Panthers with 88s?

Aside from the technical faux pax's, the 88/56 did have some advantages over the 75/70. The lower velocity of the 88 meant longer barrel life. The 88 has a huge advantage in HE firepower. Since HE is used more frequently than AP (as there are many times the number of 'soft' targets as 'hard' ones) this is an important consideration. The 88 is more accurate due to less barrel warp and vibration during firing. In armor penetration it has an advantage where the actual thickness of the plate (without consideration of slope) is near the stress limit for impulsive impact loads (eg, the heavier 88 round will sometimes simply smash through where the 75 will glance off).
So, it is highly debatable whether the 75/70 is "better" just because it has a slightly better armor penetration at ranges under 1000m (roughly).

 

hmm, very interesting, this site claims a 8.8cm gun as one of the non Panther 2 Variants...

* Panther fuer 8.8cm KwK 43 L/71

http://www.jed.simonides.org/tanks/papa/pz5_series/pz5-series.html

another source for possible misinterperetation could be the "Grille 10" a 88mm Flak 37/41 mounted on a Panther chasis.

 

Nice pics Bratwurst.That opening pic [US ARMY] with a shot up Panther;I counted 4 holes,both tracks missing.Real battle damage or US target practice tank?Looks like all the holes are where armor is supposed to be thickest.Did'nt see[I'll look again]big fire damage.Airplane rockets? FramerT.

 

I wouldn't put alot of weight on this sites claim. If you want to score some points on it, tell the site owner that his "unidentified" picture is of a mid production Ausf G Panther. You can easily tell by the welded square exhaust manifolds on the back.
As for the Grille, it didn't have anything in common with a Panther.

 

I really don't think it looks like a Panther in the first place... It looks more like a Porsche-Tiger I chasis...

 

Was hoping Mr Gardner[or anyone for that matter]would have an idea on what poked all those holes in the front of that Panther. FramerT.

 

which one are you referring to framert? Is it a picture in this thread?

 

You posted this yesterday Bratwurst.Not sure if I did this quote right[errr!]Click on the link.FramerT.

 

Sorry for the double post,I'm a bit computer illiterate!

 

The Panther on your site appears to be the victim of 90mm gunfire most likely from a couple of M-36's. I say couple as you can note from the hit locations (two on the glacis, one on the gun barrel, one on the mantle, one on the side of the mantle / gun mount, and one on the upper hull side) that fire was coming from at least two vehicles.
Given some other instances I have read about and seen photos of I would suspect two vehicles pumped 6 rounds (three each) in very short order into this Panther. I would further speculate that the Panther's crew never got an aimed shot off in return. In one case I've seen photos of in Cologne a Panther and an M 26 squared off on a city street. The M 26 fired first while still moving (thanks to its gyroscopic stabilizer) hitting the Panther in the upper hull side. The Panther fired blind as it had not come to a complete halt nor had it finished traversing its turret. The M-26 then pumped two more rounds into the German vehicle which the surviving crew was hastily exiting. The neat thing about this photo sequence is that it was taken as it happened!

 

</font>[/QUOTE]The 8.8cm Flak 36 (or 41) auf Sonderfahrgestell Grille 10, produced late in the war by Krupp, was part of the prototype only group of waffenträgers that Krupp, Ardelt, Rheinmetall-Borsig and others were trying out as designs. The Grille 10 used Pz IV and Sdkfz 8 suspension components. It had asolutely nothing in common with the Panther.

 

Think I've read about that Duel somewhere TA.Pics,too.The new Pershing tank.But one reason I asked was I don't see the track that's missing off that Panther.Missing tracks,backed up against a cliff I wondered if it was a captured tank set up there so we could test our "ballistics". FramerT.