ARMOR AND THE ARMS RACE

the 'King' Panther and the Russian KV-1. The Russians were now mounting long 76mm guns in their T-34 tanks, and the Germans were frequently using the faithful 8.8cm gun in theirs. The early rocket anti tank weapons were already at the limit of their capabilities.

Today, tanks depend not only on thickness of armor, but on higher technology. Reactive armors were an initial defense against shaped charges. The armor contains small portions of explosive that disrupt the 'cutting torch' effect of the shaped charge, but are ineffective against other types of ammunition. Composite armor,layered with steel, ceramic, Kevlar, or other materials, are the current direction of tank defense. Infantry anti tank weapons have also improved, with missiles packing enough punch to penetrate the armor belt on a WW II cruiser, and being guided by the operator via high magnification sights and a control wire. Reality is approaching science fiction, and the fictional Bolo fighting vehicles of Keith Laumer's universe become more and more believable; and may even be possible, as the race continues.

Go to: http://www.geocities.com/Pentagon/Quarte... for pictures, descriptions, and tables. Well done.

http://www.inf.upol.cz/~stepanos/ww2.html for a variety of pictures, both familiar and lesser known.

Go To Page: 1 2 3 4

Articles in this Topic    Discussions in this Topic