79 years later, the German Army once again fields a Panther main battle tank

And now it’s springtime…

Norm MacDonald tried to warn us.

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And now it’s springtime…

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And June 22 is only a little over a week away.

Has anyone checked in on Poland recently?

To the Armour guys...so what is that skeletal main gun support structure utilized for....extra protection for the gun barrel or does it serve some other purpose?

43 still looks better

King Tiger uber alles

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The main armament is the Rheinmetall 130mm cannon, designed for the MGCS project’s Future Gun System (FGS). The FGS is automatically loaded from two revolver-type magazines which each hold 10 rounds of insensitive munition-compliant ammunition. According to the company, the FGS “enables a 50% longer kill range to be achieved [than 120mm] with an unrivalled rate of fire due to the autoloader performance.” It can fire kinetic energy rounds as well as programable airburst ammunition and practice rounds.

This weapon is complemented by a 12.7mm co-axial machine gun instead of the 7.62mm co-axial gun which equips most main battle tanks today. At the rear of the turret roof is the company’s new “Natter” 7.62mm Remotely Controlled Weapon Station.

The guns are all controlled electronically and the computerized fire control system includes stabilized day/night sights for the commander and the gunner. Laser rangefinders give the Panther hunter/killer capability.

For self-protection, the Panther has a three-layer system: an active layer to protect from anti-tank missiles and kinetic energy threats; a reactive layer to neutralize double shaped charge rounds that may get through; and finally a passive layer to stop any remaining elements. There is also a top attack protection system.

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Is it bad I want to see these in action?

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And June 22 is only a little over a week away.

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But this time, we should take Patton’s advise, link up with the Germans and kick the Bears behind for good.



ETA…. What am I saying? With Marxism in the States, maybe we can get the Germans over here to invade and help us finally defeat Marxism.

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To the Armour guys...so what is that skeletal main gun support structure utilized for....extra protection for the gun barrel or does it serve some other purpose?

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I’m an Armor guy, both by MOS and a lifetime of studying armored vehicles, not to mention military history in general. But I’m also not entirely sure what function it would have.

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They're really going throwback on this one. Wasn't "Natter" a WW2 missile system?

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Not just a missile, it was a quasi-suicide rocket.

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The Bachem Ba 349 Natter (English: Colubrid, grass-snake[Note 1]) was a World War II German point-defence rocket-powered interceptor, which was to be used in a very similar way to a manned surface-to-air missile. After a vertical take-off, which eliminated the need for airfields, most of the flight to the Allied bombers was to be controlled by an autopilot. The primary role of the relatively untrained pilot was to aim the aircraft at its target bomber and fire its armament of rockets. The pilot and the fuselage containing the rocket motor would then land using separate parachutes, while the nose section was disposable.

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