Armor Development and Use Trivia Quiz

Answer: 37-40 mm.

The Germans used the PZkv III (37mm), Panzer 35 (37mm), Panzer 38 (37mm).
The British used the A9 Cruiser Mk I (40mm), A15 Crusader (40mm), Matilda II (40mm).
The French used the FCM 36 (Char léger modèle 1936 FCM) (37mm), Renault R35 (Char léger modèle 1935 R) (37mm), Hotchkiss H35 light tank (37mm). Of course there are exceptions as some of the French tanks had bigger guns and there were few PZKV IV as well.

Answer: The Germans used superior tactics.

This tactic was something that the brilliant German Army officer Heinz Guderian further improved Alfred von Schlieffen's "Schlieffen Plan" which was formed in the years before WWI that focused on quick military victory. Guderian improved upon it with new technologies (dive bombers, light tanks, radio coordination).
Schlieffen's plan almost worked during WWI but as the armies had to march it was possible to counter it by rushing in troops by rail.
This was not possible during WWII as the infantry and tanks had their own transportation and therefore the reaction time for the defending forces were that much less.

Answer: T-34, KV-1, KV2.

When the Germans first encountered the T-34, KV-1 and KV-2 they received a rude awakening; they had really underestimated the Soviet tank design and production, whose existence had not even been suspected. Overnight the German armor designs were rendered obsolete, and not only were new Soviet tanks formidable fighting machines but their simplicity meant that they could be used by inexperienced crews and could be mass produced with ease. That inexperience and the superior tactics where what saved the German Wehrmacht, as long as they were few in numbers they could be defeated, but the Soviet forces were rapidly gaining experience and numbers.

Answer: It had a 76.2 mm gun.

It was the M4 Sherman but refitted with the powerful 3-inch (76.2 mm) caliber British 17-pounder anti-tank gun as its main weapon. Initially meant as a stopgap, it became the most used 17-pounder carrier in the war. At first it was issued with 1 pr. platoon/Troop (5 tanks at the time) but this was later increased in most units to 2/5 as they became available during the war.

In February 1945 the British, Commonwealth and Polish armored units were equipped with a 50/50 mix of 75mm and 17-pounder-armed Shermans and well over 2,000 were built.

Answer: 2-pounder, 6-pounder, 17-pounder.

2-pounder (40mm gun)
6-pounder (57mm gun)
8-pounder never existed
17-pounder (76,2mm gun)
25-pounder (87,6mm was the major British field gun and howitzer during World War II).
75mm (boring out the Ordnance QF 6-pounder but only had 620 m/s muzzle velocity so not really a AT gun more a general purpose gun)
95mm (was a British howitzer meant for anti personnel fire)

Answer: a 17-pounder and manned by artillery men.

It was a British variant of the American M10 tank destroyer armed with the powerful 17-pounder anti-tank gun in place of the standard 3 inch (76mm) Gun.
It was also manned, not by tankers but by "gunners" or artillery men of the Royal Artillery in a artillery battalion there where normally 2 battery's of towed 17-pounder and 1 battery of Achilles and 1 Battery of M10 Tank destroyer. This later change to 2 batteries of Achilles as they became available.

Answer: Very heavy armor, slow speed, bad armament, very good mobility.

The Churchill was a kind of "back to basics" infantry tank and had a suspension system only tailored for large trench crossing and impassable or extremely muddy terrain. It was famous for going where the enemy did not expect it.
Since protection was also paramount, both the size and weight had to be compensated by minimal possible ground pressure.
It fought in Tank Brigades (over 150 Churchill's no infantry as oppose to the Armored Brigades with their much faster "Cruiser" tanks/Mechanized Infantry) and supported mainly infantry units, it was also modified into "Hobart's funnies" , AVRE a 290mm spigot mortar, Crocodile flamethrower, Kangaroo first ever APC, ARV recovery vehicle, ARK "Armored Ramp Carrier" and many more for special breaching and landings.

Answer: During and after the WWII

Too late for WWII.
The Centurion was simultaneously the last of the cruiser type and the first main battle tank. It was one of the most influential design in history, the embodiment of Darwinian evolution in solid cast steel, summed up in a few years of bloody fighting. Compared to prewar designs, like the Cruiser I, the incredible technological acceleration that culminated in the Centurion says it all. At the very root of this evolution were the Christie suspension, the British 17-pounder anti-tank gun and late the German tanks designs. Just like the Soviet IS-3 and American M26 Pershing, the Centurion came too late for World War II, but right on time as a precursor of today's main battle tanks. Fifty years after, the Centurion is still around, under many shapes and colors.
It also had so much development potential built into it, that it started with the 17-pounder (76.2mm) then the 20-pounder (84mm) and last the famous L7 105mm Gun which was a development of the 20-pounder and became the mainstay of NATO tank guns from start of the 60s to the mid 80s when the Rheinmetall L/44 120mm smooth-bore began appearing on the Leopard 2 and later the M1A1.

Answer: It had sloped armor, was simple to operate and easy to mass produce.

The T-34 was and remains a legend. It is not only the most produced tank of WWII, with 84,000 built (compared to the 48,966 Shermans of all versions) but also one of the longest-serving tanks ever built. In the early 21st century many were still extant in depots in Asia and Africa, some served actively during the 90's (like during the 1991-99 Yugoslavian war). The Germans had nothing comparable.

Not only were they able to cope with the mud and snow with their large tracks, but they came with a perfect combination of thick and highly sloped armor, efficient gun, good speed and autonomy and, above all, extreme sturdiness, reliability, ease of manufacturing and maintenance.

Answer: The famous 88mm gun, 120mm frontal armor , 38 km/h.

Excellence versus numbers!
When comparing the small number of Tigers produced (only 1,347), to the more than 120,000 T-34s and Shermans combined, one can appreciate the psychological impact of this model, at least from the Allied tank crew perspective. Its concept laid the core of the German conception of a heavy tank - something which targeted absolute excellence in design, combining lethality with the best possible protection, only given to elite crews, and all this regardless of the cost.
However, behind the curtain, the Tiger clearly sacrificed mobility and ease of maintenance, but it was always deadly effective (with a 10:1 up to 19:1 kill ratio), earning a capital of fear that was unrivaled during the war. Allied crews found themselves hopeless with their inadequate machines, having to improvise costly tactics to deal with it.