I have a suggestion!

[Revthought]

I know someone out there wants to add it to their mod. [;)] The Japanese Tiger. It never arrived in Japan (the Germans leased it back from Japan after the Allies landed in Europe), but we can pretend it did AND that with enough effort, it could have entered production... can't we? [:D]

[Yaab]

Uhm, wouldn't its name be "Tora" then?

[LargeSlowTarget]

Overrated.Complicated design, requiring many man-hours to produce, mechanically unreliable and a gas guzzler. A few volunteers with explosives strapped to their backs would be much cheaper for the same effect.

[HansBolter]

ORIGINAL: LargeSlowTarget

Overrated.Complicated design, requiring many man-hours to produce, mechanically unreliable and a gas guzzler. A few volunteers with explosives strapped to their backs would be much cheaper for the same effect.

Blasphemer!

In spite of all those listed flaws it dominated every battlefield it appeared on.

Havta go t bat here as my avatar IS one of the top tiger tank aces of all time.[:)]

and....as an avowed and certified AFB (Allied Fanboi in the Pacific/Axis Fanboi in Europe)...I have to demand that if the Japs get Tigers the Americans have to get M1A1 Abrams.

[Revthought]

ORIGINAL: LargeSlowTarget

Overrated.Complicated design, requiring many man-hours to produce, mechanically unreliable and a gas guzzler. A few volunteers with explosives strapped to their backs would be much cheaper for the same effect.

Well sure! But you can say something similar about some of the planes the Japnese player can push for!

[Jorge_Stanbury]

a panzerfaust or bazooka design would had been more useful for Japan

[Reg]

ORIGINAL: LargeSlowTarget

Overrated.Complicated design, requiring many man-hours to produce, mechanically unreliable and a gas guzzler. A few volunteers with explosives strapped to their backs would be much cheaper for the same effect.

The IJA didn't have a force structure or doctrine (ie Panzer divisions) to use to it's fullest potential a weapon so radically different for what they were used to.

By this stage of the war the US Army had encountered these tanks before and by the time Op Olympic rolled around they had weapons more than capable of dealing with it (M26 Pershing, Bazookas in every squad, rocket firing F4U/P-47/P-51 etc).

The pacific terrain wouldn't too advantageous for this weapon system either. In confined terrain they would essentially become mobile block houses. A role in which the Australian Matildas performed well long after they were overtaken in Europe.

I would suggest they would probably end up used in penny packets which the US Army would have been adequately able to deal with.....

Another JFB wet dream with tenuous link to reality. Sorry.

[Reg]

ORIGINAL: HansBolter

In spite of all those listed flaws it dominated every battlefield it appeared on.

Pardon??

Though it would have given some grief to the guys on the ground, in the big picture it made very little difference. A short lived localised withdrawal around the Ardennes in 1944 and similar result for Operation Zitadelle a year earlier.

Hardly a war winning super weapon. [;)]

[Revthought]

ORIGINAL: Jorge_Stanbury

a panzerfaust or bazooka design would had been more useful for Japan

Shh... I want to see Japanese Tigers. [:D]

ORIGINAL: Reg


The IJA didn't have a force structure or doctrine (ie Panzer divisions) to use to it's fullest potential a weapon so radically different for what they were used to.

You're right; however, the IJA did in fact purchase a Tiger and a license to produce them in 1943. A Tiger was produced specifically for Japan (they paid 640,000RMs) and moved to Marseille for export, along with blueprints, production specifications, and spare parts. It sat there for some time as the Germans had yet to figure out the best way to disassemble it for submarine transport to Japan.

It was there on June 6th 1944 still awaiting disassembly when the Allies landed. At which point the Germans took the tank for its own use, officially leasing it back from the Japanese government.

So the historical precedent does exist. The IJA bought and paid for a tank, blueprints, and rights to produce and fully intended to do so after more testing once the tank reached Japan. So if the Japanese player, particularly in some of the alternative history mods, wants to spend the resources it takes to retool the requisite factories, I do not see that it would be a big deal adding this tank to some of the squad equipment.

You're right though, it wouldn't be a weapon that is going to save Japan or have a huge impact; however, I'm authentically all for its use, given the history Japan had with the tank, if a Japanese player wants to spend resources to use it.

[Yaab]

- How many Tigers did Japan get from Germany during World War II?
- Tora, tora, tora?

[Revthought]

ORIGINAL: Yaab

- How many Tigers did Japan get from Germany during World War II?
- Tora, tora, tora?

Well,that depends. Technically one Tiger was delivered to Japanese representatives in Europe, but never shipped. So was delivery and transfer of ownership getting a Tiger, or does only actual delivery to Japan count? If the former 1, if the latter 0 (I realize you didn't need a serious answer). [:'(]