M8 TANK...

[vobbnobb]

I am getting an "armor too thick" when trying to shoot at a panther "A" with a 75mm M8 Tank, then goes to saving ammo at 35 rounds.. ARE YOU JOKING! [:@]

Also if a 37mm greyhound was shooting at it why can't the 75mm m8?

[TIK]

You have to hit them on the flanks. Hitting them on the front is a waste of ammo because the shell will just bounce off. This can make some scenarios next to impossible (especially in multiplayer) due to the fact you start in a corner with no way of getting a chance to hit them on the flank, but there's not much you can do there.

Tank-Destroyers and some Shermans can penetrate the front armour of a Panther. But in my experience, they're still unlikely to penetrate. Also the Panther will probably destroy you first. So the best thing to do is get two or three tanks and try surround one Panther and hit them from all sides. You may lose a Sherman or two, but the loss of one Panther is a bigger loss to the Germans than a couple Shermans.

You can also try moving out from behind cover and fire a shot off at it's side or rear before falling back behind cover. This works well again with multiple tanks from multiple angles. One tank will fire, making the Panther turn its turret, then it'll retreat while another tank will appear and fire while the turret is facing the wrong way.

Tbh, these tactics are what you should do no matter what tank or armoured car you're facing.

[vobbnobb]

^ I think some of the tanks did carry AP rounds. I did that with 2 greyhounds and an M8 towed howitzer, teaming up on a Panther A. It was still the sides that the M8 refused to shoot at. And the constant hammering of the greyhounds popping out behind buildings made the crew jump out from the mass surrounding. Could I have been out of range on the m8? Maybe the crew decided not to as the range was too far away but hey why not join in and help the 2 greyhound hounds out?

[TIK]

Are you refering to the M8 HMC?

The M8 HMC is an assault gun, not a tank. Its 75mm is low velocity and should be used against infantry. You'll notice it has a howitzer, not a 'gun'. It may be able to take out some armoured cars and maybe lighter tanks (I'm not sure tbh) but probably not a Panther.

[vobbnobb]

You are right, but I did knock out a Panther with it I was within 50? yards hiding and contacted side armor with a shell before game ended, I was surprised that it did! I don't know what they did but out of all the new cc series, I think PTF brings back the old close combat feel from Microsoft for some reason, but with a huge graphics,AI and game play overhaul which is a huge plus. I have some screenshots of the kill and also one of surrounding a panther forcing whole crew to surrender to 3 of my light tanks.

[TIK]

That's good news! And I agree, I'm playing a lot of PitF too, mainly multiplayer. I think the reason I'm liking it (other than the MP lobby system) is the maps. There's a lot of good urban ones which makes for closer combat [:)]

[SteveMcClaire]

The M8 HMCs usually have a few HEAT rounds that can penetrate Panther side armor, but it can't do much from the front. Smoke and run away.

Steve

[Lieste]

Not all 75s are the same:

The M1897/M3 gun are pretty similar in performance (not very much gun for anti-tank work, but fairly good as an HE thrower)...
The M2 gun is slightly lower velocity, but still 'medium velocity' ~ this was the early gun for M3 medium hull mounts, before the longer M3 was adopted.

Going upscale a bit, the 76.2mm M1 gun is comparable to the KwK40 L48, in terms of velocity and armour penetration, and significantly worse as an HE weapon than the M2/M3 75mm.

The Panther's gun, the KwK42 is much harder hitting in anti-armour capability than the KwK40...


Going downwards there are the German KwK37 L24, the US M2 Howitzer (the weapon on the M8 HMC), and the German IG37 and IG18 (plus a few other 75mm types in more limited numbers) in that order of velocity and 'hitting power' ~ these all are 'good' HE throwers though... In order to obtain useful mid-late war anti-armour effect these all relied on HEAT ammunition, with maximum penetration of roughly 75mm (calibre). This is far less than the maximum penetration at short range of the other types, and HEAT tends to have lesser BAD effects for similar degree of overmatch to AP or APHE rounds.

[vobbnobb]

ok the low velocity is why the crew were saying armor too thick.. Got it.