superior tank, suffered exactly the same 'defect'.
More controversially, I'm not sure the absence of radios in most vehicles before 1943 was a huge problem either. Soviet tank tactics thru WWII and well into the Cold War generally called for massed assaults with each maneuver unit following their platoon/company/battalion leader. In such circumstances,lack of a radio is not the handicap it might have been for German or European Allied tankers. Perhaps the 'fault' here lies more with the tactics than the tanks? I would agree however that the two man turret crew and lack of hull armour upgrades were serious issues.
Doughboy,
Great list, only thing I would personally question is the description of the Garand as 'excellent'. The inability to reload without first emptying the clip could be a disadvantage in close quarters fighting - I'm sure you wouldn't want to storm into a building with one round left, knowing you might have to reload under fire in a room. At least a rifleman using an SMLE, K98k or Nagant put a fresh clip in before rushing in. I have also heard that in the jungle, the distinctive ejection noise of the clip told Japanese soldiers when US troops were vulnerable and could be rushed with a hand weapon. Not sure that this was a huge killer of US troops, but if true it seems something of a weakness. Otherwise, a great weapon, maybe not quite excellent, IMHO.