Best Tank:

[GYBLIN]

Buy lots of bt-5's or bt-7s.youll have about 80 of em.

[Ivan]

really?the soviets get more points? me and my friend always play with equal points. ffs now i got proof that i need more points yay!

[Curieus]

IIRC this is also part of the national characteristics. If you want to have a balanced game, then only fix the points on the player1 side. Leave the other points at XXX*, the game will calculate how many points the other player should get.

*Perhaps this setting is shown like this because where soldiers are prostitution is rife

[Jacc]

This issue has been discussed thousands of times in every forum even vaguely attached to warfare and WWII. Usually those who handle the subject history-based tend to favour their own favourite tanks - which usually were the most important. Most voted are therefore Sherman, T-34, Tiger and variants and sometimes Panther.

Since this is not pure history, but a game, I tend to vote for Panther (D or G). This tank combines excellent mobility, accurate and effective cannon and adequate armour protection. Yes, I know the problems with maintenance and side armour, as well as weak top armour, but I still prefer 75mmL70KwK over most guns. 88mmL71KwK (Königstiger, Jagdpanther) is perhaps better, and the old 88mmL56 (Tiger I) more effective against infantry, but that 75L70 is accurate and effective.

Of course, the T-34 was one of the best from 1940 onwards - until the appearance of Tiger and even more so Panther. The 75mmL43 and 75L48 had caused severe trouble for the the Soviets by summer 1942. T-34 regained above average firepower and increased protection only at 1944, the T-34/85 entered service.

Basic Sherman was a good tank, or at least better than Italian... Short-barreled model was quite fast, accurate and manouverable, but had appaling armour protection and firepower. Long-barreled 76mm was better, though Sherman's armour protection remained somewhat inferior till the end of the war. Facing Tigers, Panthers, Jagdpanzers like Hetzer and JPz-IV(A) and old PzKpfW-IV's the Sherman was more than handicapped.

Some people like to add something new on the list, which is traditionally held by the those tanks mentioned above. Matilda II, Valentine, Grant, KV-1, T-70 and even pre-war Christie had great influence on the battlefields. Germans also had these less-favoured models: StuG-III/IV, Elefant, Brummbär and Jagdpanther. All had somewhat significant effect on tactical scale.

[Ivan]

marder!yay!

[Belisarius]

If we want to nit-pick (I do that alot ), we can say that TD's are, in fact, artillery. They were used as such tactically, and not as tanks. Only the desperate shortage of tanks in the Wehrmacht forced the Germans to use them in tank roles. (which they weren't particulary suited for)

[Panzergrenadier49048]

The best all-round tank to fight in WWII, albeit only at the very end in limited numbers was the M26 Pershing. It could defeat the Panther, Tiger I or JS-2, while being more reliable and mobile (except Panther). It had a greater rate of fire and could carry more ammo than the JS's and Tiger II.

[Commander Klank]

In my opinion, dispite its late appearance in the war, the M-26 Pershing was probably the best medum (yes it was a medum tank not a heavy) tank of the war.



The M-26 had a hard hitting gun with a high rate of fire and its armor protection, mobility and mechanical relyability were exellent for a tank of it's class. It incorperated many of the "lessons learned" from the M-4 Sherman class tank and was the first American attempt to seriously build a tank to be "better' than other enemy tanks on the battlefield.

Not bad for a first try EGH?

Oh, and the best light tank of the war? Without a dout the M-24 Chaffie. Fast, hard hitting and had decent armor for a light tank.



Anybody want to dispute this?:D

[Jacc]

Have to agree in most points - Pershing was agood tank. However, the armour was a bit inadequate (at least that's what I've noticed when I've used them). It did not have enough sloping.

However, Pershin (like JS-III) saw only very limited service in the war (though IS-III did serve in Japan). Thus, I wouldn't add them on the "best tank" conversation, since their impact was minimal. Best tank should also handle the very effect of every tank (compare updated Pz-IV's and Königstiger, for example).

[GYBLIN]

Although,hypothecily if the war had dragged on with all sides being equal who would have won out?King tigers,js-3's or pershings.I'd hate to see what the nazis's would have followed the king tiger with?

[Damien]

Humm, you guys are missing the point. The question was "What was the best tank in WWII", not in SPWaW. :p In reality tanks like Tiger II and T-44 were never used, blueprints were ready.

But I guess the original question was ment to mean SPWaW? So I'll add my ramblings here.

Panther, or both versions of T-34.

Panther is probably the best possible solution if requirements are mobility, fire power and shielding. The 75mm could penetrate any hostile armour. T-34 had no chance nor Shermans. Tiger would have been a problem, but a clear shot to the rear or side is enough. Luckily Panther had no reason to shoot Tigers The first Panther had a severe problem with forwared armouring of the tower. If a shot was to hit straight to the front of the tower it would have rebounded down on the top of the hull disabling the driver. (Driver was seated directly under the place the barrel end and tower begins.

The same goes with T-34. Their only problem was infantry. They are extremely vunerable to infantry assaults. The ones used in Finland 40-44 had to add an extra machine gun to rear due to surprise assaults by sneaking finns. (I managed to destroy 2 platoons with 1 SS platoon) The earlier version had 75mm cannon, and as I already stated, it would lose if T-34/75 countered Tiger coming straight ahead. Still excellent, since Tigers aren't used that much.

Pershings would have done a lot of damage, but they were used only in 1 battle before the WWII ended.