Stopping a german tank with a Garand

[Flying10uk]

The reason that I am not as quick to dismiss the veteran's claim as other Forum members apparently are is because I know that when there is an interface between 2 bearing surfaces, as in the turret and the hull of the tank in this case, there will normally also be a certain amount of clearance between the interfaces. This clearance is important because it allows the parts to move freely; further, generally speaking, the larger the bearing in size the more clearance will be present. If there was no clearance between the turret and the hull, the turret would not move.

The question here is whether or not there is enough clearance for a round to penetrate and since we have no idea what model of German tank is in question it is a very difficult question for anyone to answer conclusively. Some of the early WW2 tank designs left much to desired, even some of the German designs.

Are we sure that the veteran was talking about a single shot or a mag full of rounds?

[bob q]

Very silly and not possible at all . Just look how the turret is mounted in the ring . Just because a Vet said it does not mean it is true . I had one tell me how the "sneaky Japs " make their rifles to be able to shoot our 30/06 ammo , but their ammo would not work in ours . He said he saw them do it ! Another wanted help finding his old M-1 carbine , he said he would know his because the rifles were serial numbered to match the ID number on his dog tag .

[CINDERS]

The jap 7.7 rifle could fire the 303 round but not vice versa as the 7.7 Arisaka round is just that bit longer in the case open up the 2 pics together and compare them they are close, I am just going on what others have said as no one I know owns a 7.7 only the 6.5 Arisaka.

[Peter Laidler]

F-10, might I su8ggest a moments pause and reflection on this matter......., please........ It's called the '.......when you're in a hole, stop digging' scenario as I recall

On the subject of veterans recollections, I could write a whole book about some of the pure horse shi.........., er........., manure they used to come in and tell me/us. As for their 'stories' about the Sten gun and Bren guns, you couldn't make up some of it. But they did!

[Flying10uk]

F-10, might I su8ggest a moments pause and reflection on this matter......., please........ It's called the '.......when you're in a hole, stop digging' scenario as I recall

Peter, all I'm saying is that I'm not prepared to totally dismiss the suggestion made in Post 1 as quickly as you and others apparently are. In my opinion we don't know enough about the scenario we are talking about, what conditions, what model of tank etc etc, to make an informed conclusion, one way or the other.

Perhaps a Forum member in the U.S. with access to a live Garand would like to cary out some practical experimentation to see if this is actually possible. We will need a friendly museum who is willing to loan us various models of WW2 German tanks and also a number of helpful volunteers who feel comfortable to sit inside the various tanks while the experiments take place. I for one will not be volunteering for this experiment but it would appear from this thread that there are no shortage of helpful people who are more than willing to play their part to disprove Post 1 by sitting inside a tank while the experiments takes place.

[bob q]

I do not understand the statement that says the Type 99 7.7mm rifle could chamber and fire the 303 British round . ?? The 303 is a rimmed case with a .525 dia rim that will not even fit the .472 bolt face of the rimless 7.7x58 mm bolt , nor will it fit the chamber . Also my statement was about the US 30/06 being fired in the 7.7mm Type 99 rifle .

[CINDERS]

Think #1 has got the mileage out of this and not come back in to the fray think we have tracked on with this one a fair bit, bags being the shooter who's going in the tank/s.......!
#26 just another vets tail told to me by some WWII vets that faced the japs who am I to argue with them......

[Badger]

There's not much more that can be accomplished with this thread, as the posts speak for themselves...

Let's move on ..

Regards,
Doug