David Lister on last Sherman vs Pz IV battle

June 23, 2015 by Leave a Comment

PWgV4UpOver at Overlord’s Blog, researcher David Lister has posted a short piece on the last battle involving M4 Sherman tanks and Pz IV tanks.  While many people might guess that 1945 was the last time these two vehicles faced off against each other, Lister points out that the final confrontation of these two metal warriors was far later than that, occurring during the 1967 “Six Day War” between Israel and her Arab neighbors.

After their defeat in the Israeli War of Independence and the following years the Syrians brought in advisers to help train their army. These were predominantly German ex-soldiers. These advisers convinced the Syrians they needed more armour. So the Syrians went shopping and from about 1959 they started to acquire Panzer IV’s, Stug IIIG’s, a handful of Jagdpanzer IV’s and even the odd Hummel. The tanks seem to have been sourced from both Czechoslovakia and France, although some may have come from Spain as well. They saw action on the Golan heights during the War over Water. However when the Israelis deployed Centurions the old German tanks were forced back. The Syrians then started to receive Russian support, such as T-34/85’s and T54’s. From then on the tanks remained in positions on the Golan heights.

Full article available at Overlord’s Blog.

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From the Vault: Tank Analysis by Joseph Williams 1974

June 22, 2015 by Leave a Comment

williamsA while back someone asked us to dig up an article from a 1974 issue of ARMOR by Joseph Williams on US post war tank design.  With the help of an internet friend, we were able to obtain a copy.

Joseph Williams is one of those names that should be well known to tank and AFV aficionados but is not.  As we have pointed out in past posts, the former Soviet Union did a far better job of publicly recognizing their prominent tank designers than the Western democracies tended to do.  Fortunately, there is a short biography dedicated to Mr. Williams on the US Army Ordnance “Hall of Fame” page.

Mr. Joseph Williams entered Government service at Aberdeen Proving Ground in July 1941 as a designer and project engineer.

In a very short time, he became one of the Army’s pioneers in design and analytical disciplines which are now the basic framework for scientific approach and methodology of combat vehicle design and development. Mr. Williams played a key role in the initial concepts of prototype tanks leading to the medium tank M26. He was also responsible for the conception and execution of the first postwar tank design, Model T37/M41 light tank, featuring such innovations as a single driver, quick removable powerplant, scientifically developed ballistic shape, and concentric gun recoil system.

Mr. Williams was a driving force in the initiation and development of new tank building blocks. He designed the T42/M47 gun and turret assembly, including fire control selection and installation and development of ballistic and casting sections.

He also conceived and performed most of the preliminary design and analytical work for the M103 heavy tank. He then designed the T48/M48 tank, which was later produced in large quantities and is the main battle tank for many foreign countries.

Versions of this tank are currently being modernized in the US Army and are a vital part of the tank inventory. He was a driving force in the development of the M551 and the M60A2 tanks, in both a direct-responsibility role and as a consultant.

Through his international interests and affiliations and his vast knowledge of tanks, he also played a major role in the United States/Federal Republic of Germany tank development program, a precedent-setting international endeavor. During the last 10 years of his career, Mr. Williams was recognized internationally as an outstanding leader in the design and development of combat vehicles.

That is a pretty impressive resume to say the least.  In the gallery below we present Mr. Williams’ 1974 article from ARMOR magazine on “Tank Analysis.”

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More posts later today

June 18, 2015 by 2 Comments

We apologize for the lack of posts here the last couple days.  The editor is suffering from a nasty bought of the flu.  Expect to see some posts later today assuming the headache medication does what’s it’s supposed to.

In the meantime, enjoy this amusing picture from Twitter.

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Filed Under: Modern Vehicle News

Indian Army announces new armored vehicle platform

June 15, 2015 by Leave a Comment

arjun questionThe Tribune of India is reporting that the Indian Army has announced that it plans to replace its existing fleet of Russian origin battle tanks with a family of modular armored-fighting vehicles yet to be developed.  At present the T-72 and the T-90, both procured from Russia and assembled in India, are the mainstay of the Indian Armoured Corps. The T-72 has undergone several upgrades to enhance their capability. The T-90 began entering service in the last decades.  According to a statement from the Indian Army “The Indian Army is planning to design and develop a new generation, state-of-the-art combat vehicle platform for populating its armoured fighting vehicle fleet in the coming decade. This vehicle, which will be called the future ready combat vehicle (FRCV), will form the base platform for the main battle tank which is planned to replace the existing T-72 tanks in the Armoured Corps.”  The article states that this new platform is planned for induction by 2025-27, and will include a number of variants, such as bridge-layers, anti-mine trawlers, command posts, armoured ambulances, engineer vehicles, self-propelled gun platforms and recovery vehicles.  This announcement is does not bode well for the future of the indigenous Arjun tank, which has been plagued by a number of issues and which the Indian Army says does not meet their future needs.

Full article here.

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From the Vault: Armor of the Future circa 1960

June 15, 2015 by Leave a Comment

picture coverLooking back at what previous generations predicted the future might hold can often be amusing.  Books, films and TV of the past often present version of the future that are considerably more fantastic than what actually came to be.  Military thinkers are not immune to this trend either, as today’s article shows.  We present “Armor of the Future” by Major Raymond J. Astor, published originally in the Sep-Oct 1960 issue of ARMOR.  In the article, the author uses as his starting point a quote from General Bruce C. Clarke on future tank requirements.

“We know exactly what we want.  Take the single item of the tank: our requirements are simple.  We want a fast, hightly mobile, fully armored, lightweight vehicle.  It must be able to swim, cross any terrain, and climb 30 degree hills.  It must be air-transportable.  It must have a simple but powerful engine requiring little or no maintenance.  The operation range should be several hundred miles.  We would also like to to be invisible.”

One would assume that General Clarke was speaking tongue in cheek when he made these comments, however the author of the article takes them at face value!

” This requirement could be approached and perhaps fulfilled completely if the United States were willing to assign the necessary scientific resources of the nation to the problem.  Let us examine the problem and determine how this could be achieved.”

Looking back, this claim seems to contain more than a hint of hubris.  Perhaps it is not surprising considering the unbridled optimism concerning technology that was the style in 1950’s America.

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Video: T-54 “Centurion” OPFOR vehicles

June 15, 2015 by Leave a Comment

This video appeared on youtube few days ago.  It shows Soviet T-54 tanks modified to appear as British Centurion tanks for training purposes.

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T-34/85 Walker Bulldog

June 14, 2015 by Leave a Comment

Two days ago this video of a T-34/85 modified to look like an M41 Walker Bulldog appeared on youtube.  We have no idea why this vismod was created or what it was used for.  It is somewhat unusual, since the M41 Bulldog is not a particularly rare or unusual tank.  In many films, M41 tanks were used as stand-ins for other tanks.

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Korean War tanker twins

June 14, 2015 by Leave a Comment

twin tankersThe Times-Tribune.com has posted an article about Joe and Pat Lacertoso, identical twins that served together in a Sherman tank during the Korean war.

Article excerpt:

The identical twin brothers from Dunmore spent 10 months serving together in Korea with the Army’s 1st Calvary, 70th Tank Battalion. Their weapon, transportation and, for all intents and purposes, home, was a Sherman tank that kept them unscathed for the duration of their tour. Many of their friends were not so lucky.

“Those Sherman tanks were the best,” Pat Lacertoso said on a recent afternoon at his twin’s home, where his granddaughter, Carissa Hart, and Joe’s wife, Carmella, listened to them recount their combat experiences.

“Korea was the Forgotten War,” Carmella Lacertoso said. “I don’t care what anyone says.”

Full article here.

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“Patton’s Spearheaders” 737th Tank Battalion holds reunion

June 14, 2015 by Leave a Comment

The 737 Tank Battalion, known as Patton's Spearheaders, gathered for the 68th reunion of the battalion in Faith, NC. Three of the World War II veterans attended the reunion.The Salisbury Post has published an article about the remaining veterans of the 737th tank battalion.  Nicknamed “Patton’s Spearheaders” the 737th participated in five major battles, including Normandy, Northern France, Ardennes-Alsace, Rhineland and Central Europe. Military records show the battalion spent 299 days in actual combat, starting with its landing at Omaha Beach July 12, 1944. It saw some of its fiercest action in the Battle of the Bulge.  The article notes that at the recent reunion for the 737th, only three members were present, all of whom are over 90 years old.

Article excerpt:

In past reunions, the men’s stories touched on living and praying in foxholes, catching glimpses of Patton, being knocked off tanks by exploding shells nearby, wearing handed-down leather helmets from high school and college football teams, driving tanks over pontoon bridges and recuperating in French and English hospitals.

Bob Kluttz, a tank gunner in Co. A., said none of the tanks he was in were ever lost, though he saw a German Tiger, with its 88 mm cannon, take out tanks in front and behind his.

Kluttz said he wore out two 75 mm cannon on his own tanks before freezing his feet and being sent back to an English hospital for three months with frostbite.

Deal had shrapnel rip into his legs when he tripped on a land mine.

Pritchett had to drive a 15-ton Kenworth truck onto the battlefields to tow away disabled tanks. “I’m sure I pulled a tank of Jim’s that got knocked out,” Pritchett said.

He often teamed up on those wrecker missions with his buddy Richey, a tank mechanic who had been trained at Fort Knox. “If I had to have any help, I would use him,” Pritchett said.

Read the full article here.

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From the Vault: T-72B Turret Armor Exposed

June 12, 2015 by Leave a Comment

t-72bJim Warford has shared with us a copy of a piece from 2002 that was originally published in the Journal of Military Ordnance.  The article is titled “T-72B MBT – The First Look at Soviet Special Armor” and it contains some of the first published photos of the armor layout of the T-72B “Super Dolly Parton.”  According to the author, this article made quite a splash, becoming a much read item in defense circles.  The author based the article on a unclassified version of the source report which was dated January 1999.  The report documented an inspection of the configuration of the ERA package as well as the armor package inside the turret frontal armor lobes of the T-72B.  No information is given in the source report about where the two T-72B tanks that were examined came from, nor was any information given as to armor performance or capabilities of the armor packages examined.  One of the more interesting conclusions of the evaluation is that the construction of the cavities inside the T-72B turret provides the ability to change the makeup of the special armor package either during production or during a depot-level rebuild of the tank.  For people interested in late cold war Soviet armor, this article should prove very interesting!

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