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Old 10-20-2020, 11:03 AM   #1
Tessen
 
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Default Replenishing a WW2 tank?

Say a bunch of tanks (Pathers or Tigers etc) are in a heavy firefight:

Do they keep firing until they're running low , then keep 2 or three shells to make their escape?

Did each model carry a different amount of shells and shell types i.e HE or amour piercing?

Where do they go to be resupplied, surely the ammo / fuel dump's location should be secret?.

If the other side know where the ammo dump is they could just go and destroy it? or in an emergency could they expect to be resupplied by the air force?
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Old 10-20-2020, 01:09 PM   #2
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Default Re: Replenishing a WW2 tank?

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Originally Posted by Tessen View Post
Did each model carry a different amount of shells and shell types i.e HE or amour piercing?
Certainly. The amount tends to be about 'as many as we could cram in racks for' given the option. For most tanks the loadout will include some HE and some AP and/or APHE rounds. Specialty AP rounds (HEAT, APHC, sabot), smoke rounds, and maybe specialty antipersonnel rounds might also be present.
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Where do they go to be resupplied, surely the ammo / fuel dump's location should be secret?.
It shouldn't be widely advertised in the news, but it's not going to be any sort of secure secret. Loads of trucks, preferably a rail line...a major ammo dump is going to be blatantly obvious to both spies and aerial recon, so hiding it from people on your own side who need to know is counterproductive.

A small temporary resupply site might be a short-lived secret, but mostly aimed at not letting the enemy know where it will be before it's even set up so they can get an airstrike on it.
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If the other side know where the ammo dump is they could just go and destroy it?
A major ammo dump is going to be behind friendly lines and have a concentration of AA assets, and will also have hardened storage facilities if it's a long-term position. If the enemy is able to just go and destroy it at will, you've already lost the entire theater. A minor forward supply dump might be more vulnerable, but is also close to the units that it's supporting and probably doesn't stay in the same place for long (unless the line is stationary and it gets upgraded to a fortified position).
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or in an emergency could they expect to be resupplied by the air force?
Air resupply of tank forces is possible, but horribly expensive. It might happen if the assets are available and the people controlling them really needs your unit resupplied, but don't count on it.
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Old 10-20-2020, 01:35 PM   #3
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Default Re: Replenishing a WW2 tank?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Tessen View Post
Say a bunch of tanks (Pathers or Tigers etc) are in a heavy firefight:

Do they keep firing until they're running low , then keep 2 or three shells to make their escape?
While a fight can end because of both sides running out of ammunition, usually one side is going to run away or get killed before that happens.

Also, unless the tank needs repairs or is going to be reassigned, you probably bring the supplies to the tank (in a truck), rather than having the tank drive back to the supply depot.
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Old 10-20-2020, 03:53 PM   #4
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Default Re: Replenishing a WW2 tank?

Most tanks carried about 30% AP and 70% HE. Running into other tanks was pretty uncommon. Since tanks can go off road, their ammunition supply needs to follow them. It was common to have tracked vehicles to supply ammunition. Here’s a photo of an ammunition carrier for a Sturmgeschütz assault gun.
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Old 10-20-2020, 04:22 PM   #5
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Default Re: Replenishing a WW2 tank?

Only a small portion of the ammo load would be "ready stowage" (i.e. convenient and quick to access). Once you run low of that, ideally you'd want a chance to reload the ready racks from reserve stowage under the floor and scattered around the hull.
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Old 10-20-2020, 04:30 PM   #6
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Default Re: Replenishing a WW2 tank?

Any military unit has its own organic stores and ammo teams, whose job is to collect from the rear echelon units and deliver to the front line. Part of a unit's battleplan involves arranging rendezvous to transfer supplies - retreating these may be pre-arranged, advancing they are generally on call. Ideally these will be carried out at leisure between tasks, otherwise unit officers need to arrange the details, sending individual vehicles into cover to transfer rounds.
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Old 10-20-2020, 05:24 PM   #7
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Default Re: Replenishing a WW2 tank?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Tessen View Post
Say a bunch of tanks (Pathers or Tigers etc) are in a heavy firefight:

Do they keep firing until they're running low , then keep 2 or three shells to make their escape?
While it did happen that tanks did shoot a lot of shells at times, most engagements were over way before it became an issue.

Quote:
Did each model carry a different amount of shells and shell types i.e HE or amour piercing?
Yes, the maximum number and loadout depended on the tank and the time period. Tanks meant for infantry support would carry a higher proportion of HE than tanks meant for taking out other tanks. Also the availability of different more special shells like as example the US 76mm HVAP ammo was variable but generally low.

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Where do they go to be resupplied, surely the ammo / fuel dump's location should be secret?.
Mostly whenever possible the supplies came to the tanks not the tanks to the supplies. Tanks both use more fuel than a supply truck, have fairly low total engine run times and similar issues, so you did not want to move the tanks by driving when not needed.

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If the other side know where the ammo dump is they could just go and destroy it? or in an emergency could they expect to be resupplied by the air force?
Of course you try to destroy enemy supplies, but that is mostly the job of artillery and airplanes.

Tanks cannot really be effectively supplied by air by anyone in WW2. But as said the likely supply comes by truck.
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Old 10-20-2020, 05:36 PM   #8
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Default Re: Replenishing a WW2 tank?

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Originally Posted by RyanW View Post
Only a small portion of the ammo load would be "ready stowage" (i.e. convenient and quick to access).
I looked up the Panther. It had a total ammo load of 79-82 rounds (depending on variant). Of those only three were in the ready rack.
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Old 10-20-2020, 05:46 PM   #9
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Default Re: Replenishing a WW2 tank?

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Originally Posted by clu2415 View Post
Most tanks carried about 30% AP and 70% HE. Running into other tanks was pretty uncommon. Since tanks can go off road, their ammunition supply needs to follow them. It was common to have tracked vehicles to supply ammunition. Here’s a photo of an ammunition carrier for a Sturmgeschütz assault gun.
Note that these days the numbers are more the reverse, and some tanks don't carry HE at all, but rely on the blast effect from HEAT rounds if they need an HE effect.

Resupplying a tank is a pain, as each round has to be lifted into the tank, by hand, and then placed in its rack, by hand. Each type needs to be placed in the same spot every time, so that the loader will know what they're picking by placement so they can quickly find the right kind of shell rapidly, in a tank that might be moving, and might be quite dark inside.
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Old 10-20-2020, 05:49 PM   #10
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Default Re: Replenishing a WW2 tank?

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Originally Posted by Þorkell View Post
I looked up the Panther. It had a total ammo load of 79-82 rounds (depending on variant). Of those only three were in the ready rack.
There were quite a few more that were readily available to the loader in the hull sponsons. Are the loader was on the right, the right-hand sponson racks would also count as 'ready'.
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