From the Vaults: Army Research, Development & Acquisition Magazine

March 29, 2015 by Leave a Comment

tank history 1 Sept Oct 1978Today we are presenting some tank related articles from the Army R,D&A (Research, Development and Acquisition) magazine.  This publication started in 1960 and is still being produced, although the name has changed to AL&T (Acquisition, Logistics and Technology).   For most of it’s history, the magazine was published bi-monthly and featured articles on new army technology and research programs.  Fortunately, a complete set of back issues is available here.  Tank and AFV News has gone through these back issues and picked out a selection of articles which may be of interest to the tank and AFV enthusiast or researcher.

We start with the Sept-Oct 1978 issue which features an article titled “Tank Development Traced to Royal Naval Air Service Early Efforts.”

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From the Vault: Ads with tanks

March 23, 2015 by Leave a Comment

$_57 (20)Here is a gallery of old magazine advertisements that feature tanks or armored vehicles.  Most of these are from WWII and are ads for the company that makes components found in the vehicle.  Image quality varies, but most of these are legible if people click on the image and enlarge it.  All of the ads feature American vehicles except for one rather odd ad for an advertising firm which features a picture of a very early model Panzer III.

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From the Vault: War Dept. Film Bulletin Videos

March 19, 2015 by Leave a Comment

Today we bring you a selection of War Dept. Film Bulletin videos from WWII.  These come from the WWII Archive at archive.org.  For those who are not familiar with Archive.org, it is one of the best things about the internet.  It’s really easy to lose track of time while browsing all the old videos and documents they preserve.

We start with War Dept Film Bulletin 3: Tests Of Gun Carriers Etc., 1942.  This clip shows footage of the testing of 37mm anti-tank guns mounted on Jeeps, 75mm guns mounted on halftracks and of a Christie type chassis.

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From the Editor: More Aberdeen Pictures

March 19, 2015 by 3 Comments
Semovente 47/32

Semovente 47/32

Here are the rest of my old photos from Aberdeen Proving Grounds circa 1981.  These were previously posted on my old blog.  These vehicles are no longer located at APG.  These were taken by my father with a cheap 110 film camera when he was stuck in Aberdeen for several weeks due to his job.  The quality of the pictures is not great, but they do show the state of these vehicles in this time period.  If you look carefully, you can see on both the Tiger tank and the Panther tank how the side of the turret has been covered over with sheet metal.  The turrets on both of these vehicles had been cut away so museum visitors could see inside them back in the 1950’s

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From the Editor: Tank Boulevard APG

March 18, 2015 by Leave a Comment
Heavy Tank MKVIII 1919

Heavy Tank MKVIII 1919

A couple years ago I scanned a set of old photos I had of the vehicles at Aberdeen Proving Grounds and posted them on my old blog. I have moved them over here where they will be more accessible.  While the quality of these pictures is not great, they do give an idea of how the vehicles were displayed circa 1981. I’m starting with the pictures from “Tank Boulevard” which was a long row of US vehicles set up chronologically along Maryland Boulevard as one entered the base.

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From the Vault: German anti-tank training videos

March 9, 2015 by Leave a Comment

Those interested in World War II Eastern Front tank fighting will find these clips from German anti-tank training films worth watching.

The first video is a short one showing various German panzerschreck and panzerfaust being used.

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From the Vault: German comment on enemy tanks

March 2, 2015 by Leave a Comment

coverWhat did Germany think of the tanks fielded by the Allies in WWII?  This article from Tactical and Technical Trends Number 35, October 7, 1943 should give a few clues to the answer to that question.  The piece in Tactical and Technical Trends is an English translation of a German language article that appeared in the June 27 1943 edition of Das Reich.  Oddly enough, the article has very little to say about German tank design but rather spends quite a few words praising the M4 Sherman.  For example, the article points out the M4 “represents one of the special accomplishments of the North American laboratories.  With its turtle-shaped crown rising in one piece above the “tub” and turret it must be regarded as quite a praiseworthy product of the North American steel industry.”

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From the Vault: Report of the New Weapons Board Jan 17, 1944

March 1, 2015 by Leave a Comment

report coverOn January 17, 1944, the US Secretary of War directed the formation of the New Weapons Board. The mission of the board was to: 1. Disseminate among the theaters information concerning successful solutions to problems encountered in the theaters; 2. Obtain advice concerning the performance and suitability of standard weapons and equipment now in use in the theaters and assist in on-the-spot corrections of defects; 3. Introduce and demonstrate in the theaters new standard weapons and equipment which are available but are not in the theaters and new items which may be available within the following eight months, and to determine the requirements for the various items and; 4. Assist in increasing the effective use of weapons and equipment now in theaters. The entire report can be downloaded in PDF form here.  

A good deal of the report deals with tanks and armored vehicles.  We have selected the parts of the report that focus on tanks and AFVs and have posted them below with comments.

We will start with the introduction page.  Of particular interest are the comments that “there should be a progressive increase in fire power, such as 90mm guns in the T20 series tanks…and 90mm and 105mm guns in self-propelled mounts.”

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From the Vault: Vulnerability of German Panzer III, IV and VI

February 27, 2015 by Leave a Comment

Figure 39The following charts are taken from the document Terminal ballistic data, volume II, artillery fire released August 1944.  These charts (pages 31 -51 in the report) show what the US Army thought at the time regarding the effectiveness of their tank and anti-tank guns versus German armor (Panzer III, IV and Tiger I).  It is worth noting that according to the report, this data was gained by firing US projectiles at captured German tanks.  They note that “the plates in many cases were completely defeated and whole sections dropped out of the tank.  This was caused by failure of welds and cracking and spalling of the plate.  Thus, many plates failed under the impact shock of the hit, as well as from actual penetration.”

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From the Vault: Project #47 German Tank Losses

February 27, 2015 by 2 Comments

German Tank LossesToday we present document MS # P-059 Project # 47 German Tank Losses published on Nov 7, 1950.  This document was compiled by former Generalmajor Herman Burkhart Meuller-Hillebrand, who served as the chief of staff to the Third Panzer Army.  The document includes lists of German tank types with quantities in service by date.  There is also included a penetration chart for KwK and Pak guns.  Also included are stats for tank strength for a given date by front.  At the end of the report are three detailed charts showing tank strength, tank losses and tank production by vehicle type and month.

Download the PDF document here.

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