Picture of the day
- Thread starter jwhc
- Start date
I dont buy that... unless off course they are "fly and forget falcons" .. otherwise a clever enemy sniper is just as likely to wait until they return to their owner for their treats - then wack him. Anyway ... binoculars are standard issue for officers .. hard to say but looks like a pistol holster on his left, ammo pouch on the right and a map case (?) slung behind him on the right
- Location
- West Quebec
Can't believe the pic where buddy gets to shoot for very long on an elephant...
I think there would have been a wild version of the "Elephant Walk" .....
Dark Alley Dan
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Darkest Edmonton
WW2 pics, please, gents:
plus the belgians used potato diggers in ww2
- Location
- West Quebec
fixed
There's no way in hell I would ever want to be a crew member in an Elephant / Ferdinand
Too mechanically unreliable, and a slow moving gas guzzler
You'd have to heap about 10 cam nets on the thing to blend it in with the surrounding countryside
No MG for local defence on early versions, just put an MG42 down the main gun barrel while spraying and praying ( later versions did get a hull mounted MG )
Situational awareness is outright crap, you'd have to have infantry close by to ensure no Russians got within molotov throwing range or try to blow your tracks off
The Germans would have been better off to just lightly armour the vehicle, improve the drive-train, and park it where it could provide overwatch instead of ramming through enemy defences
Too mechanically unreliable, and a slow moving gas guzzler
You'd have to heap about 10 cam nets on the thing to blend it in with the surrounding countryside
No MG for local defence on early versions, just put an MG42 down the main gun barrel while spraying and praying ( later versions did get a hull mounted MG )
Situational awareness is outright crap, you'd have to have infantry close by to ensure no Russians got within molotov throwing range or try to blow your tracks off
The Germans would have been better off to just lightly armour the vehicle, improve the drive-train, and park it where it could provide overwatch instead of ramming through enemy defences
You know the ferdinand had the absolute highest K/D ratio of any armoured vehicle in WW2?
Situational awareness? It's a tank destroyer. It shouldn't ever be in a close combat situation where it should have to deal with anything but enemy vehicles. It was a command error to move the Ferdinands past infantry support at Kursk which caused its reputation to flounder. This was bad tactical and strategic planning, no fault of the vehicle itself, putting it in a situation it obviously should never be in. Any turretless TD is at a disadvantage in that situation. Expecting high levels of close assault defence on a large, turretless TD is like saying a bow is a poor hand to hand combat weapon.
They did put an MG on it eventually, it was a bad oversight on the early models. Camo nets? These things probably rolled around hoping something would shoot at it and give away its position so it could laugh and shoot back.
"The Ferdinand may have been the most successful tank destroyer employed during the war in kills per loss, reaching an average ratio of approximately 10:1. During the Battle of Kursk the 653rd Heavy Tank Destroyer Battalion (German: schwere Panzerjäger-Abteilung, sPzJägAbt) claimed to have knocked out 320 enemy tanks, for the loss of 13 Ferdinands.[1] This impressive average ratio was due to its extreme firepower and protection, which gave it an enormous advantage when used in head-on combat or a static defensive role. However, poor mobility and mechanical unreliability greatly diminished its operational capability."
Going by those numbers and disregarding extraneous factors such as supply, maintenance, air support ect..... in armoured encounters your chances of survival vs other enemy vehicles no other tank in WW2 is as safe.
Remember the vast majority of these were self-destructed after breakdowns or lack of parts, not combat losses.
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Step it up a notch then, add a small bore cannon:
And a Gatling gun for good measure.
Probably once of the Indian "princely states" where when not hoarding jewels and precious metals, buying European luxury goods and indulging various other fancies on the backs of their often starving subjects, the nawabs liked to outfit their toy armies with whatever kit took their fancy. In this case the Royal Navy bluejacket's outfit seems to have found favour despite the fact that the ocean was probably at least 500 miles away.
From what little I've read on the subject of "War Elephants" - their use in combat was never more than... dubious... If the handler got killed, or the elephant a bit too spooked and just decided to ignore the handler, they were as much a hazard to friendly troops as they were to enemy troops.
Primarily a psychological weapon.
fingers284
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Alberta Cowboy Ranges
Man, the track slap and jerk during movement must have been atrocious in that Ferdinand.
