Most recently, a new film by the famous director K. Shakhnazarov “The White Tiger” was shown on television. The tank, in honor of which the picture got its name, became a negative character along with the completely animated Soviet tank crews. He behaves like a living and very dangerous beast, hiding in a swamp and crawling out to hunt. The film is artistic, it is full of associative rows, parabolas and other tricks that enhance the emotional impact on the viewer. There is almost no truth in the historical sense in it, but after viewing the work, there is an understanding that Hitlerite Germany had special weapons that constituted a danger to the Allied armored forces. And if the Red Army had WWII tanks capable of fully resisting the onslaught of the enemy, then the situation was more difficult for the Allies.
Bulk tanks
Each warring army, in addition to unique models, as a rule, has mass-produced equipment. During the Second World War, the Soviet army received tens of thousands of “thirty-fours” and KV, the Germans most often used T-III and T-IV, the British had “Matilda”, “Churchilli” and “Cromveli”. Serially produced and the American tank M4, named after the hero of the Civil War, North-General William Sherman. For all technical indicators, this car was outdated, but the quantities in which it was produced gave a chance to achieve victory. The M4 was also delivered to the USSR, but it did not play a special role in the battles. Soviet tankers preferred our WWII tanks, but in war conditions all means are good, and order is order. In addition, the comfort inside the fighting compartment was different from the modest Spartan conditions familiar to our military, the fire control devices were good, and the American walkie-talkies worked just fine. Another thing depressing: the chances of survival, fighting in the "Sherman", were not enough.
Normandy, 1944
The Shermans began to fight against the Tigers T-VI in June 1944, after the allied forces landed on the northern coast of France, in the province of Normandy. The situations that developed during the fighting immediately revealed numerous systemic design flaws in the American machine. Reservation was weak not only for German 88-millimeter shells, practically no tank in the world could withstand their hit at that time. Own armament left much to be desired, the rifled gun not only with its caliber (75 mm), which the USSR had already abandoned due to low efficiency, but also did not satisfy modern requirements with the barrel length. The gun couldn’t hit the target at long distances, but the M4 Sherman couldn’t get close to it, it also had problems with stealth, moreover constructive.
The influence of transmission on the profile
The location of the transmission for both German, American and British tanks during the war was front. The gearbox was located on the nose of the car in almost all countries producing armored vehicles, this had a positive effect on handling. But such a scheme inevitably led to a very serious problem, consisting in increasing the height of the tank, or, to use the military-technical language, to increase the profile. The tighter the machine, the easier it is to hide in the folds of the terrain, the more difficult it is to get into it. The front location of the gearbox forces the driveshaft to drive with it from the engine, therefore, the bottom of the tower needs to be raised. Weight increases (excess volume still requires a reservation). The motor power is uselessly consumed, fuel is consumed. It was more difficult to fight in our tanks, the internal volume did not differ in spaciousness, but all this played a lesser role in comparison with the best fighting qualities. In the battles that the Shermans fought against the Tigers, however, this constructive flaw was also not so significant. He owned and German cars, even the most modern.
The heart of "Sherman"
During the war, only Soviet tanks were equipped with diesel engines. The fact that gasoline fumes tend to explode is known to all. Tank M4 "Sherman" was equipped with different engines. The most successful option is the Continental aviation 350-horsepower engine, but it appeared later. The power plant version M4A4 consisted of five automobile (from the "Chrysler") L6. One can only guess how this "team" with 30 cylinders and candles, loaded on one universal joint, worked. For any specialist in armored vehicles, the idea of such a layout will cause sadness. There was also a modification of the M4A2, driven by two General Electric diesels. Also not a gift, but still better. All these engines were produced by the US industry for purely peaceful technology, with the exception of the 500-horsepower Ford V8, designed specifically for tanks, but it appeared by the end of the war and was also gasoline. Nevertheless, driven by these "miracles of technology" and their bundles, the Shermans fought against the Tigers. It was difficult and dangerous.
Powerplant T-VI
German industry, like the American and British ones, during the whole war was not able to create a high-quality and technologically advanced tank diesel engine of sufficient power. But the problem of powerful engines in fascist Germany was still paid attention to. The heavy tank "Tiger" (it weighed approximately 55 tons, for comparison: "Sherman" - 30 tons) was driven by a 700-horsepower engine of the Maybach brand of two modifications. For all the impressiveness of this figure, you should pay attention to the power ratio, which is the ratio of power to mass. It turns out that the lighter Sherman almost did not exceed the German Tiger heavy tank in terms of maneuverability. The characteristics of these two machines, such as speed, overcome walls and ditches, etc., differ little. True, a lot of weight still affects many other parameters, and not for the better.
Undercarriage
The best suspension, which serves as the main element of the chassis, for the entire time of the Second World War, recognized the design of the American inventor Christie. And in the Soviet version. It was not appreciated anywhere except the USSR. When considering the chassis of the "Sherman" involuntarily begs a comparison with agricultural machinery. It consists of six support trolleys, each of which has two rollers: approximately the same as on tractors - field workers.
But a much more depressing impression in the running aspect is made by the Tiger tank. Characteristics, mainly massive, prompted German designers to arrange thin “pancakes” in a checkerboard pattern. This decision helped to reduce the specific load on the soil, but significantly complicated the operation and repair. The rollers were bending, disassembling and replacing took too much time, not every bridge could withstand a heavy engine, and loading onto railway platforms was a real hell for German tankers.
Conceptual differences
The surviving American and British tankers spoke a lot about how the fighting took place in Normandy. It was not easy, sometimes it was necessary to show miracles of resourcefulness and courage. Losses "went off scale", for every destroyed T-VI there were at least three dead M4. For the Western Front, the death of such a huge number of troops was unusual. The reason for the many failures was that the Shermans should not be at war against the Tigers. They were intended to support infantry during offensive operations. To accomplish this task they had everything they needed, including artillery weapons. But the "Tiger" was originally conceived as a tank destroyer. And for that, he also had everything. A high mobility tank destroyer operating from long distances is not needed.
Application tactics
In the movie "White Tiger" the tank, mysterious and elusive, growling menacingly and releasing powerful jets of exhaust, leaves from nowhere, appearing right in front of the Soviet "thirty-fours". The artist is allowed to fantasize, but in a real battle, the T-VI crew would rather prefer to act at a distance, realizing the advantages of a long-barreled large-caliber gun, firing accurately and far. The excellent Zeiss optics that our machines, and American ones, also contributed to such tactics.
As for the Shermans, their main advantage was related more to the capabilities of the US industry, capable of producing huge quantities of albeit imperfect equipment. During the war years, almost 50 thousand units of this type were manufactured. The corps had riveted joints, the power plants were already mentioned, the gun did not meet the needs of the front, but there were many of them, and the Germans simply did not have time to cope with them. And, it should be noted, despite the strong opinion about the weak fighting qualities of the US Army soldiers, the Sherman tankers were brave people.
After the war
The Tigers were too complicated to manufacture for war-weakened German industry to be able to mass-produce them. T-VI-x was released since 1942, only 1354 pieces, and even a powerful reservation did not save them from the almost complete destruction of the coalition forces.
The American tank, in spite of more than modest combat characteristics, managed to take part in many armed conflicts of the late 40s, survived the fifties and even took part in the Arab-Israeli wars in the 60s. He became the third most popular model of armored vehicles in the world, losing the championship to the Soviet T-34 and T-54.