Well here they are, the 10 best tanks of World War Two in my opinion and evaluation. They were evaluated on the following criteria: Main gun, armor, off-road and mechanical performance, ease of production and battle experience. Honorable mentions below.
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Some may argue that the M26 PERSHING should not be ranked. I understand why. The reasoning is simple: limited combat, late war entry. Aside from that, this American heavy tank mounted the best American anti-tank gun, a 90mm L/50 main gun. The armor of a Pershing was thicker than any American tank of the war. It had excellent mechanics and off-road performance. The Pershing was nicknamed the " Tiger Tamer " and for good reasons. For the Pershing to be easier to produce than Tigers was astounding. This tank slips to the number 10 spot for being late into the war and seeing little combat.
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The best American version of the Sherman was this tank. It mounted an excellent 76mm L/54 gun. The armor of this tank was, however still not up to par with the Panthers or Tigers, but was sufficient for dealing with Pz-IV's. The mechanics of this tank were excellent, just as all the previous Shermans. The Shermans had the best mechanical endurance and reliability of any tank during the war. The M4a3e8 Sherman was easily produced as with all the other versions making it one of the 10 best tanks of World War 2.
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The T-34/76 may be credited with saving the Russians. It was a tank that had no German counterparts equal to it until the Panther. The 76.2mm gun was very effective against all German tanks at first. The armor was reasonably thick and was the first tank to introduce sloped armor. The off-road performance and mechanical workings of the T-34/76 tank series was also better than the German panzers at the time. The ease of production for the T-34/76 resulted in some 40,000 of all types being produced. This rugged little tank has earned its spot on the top 10 tanks list.
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The Pz-IV series was the mainstay of the German Panzerwaffe throughout the war. The Pz-IV saw many variants, but this ausf. was the best. It had better armor than its Sherman counterpart. The 75mm L/48 was better than the M4a3e8 Sherman's main gun also. The Pz-IVh had good speed, faster than all the German heavy tanks. Its mechanical performance was excellent. The Pz-IVh was produced in more numbers than any other Pz-IV. Besides the T-34/85 and Firefly, this was the best anti-tank medium tank of the war.
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The Russian T-34/85 was an upgunned T-34/76 with a new turret to acommadate the larger 85mm L/53 gun. The T-34/85 had good all around armor that was even better than previous versions. The off-road abilites of the T-34/85 equaled that of earlier versions. The tank was so easy to produce that the Russians built some 12,000 of these formidable tanks. The T-34/85 rightfully earned its place as the Russians main tank.
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This British adaptation of the Sherman was the most deadly, mounting the 17 pounder gun which was equal to the performance of the Tiger's 88mm L/56 gun. The main problem with a Firefly was its thin armor when compared with its German counterparts. The mechanics and off-road abilities are equal to a normal Shermans. The Firefly was the best all around anti-tank tank of the Second World War for the Western Allies who most often found themselves under-gunned.
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The Germans first true heavy tank. The Tiger has been somewhat of a mystical tank. It's ability to strike fear into the hearts of Allied tankers is uncanny. It's adaptaion of the 88mm FlaK gun was the best gun of its time until introduction of others. The armor of a Tiger was so thick that the early Western Allied tanks had an extremely hard time to knock it out. The Tiger had its share of mechanical problems and was not as fast as a Panther. The Tiger was an excellent weapon, but may be overrated by some people.
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The best Russian tank to see combat. After its initial debut in April 1944, the JS-II was in demand all along the Russian front. It had very thick armor and a 122mm gun. The JS-II's 122mm gun is the second most deadly on this list. The JS-II became the Soviet's main production model of the JS series, eventually having 2,250 produced. The JS-II was a match for a King Tiger and even more than a match for a Tiger or a Panther. It's high production cost and worse mechanical performance compared to the Panther G keep it from overtaking the 1 and 2 positions.
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The heaviest tank at 69 tons, it was also probably the most formidable. Very expensive to produce with it's thick armor that was only penetrable by the biggest guns. It mounted arguably the most deadly tank gun of the war: the high velocity 88mm L/71 gun. Too slow for swift offensives, it was the perfect defensive tank. Off-road performance was marginal at best. The great toughness of the King Tiger earns it the 2nd best tank of World War 2.
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This is the all around best tank. It's early version experienced some drive mechanism problems, but the G ausf. had all the kinks worked out. The high velocity 75mm /L70 main gun was superior even to the 88mm gun of the Tiger. With excellent armor in the front and improved armor on the sides from previous versions, the Panther G was hard to kill. It was fast and had good off-road abilities, coupled with the fact that they were far cheaper to produce than the King Tiger gave the Panther G the edge to win best all around tank.
These tanks weren't quite good enough to be considered the top 10, but they are good in their own respect. Some of these tanks are on here as a result of feedback from visitors to The War Minister.
British tank that served Britain during WW2, however, slow and usually undergunned.
British tank known as the "Queen of the Desert" against the Italians. Design dates back to the tactics of WWI. Slow and heavily armored for its time. Designed for infantry support.
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