Tank#6 Finally the Frechies--------- AMX 13 Light Tank

People who are into tanks and especially tanks from WW2 will have little trouble recognising the icons of tank warfare during WW2: Tiger Is and KV-1s. However, those not really competent in post war tanks may have trouble recognising the AMX 13, a post war French light tank designed in a hit and run as well as a scouting role.

DEVELOPMENT 

Following the end of WWII, the French Army were looking for more indigenous designs instead of relying on American M4 Sherman or captured German panzers. The time period between the end of the 1940s and early 1950s saw extensive French interests in air-portable, fast light tank designs. One of those that interested the authorities was the AMX-12 tonnes designed by the AMX (Atelier de Construction d'lssy-les-Moulineaux). This design had a unique feature that the war time tanks never enjoyed - oscillating turret and auto loading mechanisms. 

However, despite the promising designs, the AMX-12t was deemed as underpowered and suffered problems with the chassis in relation to track tensioning. Thus it was rejected and AMX went about correcting these faults and thus resulted in the AMX-13.

design plan for the proposed AMX-12 tonnes 

The AMX-13 fixed most of the faults that the AMX-12t had and improved on both engine power and track rigidity. It also embodies the new concept of the oscillating turret and autoloading systems.

AMX 13 with the 75mm, note the small size 

An oscillating turret is where the main gun is fixed onto the turret and non-movable. Instead of elevating and depressing inside the actual turret like a traditional tank, the entire upper half of the oscillating turret moves up or down on a hinge connected with the lower turret and hull to give the main gun elevation and depression. This was a design that boasted low sillouette thus allowing better concealment in terrains. However, since most of the gun breech (a French copied version of the German 75mm gun) is protruding at the back of the turret, this limited the amount of elevation the AMX-13 had and in certain situations this was a huge deficiency. 

You might wonder why the gun breech is jammed right back to the rear of the turret. Answer lies within the fancy concept of the autoloader. Common post war tank improvement discussions within the major powers focused on reducing the number of crews in one tank thus allowing less stress on the commander and keeping the size and weight of tanks down to a minimum.

An auto loading mechanism seem to fit that idea as it can reduce the size of the tank as well as the position of the loader in the tank. Nearly all modern tanks and SPGs have auto loading mechanisms (chiefly starting with the T-72, then ending in the T-90 and the recently announced T-14 Armata Universal Combat Platform) Those tanks have only a commander, driver and gunner.

The trend started off with the French when the AMX-13 was introduced. An auto loader is basically an armoured magazine attached to the breech of the tank that can rapidly dispense the shells stored in the magazine. Thus achieving maximum rate of fire for a short time. This however, meant that- apart from 21st Century autoloaders- the tanks must retreat back to a safe position in order for the crew to reload the magazine.

The AMX-13 scores two 6 round autoloaders, one on each side of the German copied 75mm and later indigenous 90mm guns. This allowed a burst of 12 shells within 55 seconds. And the AMX 13 has the mobility to be able to quickly retreat and reload. Being very small, the AMX can be air transported as well as presenting a smaller silhouette to the enemies.

Since the chassis of the AMX-13 is extremely versatile and interchangeable, many SPGs and variants have been made upon that chassis. There are still Singaporean AMX-13 in service today that is using the 90mm gun or even an 105mm.

AMX 13 with the 105mm autoloading gun 

A 105mm howitzer armed SPG based on the chassis of the AMX 13 used by the Bundeswehr

The AMX 13 have also been adapted into various bridge laying vehicles as well as recovery vehicles. 

The autoloader concept lasted well into the late 20th century and is all thanks to the AMX 13.

#4 Stalin's last heavy tank - IS-3

The IS-3 is perhaps reckoned as the tank that influenced the subsequent Soviet tank development. You may wonder why all the post WWII Soviet/Chinese tanks had that iconic semi-spherical turret and the highly sloped frontal hull. The answer is the IS-3. Designed and produced in 1945, the IS-3 is certainly the last defining Soviet heavy tank.

DEVELOPMENT

IS-3 along side its brother IS-2

The military authority in the Soviet Union (including Stalin himself) wanted an even more heavily armed and armoured heavy breakthrough tank than what the Soviet had in 1944- the IS-2 which boasted 120 mm of frontal hull armour as well as being armed with the very powerful yet slow firing 122mm D-25T gun.

Kubinka's very own IS-3, possibly the IS-3M (the two had no external differences, only internal)

The IS-2 had the ability to be able to reliably penetrate the frontal hull of the Panther at a range of 200-400 metres with its 122mm regular AP round. However it had trouble penetrating the thick front of the Tiger I even at close range. The new German Tiger II was pretty much out of the question for the IS-2. As a result, the Soviet authority designed a brand new heavy tank with revolutionary design features and an improved version of the 122mm D-25T.

The design bureau at Leningrad took their concept of sloped and angled armour to an entire new dimension. As seen previously on the famous T-34/76 and 85 medium tanks, sloped armour provided more chances for an incoming round to bounce or ricochet off. The new design included two pieces of 110mm upper frontal armour being joined at such an angle that can guarantee frequent bounces. The result was the the armour is pre-angled and require no manual angling by the driver. This "pike nose" shaped hull front led to the IS-3 crew calling the tank a "Shuka" - Pike in Russian.

Another revolutionary design feature was the semi-spherical turret. Being both 175mm thick at the front and being well-rounded, the turret on the IS-3 is very hard to penetrate unless APCR or APFDS high penetration rounds can be placed square on. The turret was very low and thus contributed to the overall low profile of the vehicle.

However this low profile brought problems that would continue to plague Soviet tank crews all throughout the Cold War. The crew fighting compartment is extremely cramped, the compartment is only really comfortable for crews who are small or medium statured. Since the turret is very low, this limited the amount of gun depression. Thus the IS-3 have constant issues with using a hull down tactic.

The gun on the IS-3 is also updated to be able to punch through the front of a Tiger II. The improved 122mm D25-T firing regular AP rounds can knock out any tank on the battlefield in 1945. But this kind of firepower came with a price, the barrel of the 122mm was worn out after only around 200 rounds fired. This called for frequent repairs and replacements- which was a nightmare on a constantly moving battlefield.

Other features such as the four external drop tanks and wide tracks from the IS-2 were kept and proved to be invaluable to the IS-3's toughness.

At the beginning of the 1960s, IS-3s were modernised into IS-3Ms. The upgrades included infra-red gun sights, hydraulic gun stabiliser, targeting computers and NBC protection.

The IS-3's debut during the Allies Victory Parade in Berlin in 1945

Taken out Egyptian IS-3 

COMBAT RECORD

The IS-3 arrived too late to see active combat in Europe, it however did participate in the Allied Victory Parade held in Berlin in 1945. The Americans and the British were shocked and surprised to see a new Soviet heavy tank that could out gun any of their own heavies. Some records from the Soviet archives had shown that one regiment of IS-3s were sent to fight the Japanese in Manchuria as part of an occupation force. The reliability of the source is questionable but there were accounts of Japanese soldiers in Manchuria facing never before seen Soviet heavy tanks.

During the Cold War, the IS-3 participated in the Invasion of Hungary in 1956 and the Prague Springs in 1968.

The IS-3 also saw extensive service with the Egyptian Army during the Arab and Israeli conflicts. Egypt purchased numerous IS-3Ms to counter Israeli armour. The conflicts revealed the weaknesses that the IS-3 had when numerous units were taken out by Israeli modified Super Shermans and hand held anti-tank weapons.

Tank #3 Fear the bigger German cat: Panzerkampfwagen VI Tiger Ausf B (Tiger II/KonigsTiger)

[Hi there tankers, i have been away for 2 months now, uni work piling up and it's a thing that uni students have to deal with.

Now I am back and I bring to you a Tiger II tank review. XD]





Another Tiger tank review?????????- is what you would probably be wondering.

Yes, the Tiger tank took two completely different forms: the Ausf A which i have reviewed, and today's Ausf B- otherwise known as the Tiger II or Konigs (King) Tiger.

The Tiger II is probably the second most recognisable German tank of WW2. Its distinct angular hull and the length of its high velocity gun struck more fear and respect into Allied forces than compared to the Tiger I.


DEVELOPMENT

The Tiger II was in the making when the Tiger I just rolled off the assembly lines in 1942. The collective mindset of the German High Command was that military technology should be at least one year more advanced than the enemies'. This resulted in Adolf Hitler demanding a new Tiger which was to use the Rheinmetall Flak 41 88mm gun as well as boasting 150mm and 80mm of frontal and side armor respectively. But the problem lied within the gun and the turret. Krupp was tasked with making the turret to be installed on the new Tiger. However the company did not want to have a rival company's gun fitted in their turret. Therefore Krupp was also handed the contract to produce an equally powerful 88mm gun. This resulted in the KwK 43 L/71. This differed from Rheinmetall's Flak 41 in the length of the barrel (Krupp-71 calibre, Rheinmetall- 73 calibre). The L/71 also had a muzzle brake fitted to reduce the amount of recoil during firing.

Meanwhile, Porsche and Henschel were once again dueling for the new Tiger's production contract. This time, Porsche was so sure that it can get the contract it went ahead and ordered 50 turrets from Krupp. However, the electric transmission idea that failed to get Porsche the Tiger I contract again failed the company. The Porsche design- VK4502 (p) Ausf A and Ausf B- were prone to engine troubles thus was rejected. Hitler then gave the production order to Henschel.

Front profile of the Porsche turret, the front curve was extremely deadly due to the shot trap effect

Due to the excess 50 Porsche designed turrets, the first Tiger IIs were fitted with them. However, there were some severe issues that could prove disastrous in actual combat.

Firstly the curved frontal gun mantlet was a serious shot trap which tended to deflect incoming rounds down towards the top of the driver's compartment. Secondly, the bulge from the commander's cupola was proven to be a lethal weak point where a shot from the US Sherman's 75mm gun could easily penetrate.

As a result of these faults, the turret was redesigned into what was commonly known as "produktion turm"- production turret- that had a more boxy look to it. The design removed the curved turret front as well as a brand new gun mantlet that was virtually immune to the shot trap effect.

The re-designed gun mantlet that was virtually immune to any shot traps effects, also note the application of Zimmerit on the turret.

A knocked out Tiger II with the Produktion Turm, it seems to have been penetrated on the turret cheek, also note the blown muzzle of the 88 gun.

Operations 

The Tiger IIs were first issued to training units in February and May of 1944. Results were however disappointing, this was partially due to the inexperience of tank crews with the features of the Tiger II, the crews were training in Pz IVs before they were ordered to employ the Tiger II. The Tiger II reached frontline units around the time of the Normandy landings in June 1944. Most were issued to heavy tank battalions attached to the Army and the Waffen SS.

During its short but spectacular life in service, the Tiger IIs proved their superiority by the range at which the 88 could take out columns of advancing Shermans, Cromwells and Churchills.

However, the Tiger IIs lacked quantity. Only 489 units were manufactured throughout 1944-45. And what was lost could not be replaced due to the continued Allied air offensives on German industries.

As a result, the Tiger IIs did little to influence the tide of war. But they did manage to strike respect and fear into Allied tankers.

Tank # 2: Fear the Big German Cat (Tiger I)

Ok , I know that it is obvious that a WWII tank buff must review the Tiger I sometime during their life. So here it is, the second tank I am reviewing is the Tiger I German Heavy Tank.


Those of you who knows your stuff about the Tiger should know that there are two versions of the Tiger: the Tiger Ausf A and the Ausf B which are the I and II respectively. We ll look at the Tiger II or KonigsTiger (King Tiger) in another post. This post is mainly about the boxy and sexy Tiger I which is no doubt the iconic German tank of the Second World War.

It is unfortunate that the Germans made only 1355 of these delicate machines (and by delicate I mean seriously delicate, the smallest errors on a Tiger I can cripple the entire machine) throughout its production period from late 1942 to mid 1944. Tiger Is would have had crucial influences to the swing of the tide of war but due to the lack of materials and the constant Allied aerial bombing of German industries they were restrict in their production numbers.

Tiger I (possibly a mid production model due to the improved cupola)

still taken from a German propaganda film on war industries. Here the first Tiger Is roll out of the factory with the Tiger I in the foreground adopting the standard sandy brown base paint. 

Tiger I fording a river (location unknown)

DEVELOPMENT

The Tiger I was officially known as the Panzerkampfwagen VI Tiger Ausf A. It was the result of experiences of the Wehrmacht's Panzer arm in both the invasion of France in 1940 and the subsequent invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941. At the time of the invasion of France, Germany possessed no heavy tanks of any sort. The toughest machine that was available was the Panzer IV with the low velocity 75mm gun which only excelled in an anti-infantry role. Once the French brought up the tough yet slow Char B1-bis and the BEF employed their heavy Matilda II infantry tank, the Germans were at a loss about how to defeat these machines. The German 37mm anti-tank guns and 75mm guns of the Panzer IVs simply bounced off without any damage done. The only effective means of disposing such heavily armoured tanks were to use the Flak 88s and heavy artillery with the aid of an open sight.

Once German panzers shifted to the Eastern Front, it was more obvious that the German Panzer arm simply lacked an effective heavy class tank to combat the thick skinned KV-1 and KV-2 Soviet heavy tanks. Thus immediately following the invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941, Adolf Hitler ordered designs of a 45 tonne tank be submitted for production. Both Henschel and Porsche Ferdinand submitted blueprints. The two designs would be titled VK4501 (H) and (P) respectively- the letters simply stood for which company the design belonged to. Both designs were well over the 45 tonnes limit. The Henschel version weighed in at 59.5 tonnes and the Porsche version at 60.9 tonnes.

The turret on both Tigers would be of a single kind: the iconic horse shoe U-shaped cast turret designed and produced by Krupp. The Henschel Tiger placed the turret right in the middle of the hull where as the Porsche Tiger had a front mounted turret.

remains of a Porsche Tiger prototype

note the frontal mounted Krupp turret

All characteristics of the two Tigers would be similar apart from the transmission. They would all use the same gun: the KwK 36 L/56 88mm gun that was adapted for tank use from the excellent Flak 88. The transmission was where the two Tiger designs differed. The Henschel Tiger used the traditional hydraulic transmission. The Porsche Tiger, however, embodied a brand new electric transmission. And this electric transmission is where the Porsche Tiger lost the race. It was simply too advanced for the time and too complicated to construct and maintain, not to mention the shortage of the required materials. During tests on army proving grounds, the two Tigers differed from each other when the Porsche Tiger broke down more frequently than the Henschel counterpart.

The final approval from Adolf Hitler was given to the Henschel model. Production began in August 1942 and ended in mid 1944 when the Tiger II and JagdTigers were being put into production.

The Tiger I saw three different production models. The early Tigers could be identified by its drum like commander's cupola. The mid production model had an improved cupola as well as the application of Zimmereit paste to prevent the attachment of enemy magnetic mines to the hull. The final production variant abandoned the Zimmereit paste and was more similar to the initial variant.

The Tiger I would also be adapted into the BergeTiger tank recovery vehicle by removing the turret and replacing it with a crane system.


OPERATION

Tiger Is were first deployed on the Eastern Front against Soviet armour in the Leningrad sector in 1942. Four Tiger Is were sent in without proper testing and preparation for the Russian winter. Three were knocked out by Soviet anti-tank guns and tank hunting squads and one had suffered mechanical breakdowns and was recovered.

The first Western Allies' engagement with Tiger Is were in Tunisia in 1943. There the Schwere Panzerabteilung 501st fielded Tiger Is in a desperate attempt to hold back the advancing Allied columns heading towards Tunis. Perhaps the most famous Tiger I from that engagement was Tiger 131 of the 501st. It was engaged by Churchills and M4 Shermans. One round from the Churchill's Six-pounder gun managed to lodge itself beneath the turret ring at the front, thus jamming the turret. As a result the crew abandoned the tank without destroying it. It was captured by the Allies and taken back to Britain for evaluations. It is currently held at the Bovington tank museum and restored to full running order.

Tiger Is were perhaps more well known for their actions during the D-Day invasion and the Allies subsequent breakout from the beachheads. One perfect example of its success was the operation at Viller-Bocage on the 13th of June under the command of the well known German tank ace Michael Wittmann. Wittmann received orders that he and his Schwere Panzerabteilung 101 were to take Viller-Bocage and to block the advancing armor column of the British 7th Armoured Division (the Desert Rats). He wreaked havoc on the outskirts of the town as well as within it. His success and the Tiger Is' success could be evidenced by the lines of burning half tracks, Stuart light tanks and Cromwell medium tanks. Wittmann himself escaped with his crew when his Tiger I was tracked by a British 6 pounder anti-tank gun.


FINAL THOUGHTS

The Tiger I, during its brief combat period, achieved the reputations of a fearsome war machine as well as a long range sniper. Combined with its phenomenal gun, good crew skills and the general superiority of German panzer tactics, the Tiger I dominated the battlefield. But sadly it was simply brushed aside when Allied superiority in tank quantity rather than quality took their toll on the Tiger Is.

Tank #1- KV-1S (USSR)

First tank on my list is the KV-1S, which i believe did not have as much spotlight as the KV-1 or the IS-2.


To us tank enthusiasts, it is no doubt that the USSR- or simply put the Soviet Union- was the single largest manufacturer of AFVs (Armored Fighting Vehicles) during the Second World War with a total number of 110,000 AFVs built, that is including light, medium and heavy tanks as well as tank destroyers. When we think about the Soviets in relation to WW2- or the Great Patriotic War as the Soviets called it- our minds are instantly drawn towards the stubby looking T-34/76s charging en masse, or the lumbering KV-2s firing their 152mm howitzer from their colossal "fridge" turret.

One Soviet tank did not leave afterimages like those tanks mentioned above. Derived and redesigned from its big brother: the KV-1, came the lighter, faster and more powerful KV-1S with the "S" standing for "skorostnoy" or "speed".











KV-122, a KV-1S model mounting the excellent A19 122mm D-25T. Note the commander's cupola on the turret, the first on a Soviet heavy tank.


DEVELOPMENT

Following the deployment of the original KV-1 during the Winter War of 1939-40 with Finland and the consequent German invasion in 1941, reports from its combat record had shown that while the KV-1 had extremely good armor and fire power against the German tanks of the period, it was severely lacking in mobility. Being weighed in at a whopping 45 tonnes, the KV-1 achieved only a top speed of 35 kph. The Soviet High Command saw the need for a "universal" tank which embodied both the firepower of a heavy tank as well as the speed and mobility of a medium tank. In 1942, while the T34/76s achieved great successes countering German panzers, designers took on the task of re-designing the chassis of the KV-1 and generally modifying it in terms of weight, speed and armour. The result was the KV-1S. The 90mm of frontal hull armour on the KV-1 was reduced to 75mm and the 110mm turret armour trimmed to 100mm. This resulted in the KV-1S achieving a top speed of up to 50kph.

The KV-1S was also given a newly designed turret which would later be used on the IS and IS2 models. The turret was designed to have a high chance of ricochet by being rounded and sloped all around. A new feature unseen on any previous soviet heavy tanks was the inclusion of a commander's cupola with all round vision slates. This allowed for maximum combat efficiency.

The guns used on the KV-1S were somewhat interesting. A selection of existing tank guns were tried and tested and two were chosen for the KV-1S: 85mm ZiS-5 and the A19 122mm D-25T. The 85mm models of the KV-1S were known as KV-85 and the 122mm variant were called KV-122. Most of the KV-1S were mounted with the 122mm D-25T due to its proven penetration value of 175mm and its ability to defeat a Panther's frontal glacis armour at ranges up to 500 meters. But the problem which was to plague Soviet heavy tanks later on was the seperate shell and charge layout. The KV-1S could only carry a maximum of 28 shells and charges combo. The reload of the 122mm gun was also to be the bane of the tank- a terrifying 2 rounds per minute. The 85mm was later implemented on the upgrade T34/85 medium tank.

Production started in late 1942 and was halted in early 1944 when production switched over to IS and IS2. Overall around 1370 KV-1S were built.











Another view of the KV-122, showing the rear machine gun on a ball mount


OPERATION

The KV-1S took part in all major Soviet operations following the defeat of the German 6th Army in Stalingrad. It saw limited action during the Battle of Kursk where it had proven that the new German Panthers and Tigers were not completely invincible. The last known action was the siege of Berlin in 1945. It had advanced shoulder to shoulder with the similar looking IS-2 and was engaged in street fighting, as well as being tasked to act as self-propelled artillery by firing its 122mm high explosive shell into buildings at point blank range, with devastating effect.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Personally I would have liked to see more of these tanks on the Eastern Front. But being the same chasis as the KV-1 it would have been shot down immediately as soon as the IS series came into production. All together this tank was a good test type for the IS-2 and did manage to act as a stop gap measure during a period of rapid transition of Soviet manufacturing geographically.

Opening the garage door/WOT

Starting this blog as a virtual room where my obsession to World War Two tanks can be freely expressed and shared among enthusiasts. Every week i shall attempt (since some times life gets the better of me) to post one WW2 tank of a specific nation (only the major powers in WW2 though-USA,UK, USSR, Germany and France) along with its history of development and operation in combat, as well as giving some of my own opinions on it.


hope the stuff i post will be interesting to those of u tank fanboys- and fangirls :)

PS: I also play World of Tanks on the North American Server if any of u are interested in platooning. Just simply search for spyodus123 in WOT NA.

A preview on the upcoming tank post: