What was the best WWII tank?

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was versatile and and technologically the most advanced tank when it came onto the scene

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No.

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Ore technologically advanced tanks would come in the war, but none would have the impact.

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It’s impact is largely overstated. True, it’s slanted armor plate bounced many of the early pz iv variants, it was quickly countered by the tiger 1, plethora of flak 88s, and other higher caliber gun platforms.

It’s main advantage was how it was used. Not the tank itself. The mass swarming and quick encroachment is what attributed to its prowess, not so much the technology in the tank itself


My favorite would be the strumtiger. Simply because it shoots a 380mm rocket propelled monster of a round

The T34 was a great tank, but certainly not from a technical standpoint. Most didn't even have a radio. The T34 was however easy to produce, had decent firepower especially in the T34/85 iteration and sloped armor giving good protection.
It used a Christie suspension (American inventor) system that most other countries found less than ideal, and when matched tank to tank with German armor other than Mk 3 and 4 panzers was out of its class.
It was produced in huge quantities and huge amounts of ok beat small amounts of excellent everytime.

The Pershing. Developed late in the war and only saw limited action, but could defeat the Tiger one on one. It was the basis for all American postwar tanks until the M1 Abrams came along.

Agreed. The Pershing saw limited action late in the war to be considered the best. In the battle for Cologne when head to head with Panthers it showed its potential, but too little, too late in the game. It the Tiger Royal, Josef Stalin tank were formidable but not eligible for the title.

Panzer IV

Not even close. German Tiger Tank! They just couldn't produce enough of them. Those relentless day and night bombing campaign by the Allies took care of that.

Tiger, no doubt

Well, it depends on how you define “best”.

Best at killing other tanks? Panther. But it’s drawback was reliably and complex to produce and maintain.

Best from an armor protection standpoint? King Tiger. Same problems as the Panther.

Ease of maintenance/reliability: M4 Sherman. But once it was deployed against heavier German armor, especially in France, it was outmatched in both armor and firepower.

Esse of Production: T-34. But it was slaughtered em mass by the Germans due to being woefully inferior in crew training and especially in optics for the main gun. German crews could kill them before the T-34 crews could even see the Germans.

Cross Country Performance: Panther by far. Only tank that could match it was the T-34. But as was stated above, it had its own serious drawbacks.

Speed: M4 Sherman: this was its main advantage. Still not enough to make up for wear armor and main gun.

So while some tanks were better in some categories, they all had their drawbacks.

M4 Sherman

Bested all in strategic and tactical flexibility.