This is a perfect illustration of how US military industry is optimized for soaking up as much government funding as possible instead of producing reliable weapons that can be manufactured at scale.
I wonder if future Ameriboos will cope and seethe about Burgerland weapon technology the way modern Wehraboos cope and seethe about the supposedly invincible Panther and Tiger nazi tanks.
Honestly, at least the mid-late Panthers were decent enough tanks, it just doesn’t help when you’re 30-1 against your opponents, your crew are untrained 16-20 year olds, your tank was sabotaged 76 times during the building process due to using slave labour, the steel is weak and poor due to the mill being bombed by a US air raid, your ammunition is shoddy because it was made by a child in a workshop, and you have about 23km of gas in the tank.
The Tiger on the other hand…. It has all the previously mentioned problems and was just a piece of shit to begin with.
Yes that’s all true. Regardless of how German engineers designed the tank, the war was already unwinnable for them by the time those tanks were deployed. They were notorious for having mechanical issues and many broke down before a battle would even start. The tiger was too expensive and too few were produced to make a difference in the war anyways. Nazi admirers are really dumb to boast about “master race” tank engineering when the supposedly inferior Soviets had more efficient tanks than Germany.
Efficiency is what wins wars. To be able to replenish your stockpiles quicker than you burn through them. This war is a prime example. Ukraine has received more than Russia’s entire military budget but are clearly not winning. They are burning through quicker than they can replenish. Russia’s military is far more efficient who are not relying on overpriced and over engineered military hardware.
Remember that Vietnam won their revolution despite the massive equipment difference.