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RE: OT: What if?
Posted: Sat Feb 11, 2012 11:28 pm
by wulfgar
But the Panther was a response to combat on the eastern front. How can the Germans get it before that battle starts?
The real issue where characteristics the T34 had that were useful. Sloped armor, wide tracks with large road wheels and a long, high velocity gun.
Let's argue the Germans realised all this pre-war and built something a little larger (30 to 35t) than the PW4 with these characteristics.
The Soviets were thoroughly into the mixed infantry-cruiser armor concept pre-war like everybody else and learned the error against the Fins. But the T34 was originally conceived as a "tank-hunter". The question would be what if the Germans also conceived of a tank-hunter pre-war.
Most originally believed that HE rounds from the low velocity guns would be adequate anti-armor.
RE: OT: What if?
Posted: Sun Feb 12, 2012 2:27 am
by AFV
Could the Germans have developed the Panther in 1939? I think they could have at least developed a better tank than they did, if they had dedicated the resources to it.
A lot of what drove the development of the Panther was things they learned on the battle field in the east, so you have a chicken and egg effect.
If somehow magically they had been able to, it certainly would have been a positive effect on the battlefield, but the Russians would have still overwhelmed the Germans. Just might have taken a few months/weeks longer is all. Which I think applies to all the other what ifs listed.
RE: OT: What if?
Posted: Sun Feb 12, 2012 2:29 am
by Aurelian
ORIGINAL: Jeffrey H.
ORIGINAL: Aurelian
ORIGINAL: Jeffrey H.
Go ahead into that negative G dive while I'm on your 6, I'll roll invert and pull positive g's inside you and blast you out of the sky.
Actually you wouldn't. By the time you rolled inverted, dove, than rolled upright, the 109 would be long gone.
Puhh, whatever, pulling a negative G outside loop with a closely matched opponent on your six will just get you killed faster.
The only way that could work is if the dummy on your six was lame enough to try and follow you into it. If he's that lame you could bag him some other way.
Since when is a negative G dive an outside loop? I certainly didn't say anything about a loop. Standard German tactic to get away was to slam the stick forward straight into a dive. Spit/Hurris couldn't do that.