4 Iconic WW2 Military Vehicles That Looked Better Than They Performed

World War II was the first major war in which the lessons learned from the Great War of just two decades prior could be applied. The massive infantry stalemates of World War I had to be avoided, and although fledgling tank technologies only had a limited impact on the battlefields of France during World War I, it was clear that the mechanism of warfare represented the future. However, the development of military vehicles in World War II wasn't always a smooth path and not every vehicle that made the leap from drawing to production was a success.

From tanks to planes, the conflict is littered with examples of where the sight of these vehicles was awesome, or terrifying, depending on your viewpoint. But dig a little deeper and the reality was vastly different. In fact, as we uncover here, some of the most iconic and striking vehicles of World War II are prime examples of the adage "Beauty is only skin deep."

From blitzkrieg to stalemate, tanks shaped the course of World War II, and one of the most feared and iconic was the Tiger II. The Tiger II — or Panzerkampfwagen Tiger Ausf.B Tiger II, to give it its official title — was the heaviest, largest German tank of the war. But it didn't have a tiger in its tank. Instead, it simply tanked. 

There are many reasons why it failed to live up to expectations, most of which involve its sheer size. At 75 tons, it was a behemoth, but one powered by a modest 700-horsepower Maybach V12 gasoline engine.  These gave the Tiger II some less-than-impressive performance stats. Soviet tests on a captured tank showed that the tank broke down often, with one contributing factor being an engine prone to overheating. 

With its impressive 88 mm gun, the Tiger II was undoubtedly an awesome-looking beast and could be very successful when it was working, and in the right conditions. The Germans called it "Die Schnecke" or "The Slug" because of its slow speeds in heavy terrain. Undoubtedly, this was a fearsome foe in the right conditions, but such circumstances rarely occur in the reality of war. 

The Curtiss P-40 Tomahawk frequently displayed iconic shark's-mouth paintwork on the underside of its nose cowling. This gave it a fearsome appearance its performance failed to match. It wasn't a bad plane; it just wasn't great, and when compared to other fighters of World War II, like the Focke-Wulf Fw 190 and the Messerschmitt Bf 109, it fared badly. 

Among the issues that plagued early versions of the Tomahawk were a lack of cockpit armor, the omission of self-sealing fuel tanks, and underwhelming armament. Many of these issues were solved in later versions of the plane. For instance, the P-40E's weapons included six .50- caliber wing-mounted machine guns, as opposed to the four wing-mounted .30-caliber guns on the P-40 B.  

But let's cut the P-40 Tomahawk a little slack. It wasn't one of the worst fighter planes of World War II, and despite suffering from a lack of power at higher altitudes it was still the third-most-produced American fighter of the war. It was also renowned for ruggedness and ease of repair, and it performed admirably in various theaters of World War II, including the Southwest Pacific, the Far East, and Russia. 

Ultimately, for the P-40 time was the enemy and despite ongoing development, it was often outperformed by more capable fighters. In short, it wasn't really a shark out of water, it just spent its latter years floundering in the shallows. 

Messerschmitt manufactured some of the finest planes of World War II. The Messerschmitt 163B Komet isn't one of them. This rocket-powered contraption left its landing gear on the ground and was out of fuel in seven minutes. 

First, though, let's look at a couple of positives. It could soar to 39,500 feet in just three minutes and 45 seconds, and reach 659 mph. This let it quickly reach high-flying American bombers. It was also the first plane to feature the swept-back wings that would become common on postwar fighters. These positives should have given it a useful edge in combat, but the truth is different. 

For starters, it was fueled by two highly volatile chemicals (called C-Stoff and T-Stoff); when mixed, these combusted and powered it. They also had an unfortunate tendency to explode without warning. Then there was speed. More speed is great in theory, but in practice, the Komet flew so fast, it often couldn't engage slow-moving bombers. And once its fuel was spent, it was effectively a glider, vulnerable to attack by Allied fighters. 

Ultimately, the stats speak for themselves. Even though 279 ME 163Bs were produced by the end of the war, they accounted for only nine kills, and 14 of the planes were lost in combat. In the end, the Messerschmitt Me 163B may have been the fastest fighter of World War II, but it wasn't so much a rocket ship as a damp squib. 

The M4 Sherman tank was renowned for its reliability. It was also easy to operate, roomy, and easy to maintain and repair. The Sherman Tank had the potential to be one of the great tanks of WWII, if it hadn't been for some unfortunate drawbacks. 

Perhaps the most disastrous of these was its tendency to explode when hit. A typically installed 425-hp gasoline engine was one of the main culprits here. While most tanks of its era used less-combustible diesel fuel, the Sherman's gasoline fuel and ammunition store gave the tank a reputation for being highly flammable and led to its "Ronson" nickname from the lighter brand's advertising slogan "Lights every time." 

It also suffered from poor armament. Specifically, the main 75 mm gun was incapable of penetrating the armor of Axis front-line tanks, including Tiger and Panther tanks. Even a later version that featured a 76 mm high-velocity gun only proved to be effective at close range. The Sherman also had insufficient armor, with the armor thickness ranging from three-fifths of an inch to 3 inches. By comparison, the German Tiger 1 Tank had boasted frontal armor 3.9 inches thick. 

However, despite these drawbacks the Sherman boasts a proud war record through sheer numbers and the heroics of the men that crewed them. Indeed, the Sherman M4 was the most-used Allied tank of World War II, a point that earns it iconic status.