The Maxxpros, leopards, strykers, bradlys, and even the challengers failed. Now these tanks are supposed to be ukraine's last hope?
The Maxxpros, leopards, strykers, bradlys, and even the challengers failed. Now these tanks are supposed to be ukraine's last hope?
What's that thing that happened in like, WW2 where some ancient slow moving airplanes were able to effectively fight some naval war ship because the radar guidance wasn't programmed for targets moving as slow as the planes?
Maybe that's what they're gong for?
The Sinking of the Bismark. As I understand it, them being biplanes made out of plywood helped, as the flak shells just punched through without exploding and the bullet holes were a mild inconvenience for what was already a burlap deathtrap.
You might be thinking of Royal Navy Swordfish attacking the Bismarck. While it's possible that the low speed of the swordfish were throwing off the Bismarck's firing solution, post war examination of the Bismarck's plans show that its AA guns were on non-stabalized platforms and were not centrally controlled or radar directed.
In other words, the Brits painted themselves as the plucky underdogs using their wits to turn the slow speed of their planes into an advantage but it's also very possible that the Bismarck's AA suite was just that shit and couldn't hit slow flying targets.
The biplanes also carried very heavy ordnance, meaning their payload could punch holes into the Bismarck. As others said the AA of the ship was notoriously shit, and these planes despite their speed, were still quite effective against lone ships like a battleship.
I see your point but the comparison just can't match, since leopard 1s are not fast, and modern tanks need to be since they're constantly under fire from AT weaponry, especially the introduction of drone warfare, which knocks out even the heaviest tanks. Leopards 1 are slow, weaponry is small, and their Armor is sub-optimal, they're far too expensive for their qualities too. Plus they're still heavier than Russian tanks which came out during that period. It's important to look at the strategy for these tanks, since they weren't supposed to be used in open fields like Ukraine, they were supposed be defending west Germany from an potential soviet attack. Meaning these tanks would be backed up with massive ordnance support alongside well supplied lines, that is the complete opposite of what you see in Ukraine.
The truth is there's just nothing to send, Germany's stockpiles are gone, all of western Europe are reluctant to send their best equipment. And the US doesn't want to upset the MIC conglomerates by showing their awful performance in Ukraine.
My comment was 99% meant to be a bit of dry humor.