Author Topic: Why US tankers in WW2 preferred the 75mm over the 76mm gun.  (Read 1217 times)

just Warren

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Why US tankers in WW2 preferred the 75mm over the 76mm gun.
« on: August 23, 2020, 04:27:14 PM »
I did not know this. Things are never as simple as they might seem.




The video is 14 minutes but if you're pressed for time it's because the 75 was way, way better at flingin' shrapnel than the 76 and since tankers would mostly be fighting things other than tanks, such as lightly-armored vehicles, guns of various sorts, infantry, and fortifications that was a more important attribute than being able to pierce armor.
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just Warren

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Re: Why US tankers in WW2 preferred the 75mm over the 76mm gun.
« Reply #1 on: August 23, 2020, 04:41:33 PM »
Growing up, playing war games, we would always go for the gun with the most penetration because the rules sets we were using didn't really account for the difference in HE effectiveness.

And we did mostly tank vs tank anyway, because moving tanks around was cooler than messing around with infantry.

And it was just assumed that bigger was always better, thus leading to a skewed perspective.
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WLJ

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Re: Why US tankers in WW2 preferred the 75mm over the 76mm gun.
« Reply #2 on: August 23, 2020, 04:55:06 PM »
American doctrine was for tanks like Panthers and Tigers to be engaged by Tank Destroyers. American tankers rarely encountered them anyway.
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Hawkmoon

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Re: Why US tankers in WW2 preferred the 75mm over the 76mm gun.
« Reply #3 on: August 23, 2020, 07:34:04 PM »
Joshua sounds knowledgeable, but he's obviously math-challenged. At just before the 6 minute mark, he spouts the amount of shrapnel in the lethal radius. He says the 75 produced 950 pieces, and the 76 produced 560 ... "less than half of that of the 75 mm."

Ummm ...

He would also present a more credible appearance if he weren't wearing a uniform that's at least four sizes too large for him.

Yes, I know ... I'm nit-picking. It's been a long day.
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MechAg94

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Re: Why US tankers in WW2 preferred the 75mm over the 76mm gun.
« Reply #4 on: August 24, 2020, 12:20:52 AM »
Joshua sounds knowledgeable, but he's obviously math-challenged. At just before the 6 minute mark, he spouts the amount of shrapnel in the lethal radius. He says the 75 produced 950 pieces, and the 76 produced 560 ... "less than half of that of the 75 mm."

Ummm ...

He would also present a more credible appearance if he weren't wearing a uniform that's at least four sizes too large for him.

Yes, I know ... I'm nit-picking. It's been a long day.
I haven't been to many reenactment stuff.  Do they all have perfectly fitting uniforms?  

 =D  As far as math goes, give or take 10 or 20%. 
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MechAg94

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Re: Why US tankers in WW2 preferred the 75mm over the 76mm gun.
« Reply #5 on: August 24, 2020, 12:23:56 AM »
I thought I had seen that information before, but I may have watched the video.  I think the Chieftain mentioned that there were only a handful of verified encounters between M4's and Tigers. 
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K Frame

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Re: Why US tankers in WW2 preferred the 75mm over the 76mm gun.
« Reply #6 on: August 24, 2020, 06:54:19 AM »
Simply put, the 76mm gun, which was developed to give better armor penetration, was largely a disappointment. It did not perform nearly as well as was hoped it would, largely because of the design of its armor piercing shells. The British 17 pound gun, fitted to the Sherman in the Firefly variant, was a much better overall performer.
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kgbsquirrel

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Re: Why US tankers in WW2 preferred the 75mm over the 76mm gun.
« Reply #7 on: August 24, 2020, 05:54:22 PM »
I thought I had seen that information before, but I may have watched the video.  I think the Chieftain mentioned that there were only a handful of verified encounters between M4's and Tigers. 

Twice, both times the Sherman won.

just Warren

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Re: Why US tankers in WW2 preferred the 75mm over the 76mm gun.
« Reply #8 on: August 24, 2020, 06:05:28 PM »
Were both those Tigers made in Atlanta, perhaps?
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kgbsquirrel

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Re: Why US tankers in WW2 preferred the 75mm over the 76mm gun.
« Reply #9 on: August 24, 2020, 07:40:38 PM »
Were both those Tigers made in Atlanta, perhaps?

 :lol:

MechAg94

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Re: Why US tankers in WW2 preferred the 75mm over the 76mm gun.
« Reply #10 on: August 24, 2020, 07:56:32 PM »
Twice, both times the Sherman won.
But according to the History Channel it takes 5 Sherman's to beat a Tiger!
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WLJ

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Re: Why US tankers in WW2 preferred the 75mm over the 76mm gun.
« Reply #11 on: September 14, 2020, 11:51:40 AM »
Chieftain Talks: M4 Sherman & 76mm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_8vx5yqZpU
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MechAg94

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Re: Why US tankers in WW2 preferred the 75mm over the 76mm gun.
« Reply #12 on: September 14, 2020, 01:38:56 PM »
Chieftain Talks: M4 Sherman & 76mm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_8vx5yqZpU
Thanks.  I follow the Chieftain's channel.  But that is another channel and I missed it.
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