mkloby
Senior Master Sergeant
It's an incredibly Gucci piece of kit, but what really, really matters are the results it achives within the situation and time in which it was used.
Something that whilst being robust, but is not particually fancy like the Shermans or T-34's, those are the designs which can be churned out in huge numbers, and THAT is what history has proved you fundamentally need to have if you're fighting a total war - therefore no matter what technical marvel the Tiger may have been at the time, the two main opponents of it should always be considered the better tanks for that one simple reason.
I agree with you completely there - but I think soren and mkenny enjoy the pugilistic banter. We all get to learn, so everyone wins. Sometimes people do forget that what matters is no sh*t combat effectiveness, not sexiness. Not being able to field a piece of gear in large enough numbers - well that greatly diminishes its effectiveness if there's a need for it. The german armaments ministry seemed to not completely appreciate this. A German officer said "how do you destroy 50,000 tanks" when referring to the Sherman. I'd guess a similar number of T-34s were produced as well.