P-47 Thunder Bolt And The Bazooka

American tanks were much quicker than other tanks, but with the downside of lighter armor. The reason American tanks were so cheap and were not of high quality was because they were mass produced and were made with thinner armor than Germany’s late war tanks. America also had to transport these tanks over an ocean to Europe, so the tanks had to be light. The Americans had produced forty eight thousand Sherman tanks during the war, making it the most produced tank during that time (Fleming 16). Two things that had helped the Americans during the war were the P-47 Thunder Bolt and the Bazooka. The P-47 Thunder Bolt was a plane that was used to break up Germany armor concentrations, clearing the way for the division’s advance. The Bazooka could

pierce the armor of German light tanks and disable heavier German tanks. The first time the Bazooka was used, the German tankers surrendered on the spot, thinking they were under fire by 105-millimeter guns (Fleming 19). On July 18, 1944, During Operation Goodwood, one thousand three hundred fifty British and Canadian-manned Sherman tanks were pitted against four hundred German tanks. In seventy-two hours, the Germans destroyed at least three hundred Sherman tanks (Fleming 16). American tanks really showed how superiority in numbers can enable cheap tanks to destroy higher quality tanks. The light guns on M4 Sherman tanks led Americans to create the first ever bazooka, which could pierce enemy armor better than the tanks could.
Soviet tanks were also mass-produced during the war, but had a sloped surface that made them very hard to hit.

During World War II, Germany signed a peace treaty with the Soviet Union so that they could invade Poland without the Soviet Union becoming suspicious of them for getting so close to their borders. But that treaty was broken when Germany started Operation Barbarossa. The Germans were extremely close to taking over the Soviet Union. All they had to do was take Stalingrad and that would cripple the Soviet Union. But before they could take the city, the Soviets made an unbreakable defense. Christie, An American Engineer, created Russia’s famous tank, the T-34, for money because he was badly in need of cash (Fleming 12). Soviet T-34’s had sloped armor that was difficult for German tanks to penetrate. Even though they were cheap, mass-produced tanks, their revolutionary design let them stand against the powerful German tanks. There were many different T-34 designs and improvements during the duration of the war, but the two best designs were the original and the T-34/85. The Soviets also had made some very powerful tank

destroyers.
The SU family of tank destroyers was the Soviet Union’s main tank destroyer. These tank destroyers also went through many design improvements throughout the war. And a heavy tank that the Soviets used was the IS family, which did not need to improve much and were not produced as much as other tanks. Most design improvements included longer guns, thicker armor, and better engines.
During Operation Barbarossa, Germany did not have many tanks; this is probably due to the treaty that forbids them from building tanks after World War II.

All they really had were Panzer III’s, Panzer 38(t)’s, Panzer II’s and even Panzer I’s. These tanks were not made to really counter enemy tanks, rather they were made to support infantry, which helped with their Blitzkriegs. The Soviet T-34’s completely destroyed the German tanks. Germany’s tanks couldn’t pierce through the T-34’s sloped armor. This was huge because the Soviet Union’s infantry had outdated rifles that they had been using since World War I. The Soviets were making so many T-34’s that the Germans focused their bombing on Soviet factories and industry buildings. A reason that the Soviets could make so many tanks was due to the Socialist Union in Russia. Russia is a country that is rich with resources, the Soviets built factories everywhere they could and a huge majority of the population worked in these factories. But a huge factor that affected the war was the population difference in the two countries. Russia had many more people than Germany had, and majority of the men in Russia fought in the war for their homeland. Soviets basically overwhelmed the enemy with their population. Millions of Soviets charged into the battle, they would not stop for anything. The Soviet tanks became less effective once the Germans created its counter, the Tiger tank. But the Tiger tanks broke down and could not be

mass-produced, so they were not effective enough. SU tank destroyers could also position themselves to hit the Tiger tank’s weak spots. Finally, with enough sacrifice and overwhelming, the Soviets pushed the Germans all the way back to their capital. The German’s main counter to the overwhelming infantry was machine guns. But The Soviets had so many tanks that the tanks could just clear out any machine gun nests for the infantry. The Soviets, like the Americans, showed that there is a lot of power in numbers, and that a revolutionary design like the T-34’s sloped design could completely change a cheap tank to a powerful tank, even if the tank was just a medium tank.
British tanks were not mass-produced, but had decent quality. During World War II, Britain really was fighting over air more than on ground. Germany’s Luftwaffe planned the attack the British Isles, but were completely destroyed. British planes were much more suited for dog-fighting than German planes were. The complete failure on the invasion of Britain forced Germany to attack Russia for resources. After their failure, Germany only sent high-altitude bombers to bomb Britain constantly. Britain was bombed so much that they couldn’t make many things, so they depended on trade. America sent supplies to help rebuild Britain and tanks for them to use. Britain had many Sherman tanks to use, but that didn’t stop them from making their own tanks. Britain had many different types of tanks during the war, including cruiser and infantry tanks.
Cruiser tanks were the main tanks made and used by the British. They were quick and mobile, and were used mainly to counter other tanks and support their infantry tank counterparts. The infantry tanks were slower, had heavier armor, and were designed to support infantry, not go against other tanks. They were designed to be slow so that infantry could keep up with them and hide behind them as they pushed onward. There were only a few different infantry tank designs, including the Matilda, Churchill, and Valentine. They were usually equipped with QF 75mm guns and heavier armor than Cruiser tanks because they did not need a lot of speed. Their main purpose was to support infantry, as their name implies. Cruiser tanks were quick and made to fight other tanks. They were usually equipped with anti-tank guns or 75mm guns with less armor than infantry tanks for mobility. Early models like the Covenanter had sloped armor, but instead of it being sloped horizontally like Soviet tanks, it was sloped vertically. The split in two different tanks could be relevant to when Britain made “female” tanks with machine guns to support infantry, and “male” tanks with heavier guns to combat other tanks. Most British tanks only had around 1000 built, for they kept improving their tanks because they didn’t have the resources to build a certain type of tank many times. The main tank made was the Crusader; it was cheaper and lighter than the Covenanter and was around 5000 were produced. The Crusader was a favorite in the African wars, especially when upgraded to the QF 6 pounder gun. It could move quickly around the desert and the QF 6 pounder gun allowed it to combat Panzer III’s and Panzer IV’s.
But near the end of the war, Britain had been bombed so much that a majority of their army was Sherman tank divisions, and they made some Heavy tanks. Britain was so desperate that they had to make some of their trucks out of bricks. Britain showed that during the war that they still had two different kinds of main tanks. Like in the past, they had one for fighting tanks, and one for supporting infantry, unlike other countries that tried to combine the two, but Britain made one for each job. Even with how desperate they were during the war, they pulled through and made some revolutionary tank designs.
Tanks may have started in Britain, but they have been used and changed by the world. All tanks in World War II were very different in design, but had a similar goal. American tanks showed that there is strength in numbers. Soviet tanks showed that even low quality tanks can be revolutionary and effective. Britain showed that even in such a desperate state, they could still produce some very good tanks. Ever since their creation in 1915, tanks have affected and shaped war and still are being used today.
Tanks started in Britain, but have been