What are the best and worst tanks of WWII in each of these categories?

Personally, I really like the Tiger 2 with the Henschel turret, however I acknowledge that mechanically it was a piece of shit

>you will never liquidate bolshevik scum in this beast on the eastern front

Did German tanks really need to be coated with that anti-magnetic paint like the Tiger II in that image? Were magnetic mines really that much of a threat?

they used slave labor and had inferior access to quality materials

>you will never drop an armour piercing bomb on top of this barely moving target in your Il-10

>go toe to toe with Germany's best tanks and win

When a Sherman or Shermans came across a Tiger, they would retreat and radio for TDs to assist. That's not really toe to toe.

No. The Germans thought magnetic mines would become the next big thing and pre-emptively developed Zimmerit to counter them, but the Allies ended up never using them much. Zimmerit wasn't entirely useless, but it was unnecessary most of the time.

That is an excellent source. Thank you comrade.

[citation needed] and a preemptive rebuttal :

On December 21st, 1944 at 5 pm, 6 Tigers of 506th Heavy Panzer Battalion attacked the 7th Armored Division near St. Vith in the Ardennes. The Tigers started with Star Shells and followed up with armor piercing, destroying all of the defending American vehicles, including tanks. [1]

Also during the Battle of St. Vith, an M8 Greyhound of Troop B, 87th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron destroyed a Tiger I tank. [2]

Staff Sargent Lesniak encountered a Tiger in Nouville during the Battle of the Bulge. He quickly fired 3 75mm rounds that apparently did nothing, but the Tiger crew retreated, backing over a jeep and became disabled. The tankers destroyed the Tiger with thermite. [3]

On December 19th 1944, Donald Nichols engaged a Tiger at 600 yards with his 105mm Sherman, resulting in a confirmed kill. He was later engaged by a second Tiger, and retreated. He knew it was a Tiger from the distinctive sound that the 88 mm shells made [4]


Not all wins, but American tankers didn't run and look for help from TDs when they saw Tigers.

[1] Saddles and Sabers: Timeline of St. Vith

[2] The Battle at St. Vith, Belgium, 17-23 December 1944. US Army Armor School. Pg. 31

[3] Bastogne: The Story of the First Eight Days. Col. S. L. A. Marshall. Pg. 88

[4] The Tigers of Bastogne. Michael Collins. (which incidentally was not about Tiger tanks during the battle, but the 10th Armored Division, nicknamed "The Tigers.")

>How did you feel going up against the Tiger Tank

>- It was an extremely heavy vehicle. The Sherman could never defeat a Tiger with a frontal shot. We had to force the Tiger to expose its flank. If we were defending and the Germans were attacking, we had a special tactic. Two Shermans were designated for each Tiger. The first Sherman fired at the track and broke it. For a brief space of time the heavy vehicle still moved forward on one track, which caused it to turn. At this moment the second Sherman shot it in the side, trying to hit the fuel cell. This is how we did it. One German tank was defeated by two of ours, therefore the victory was credited to both crews. There is a story about this entitled "Hunting With Borzois" in my book.

So in conclusion, the Tiger was regarded as a very serious threat, but it certainly wasn't invincible and the Shermans certainly didn't go running just because 1 tiger was spotted.