Relative Comparisons

The relative comparissons part of this website brings all the data about the tanks covered in the website together, so that the tanks can be compared statistically. Graphs are also included, and can provide a visual reference for the data.

 
IS-2 1944
KV-1
SU-85
T-34
T-34 85
Panzer III
Panzer IV
Panther
Tiger
King Tiger
Weight (tons)
46
42.75
29.66
32
32
19.2
23
44
56
69.4
Dimensions (m)
Length
9.83
7.41
8.13
5.92
7.93
5.69
5.62
8.86
8.45
10.286
Width
3.07
3.49
3.00
3
3
2.81
2.68
3.42
2.93
3.075
Height
2.73
2.87
2.45
2.4
2.74
2.34
2.84
2.98
3.56
3.8
Armament (mm)
Main Gun
122
76.2
85
76.5
85
50
75
75
88
88
MGs
3
3
0
2 or 3
2 or 3
3
2
2
2
3
Armor (mm)
Front
140
75
76.2
45
45
14.5
50
80
100
180
Side
90
110
44
45
45
14.5
50
40
80
80
Rear
75
68
44
40
30
14.5
30
40
80
80
Speed (km/h)
37
35
55
55
50
35
40
46
20
38

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Graphs

Total Armor (mm)

This graph shows the total armor (divided into front, rear, and side armor) of the tanks in the website. Note that although the King Tiger tank had the most armor, its armor strength was not evenly distributed. Much of the King Tiger's armor strength comes from its frontal armor, which leaves its rear and sides weaker to attack.

Soviet tanks, in general, are more balanced in terms of their armor distribution, with the exception of the IS-2.

The reason why the heavier tanks have more unbalanced distribution of armor strength is that as the guns mounted on tanks in WWII got stronger, it became wiser to have one area that could take all the hits rather than an evenly distributed - and evenly weak - armor strength.

Weight vs. Armor Thickness

This graph shows the total armor thickness (divided into front, rear, and side armor) and how it compares to the total weight of the tank. Note that as increasingly more powerful tanks are made, the weight of the tank increases disproportionately to increase in armor (the T-34 and Panzer III, for example, have a low armor thickness to weight ratio, while the IS-2 and Panzer VI 2 have very high armor thickness to weight ratios). This is because as larger and larger tanks are made, larger and larger guns are added. The weight of the guns, the weight of the larger ammunition for the larger shells, and the weight of extra equipment creates a disproportional increase in weight versus the increase in armor thickness.

Main Gun (mm)

This graph shows the size of main gun (to be more precise the diameter of the shell fired from the main gun). Since smaller tanks with smaller turrets cannot house larger guns, it is only after large tanks such as the Panzer VI and the IS-2 are developed that the guns become much larger.

 

 

 

Speed

This graph shows the top speed (on a paved road, since cross-country speeds would be considerably slower) of the tanks in the website. Note that the tanks that use sloped armor - and thus need less amounts of armor- are faster (T-34, T-34/85, Panzer V), while the heavy tanks or tanks with inadequete engines have much lower top speeds.

 

 

 

 

Weight vs. Speed

This graph shows the maximum speed (on a paved road) and the total weight of the tanks in the website. As German and Soviet tanks grew heavier, little or no thought was given to designing a better engine to cope with the extra strain. The result was better engine performance early in the war, and increasingly worse performance as the tanks grew heavier. The weight to speed ratio of the Panzer III, for example, is actually quite good. The weight to speed ratio of the much heavier Panzer VI 2 is miserable, however.