Whats the difference between a meduim tank and a tank destroyer

[sdb62]

I just started playing tank mode today so i dont know too much

[Exanthos]

lol...
A tank destroyer destroys tanks.
There are five kinds of vehicle: Light tank, medium tank, heavy tank, tank destroyer, and SPAA.
The SPAA destroys aircraft.
The tanks are in their classes based on fire power, armor and preformance.

[sdb62]

i cant tell the difference of a meduim tank and a tank destroyer i mean their both fast and they both shoot.Whats the difference?!Which one is more suited for long range?

[Exanthos]

Well, one says MEDIUM TANK just below the name. The other says TANK DESTROYER right below the name. If you can't read, they are color coded too. There is no range difference between tanks, just between shells used (so there probably is because heavy tanks use bigger shells). Just think of them like american football players. The heavy tank intercepts other tanks, the light tank runs around getting objectives, and the medium tanks can do both, dcepending on what is needed.

[Spaddobird]

Tank destroyers are often slightly better armored and less mobile than medium tanks. They also generally have better cannons and shell sets as their sole purpose is to destroy tanks.

You'll notice the tank destroyers also lack a freely moving turret, the gun is mounted in the front of the vehicle and simply moves on the X and Y axis in order to fire at things in front of the vehicle. Tank destroyers are also known as "Self Propelled Guns" hence SPG.

[Procrastinating Gamer]

Originally posted by Spaddobird:

You'll notice the tank destroyers also lack a freely moving turret, the gun is mounted in the front of the vehicle and simply moves on the X and Y axis in order to fire at things in front of the vehicle. Tank destroyers are also known as "Self Propelled Guns" hence SPG.

Eventually that'll change to "most tank destroyers lack a moving turret" since there's one American tank called the Hellcat that was classed as a tank destroyer, but had a proper turret (albeit one without a roof, leaving the crew exposed). From what I can recall from elsewhere; it could sort-of be considered a halfway point between a light tank and a tank destroyer - fast, mobile, paper-thin armour and a powerful gun. Not sure if the Hellcat's going to be in the first lot of American tanks when they're added or not, though.

Spaddobird's right for the most part; though - your traditional tank destroyer were things like the StuG III and Su-85; low-profile and a big gun mounted on the front with little to no traverse.

[Probably Lime]

In the case of US turreted tank destroyers, they were generally lightly armored vehicles with high speed and powerful guns.

Essentially, a gun's performance as an anti-tank weapon is generally inverse to its usefulness in other roles, particularly infantry support. US doctrine was that tanks were not actually meant to fight other tanks, they were to support infantry. Taking out enemy armor was a job for fixed guns (which did get the majority of tank kills on all sides in the course of the war,) and specially built tank destroyers.

That's why the Sherman didn't get the fancy new 76mm gun which performed so well in the AT role. The older gun had a much better HE round which is what you use to kill infantry and emplacements.

That's also generally the difference between an 'assault gun' or 'SPG' and a 'tank destroyer' in the vehicles mounting fixed guns. "Assault guns" usually had stubby, high caliber guns meant to fire HE at low velocities (See: The first StuG III, the Su-122, etc.) Their performance as anti-tank platforms was convenient (especially with the SU-122, which was capable of knocking the turret off of a tiger if it got a direct hit,) but not what they were really designed for.

[Ser Cartoon of House Head]

Tank destroyers don't have a turret than can move 360 degrees. You have to aim the vehicle in the direction of the enemy with only a little bit of horizontal aiming. The lack of a swivel turret eliminates a weak poin in the neck and makes it harder to hit also.

Well that is for the 2 that I have played anyway/

[Chud]

Tank destroyers- Guns in hulls because it's easier to fit there better gun.
Medium tanks- Decent guns and armor combined with good maneuverability so they can flank enemy.

[Dms]

Originally posted by Mal.ex:

lol...
A tank destroyer destroys tanks.
There are five kinds of vehicle: Light tank, medium tank, heavy tank, tank destroyer, and SPAA.
The SPAA destroys aircraft.
The tanks are in their classes based on fire power, armor and preformance.

The SPAA destroys aircraft....

Zsu-57 .

[Der Lachende Mann]

Originally posted by Spaddobird:

Tank destroyers are often slightly better armored and less mobile than medium tanks. They also generally have better cannons and shell sets as their sole purpose is to destroy tanks.

You'll notice the tank destroyers also lack a freely moving turret, the gun is mounted in the front of the vehicle and simply moves on the X and Y axis in order to fire at things in front of the vehicle. Tank destroyers are also known as "Self Propelled Guns" hence SPG.

That's for Soviet and German TD, once US will be in, their TD are generally faster; lighter armored and tend to have an open turret, like M-10, M-18, M-36... which seem to be not implemented in the first release of US Ground Forces.

[Tiberius]

Originally posted by werewolf62:

I just started playing tank mode today so i dont know too much

A tank destroyer or tank hunter is a type of armored fighting vehicle armed with a gun or missile launcher, and is designed specifically to engage enemy armored vehicles.

Medium tank was a classification of tanks, primarily used during World War II. The medium tank, as the name suggests, represented a compromise in features between the reconnaissance and mobility oriented light tanks and the armor and armament oriented heavy tanks.

[sdb62]

thxs a lot for all the information never thought discussions could be so useful

[Vex]

This OP Made my brain cells vanish.