World War II Tanks and Planes

WWII in HD thoughts

2009-11-20T21:56:00.000-08:00

I’ve been watching the taped WWII in HD series on my TV this past week. I usually always tape stuff so that I can forward through the commercials, after all who cares about the commercials? Well maybe a marketing department in some tower in a big city.

I, being an amateur World War II historian started to watch the series with a critical eye, like I do with all documentaries or movies pertaining to that period in history. After only a few minutes I’m already seeing errors that get my hackles up. I pause the recording to tell my girl friend about the mistake in video of ships and planes out of historical context and she basically says that if I hadn’t told her about them she would have never known.

Often times, while continuing to watch, I’ll scoff to myself about the additional errors, but not for this TV series. I started to try and chill out about the inaccuracies and start listening to the stories being told by the men and women who were there. After all I bet they don’t care if the snippet of film found by the film maker was completely 100% accurate that tried to give some visual context to their story.

I then got to thinking about how 60+ years ago the person carrying the camera that recorded the events happening through their lens didn’t care that 60 years later if they were used exactly and precisely in context in some documentary I’d be watching in the safety of my living room. They were trying to show what was happening in the war. In excruciatingly gory detail so that the folks back on the home front or even the generations that have come since then could get some understanding of what went on as one individual said, the events that were burned into his soul and would never be forgotten by him.

So is the WWII in HD series perfect? No, it isn’t. But it is perfect in the story being told by the individuals that lived through it. I have never personally known what war is like, I’ve not fought in a war, or been touched by it, except by seeing, reading, and hearing what did happen from the people that did live through it.

So from now on I hope to use a less critical eye when it comes to World War II history, after all, except for some historians, amateur or otherwise, who would notice that the snippets of video were out of historical context?? Could the film maker have done better? Maybe, but is the story any less authentic that was being told by the individuals in the show? It’s their history, their story, not mine.

Britain's Cruiser Mk VIII, A27M, Cromwell updated

2009-11-20T11:50:00.000-08:00

Wow, guess I was 1/2 asleep when I posted the last two entries! They are now corrected! Sheesh!
I've now made some updates to the Cromwell pages.

Britain's Cruiser Mk VIII, A27L, Centaur updated

2009-11-17T19:33:00.000-08:00

I've now made some updates for the Centaur.

Britain's Cruiser Mk VII7, A247, Cavalier updated

2009-11-15T09:19:00.000-08:00

I've made some minor updates for the Cavalier.

Germany's Tables of Organization and Equipment (TOE) updated

2009-11-15T08:09:00.000-08:00

I've added TOEs for the 1939 and 1944 Infantry Divisions. These are by no means complete of everything a division had, or even based on the reality of the front lines. But it does give what was intended to be the makeup of the particular unit.

United Kingdom's Cruiser Tanks updated

2009-11-15T07:30:00.000-08:00

I did a few updates yesterday and forgot to get them posted to the Blog, so here they are.

Britain's Cruiser Mk I, A9 updated

2009-11-13T12:42:00.000-08:00

The philosophy of the British tank corps was to have Cruiser tanks that would act like cavalry and exploit by driving into and beyond the front lines of the enemy. The first of that breed was the Cruiser Mk I (A9).

United Kingdom's Light Tanks, more updates

2009-11-13T07:31:00.000-08:00

A couple more updates to finish off the light tanks.

United Kingdom's Light Tanks updated

2009-11-13T07:05:00.000-08:00

Now starting on the source that was my very first one used in building the site. Hoping to find some new tidbits to add that I didn't initially. Also to properly attribute it as a source.
I've now made some modifications to the Light Tanks used by the United Kingdom. More to come!

Britain's history and production updated

2009-11-11T14:36:00.001-08:00

I've made some minor updates to Britain's history and vehicle production.

United States' Aircraft Aces updated

2009-11-11T13:42:00.000-08:00

I've additional aces to the list.

Soviet Union's Tank Units Table of Organization added

2009-11-11T08:53:00.000-08:00

I've added a table of organization for the Soviet Tank Division of June 1941.

Soviet's Foreign Vehicles updated

2009-11-11T07:14:00.000-08:00

The Soviet Union received a great number of vehicles built by Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States. I've updated the list of which vehicles were received.

Soviet Union's heavy tanks updated

2009-11-11T06:54:00.000-08:00

The Soviets had to continue to upgrade their designs to combat the latest German designs. The KV-85 was a stop gap until the IS-1 became available. The IS series was to be the Soviet heavy tanks to take on the heaviest of German designs.

Soviet Union's ISU-122 and ISU-152 updated

2009-11-10T19:45:00.000-08:00

The Soviet's upgraded their assault guns to use better guns and the IS-2's chassis and hull.

Soviet Samokhodnaya Ustanovka (self propelled guns) updated and photo added

2009-11-08T08:14:00.000-08:00

The Soviets saw how successful the self propelled guns were for the Germans and the need to mount larger weapons persuaded them to produce the SU series.

Soviet KV heavy tanks updated

2009-11-08T06:52:00.000-08:00

The Soviets fielded heavy tanks at the start of the German invasion in 1941. These came as quite a shock to the Germans as most of their guns were ineffective against the KV's front armor.

Soviet heavy tanks updated

2009-11-07T08:44:00.000-08:00

Here come the heavies!
The Soviets had an early obsession with heavy multi-turreted tanks. They turned out to be quit ponderous and practically unusable in battle.

Soviet medium tanks and tank destroyers updated

2009-11-07T07:03:00.000-08:00

The Soviets wisely stuck to the basics with their tank designs. They had a successful chassis in the T-34 and with modifications created more power medium tanks and some very potent tank destroyers.

Soviet Union's T-34/76 medium tank updated

2009-11-06T13:36:00.000-08:00

The most famous Soviet tank of World War II was probably the T-34/76. It came as a complete shock the the invading Germans. Large factories were moved out of the way of the Germans and Soviet citizens produced them in massive quantities under very trying conditions.

Soviet Union's A-32 and T-32 medium tank updated

2009-11-06T08:13:00.000-08:00

Next in line, leading up to the T-34, were the A-32 and T-32. As a result of the war with Finland it was found that the existing models had too little armor and not a big enough gun so it was decided by Stalin to proceed with the development of the new medium tank.

Soviet Union's A-20 medium tank updated

2009-11-06T06:32:00.000-08:00

The A-20 was one, though not the only, of the precursors to probably the most famous of all the Soviet tanks to come out of World War II, the T-34/76. It did run on tracks or wheels like the BT series, and only could carry a 45 mm gun.

Soviet BT series updated

2009-11-01T11:55:00.000-08:00

The Soviet Union, due to its wide spaces needed a tank that could go long distances. The Soviets adopted the Christie design for their BT series. I've made quite a few updates to the BT series.

Soviet Union's T-28 medium tank updated

2009-11-01T08:27:00.000-08:00

The T-28 was designed to be an infantry support tank. The crews gave them the nicknames: Betka (beetle), Betushka or Tri-Tankista (three tank men).

Soviet Early Medium Tanks added and updated

2009-11-01T07:16:00.000-08:00

Stalin was very supportive of the burgeoning tank designs that were developed during the 1920s and 1930s. I've now added two new pages and updated a couple more. If anyone has photos I'd be happy to use them!
More to come!