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This is a question that gets bounced around only every once in a while.

Which combative nations during WWII constructed their tanks with the best materials/metals for their armor plate or castings? .. I have seen in some writings that German armor of the same thickness was up to 30% more effective than say Russian armor. Anyone out there know about that?. Or have their own breakdown as to what nations they know or believe constructed their tanks using better materials/metals than others?

Thanks!

I think the Germans did make very good armor in the beginning of the war, but as Allied bombing took its toll and as they lost their sources of certain raw materials, the quality of their armor decreased. IIRC, some of the late war Panthers in paticular had particularly poor armor quality.

It was the content of nickel in the German steel. Plus, their steel making technology was way ahead of the game.
As Mike stated, their ability to access nickel and other raw materials, combined with the degrading of their steel plants through arial bombardment, reduced the quality of the product.

Ed