"Favourite crap tank" Topic

Tiger 1 % 2.

Where is the love for the Italian tanks? My nominee is the L3 tankette.

British Matilda 1, and Mk VIB.
Soviet T35 and KV2.
Italian L6/40 (with honorable mention to the CV3/33).
German Sturmtiger (produced when the Germans were going backwards, not forwards and thus not needed by the time it arrived.)
Part of me wants to nominate a Japanese tank, but they were so useful in China that I can't bring myself to actually do it!
Overall I think the MkVIB for the prize!

I am a bit partial towards the Finnish BT-42 conversion, which consisted of a captured Soviet BT tank hull upgraded with a huge custom-designed turret mounting a British 4.5" inch howitzer.

It is certainly innovative, made use of the limited resources available, packed a decent HE punch and looks pretty impressive in pictures.

On the other hand, thanks to the new turret, it had a high profile and extra weight that stressed the engine, while also featuring the rather limited armour protection of the original BT tank.

The howitzer had a slow rate of fire, low muzzle velocity and was pretty useless in anti-tank action. It was also the only armament versus infantry, as there was no MG provided.

Granted, it was officially known more as an assault gun rather than a tank, but the turret was able to rotate, resulting in a vehicle that is somewhat reminiscent of the British CS cruiser tanks.

Even the Japanese tank park was pretty good when introduced. The Type 97 was competitive with other tanks in the world, & really only lacked in armament. Of course the problem with the Type 97 was that it was upgraded too late & kept in production too long, after it was obsolete. But in early '42 Shinhoto Chi-Has would have been pretty dangerous to the early M3 Stuarts it faced off against. And against the armor park of the Chinese it was a stellar design. Even the Type 95 Ha-Go was pretty dangerous when your enemy has few to no tanks available to them…

Very true any AFV is good against someone who has few to 0. E.g. like many of the Chinses forces that IJFs engaged before and during the war.

I do believe even the original M3 Stuart was a better Lgt Tank overall vs. anything the IJFs deployed in any numbers. And again any weapon is only as good as it's crew. Plus there was a reason the M4 Sherman was called the "Panther of the Pacific" …

IIRC the IJFs did capture some US M3 Stuarts during the fall of the PI. And used them against the US/PI forces. I think they found them superior to any of their Tanks. But I was not there so I am only repeating what I had read or heard …

That fact that it's crews nicknamed it 'Honey' means it shouldn't qualify for this topic 😍

I can't believe that the Italian "tanks" weren't mentioned until page 2.

DBDD

That fact that it's crews nicknamed it 'Honey' means it shouldn't qualify for this topic

What have the crews got to do with it? Some people have nominated the Tiger I, but the crews loved them. Otto Carius is effusive in his praise of the tank.

I can't believe that the Italian "tanks" weren't mentioned until page 2.

Hey! I mentioned 1 on page 1!

Agree re the Honey. If you consider that the German equivalent to the Honey was in effect the SdKfz 222 or 232, then suddenly it becomes clear why it's a useful tank.

I have a bit of a soft spot for the BT5 as a crap tank. It can do 60mph with its tracks off. What's not to like?

Well, quite a bit actually. If one of those met any similar design in battle, who won would rest entirely on who lucked into the first hit. The BT5's armour couldn't keep out its own gun within 2,000 metres. So if a pair of them could see one another, they could very probably destroy one another. Of course, with its ergonomically hopeless two-man turret, you had to be lucky to see anything at all, much less another BT5 at 2,000 metres' range, much less destroy it, because not much about the design was there to help you do any of this.

It might as well have dispensed with any armour at all, really. All it did was keep the weight up so it could only do 60mph rather than 70mph. The opportunity for tank drag racing was lost, sadly.

If you consider that the German equivalent to the Honey was in effect the SdKfz 222 or 232, then suddenly it becomes clear why it's a useful tank.

Hmmm! Not sure about that. Comparing it to the 222 makes it look like a crap reconnaissance vehicle. It is tracked so noisy and has a high silhouette, so easier to spot. It has a better gun and armour, but that didn't stop it losing large numbers in tank vs tank engagements. It also had a poor range, not useful in a recce vehicle.

The U.S. equivalent of the 222 was the M8 Greyhound.

Another vote for the M11/39.

It was designed as an improved L3/35 hence the "big" 37mm gun and meant for attacking Yugoslavia. They literally thought that it would be used to shoot up valleys.

The turret was a late addition due to some L3's being lost in Ethiopia to rocks. Basically the locals got them trapped in a gully and attacked from the rear with rocks and bare hands. Suddenly any turret seemed a good idea.

It wasn't Italy's fault that their army was well quipped for a war in 1935, just their leader's for not paying attention and realising that in a war you have to reequip every year to keep up wither you can afford it or not.

Even their M13/40 was basically a barely improved Vickers 6 tonner built under license with no concept of quality control. It had a good gun in its day but that was another foreign import built under license.

Those poor Italian conscripts.

Yes the Honey was actually a good tank when first introduced into the Desert . It was fast and reliable making it a breath of fresh air compared to the existing British types ie the old cruisers it was replacing.

Not sure if it qualifies, but I'd like to throw in the Nimrod. Just beczseu of the name.

Carden-Lloyd Tankette… its just sooo cute!

Russian T-70

The beach huts look like they would see off the Carden Lloyd…

But you do have to admire what was then known as "British Spunk" (OK, I know that could then be censored in modern…indeed in 1960s…usage, but that was the term used).

These chaps can only see where they are going by…oh, that is a bad idea. I imagine that front shield could slide down an inch or two, to protect from an incoming 88mm, or maybe not.

On balance, this must take the prize outright

My favorite was my last unicorn in 1:72/20mm scale: The Soviet T-18. Now Shapeways has one and I have one.

Would that tankette's armour even initiate the fuse on an 88mm round?

Either way the Tankette's crew would be in trouble I'd think.

I dunno. It must be hard to serve an 88mm AT gun when the crew is doubled up laughing, with tears rolling down their cheeks.