would be awsome to have old "tankers" giving there opinion on this, and as one i will try to say what is important for me.
tv shows looks at statistics, and either they go with what history books say or they go for the "popularity" factor
Im a former LEO 1 and 2 driver even had 6 months in M-41DK1 drove the last Danish centurion to the scrap yard so i have kinda abit experience with atleast those tanks. But i have been fortunate enough to be at tank schools in the UK and Germany had some fun in poland and seen loads of MBT`s all over the world. (nothing like tank bust a base in a country you visit)
A tank in modern warfare is nothing like a tank in ww2. The German panther and Tiger is "if you look at the gun" the closest thing to a modern tank, but ww2 simply came down to numbers. A modern tank are not the same speerhead, a modern tank is more used in a supporting role, kinda like the stugg or jagdpanthers.
So what are the worlds best tank? well its hard to say.
Fuel used and range
How complicatet is it to maintain
How complicatet is it to repair
How complkicatet is it to move
How long does it take to train crew
How well does it protect the crew
How effective are the tank on the battle field (Guns/radio/logistics)
When i sit in a tank i need to know it wount break down under normal combat situations. I need to know that the systems are effective and reliable and i dont want to wach engine temp guage and fuel guage all the time. And if something go wrong i want to know it can be fixed either on spot or atleast fast in the repair shop.
I dont want it to be so complicatet that i cant learn the basics on how it all works (by them self) or as the full package, on a engineers level. I want to know how it work so i and the rest of the crew have a basic idea how to try to repair something, and a skill level so we can help the mech`s when they work on the tank.
For me a tank should be simple, with reliable simple systems that do the job. Easy to repair and easy to use. Tank warfare is complicatet and the last thing a tank crew should do was to use a complicatet system in a complicatet enviroment.
The T-34 is a war machine, built for massive attacks in great numbers, the numbers save it, not the tank it self (personaly i think the KV1 is a better tank because when intruduced it could hold its own ground)
And by experience, yes been driving one, that tank can hurt the crew as bad as the enemy, flat out dangerous to be in running fast over cross country
Tiger is simply over engineered way to complicatet.
Panther, werry poorly build, using parts with a history of breaking apart.
Here and now my favorite is the CH II, but that is from my "personal level"
If you want a digital battlefield with a way to complicatet engine you go for abrams
If you want top crew safety and "half" a MBT go with the merkava
You want a formula 1 tank that also is abit complicatet go with the leclerc
If you want simplicity and reliability go for a T-90
At this time there imo only two tanks that could be mentioned as the best tanks and that is the CH II and the leo II
On the battlefield the CH II have a slight upper hand, but for repairs and fixing the Leo is the one with an upper hand..
Its not a tank, but i have a big weak spot for the scorpion. In its day it was the best made "tank" and the two participating in the falklands war did more "setting fear into the enemy" than many MBT`s have done in the last few wars..
But in all its werry simple. The best tank is the one stil running after a campaign..
L.T
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