Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!att!cbnews!military From: military@att.att.com (Bill Thacker) Newsgroups: sci.military Subject: Re: German Weapons in WW2 Message-ID: <6864@cbnews.ATT.COM> Date: 25 May 89 03:08:36 GMT Sender: military@cbnews.ATT.COM Lines: 71 Approved: military@att.att.com From: military@att.att.com (Bill Thacker) uunet.uu.net!bywater!archet!wlm (William L. Moran Jr.) writes: > >Why did earlier Pz Kw IVs have a short 75mm gun? They later switched >to the long version; was there a good reason? I guess what I'm >wondering is why they would ever have used a short barrel gun? >(Especially since the Pz Kw III had a longish gun). The prewar Panzerkampfwagen panzers were all designed with specific roles in mind. PzKw I was to be a training vehicle; the PzKw II was for recon. The PzKw III was to be the "main battle" tank, for tank-to-tank combat; recall that in the mid-39's, most tanks were still lightly armored, and a 37mm was thought sufficient (though room was left to upgun to a 50mm). Finally, the PzKw IV was to be the heavy support tank, to deal with enemy infantry and guns using HE and smoke. For this mission, the low-velocity gun was sufficient, and represented a weight savings over longer pieces; long guns weigh a lot, have greater recoil (requiring heavier recoil mechanisms and more turret room), and need longer ammunition, decreasing ammo storage. This scheme had parallels in most other armies. The British, for example, produced most cruiser tanks with a 2-pounder, which had no HE or smoke ammo, and then produced a variant of each model with a 3" mortar or somesuch, to provide that capability; they called these "CS" (close support) tanks. The French, in their Char B, had a short 75mm howitzer in the hull for HE and smoke, while the turret-mounted 47mm was to deal with enemy armor. The Soviets had the T-26 and BT series armed with 45mm antitank pieces, while the T28's carried 75mm howitzers. The famous T-35 mounted a 75mm in the main turret, with 45mm's in two auxiliary turrets, and two more aux turrets with machineguns. In fact, this concept continued throughout the war. When the PzIV was upgunned to a long 75mm, the PzIII, now nearly useless, was upgunned to take the short 75, taking over that close support role (its principle use was to escort Tiger tanks). The US Army produced the Sherman as an offensive vehicle, whose expected opponents were most likely to be infantry and antitank guns, rather than enemy armor; thus, it carred a fairly short 75mm. To combat enemy tanks, we had the Tank Destroyer units, armed with 3" and 90mm guns (the British army used 17-pounders for this role, either in the Achilles TD or the Sherman Firefly). As the war progressed, Shermans were upgunned to 76mm's, greatly improving their AT capability. Even then, though, the best antitank ammo available, HVAP, was reserved for the tank destroyers (though 76mm Sherman crews managed to obtain them in a variety of "free enterprise" operations 8-) >How many Ta 152s (the fw 190 follow-on :) saw service? I recall >reading that it was clearly superior to any other non jet fighter in >the war (although I don't remember where I read this). Can anyone >recommend a good book on Luftwaffe planes (something along the lines >of ``German Tanks of World War 2'' by Dr. F.M. von Senger und Etterlin)? I recommend _Warplanes of the Third Reich_ by William Green (pub'd 1986 by Galahad Books, New York. Library of Congress # 86-80568, ISBN 88365-666-3) Green states that 150 Ta-152H-1's were produced, and they were apparently the only version to reach production. Most were destroyed on the ground while awaiting acceptance; those that saw service flew alongside FW-190D-9's, or provided top cover for returning Me262's. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Bill Thacker moderator, sci.military military@att.att.com (614) 860-5294 "War is a matter of vital importance to the State; the province of life or death; the road to survival or ruin. It is mandatory that it be thoroughly studied." - Sun Tzu