#ww2
The Fall of France led the United States to frantically find ways to counter the new threat profile of the German panzer divisions. This led to the formation of the Tank Destroyer Branch whose main purpose was to blunt any German armored exploitation attempts with a mobile tank destroyer force to eliminate the enemy tanks. While such a tank destroyer was in development, the urgency for a vehicle led to a conversion of a M4A2 hull with a larger, open-topped turret carrying a high-velocity 3-inch gun into battle. This weapon system would be adopted as the 3-inch Gun Motor Carriage M10.
The Project 253 was a very successful minesweeper. It and its derivatives saw operational success, relatively low loss rates, and served for nearly 60 years in a military capacity across 8 different navies. While obscure, it nonetheless played its role, even if a small one, in the course of naval military history. Even today, these vessels continue to live on in civilian service.
Among the different tanks provided to the Soviet Union as part of the Lend-Lease program, arguably the most underrated tank was the Valentine tank. An infantry tank that the British eventually phased out for newer tanks like the Churchill, the Valentine had a surprising staying power within the Soviet Army. The Soviet Army received half of all Valentines produced by the British and Canadians and used them all the way to the end of the war against both the Germans and Japanese.
Of the tanks in the US Army during World War II, perhaps none had as much unique personality as the T26E1-1 "Super Pershing." With the tacked-on applique armor, the tank looks like something out of a steampunk setting, yet the tank still represents the most formidable tank the US Army brought to the European Theater.
Launched on June 18, 1942, CRDA at Monfacone, built and commissioned on June 24, 1942, was assigned to the 2°Squadriglia, transferred to bases in the Sicilian Channel in late July 1942, in the same month specifically on the 12th and 13th participated in operations against the British convoy bound for Malta during the Battle of Mid-August, on the night of August 13, 1943,
While 1 mm more doesn't appear so much in size when comparing 75 mm to 76 mm, the Americans managed to make that one extra 1 mm impress with extra firepower boost against tanks during World War II. While the weapon was not without controversy on whether it was indeed the right weapon for the war, it proved sufficient in helping American tankers face-off against tougher enemy tanks to win the overall war. This is the story of how that weapon came to be.
The Bf 109 was, without a doubt, a legendary warplane of World War 2. Alongside the Fw 190, the famed Messer was one of the main single-engine fighters of the German Luftwaffe until the very end of the war in 1945, but some countries still used its modifications up until the 1950s and even '60s.
Scharnhorst was a German battlecruiser (or battleship depending on classification) that served in WWII, the lead ship of her class. Designed to counter the French Dunkerque-class battleships, Scharnhorst was a significantly enlarged and improved development on the previous Deutschland-class pocket battleships (“panzerschiffe”). Scharnhorst operated with her sister ship Gneisenau during the early years of WWII, wreaking havoc on Allied shipping. However, she ultimately met her demise at the Battle of the North Cape, where she was sunk by a large British force led by the battleship HMS Duke of York.
MS 15 launched on 2 February 1942, finalised on 2 June 1942, entered service after construction in the Regia Marina's 1st Squadron, and arrived at operational bases in North Africa in July 1942; the following month it carried out, with MS 11, a mission to transport saboteurs of the San Marco Regiment in enemy waters, participated in anti-ship ambush operations, escorting coastal convoys and anti-submarine surveillance.
