Why Germans Never Expected HVAP Rounds to Turn 76mm Shermans into Panther Killers

Comments · 96

• SI

  @simongraham1225 · 2 months ago

  The firefly enough said 😂

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• BR

  @BroadwayPhil17 · 2 months ago

  This is a well balanced presentation.  The only thing missing is a clearer statement that the main reason Shermans were more prone to burning was the ammunition stowage, which wet stowage mitigated.  And while the Germans already knew about (and used) HVAP,  what they did not expect was that the U.S. would produce even 33000 HVAP rounds.

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• LA

  @larslarsman · 2 months ago

  From the net, the main reasons a tank better than the Sherman was needed for our troops was slow walked for several years:  "Doctrine and Beliefs".  "General Leslie McNair, head of Army Ground Forces, pushed the idea that tank destroyers and medium Shermans were all the U.S. needed, believing tanks should exploit breakthroughs rather than fight enemy heavy tanks.   General George S. Patton backed a similar philosophy, famously defending the Sherman's reliability and rejecting requests to halt its production for heavier alternative tanks like the T26 Pershing."

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• SH

  @sharonwhiteley6510 · 2 months ago

  In the late 70s we were stationed at Picatinny Arsenal,  NJ.  Our families lived near Aberdeen Proving Ground,  MD.  We saw the Abrams tank in its experimental mode.  It was impressive to see and more impressive when we raced one.  We were going to the military only section for some fishing.  The access road ran by the course set up to test equipment.   After a 1/4 mile run we stopped and the TC sat there grinning.   Then looked at us, put his hand to his mouth for quiet and shook his head.   Hubby let him know Mum's the word.  The XM1 had reached speeds above what was being released publicly.   We never said how fast and for years never said anything at all.  Several years later back in Germany my husband saw some of the new M1s at Graf.  Then we would watch them from our quarters going to the railroad to be loaded for war games.   They definitely selected the right person to name it after.   During DESERT STORM hubby and my nephew saw it under actual combat conditions.   What our boys could've done with the M1 during WW2 !!!!!

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• DA

  @davidstockhoff8801 · 1 month ago

  It's important to know that American tankers did not encounter Tiger IIs until the Bulge, and then only in small numbers.

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• WW

  @WW2Uncovered-i3k · 1 month ago

  “The Germans had invented the concept. They had run out of the raw material to use it.” That line captures the deeper story of HVAP perfectly—technology mattered, but industry, resources, logistics, and the crews using those precious rounds mattered even more. Do you think America’s industrial advantage ultimately mattered more than having the best tank?

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• GA

  @garrysmout6095 · 2 months ago

  The British got round the problem of Tigers and Panthers by putting their 76 mm anti-tank gun on a Sherman and called it the Firefly.

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• WW

  @WWIIAftermath · 1 month ago

  "They carried only a handful of HVAP rounds, but in the end it was American industry that carried the war." That ending really puts everything into perspective. Do you think logistics mattered more than any single tank or weapon in WWII?

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• KE

  @kenandbarbie-b6c · 2 months ago

  “Effectiveness against German tanks:<br><br>* Panzer IV: Easily penetrated from the front at normal combat ranges.<br>* Tiger I: Could penetrate the front hull and turret at typical engagement distances if the armor was not heavily angled.<br>* Panther: Could reliably penetrate the turret front and mantlet. The glacis plate remained very difficult due to its steep 55° slope, but HVAP significantly improved the Sherman’s chances compared with standard AP.<br>* Tiger II: Could penetrate the turret front under favorable conditions and at shorter ranges, but the thick front hull was generally beyond the capability of the 76 mm.”

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• SH

  @sharonwhiteley6510 · 2 months ago

  What is amazing is several depots were overrun by the Nazis or totally missed like Peiper did 1 evening. &nbsp;When the infantry found Allied depots they weren&apos;t looking for fuel. &nbsp;It was the ration crates of food that actually stopped them in their tracks. &nbsp; One depot, when back in Allied hands, was a disaster zone. &nbsp; Almost 80% of food items and cigarettes had been taken, &nbsp;opened and things like gum strewn around. &nbsp;Yet thousands of Jerry cans of fuel lining the walls hadn&apos;t been touched.

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• WW

  @WW2Destiny · 2 months ago

  <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iv2OVQ8ttAk&amp;t=2555">42:35</a> “What the Germans did not expect was that American industry could produce it in quantities that mattered.” This stood out to me because it shows that victory depended not only on better weapons, but also on logistics, production, and the people who kept everything moving. HVAP helped, but the larger system made the real difference. Do you think industrial capacity was ultimately more decisive than tank quality in World War II?

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• SH

  @sharonwhiteley6510 · 2 months ago

  Patton was also fuel starved because of Montgomery. &nbsp; Then one response during interviews with German officers: &nbsp;we don&apos;t worry about Montgomery. &nbsp; We only worry ourselves about Patton. &nbsp; Bradley was informed by G2 (intelligence), &nbsp;Bradley went to Eisenhower. &nbsp; Eisenhower read the report. &nbsp; Then Patton started receiving more fuel.

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