Ulater's Archive

Report was compiled based on information from several formations, on the result of shooting of armor of the german heavy tank Tiger II. The conclusions, report states that : "1. Shooting with AP and subcaliber shells from all listed guns, does not displace the turret from the turret ring. 2. From 100-250m, no type of shell from listed guns can penetrate the frontal armour of the hull or turret, not even with sharp angles of impact of no more than 46-48 degrees.. Single penetration of the frontal hull near the MG ball, was achieved by 152mm AP shell fired from 250m, at the striking angle of 86°. Breach Diameter = 350mm. 3. Drive train components (tracks, wheels) are vulnerable to all reported calibers." Distance Caliber Type Turret Front ° Hull Front ° Turret Side ° Sloped Side Armor ° Vertical Side Armor ° Rear Armor ° Suspension 250 m 152 mm API(?) --- --- Ric., dent w: 230 mm, d: 70 mm 46° Pen.entry w: 190 mm, exit w: 840 mm 86° --- --- --- --- --- --- --- 460 m --- --- ---

"I report these irrecoverable losses for the period of 8th to 21st March 1943: 1. 5th Tank Korps - T-34 - 28, T-70 - 9, T-60 - 33 2. 145th Tank Brigade - T-70 - 2, T-60 - 5 3. 10th Tank Brigade - T-40 - 1 4. 213th Tank Brigade - KV- 2, T-34 - 3, T-70- 1 5. 138th Separate Tank Brigade - T-60 - 10, Valentine - 1 6. Information from 1st Tank Korps was not received, It will be added later. Signed Major Burchenkov."

Loot Force One begins    In the previous article, I jumped a fair bit ahead, and I nearly forgot about one very interesting aspect of Wehrmacht's procurement - common thievery. Or rather, the use of captured equipment, surely the most extensive in WW II, and perhaps the most extensive ever. Austria: First steps    Anschluss gave Germans a great opportunity to practice mobile operations outside of combat, and they also acquired a modest number of austrian weapons and factories for their own use. Bofors 40 mm AA guns that continued production after the Anschluss in Vienna Arsenal, along with a small number of Oerlikon 20 mm guns, several thousand artillery pieces and small arms . Most important, for the motorpool atleast, was the addition of Steyr company, and several other small companies that provided space and production capacities to manufacture many competitive truck types, like Steyr 640, a 1,5 ton, 6x4 vehicle, which was one of the first foreign truck used by Wehr

As follows is a study and comparison of British Army and Red Army tank tactics, as written by the Canadian Armoured Corps in May of 1944. The study, uses an article written by a Soviet officer and British manuals and reports as sources. For context, the study notes that the organization and tank strength of a Soviet Armoured Corps and a British Armoured Division is generally similar. Soviet General (a) Exploitation of a breakthrough is carried out by a large mobile group of all arms acting directly under the front (or army) command. An armoured corps may form part of the group, or may act independently for this task. (b) From a position in the rear, the armoured corps moves up to a lying up place under cover of darkness. If the latter is only 15 to 20 kilometres from the front, it can also be used a jumping-off place, and a regulating line is indicated to time the advance. (c) The exact moment at which the armoured corps should be thrown in is very difficult to decide. The guid