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VonForhud · ***Power User*** Offline Joined: Mar 17, 2010 Posts: 162

Ah so the wet sandbags could help put out the fire, which 70% of Shermans broke into when hit :). Now it makes sense.

Fun aside I think it is a mental factor as well. "we have more protection now".

Doug_Kibbey

- VonForhud

Why would you put yellow sandbags on a vehicle that is olive drab? Only makes it more visible and offers no protection Imho.

An 88 shell or a Panzerschreck would go through a Sherman 7 days a week sandbag or no sandbag.

One might do well to remember that there were lots of weapons on the battlefield apart from 88's & Panzerschreks. Anything that reduces vulnerability to the totality of threats being faced is worth considering. Tankers are funny that way.

VonForhud · ***Power User*** Offline Joined: Mar 17, 2010 Posts: 162

True Doug!

The muzzle velocity on the 75 KwK L70 was higher than the 88 and at the time this HVSS was in Europe I think most of the small calibre guns were off the battlefield.

I saw a picture of a Sherman with a plate from a stove welded to the superstructure. Anything helps.

vw82 · ***Power User*** Offline Joined: Aug 28, 2012 Posts: 46

Extra armour (sandbags, tree logs, metal plate)...If I remember Patton was against all this as he wanted his tanks to move fast & fight and not breakdown due to the extra weight.

clausb · ***Power User*** Offline Joined: Jan 25, 2006 Posts: 146

- Doug_Kibbey

One might do well to remember that there were lots of weapons on the battlefield apart from 88's & Panzerschreks. Anything that reduces vulnerability to the totality of threats being faced is worth considering. Tankers are funny that way.

..or anything that is percieved to reduce vulnerability, i.e. the mental aspect that vonforhud was referring to.

One thing is the advantage in protection from something like sandbags vs the overall reduction in performance of the tank or tank formation. The latter is perhaps somewhat academic for the crew that sits in the vehicle!

But modification that the crew thinks will improve protection may not actually do so. At one point, the German Army issued a ban on such modifacations because welding things to the main armour actually reduced the protective qualities of the armour plate - unless it was done properly. Also, if you look at old tank wrecks, it is obvious that things tended to bounce off smooth plates but would get caught in varous bumps and thus find their way through the main armour where it would otherwise have bounced off. So welding track to your main armour might result in guiding the incomming projectile on its way into your now weakened armour plate.

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