Comments by "Psiberzerker" (@Psiberzerker) on "Panzer III vs. T-34 (featuring Chieftain)" video.

  1. Sloped armor actually reduces the weight geometrically as well, because it "Cuts Corners." The stepped armor of the Panzer III effectively had a front plate, and a top plate. Whether you do this in steps, or just one wall, and ceiling, the hypoteneuse of the triangle is effectively shorter than the sum of the rise over run. So, for the same weight, you could have much better thickness, with fewer joints, and less welding. This also simplified the Production of the T-34 Hulls. (At the expense of crew/comfort. Something the Soviets used basically as a dump-stat.)
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  2. Basically, a ramp is simpler than a set of stairs. It's also more effective, and lighter, but production was a major edge the Soviets had over the Germans at the time, and the truncated pyramid of the hull is a great example of this. Basically, it has better Structural Efficiency, as well as armor protection. (At the expense of the crew.) I believe this is where the "Russian Bias" in games like WoT, and War Thunder comes from. The crew are at best components, you can shoot. (In War Thunder.) They don't have to see out, spot targets, they don't have to sleep on the engine hatches, and they don't concuss themselves on the turret ring when the driver slams on the brakes without warning, or runs into a hedgerow. So, these weaknesses aren't reflected, just the armor, slope, gun, and mobility are.
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  3. Interesting. I would love your input on how Casemate destroyers, (And Assault Guns) were used against turreted tanks, since the most common AFV (And a personal favorite of mine) was the StuG III. They literally had almost twice as many of those as the Panzer hull mate, and the tactics had to be a lot different. For instance, in WoT, a common one is to roll sideways, with the turret traversed from behind a hill or building. A Casemate Destroyer like the StuG can't do this, because it's gun can't traverse 90°.  Hoever, they can use hilltops to roll into view, fire, then withdraw.  If there's a hill they can take the High Ground on.  This puts the frontal armor toward the enemy, as a product of pointing the gun at them, while a turreted tank can risk side armor by straffing, and presenting a broader moving target (Also, kind of exposes one of the Tracks.)
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  4. Another tradeoff of a Casemate is you can get a much bigger gun in the hull than a turret (Along with a commander, gunner, and loader) In the case of the Striszvagn 103, they even got a fully automated loading mechanism in the back, but they had to get real creative with the suspension to aim the entire tank with the fixed gun. (The tradeoff there was having an armor slope so steep that it was a roof. There basically is no frontal armor on the S tank, just top armor.)
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