German Tank Intel 1944

 "Top Secret

Inspector General of the Tank Forces
#046/44 Top Secret

June 26th, 1944

Copy 1 out of 5

Notes on the report to the Fuhrer

[...]

Based on information received at 2:00 on June 25th from Tank Group West and Colonel Emichen, the following picture is formed on English and American tanks:

1. The new Cromwell tank is armed with one 75 mm L/34 gun. The American Sherman tank used to be armed with a 75 mm L/40 gun and now has a longer 76.2 mm L/52.8 tank gun (previously used on the M10 SPG).
   Reports that a 92 mm anti-tank gun is being used are wrong. They mean either one of:
1. 94 mm AA gun used on ground targets
2. Ofenrohr or Puppchen type weapon
   English and American assault guns have not yet been spotted in battle.
2. Russian KV-2 tank with a gun larger than 75 mm:
1. The KV-2 tank is armed with a 150 mm L/40 gun. Reliable information exists that production has ended.
2. The KV-85 tank is armed with an 85 mm L/51.5 gun. They can be expected to arrive in large amounts before they are replaced with Stalin tanks. 
3. The Iosif Stalin tank with a 122 mm L/45 tank gun has just arrived. This is the first tank with a German style muzzle brake. Even though it has over 100 mm of armour, the armour is weakened due to widespread use of cast steel. It can be considered a new type of tank, as only elements of the running gear remain from the KV-1 and KV-2 tanks.
   Note that the Iosif Stalin tank is narrower (3.21 m vs the KV-1's 3.35 m and KV-85's 3.25 m) and adapted to the German railway gauge (3.14 m).
4. T-34 tank with an 85 mm L/53 gun in a rotating turret. This type of tank has not yet appeared in large quantities. One must assume that it is a new type of T-34 tank.
3. Russian assault guns:
1. SU-85: armed with an 85 mm L/51.5 gun
2. SU-122: armed with a 122 mm L/22.7 gun on the chassis of a T-34 tank.
3. SU-152: armed with a 152 mm L/29 gun on the chassis of a KV tank.

The maximum armour of all known Russian assault guns does not exceed 75 mm.

All known English, American, and Russian tanks and assault guns without exception are vulnerable to the L/48 tank gun at effective combat ranges."

Via Yuri Pasholok.