Unbelievable!!!

In 1939-1940, the US had adopted the .50 M2HB Heavy Machine Gun as standard ANTI-TANK weapon!!! And the M3 Halftrack on which it was mounted was the adopted ANTI-TANK platform!!!!

Hey, If you want to try and knock out a tank with spitwads-thats your perogative!!!

 

Panzerknacker, it may surprise you to note that the Japanese tankettes, the Type 94, Type 95, and Type 97, had armour so thin that the M2 .50 cal heavy machine gun could penetrate it easily. Apparently, the rear and side armour on those little tanks could sometimes be penetrated by rifle bullets!

So maybe this wasn't such a crazy idea at the time. Many US authorities at that time, e.g. the US Cavalry, still weren't taking the prospect of war with Germany seriously.

 

That's why uninformed reporters often call the .50 MG an "anti-tank weapon". They try to exaggerate anything...

 

vonManstein's right on this one. Maybe instead of "Unbelievable", "Optimistic???" might be better. The .50 could damage the Japanese tanks just fine, and some of the early german tanks (II, maybe III).
At the start of the war, this Anti-Tank designation may have been appropriate.
But then you quickly get to "optimistic"...
And "unbelievable" soon after that!

 

Of the German tanks, I'd say Pzkpw I and II (side and rear), plus armoured cars, but not Pzkpw III.

 

I should point out that the main gun on British light tanks at the time was a .50 MG, and the main gun on the Matilda Mk I was also a .50.
Truth is, while the .50 would have been ineffective against heavy tanks, it would have been useful against the light tanks and A/Cars of the 1939-40 period.

 

Perhaps light anti-armor would be more appropriate then. When going up against light armor, id say the 50 cal is quite effective. And at close range you can really shred armored cars or other vehicles.

 

PzKmpfw II? Maybe in the rear. But the Panzer III, I don't think so...

 

At least armored cars then, and Pz I was quite vulnerable too. If I were going against a Pz II/III, I dont think I would want a .50 cal though...

 

The P-47 did pretty well against German tanks, and they carried the .50!

 

Well, it is because the PzKmpfw I was designed exclusively for training and the PzKmpfw II was designed for recoinassence goals. It has to be fast, with light armour and gun. Good against infantry.

 

I'd say the .50 could definitely knock out a PZIII!
For one thing, think about the rapid-fire aspect... the panzer has thousands of rounds slamming into it. This leads to splash damage- shards of molten metal from the impacts flying around inside the tank. True, each .50 round would INDIVIDUALLY cause little splash, but 50? or 100 rounds? The tank commander and gunner sit to the rear of the tank- none of that splash would injure either of them? No panic inside the tank?
Then we look at components... see our other thread on taking out a tank...
A .50 round (a SINGLE round) could easily knock out one of the treads on a PZIII
A single .50 round could easily jam the turret ring, making the turret immobile...
Can't remember where, but I've read that the US .50 MG round in WW2 could pierce about 20-25mm armor at point-blank range.
The rear armor of the Panzer III was 30mm...
The lower hull armor was 20mm for some of the panzer IIIs (hull armor behind the roadwheels).

I rest my case. A 50-round burst from a .50 cal MG at the side or rear of a Panzer III would have a definite, if not good, chance of knocking out the tank.

Or do you gents think that NONE of the above circumstances could occur?

 

OK. It was possible. But, did it happen?

 

Well, Herr General, that is certainly a different question!

Can't say I've ever read of it happening... but who knows?
One way to look at it- we certainly know that, although rare, Russian troops did have some success with the PTRD41 against PZIIIs. PTRD- .57 inches. Not a huge difference... and the Browning .50 caliber round is world-famous for its power and penetration.

Hmmmm... Unbelievable?

 

Well, it was very plausible and you are right! (After all it is not so bad to admit someone else is right...)

By the way: Would you bloody stop with your uuhhhhs and hmmmmmssss?! You seem like my mother!!

 

Hmmmmmm - and don't forget the notorious Boys Anti Tank Rifle, the British Army's standard a/t weapon when war broke out, at .55 calibre.

 

Hmmmm... Ummmmm.... well then...

Hmmmm....

Hee hee.. sorry, Friedrich- couldn't resist!

Good point, Martin- I had forgotten about the Boys rifle. So we know that both the PTRD41 and the Boys rifle could take out a PZIII- and the US .50 cal was essentially a rapid-fire version of a similar weapon.
Come to think of it, I've read accounts (not sure how believable) of PZIVs being knocked out by PTRD41 rifles. So I wonder- given the right lucky shot(s), I bet under some circumstances a US .50 caliber MG would even be able to knock out a PZIV!