The first prototypes were out by the fall of 1942 and in service by the Battle of Kursk in 1943. The Panzer V, better known as the Panther, was the result. The German high command was desperate to regain the technological upper hand in tank production. The T-34 was a cut above the Panzer IV, Germany’s main battle tank, so the development of a new model became a priority. The German army was taken aback by the unexpected quality and sheer quantity of Soviet tanks they encountered in the early phase of Operation Barbarossa. Photo: US Army Center of Military History / Wikimedia Commons / Public domain To keep things fair, dedicated tank destroyers are for another list. Very late-war tanks such as the M26 Pershing and A34 Comet arrived too late to make much of a difference or to be included here. For the purposes of this list, the featured tanks need to have either been built in significant numbers or made a significant impact on the conflict. This collection looks at 10 of the most effective tanks of WWII and invites you to decide which is the best. It’s also interesting to see how these machines often reflect the societies that built them. What makes a good tank? Is it the quality of armor or the firepower? How important are cost and ease of maintenance? Is it better to have a few excellent tanks or many, many decent ones? Because every nation operated under different constraints, it’s a debate that goes beyond just the raw numbers. Because such a broad array of machines took to battle - and often against one another, it’s easy (and fun) to compare their strengths and weaknesses. Few things invite a good historical debate quite like the merits of the tanks of World War II.
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