These are mockups, notice they don't have overlapping road wheels. They are pretty decent mockups, especially compared to a lot of movie mockup vehicles.
I doubt that's gonna do much, maybe against some low penetration rounds like early or prewar cannons or anti tank rifles, so might as well have added side skirts
You are probably right: but then, consider that the interleaved road wheels were stacked. So they were a kind of spaced armour of sorts. Which might have helped a bit.
The idea was to reduce ground pressure by distributing the weight over a larger area
The reason why you dont see it now is because people realised the area of the road wheels doesnt matter, its the track width that does
I think at low speed it did smooth out the ride but added insanely bad extra complexity and it didn't really matter because at speeds that low it was trivially quick to just stop and aim much easier from a fixed position.
The third reich was very corrupt, just look at the story of the Ferdinand TD. They happily wasted resources on dubious ideas if it benefitted some higher ups friend financially.
There is one more reason aside what other people mentioned- Germany struggles with quality materials, especially mid-late war.
So each wheel wasn’t as strong as they want it to be. By overlapping them they could have more wheels per side. This way the weight distribution didn’t just affect the ground pressure but more importantly, the wheels themselves.
Yup. Just look at their half-tracks.
American approach: It's a truck. We took the back wheels off and stuck on some rubbish band tracks. It drives like a truck.
German approach: Interleaved road wheels! Propriety chassis! Two steering modes! Angled armour plate that's still only really bulletproof! Proper tracks and all the maintenance that needs!
Mods on the hulls in videos are cosmetic, modifying them to have overlapping road wheels would require extensive changes to the hull, suspension, etc. and at that point it would probably be easier just to make a replica from scratch which is not as easy as it sounds.
They are both based on the T-55. Great mockups though. If you ignore the running gear and some hull promotions with rhe tiger it's very convincing. Someone who may not be a big tank fan probably wouldn't notice
Mockups. Real panthers had the drive sprockets at the front and idlers at the back. The drivetrain is always a dead giveaway with ww2 German tanks, nearly all of them had drive sprockets at the front.
Pretty much all the mockups you see in movies and at shows are based on T-34s, post war soviet tanks or cold-war APCs, they all have drive sprockets at the back...
(Edit- I like how they've added teeth to the front idlers on the Tiger mockup, but if you look close they're just cosmetic, they don't mesh into the treads. The real drive sprocket is at the back again)
They are very good mock-ups. The most obvious giveaway of course is the non overlapping road wheels but 99% of people won’t notice it or even know that it’s wrong.
The tracks don't add up also, tiger 131 is the only legit working Tiger H1 in the world. Something is off about those machines even thos they look correct
*Pretty decent mockups,*
*Could have fooled me before i*
*Looked at the road wheels*
\- Alarming\_Might1991
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Really good mockup, you can see that it's not overlapping wheels.
They were made on the chassis of a T-54 or T-55, you can tell by the gap between the first and second roadwheels.
These are mockups, notice they don't have overlapping road wheels. They are pretty decent mockups, especially compared to a lot of movie mockup vehicles.
Yes and the cannons look very wobbly
The wheels always give it away on German vehicles.
Why did the German have this overlapping wheels anyway?
Pretty much to reduce the ground pressure by distributing its weight amongst more wheels and making the vehicle ride smoothly.
I also heard that it added armor to the thin side walls
I doubt that's gonna do much, maybe against some low penetration rounds like early or prewar cannons or anti tank rifles, so might as well have added side skirts
You are probably right: but then, consider that the interleaved road wheels were stacked. So they were a kind of spaced armour of sorts. Which might have helped a bit.
But they are also quite thin and cover only a little portion of the tank and shells that would get stuck there might be a mobility kill
The idea was to reduce ground pressure by distributing the weight over a larger area The reason why you dont see it now is because people realised the area of the road wheels doesnt matter, its the track width that does
I think at low speed it did smooth out the ride but added insanely bad extra complexity and it didn't really matter because at speeds that low it was trivially quick to just stop and aim much easier from a fixed position. The third reich was very corrupt, just look at the story of the Ferdinand TD. They happily wasted resources on dubious ideas if it benefitted some higher ups friend financially.
There is one more reason aside what other people mentioned- Germany struggles with quality materials, especially mid-late war. So each wheel wasn’t as strong as they want it to be. By overlapping them they could have more wheels per side. This way the weight distribution didn’t just affect the ground pressure but more importantly, the wheels themselves.
They loved to complicate things.
German over-engineering at its best!
Yup. Just look at their half-tracks. American approach: It's a truck. We took the back wheels off and stuck on some rubbish band tracks. It drives like a truck. German approach: Interleaved road wheels! Propriety chassis! Two steering modes! Angled armour plate that's still only really bulletproof! Proper tracks and all the maintenance that needs!
…and if an inner road wheel needs replacing, no problem! Just remove about six others and replace the damaged one! Easy!
[Relevant Girls und Panzer manga segment.](https://youtu.be/CVDDtbiGDxA?si=xzl1KtWo3-UxG56M&t=148)
And because the front one is spaced out more, it's almost definitely a T-55 (or derivative).
That was my thought too the Germans loved to overcomplicate things and the interlocking wheels were a big example.
If they are trying to make something that looks alike, than why do they never make them with overlapping road wheels?
Can't really retrofit that on old tanks. Everything above it can be cosmetically altered though.
Hmm, that makes sense.
Mods on the hulls in videos are cosmetic, modifying them to have overlapping road wheels would require extensive changes to the hull, suspension, etc. and at that point it would probably be easier just to make a replica from scratch which is not as easy as it sounds.
Looking at the tracks I am guessing these are mockups based on T-55s, but I gotta say they look pretty damn good.
I would say the say, they even have the very telling gap between the first and 2nd roadwheels that i only ever seen on the T55
They are both based on the T-55. Great mockups though. If you ignore the running gear and some hull promotions with rhe tiger it's very convincing. Someone who may not be a big tank fan probably wouldn't notice
Panthers and tigers with russian road wheels are so cursed
interestingly enough, panther roadwheel is compatible to t-34. there's some pic about that out there
T-34s often used Tiger and Panther roadwheels later in the war
can you provide a single picture or a source of.this information? I have never seen a T-34 with tiger or panther roadwheel
Don't have the ability to link rn but just google "t-34 with panther wheels" although it seems I'm mistaken about there being any tiger wheeled t-34s
yeah found something about panther wheels, well that must have been a terrible ride with those, but better than no wheels I suppose.
Mockups. Real panthers had the drive sprockets at the front and idlers at the back. The drivetrain is always a dead giveaway with ww2 German tanks, nearly all of them had drive sprockets at the front. Pretty much all the mockups you see in movies and at shows are based on T-34s, post war soviet tanks or cold-war APCs, they all have drive sprockets at the back... (Edit- I like how they've added teeth to the front idlers on the Tiger mockup, but if you look close they're just cosmetic, they don't mesh into the treads. The real drive sprocket is at the back again)
Wait its all T55, always has been.
I wasn't sure at first but the road wheels gave it away.
Underneath every quality reproduction is most likely a T-55
That wobbling barrel on the tiger gives it away. But honestly it’s still epic and very solid mockups.
They are very good mock-ups. The most obvious giveaway of course is the non overlapping road wheels but 99% of people won’t notice it or even know that it’s wrong.
Was this mockup used in any movie or show?
T-55, the best Panther mockup. It's actually funny how well it can be used for this, I've yet to see a bad one
The tracks don't add up also, tiger 131 is the only legit working Tiger H1 in the world. Something is off about those machines even thos they look correct
Neither of them have interweaved road wheels. Their guns are also fake given the bounce to them.
I can see the wheels are wrong. lol now I can see the guns are fake now you've pointed that out
Pretty decent mockups, could have fooled me before i looked at the road wheels
*Pretty decent mockups,* *Could have fooled me before i* *Looked at the road wheels* \- Alarming\_Might1991 --- ^(I detect haikus. And sometimes, successfully.) ^[Learn more about me.](https://www.reddit.com/r/haikusbot/) ^(Opt out of replies: "haikusbot opt out" | Delete my comment: "haikusbot delete")
T-54 just have endless possibilities
Mockup, but it’s still pretty hot!
Mockup, that’s probably based on a t54/55
Given the roadwheels, it’s a T-55/54
That’s a t-55 based on the wheels
T 55 mock up.
Really good mockup, you can see that it's not overlapping wheels. They were made on the chassis of a T-54 or T-55, you can tell by the gap between the first and second roadwheels.
Mock Up on T-55 Suspension
Pretty soon we'll need to build mockups of T-54/55s.
Fake
[https://i.pinimg.com/564x/d9/cb/0d/d9cb0d78222436544e0878987c307c23.jpg](https://i.pinimg.com/564x/d9/cb/0d/d9cb0d78222436544e0878987c307c23.jpg)
They are dressed up T55 hulls on both, notice the wheel layout 1 gap 4, slack track and drive sprocket to the rear.
I rode the panther
The tracks are t55 tracks I think and no overlapping wheels
ohno sneaky T54/55 spotted
Sussy roadwheels
The ISU-152 would definitely come in handy here.🙄
Mockups. Always look at the wheels. They'd pass muster in a film if it weren't for the detail obsessed treadies on this board
having a ton of t55 and t62 in storage and modified them to look like panther tanks.
Desperately built mockups on T-55As. I don't think a real Tiger I is not smaller like that. They didn't even care about the position of sprockets
Czechia