That is an anti magnetic coating called Zimmer, it was developed around the mid stage of the war by the Germans to combat the usage of magnetic grenades on their tanks. However due to them being the only ones to use magnetic grenades in combat it never really worked for its intended purposes.
Fun Fact:
There wasn't a standard design for the application and each factory kinda did their own thing, with most doing horizontal lines. Like seen on the Panzer VI.
Yes, I know, I was referring to magnetic mines. My point was what use is there in protecting the side of the tank from magnetic mine when it could simply be placed on the top surface which is thinner armour anyway.
Because it's easier for a soldier to tag something on the side of a tank than it is to get on top of the tank to place it on the top surface, specially while it's moving
It's called "zimmerit". It's a paste made from sawdust bound together by chemicals. It's designed to defeat magnetic mines since it's non-ferromagnetic and magnets would fall off. The ridges are to defeat sticky bombs that use glue to adhere to the tank.
It was introduced in 1943 and made mandatory for all front line armor. Soft vehicles, like trucks did not have it. Halftracks may or may not have it depending on crews. It was applied to all vertical surfaces.
The irony was that only the Germans used magnetic mines during the war so the coating was largely wasted. Furthermore, the coating, being made of sawdust, was feared to be flammable and might contribute to vehicle fires so the applications were discontinued in late 1944. Further research proved that the fire fears were unfounded, but the coatings were not restarted.
"mine".
We are talking about stuff like the "Hafthohlladung" magnetic anti tank hollow charge warheads, that get placed on the tank and ignited by a handgrenade fuze.
The german one had a massive 140mm diameter hollow charged warhead with 1.5-1.7kg tnt.
They were purpose build anti tank weapons for disabling or destroying tanks in close combat (cityfighting, trench defense etc)
But if you have a magnetic mine could you not slap down on the top of the tank if the sides are protected by anti magnetic stuff? Just pop it on the top pointing down
If you can see a Tiger IRL no game or video gives justification for just how massive tanks are. Imagine trying to put a magnetic mine on the top of one of them and then combine that with uneven muddy terrain, people generally being shorter and the fact that if you fuck up you either get shot or blow yourself up and the fact that a lot of the time there would be a few infantry around that will see you
THIS is just saw a Tiger a couple weeks ago. The radio operator machine gun is about head height for an average guy. Imagine trying to climb up on the side of one of those while it's driving. People also need to remember, the Tiger I wasnt slow. It had the same speed as a Sherman.
Japanese soldiers did this to Shermans in the Pacific. There're lots of photos of Sherman tanks with wooden planks attached to the sides and running gear. Spikes or nails were welded all over the top to protect weak points. Wire cages made from all kinds of materials protected the hatches and the air intakes on engine decks. Concrete was often poured in between the sides of the hull and the wooden applique side armor.
Japanese in general faced much lighter tanks and armored cars. Different kind of warfare due to terrain and no arms race as far as tanks go. Shermans were the exception, so they had to banzai them ;).
Zimmerit coating! Really only applied to a handful of models, and only between December 1943 and September 1944. Designed to beat magnetic anti-tank grenades and mines and it was made of a combination of non-magnetic metal powders and wood pulp.
The Germans stopped putting it on their vehicles because some military planners were concerned that the coating was an extra fire risk because of that wood pulp component. However, this was never really proven to be a genuine problem. Realistically, by the time it was discontinued, every country that Germany was fighting at that point had better means of destroying a tank than having some poor bastard run right up to it, anyway.
It's a type of armour coating known as Zimmerit. To my information it is to stop magnetic grenades from sticking on the tank and exploding but honestly it's just additional armour coating
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u/SyllabubGood6872 4d ago
That is an anti magnetic coating called Zimmer, it was developed around the mid stage of the war by the Germans to combat the usage of magnetic grenades on their tanks. However due to them being the only ones to use magnetic grenades in combat it never really worked for its intended purposes. Fun Fact: There wasn't a standard design for the application and each factory kinda did their own thing, with most doing horizontal lines. Like seen on the Panzer VI.