I'd like to see metrics on the following:
- Qty of Russian tanks destroyed before firing a shot
- Qty of Russian tank munitions that failed to fire
- Qty of Russian tank crews that abandoned their vehicle and A) Ran home, B) Found a Ukrainian to surrender to
.. and finally...
- Qty of dead Russians that actually wanted to kill Ukrainians
My anger is directed at them.
But, many are young, ignorant and/or threatened.
That's where it gets sad and tragic.
@jurban James Dunnigan did a study on WW2 tanks that were destroyed without firing a shot. But I don't remember which book of his it's in and that part of my library is currently inaccessible. I know that historically most tanks are destroyed by artillery or air strikes. (Post Korea US being an aberration in that stat).
At some point in this war the Russians stopped using light scout vehicles for scouting and started using tanks as lead scouts...
@jurban ...that, combined with the Ukr mass usage of ATGM's and fighting from ambush positions has probably increased the average of Russian tanks destroyed before firing by quite a bit.
Only the Russians would know how good their tank ammo is and I suspect they don't really know either. Their tanks have auto loaders that would simply kick a dud round out the ejection chute and move to the next round.
...
@jurban Whole brigades worth of Russian tanks were abandoned along the axis of their failed Thunder Runs. Mostly for lack of fuel, but also due to breakdowns caused by a combination of poor construction, poor maintenance, and long road marches. You missed an option C, the Qty of vehicle crews who hitched a ride to the objective with other vehicles in the convoy.
...
@jurban Russian T-72, T-80, and T-90 tanks are all very similar in vehicle driver controls. Sighting systems and engines may differ from model to model but outside of radical changes most crews can bounce from one version to the next with some reduction in efficiency.
If/when tank crews get re-assigned as infantry the end of that unit is very near.