Quote:
Originally Posted by dimlee
As for WWII... Let's apply common sense and remain sceptical to victory claims numbers, especially from mid 1943 on Eastern Front, when Germans were on retreat and damaged/destroyed tanks mostly remained on Soviet side.
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Exactly.
“During retreat from the Falaise pocket later in August, the RAF and USAAF claimed 391 armoured vehicles destroyed. Shortly afterwards, the battlefield was examined and only 133 armoured vehicles of all types were found, of which just 33 had been victims of any sort of air attacks”. Flying Guns WWII, A.G. Williams, E.Gustin.
These numbers are hardly surprising if we consider three things:
The pilots has just seconds in the heat of the battle and in the midst of explosions and smoke to choose between a lethal direct hit, a damaging but not lethal one and a near miss.
A 37 mm. shell can inflict damage, but not lethal damage most of the times.
A damaged tank is repairable.
About victory claims… Often they were just that: claims.