3 ms·

I suspect they would be invincible for sure. Keep in mind that modern main battle tanks are typically heavier than WW2 tanks, carry guns that are almost twice i

I suspect they would be invincible for sure. Keep in mind that modern main battle tanks are typically heavier than WW2 tanks, carry guns that are almost twice in diameter (76mm for the late war Sherman's vs 120mm for M1A1/2/3 Abrams) are much faster, have vastly improved electronics and night vision, counter measures, etc.

sofixa 5y ago
> 76mm for the late war Sherman's vs 120mm for M1A1/2/3 Abrams And the Shermans were notoriously undergunned. The Germans had 88mm guns on tanks since 1942 with the Tiger I, and had anti-tank guns up to 126mm (which was even mounted on the Jagdtiger tank destroyers ( of course as everything late war German, in pitiful numbers)). The Soviet KV-2 had a 152mm howitzer in 1939, and anti-tank guns up to 100mm. The IS-2 had a 122mm gun, and was used since 1944. Today's main battle tanks are closer to heavy WW2 tanks ( in terms of size, armament, protection, etc.), so compare apples with apples, shall we :p
- throw1234651234 5y ago
  I am guessing you already know this, given all the information that you have posted, but "caliber parity" alone would not be sufficient to penetrate an Abrams/T-90/Chally/whatever. Today's 120mm rounds are kinetic-penetrator sabot rounds* (link below if someone really wants the details and naming conventions). The point is that this round is way longer than WWII tank rounds and functions completely differently. None of the tanks you listed would penetrate a modern tank from the front (100%), I would guess they are unlikely to penetrate from any aspect, but I am not ready to provide data proving that. Note that even T-72s are currently being updated specifically to be able to use LONGER rounds, and every developed country has chosen to BYPASS 150+mm cannons in favor of using longer 12x rounds. We can also get fancy and talk about active protection systems (APS), which would defend against slow WWII rounds as well as they protect against RPGs since the 90s. Though, no one but Israel has really fielded APS in serious numbers since the USSR pioneered the concept. * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armour-piercing_fin-stabilized_discarding_sabot https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armour-piercing_fin-stabilized...
- greedo 5y ago
  The only thing a WW2 era tank could do to an M1 would be a mobility kill. Treads, optics or engine. Eventually the M1 would run out of 120mm rounds, then there becomes a more realistic chance of disabling it.

sofixa 5y ago

> 76mm for the late war Sherman's vs 120mm for M1A1/2/3 Abrams And the Shermans were notoriously undergunned. The Germans had 88mm guns on tanks since 1942 with the Tiger I, and had anti-tank guns up to 126mm (which was even mounted on the Jagdtiger tank destroyers ( of course as everything late war German, in pitiful numbers)). The Soviet KV-2 had a 152mm howitzer in 1939, and anti-tank guns up to 100mm. The IS-2 had a 122mm gun, and was used since 1944. Today's main battle tanks are closer to heavy WW2 tanks ( in terms of size, armament, protection, etc.), so compare apples with apples, shall we :p

throw1234651234 5y ago
I am guessing you already know this, given all the information that you have posted, but "caliber parity" alone would not be sufficient to penetrate an Abrams/T-90/Chally/whatever. Today's 120mm rounds are kinetic-penetrator sabot rounds* (link below if someone really wants the details and naming conventions). The point is that this round is way longer than WWII tank rounds and functions completely differently. None of the tanks you listed would penetrate a modern tank from the front (100%), I would guess they are unlikely to penetrate from any aspect, but I am not ready to provide data proving that. Note that even T-72s are currently being updated specifically to be able to use LONGER rounds, and every developed country has chosen to BYPASS 150+mm cannons in favor of using longer 12x rounds. We can also get fancy and talk about active protection systems (APS), which would defend against slow WWII rounds as well as they protect against RPGs since the 90s. Though, no one but Israel has really fielded APS in serious numbers since the USSR pioneered the concept. * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armour-piercing_fin-stabilized_discarding_sabot https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armour-piercing_fin-stabilized...
greedo 5y ago
The only thing a WW2 era tank could do to an M1 would be a mobility kill. Treads, optics or engine. Eventually the M1 would run out of 120mm rounds, then there becomes a more realistic chance of disabling it.