Best Tank Poll & Opinions

[Turboswede]

Hey, this is something I have been thinking about lately, what is the best tank in the T2K world. I remember being a kid and lusting after an M1A1 (or M1E1 per V1.0). My team played a whole series of adventures based off tracking down and then recovering an M1 and after 3 months we found one, killed the former owners, and had ourselves an honest M1A1 with composite armor and that 120mm gun.

We ended up using it for 2 adventures and then trading the damn thing. We didn't realize it at the time (ah youth) but an M1 is one thirsty bi**h and we found ourselves chained to a supply train where ever we went. To support that one tank we needed 4 HEMETTs to carry that 35 ton large still and then every 2 periods of travel we ended up needing to deforest a substantial portion of southern Poland. Of course that took manpower and we had to draft about 40 locals to run the trucks, set up and run the still and forage food for all of us.

It always reminded me of Kelly's Heroes where Oddball convinces Kelly that 3 Sherman tanks would be a valuable addition to the team. Unfortunately all the bridges are blown so now (because of the tanks) Oddball invites a team of bridging engineers along for the caper. Of course the pontoon bridge needs manpower to assemble so the bridging engineers bring along the army band and grave diggers company.

Next thing you know oddball is coming down the road and meets up with Kelly with the band piping away and a mile long column of troops, trucks, etc. When Kelly tells him "how the hell can we sneak into town with all that!" Oddball replies "Sneak...we can fight, we got an Army!"

Anyway, as that scenario seemed to unfold we called it quits and traded the thing to the Warclow militia for a bunch of food and UAZ's.

So, in reality, is any tank worth the trouble in T2K and if so, what would you want

[kato13]

Real world I went with M1. You just can't beat it.

Game wise I suppose a T-34 would be the best anywhere outside the Middle East. I almost picked the T-34 for real world as it probably had the greatest impact and was revolutionary in many ways.

Edit going to see if I can change the poll result in the DB (I voted M1 before reading that it was game wise).
Edit 2 Neat I can change votes. (not that I would ever use this power for evil)

[Benjamin]

I went with the T-34 because its fairly easy to maintain and it's a decent all around combat vehicle. Besides it was designed by an American, Walter Christie!

Benjamin

[Cdnwolf]

Merkava Mk.4 - The Israel's best tank.

[O'Borg]

Tough call. The Cheiftain has a multi-fuel engine designed to run on petrol, diesel or anything inbetween*, which could be handy, but in T2K you're likely to be brewing your own fuel anyway so that advantage is somewhat nullified.
However the Chieftain was also somewhat unreliable by all accounts, so I'm going to go for the Challenger 2 on the basis that its as well if not better protected than the Abrams, isn't as fuel hungry, and holds the record for the longest range tank to tank main gun kill at 5+km.


* I've heard about an enthusiast who runs an old Abbot SPG - also fitted with a multifuel engine - for practically zero fuel cost. When people accidentaly put petrol in their diesel car the tank and fuel system has to be drained. He's got an arrangement with the local garages to take this 'useless' fuel off their hands for free.

[StainlessSteelCynic]

I selected the T-34 for it's lower maintenance costs, lower weight and smaller profile although for real world choice I'd be stuck between the Challenger 2 and the Leopard 2.
Sadly, the Merkava Mk4 was not part of the poll so it can't be selected
Most tanks designed from the 1970s on have multi-fuel engines
The T-34 was not designed by Walter Christie, it originated in a Christie design but was an improvement of the BT-5 light tank that was an improvement of earlier versions of BT to the BT-2. BT-1 was a slightly modified Christie design. Yes he designed the parent tank but he didnt design the T-34

[Adm.Lee]

For reliability, I would have gone with the good ol' Sherman, but I bet those parts are even harder to find.

So I said Challenger. It's all about the gun.

[TiggerCCW UK]

I went Chieftain for game purposes simply because its one of my favourite military vehicles of all time, and if its game terms I'll have what I like The real cold war vibe is what its all about for me!

That said, the only tank my PC's have ever had control of was a T34, so it would have got my second vote.

[Ramjam]

Centurion for me.

In rl is served for nearly 50 years and saw a shed load of combat.

In the game one of my grps found 1 in a museum armed with a 105mm gun. They really enjoyed using it until they got careless and it went bang.

[Grimace]

I was torn...between the Leopard II, LeClerc and Challenger. What it all boiled down to, in my mind, was the gun and general "warm fuzzy feeling". The Challenger fits the bill, in my mind.

[Targan]

I voted Challenger as well.

[Rainbow Six]

Challenger for me as well...

[Raellus]

The T-34 is cool and all but that 85mm gun is not going to be able to decisively defeat the armor on most tanks you'd be running across in central Europe.

I'm going to go out on a limb and go with a nice, souped-up version of the T-72. This assumes I'm in Poland or thereabouts. Here's why: spare parts and ammo shouldn't be too hard to scrounge. For a tank, it's supposedly pretty low maintainance. The Poles and Soviets (duh) use it so you might be able to sneak around a bit in it, or play Trojan Horse.

The T-80, IIRC, is basically a T-72 with a gas-turbine engine- the Soviet's effort to mimic the Abrams without starting from scratch. I didn't pick the T-80 since it, like the Abrams, is a gas guzzler.

If spares, and ammo weren't an issue, I would go with the Challenger II or Leopard II. If fuel wasn't an issue either, I would go with the M1A1, hands down.

[Matt Wiser]

M-1A1: if it's not made at the General Dynamics' Land Systems Plant in Lima, OH,....we did have a captured T-72 in our group, and did play Trojan Horse a couple of times. Actually, two T-72s at different times. The first one ran over an anti-tank mine....

[headquarters]

what he said

The T-34 is cool and all but that 85mm gun is not going to be able to decisively defeat the armor on most tanks you'd be running across in central Europe.

I'm going to go out on a limb and go with a nice, souped-up version of the T-72. This assumes I'm in Poland or thereabouts. Here's why: spare parts and ammo shouldn't be too hard to scrounge. For a tank, it's supposedly pretty low maintainance. The Poles and Soviets (duh) use it so you might be able to sneak around a bit in it, or play Trojan Horse.

The T-80, IIRC, is basically a T-72 with a gas-turbine engine- the Soviet's effort to mimic the Abrams without starting from scratch. I didn't pick the T-80 since it, like the Abrams, is a gas guzzler.

If spares, and ammo weren't an issue, I would go with the Challenger II or Leopard II. If fuel wasn't an issue either, I would go with the M1A1, hands down.

T-72 :

Although not a match for a fully operational M1A1 , or probably any of the "tanks of the line " from the west ,its economical ,hard wearing and prolific -it looks kinda cool too.

If I had a seperate subdivision of Brown&Root to supply me -the M1A1 is the reigning champion in this weight class.(Many contenders havent tried for the golden belt yet though...LEOPARD II,LeClerc etc )