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Originally Posted by Kutscha
So how many mortars did the Stuka take out?
You still have not explained how your super duper Vengeance would survive German flak while the FBs did not.
So what tank was immune to the 88s? How would this heavy tank go cross-country when you say the light STuG could not?
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You tell us about the Stuka.
The super-duper Vengeance would have been used according to circmstances, and primarily against strong-points and dug-in weapons that were holding up the advance. But since it was never used in Europe we are in what-if territory.
In cases like Hillman, which was unexpected but extremely important, there was no Flak. The super-duper Vengeances would have timed their attack with the infantry who could have got close during the dive bombing. You could not risk that with a Typhoon or Bombphoon.
In cases of set-piece attack with tanks and infantry with the artillery firing a moving barrage to a timetable across the target, the Vengeances could have watched from above and timed their strike as the barrage moved over the Flak position/s. Given armoured IL-2s the Flak could have been strafed with machine-guns and cannons.
In Kervenheim a Stug was camouflaged under a pile of old furniture and doors. It had come off the road and its tracks were seen by a section of circling Typhoons. There was no Flak. The three Typhoons fired their RPs at the pile and flew off. They missed, of course. I know this because the StuG driver wrote about it postwar. The super-duper Vengeance would have been more likely to destroy the StuG.
We discussed the feasibility in earlier postngs of up-armouring the front of the Churchill VII to give frontal immunity from the 88-mm, and reached agreement IIRC. If you're interested go back and read it. The 88-mm Pak L71 could penetrate 187-mm of vertical armour at 500 metres. The Churchill VII had 152-mm and weighed 40 tons. Adding 2 tons or 5% to all-up weight would have given 200-mm which would have done the trick. The tracks of the Black Prince would have been required to maintain or even improve flotation.
Why was the Churchill a good cross-country tank while the StuG was not? It was better in terms of ground pressure, ground clearance, trench-crossing and the height of the step it could climb because the front idler was on horns. All basic stuff.