Armored Fighting Vehicles Version M5 (it is a tradition now)

[beachhead1985]

Some more:
Mine Exploder T10

"Its underside was thickened with 25mm steel and the sides were adapted to give room for the huge 96-inch wheels. The rear wheel had a diameter of 72 inches. It weighed 116,400 lbs and could attain a maximum speed of 3kmph while clearing mines and 10kmph on a clear road. The T10 was tested in 1944 but was rejected due to its heavy weight and related drawbacks."

Apparently the thing was remote controlled, and they added another inch of armor to the underbelly. 
Straight up American, apparently.  Looks like whatever Hobart was smoking, he shared some with the allies.

The T1E3 "Aunt Jemima" Was a much more reasonable approach.

[ANS Kamas P81]

Autoloader

That and I think we're the only country using DU sheathing over the composites for armor.  I always laughed at that; "Aw, you use superhard ceramics for armor, that's cute.  We're using leftover scraps from literal weaponized alchemy for ours.  Because we can."

[DoctorMonkey]

That and I think we're the only country using DU sheathing over the composites for armor.  I always laughed at that; "Aw, you use superhard ceramics for armor, that's cute.  We're using leftover scraps from literal weaponized alchemy for ours.  Because we can."

I think the British Army has had that with the Challenger 2 but removed the option for current deployments for political considerations (the UK is pretty anti-nuclear compared with the USA) but could probably re-apply the armour and maybe restock the ammunition if needed, I guess against a peer level threat

[beachhead1985]

I think the British Army has had that with the Challenger 2 but removed the option for current deployments for political considerations (the UK is pretty anti-nuclear compared with the USA) but could probably re-apply the armour and maybe restock the ammunition if needed, I guess against a peer level threat

The UK Is pretty far up the stinky creek when it comes to the ammunition and main gun for Challenger 2. There is talk of them discarding their tanks altogether. Can't say as I'm shocked but that it took them this long.

[Kidd]

Not before the next Eurotank, whatever it is, I think.

[Simon Landmine]

Not before the next Eurotank, whatever it is, I think.

Though, for certain reasons that I won't go into because of Rules, the UK may not be a party to the next Eurotank ...

[kato]

Even without that reason the UK has never been part in European joint MBT development programmes. Or at least any ones halfway known (there was FMBT with Germany in 74-77 with no designs even drawn up).

[Kidd]

Like Tempest, and perhaps more applicably Ajax and Boxer, they dont have the economies of scale to go it alone any more. So they'll seek partners. They might indeed find somebody to buddy up with like they did for Tempest, but IMO more likely they'll seek some kind of broader commonality, given how successful that has been for Leo 2, and the expected operations area for British MBTs.

[DaveMac]

Like Tempest, and perhaps more applicably Ajax and Boxer, they dont have the economies of scale to go it alone any more. So they'll seek partners. They might indeed find somebody to buddy up with like they did for Tempest, but IMO more likely they'll seek some kind of broader commonality, given how successful that has been for Leo 2, and the expected operations area for British MBTs.

Rheinmetall apparently

https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2019/06/05/will-the-stars-finally-align-to-upgrade-britains-obsolete-tanks/

[Kidd]

Rheinmetall apparently

https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2019/06/05/will-the-stars-finally-align-to-upgrade-britains-obsolete-tanks/

We'll see. Rheinmetall is promising the sky but it depends what the MoD want to spend.

[kato]

We'll see. Rheinmetall is promising the sky but it depends what the MoD want to spend.

Given the number quoted in the article for overall army procurement (€2.15b per year over the next decade - note: that's 4.25% of the defense budget) not particularly much. Just the 500 Boxers they're buying already cost one-quarter of that alone, inclusive of a 10-year support package.

[ANS Kamas P81]

Been a quiet month, I see.  Hey, look, I can play Battletech on the surface of the GenDyn OMFV entry!  It even has elevated and color-coded terrain!

Oh and it can shoot damn near straight up.

Battletech!

[Daryk]

So THAT's what ablative armor looks like...  ^-^

[Sharpnel]

Been a quiet month, I see.  Hey, look, I can play Battletech on the surface of the GenDyn OMFV entry!  It even has elevated and color-coded terrain!

Oh and it can shoot damn near straight up.

Battletech!

Looks like someone glued some Heroscape tiles on the vehicle.

[Failure16]

Actually, it looks like the early run of BattleTech miniatures, like the BattleMaster and Dragon, with scales.  Or Kallistra/Heroscape, yeah.

[Matti]

We all have seen/heard that Poland was a "speed bump ahead" for Wehrmacht. I just watched a video that makes it out to be a little bit more than that: TKS tankette with 20 mm autocannon gunning down Panzer IV and then some.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ez9pw9BJPsE

[MoneyLovinOgre4Hire]

Poland's army was actually pretty decent in both training and equipment quality.  They certainly weren't the too-dumb-to-live losers that post war pop-culture made them out to be.  They just didn't have the numbers needed to take on a foe that size.

[DoctorMonkey]

Poland's army was actually pretty decent in both training and equipment quality.  They certainly weren't the too-dumb-to-live losers that post war pop-culture made them out to be.  They just didn't have the numbers needed to take on a foe that size.

There were also, according to some commentators I have read, political considerations around the deployment of the Polish army forward at the border rather than concentrating in better defended locations and providing a defence in depth - the proposed reason for this was to start fighting the moment the Germans crossed the border and so not give Britain and France any excuses for not joining the War although this did not work out well as both of these still let Poland down.

[Ursus Maior]

Poland's army was actually pretty decent in both training and equipment quality.  They certainly weren't the too-dumb-to-live losers that post war pop-culture made them out to be.  They just didn't have the numbers needed to take on a foe that size.

That is absolutely correct. And to add to that: the Wehrmacht did not fare as brilliantly as contemporary German leaning hagiography - e. g. by US journalist John Gunther - made it seem. The Polish defence was conducted well and appropriate, given the possibilities of a much smaller nation against such a foe. Ultimately two factors doomed Poland in 1939: The decision of the Entente, Britain and France, not to attack Germany in the West and the entry of the USSR into the war against Poland, holding true to the partitioning of Europe as signed in the Molotov-Ribbentrop Treaty.

Poland, without allies, had no chance of mustering a defence strong enough to overcome Germany and the USSR. Neither was there hope to prevail, nor was there any gain from holding on to a small stretch of land, bordering Rumania (then not yet an ally of Germany) and two hostile forces several million men strong.

[ANS Kamas P81]

They were literally between a rock and a hard place, only this time the rock and hard place were determined to share a border.

And yet you still have things like Sabaton's excellent 40:1 song celebrating the defense of Wizna, plus all the Polish contributions in the war - not just things like the air squadrons under the British, but decades of work in cryptography and SIGINT that went into Bletchley Park's efforts as well.  The Poles were damn good mathematicians and they really did understand just how all that worked, and came up with some wild new stuff for it.

[grimlock1]

Been a quiet month, I see.  Hey, look, I can play Battletech on the surface of the GenDyn OMFV entry!  It even has elevated and color-coded terrain!

Oh and it can shoot damn near straight up.

Battletech!

What is that hex stuff trying to do?

[ANS Kamas P81]

Camouflage, primarily, also probably breaks up the large-reflective-panel construction for radar tracking as well as looks thick enough to have some thermal suppression capability.

[grimlock1]

Camouflage, primarily, also probably breaks up the large-reflective-panel construction for radar tracking as well as looks thick enough to have some thermal suppression capability.

Thermal and visible camo sounds reasonable but it creates so much kibble that the RCS must be through the roof.   Any idea what that product is called so I can do my own research?

[ANS Kamas P81]

You'd have to google search the image, I can't even remember where I saw it.  Sorry!

[grimlock1]

You'd have to google search the image, I can't even remember where I saw it.  Sorry!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSuYxX5BE8c
It's for reducing the IR sig, and I quote, "gives us a little pop on the showroom floor." :facepalm:

[ANS Kamas P81]

It's a business like any other and you gotta have a product that gets in people's minds and stays there.  If it means thermal-camouflage hextiles all over your tank, well

get the glue

[dgorsman]

It's a business like any other and you gotta have a product that gets in people's minds and stays there.  If it means thermal-camouflage hextiles all over your tank, well

get the glue

Especially for a convention appearance.  Something falls off in transit, they'll break out the 5-minute epoxy, glue gun, whatever it takes.

[ANS Kamas P81]

I spent probably 20-odd years back and forth running conventions.  It only has to look pretty until 2pm on Sunday, and you can move the No Touchy barriers a little further away to keep people from looking too close.

Meanwhile the French just freaking love their 6x6 zoomies and I adore them for it.  Shine on, vous diamant fou.

[Daryk]

That's a pretty long barrel for such a small bore... is it 25mm?  ???

[ANS Kamas P81]

40mm of unspecified make (from the image source) in a Lockmart turret they made for the Warrior.  Strap on some ATGMs, cram it in a C130, and call me mommy.  Panhard Sphinx, for the curious.