Comments by "bakters" (@bakters) on "Soviet "War-Winning" Tanks in 1941? The Role of Tanks on the Eastern Front WW2" video.

  1. What's the point of putting high velocity guns on tanks? To punch holes in frontlines? No. It's to punch holes in enemy armor. If tank-on-tank encounters were as insignificant as you seem to put it, WWII tanks would be designed differently. You can put very high caliber gun in the same turret if you don't need high velocity. And it was tried, then abandoned, because it didn't work. Those "loooong" late war barrels were adopted, because they were necessary. What's more, it appears to me that late war tanks have barely enough caliber to take out enemy anti-tank guns effectively, so infantry support looks more like an afterthought, comparatively speaking.
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  2. +TIK - Yes, I know that earlier tanks were divided in their roles. Some with a high velocity guns, some with high caliber guns, and some with both. But late in war practically all tanks had or "wished" they had an AT gun as their main armament. What you gonna do if there is an enemy tank hull down behind the hill? Call for an AT gun? The tank only needs to hit somewhere in the vicinity of the gun to take it out, the gun not only needs a direct hit, but it may even need to hit a specific spot. And they are not going to do that with their ranging shot... Why light tanks? Because they are cheaper. Also smaller and lighter, which means they can be airshifted or floated or whatever else. It's better to have a weak tank than none. BTW - why smoothbore guns on current tanks? Because they give you more velocity and better performance with HEAT ammo.
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