The best tank killer of WWII

Any opinions, gentlemen?

 

Well, if you are talking anything, its an infantryman armed with an AT weapon.

 

Well, that was quite effective but no... I reffer to something a little bit more complicated. You know, a thing with an engine, armour, crew, a cannon, wheels and a catterpilar... That thing!

 

Have to agree with you--and the best tank killer in ww2 was Friedrich Anding.

 

Finally I have realised I am not the foolest here...

 

Originally posted by General der Infanterie Friedrich H

In that case, I would say the M18 Hellcat is the best overall tank killer. Sure the Jagdpanther was more lethal, but the M18 was cheap as hell to make...and we made a lot of them.

 

Can aircraft be included or are you looking for something more to the "Ground".......if so it is the Sturmgeschütze G, with the best killing record during the war.

E

 

Not the most interesting answer, but I'll go for the Tiger 1. I don't have any statistics but. . . . it's that gun again.

Honourable patriotic mention for the Sherman Firefly, too.

And I'm always surprised at just how effective such simple-looking things as the Panzerfaust and PIAT could be in brave hands.

 

NOPE-GUNTER VIEZENZ WAS THE BEST TANK KILLER-ON THE GROUND-BUT IN THE AIR-HANS ULRICH RUDEL.

BUT THE TRACKED VEHICLE-um-Jadgtiger, or the Hellcat....

 

Gunter Viezenz is new to me - can we have a brief update ??

 

Good thread, Friedrich...

I second Martin's motion- Gunter Vienzenz? DO tell, PanzerKnacker...

Hmmm... Panzerfausts would certainly take the overall cake, considering their ease of use and production.
Vehicle? I'd have to go with the Hetzer. Easy to make, small, low silouette, good gun (75mmL48). Jagdpanther was a great one as well though...

 

No, no, no, NO!!!

Tank killer: an armoured vehicle which seems like a tank but doesn't have a bloody turret!!!

Yes, Hans Ulrich Rudel... bla, bla, bla. NOT men, not aeroplanes, TANK KILLERS!!!

(What will I do with you, kids! )

By the way. Glücksguter, Carl! I am very happy for you and your promotion!!! Finally we have two field-marshalls (And I have one who I like more Just kidding, Otto. Carl could be the million posts-guy, but you are the master here.

 

Stug G is still # 1 with me.......very dependable. The chap you mentioned with the Pnzerfaust had 21 kills to his credit. Quite a fine, brave and noble man.

Stug's rule, and my chest is too heavy with all those medals Otto..... !, by the way just received a card from you......thank you !

E

 

The whole StuG series were good vehicles; the StuG G you mention Erich- which gun did that one mount? Was that the StuG with the L70 gun?
Saw one of them at Aberdeen- the StuG with the Panther gun. Impressive looking vehicle...

 

Here we go again . . .

The 'best' was, IMHO, the Jagdpanther. As to the most effective - I'm not sure.

 

Ooops--I forgot about Gunter.V.

Danke Friedrich!

Otto--you beat me to the punch with H.U.Rudel, and here I am with a quote by he himself.

 

Martin :

I would agree with the Jagdpanther if it would have come earlier in the war. My reasons for the stug are many but it has a proven track record and at times in 1945 besides filling the Stug battery's, was also in one of the Panzer Kompanies
of a Panzer regiment.
Bish, I do believe it was the revised 7.5 cm Pak 40 gun.

E

 

I see the point, Erich. The StuG's seemed to be just about everywhere - Russia, Italy, Normandy, Arnhem, the Ardennes, etc etc. And I believe Wittmann made his reputation with one of these, too ?

 

Nice, gentlemen! I do like you that way!

Erich, Carl. We will push you into a lake and you will sink for all those heavy medals...

I think Erich has a very good point and certainly the Stugs were very effective and incredible weapons. But weren't they self-propelled artillery or is that the book I read it onto is nuts? Well, they had good armour, nice gun, were fast and manouvrable, low-silloute. All that makes a good tank killer. But the Jagdpanther was an awesome machine: very, very well armoured, lethal gun (88), still fast and manouvrable and low-silloute again.

Other German tank killers were very good too: Hetzer, Jagdpanzer IV "Guderians Ente", Jagdpanzer III. All these had the same qualities mentioned above.

The Elephant and Ferdinand were effective when well used at longe range, but they are not good tank killers because a tank killer has to be fast and manouvrable and these were not at all. The Jagdtiger is just a tremendous waste of resources. 75 tons for a tank killer? It is unsane!!! The gear-box broke when the first curve came because it was too heavy. It was slow and not manouvrable. Perhaps its armour was very good and its gun could smash anything. But I thing that building those things at that stage of the war is a total waste. How many Stugs could be done with the resources of a single Jagdtiger?