Tank Busting Armaments... Whats The Best Setup???

[Tony Williams]

HE rounds had virtually zero penetration of any thickness of armour - they just blew up on the surface. And the 20mm AP rounds from the MG 151 could penetrate a maximum of around 20mm if they hit at short range with the armour vertical. Given the longer ranges and shallow angles of attack actually used, it stood virtually no chance of penetration.

After all, if tanks could be knocked out by 20mm cannon, why did everyone go to the trouble of fitting huge anti-tank guns and inaccurate rockets?

TW

[lesofprimus]

Good points..... Although I do believe that the 30mm Mk.108 could definatly destroy a Sherman or a T-34..... Especially since the Sherman drove around with Gasoline tanks...

So what do u think the Best Tank Busting Armament setup was?????

[Tony Williams]

See: http://www.quarry.nildram.co.uk/tankbusters.htm for a detailed answer!

TW

[lesofprimus]

I read u page awhile back, and re-read it just now... And u didnt answer the question.. Using hypotheticals is not an answer..

Which plane that functioned in an Anti-Tank capacity do u think was the Best????

[Tony Williams]

Originally Posted by lesofprimus

Which plane that functioned in an Anti-Tank capacity do u think was the Best????

Hs 129. The twin engines meant that it could mount one gun on the centreline, providing greater mounting rigidity and accuracy than underwing guns. With the MK 103 it could deal with most tanks, with the BK 7,5 with any tank (at the expense of performance and handling). I'm surprised it didn't see more use with the BK 3,7 or BK 5.

TW

[the lancaster kicks ass]

but at the same time a rocket armed tiffy could take out any tank, and the rockets didn't hamper performance to much..........

[MP-Willow]

But the rockets were not as accurate as the centerline guns. I think the centerline guns are more importent and the twin engine airframes are more stable. The Hs 129 did very well but what I read it was not well liked in the high command.

[cheddar cheese]

Its a shame the P-8 wasnt used for Tank busting - It would have been good I think because it was already good at regular ground attack, and it had the ability to carry both rockets and the centreline guns. Being twin engined it was also a lot more stable than the tiffy.

[cheddar cheese]

P-8? Sorry I meant P-38

[MP-Willow]

It was affective with tanks, but the USAAC liked the P-47s petter. But the P-38 was good at realy anything it anted to do. For tank busting the Kmodel would have worked, but did not come to production. Also by early 1945 the airframe was coming to the limits of it's design.

Originally Posted by lesofprimus

Which Armament Package do u think was the best setup for Tank Busting.... The plane portion is irrelevant for this discussion.....

The HS-129B3/Wa....
2x 13mm MG 131's
2x 20mm MG 151/20 cannon (125 rounds each)
1x 75mm BK 7.5 cannon and 26 rounds

The Ju-87G-2 'Panzerknacker' :
2x 37 mm BK 3.7 cannon in underwing gondolas
2x 7.92mm MG 81Z machine guns

Il-2/M3:
2 x 23mm VYa guns
2 x 12.7mm BS machine guns
2 x 7.62mm machine guns

Fw-190A-8/R2:
2x 30mm Mk 108 cannon
2x 20mm MG 151E/20 cannon
2x 13mm MG 131's

Any other suggestions???
Someone post the same stats for the Typhoon??? Rockets are interesting....

The MK108 would be nearly useless. You want the FW190A-8/R3 I think, it had 2 x MK103 30mm cannon, much higher velocity and thus more effective against thick armor (if firing an AP round).

Hmmm... best armament - NAPALM. Near 100% kill rate against German tanks.

Best gun? I'd go with the NS-37 or maybe the NS-45. These russian cannon fired a huge round at very high velocity, and they fired at 250 rpm, much faster than most other large cannon. The VYa 23mm is also a very good choice, but probably insufficient to kill Tigers from most angles of attack. I think all other WWII guns fall short by comparison, at least for tank killing.

=S=

Lunatic

[johnny]

Didnt Hans Ulrich Rudel fly a Stuka for years on the Eastern front and must have knocked out thousands of tanks in his career.Think he wrote a book on his life as a pilot during the war.Recon the Stuka or the IL2 must be the best anti-tank planes of the war, or any war for that matter.

Originally Posted by johnny

Didnt Hans Ulrich Rudel fly a Stuka for years on the Eastern front and must have knocked out thousands of tanks in his career.Think he wrote a book on his life as a pilot during the war.Recon the Stuka or the IL2 must be the best anti-tank planes of the war, or any war for that matter.

Topic is not the plane, it's the armament.

=S=

Lunatic

[johnny]

Didnt see that part!! Sorry. .Would have to with the 30mm Mk 108 cannon. I am going now.

[the lancaster kicks ass]

rudel got 11 air to air kills and 519+ tanks...................