Using WW2 Tanks in modern conflits

[Arlequín]

Indeed and when your guy with the RPG has a habit of closing his eyes when he fires, or just points it in the general direction and hopes for the best, then the modern AT weapon is somewhat less useful. While the same might be true of the tank gunner, he at least can walk his MG fire to the target. Near is usually good enough with a HE Shell... it also has a longer reach than a RPG too.

If they were a lost cause you would imagine folk really wouldn't bother with them... clearly they have a value still. 

[Wyrmalla]

I seem to recall the issue they were having in Ukraine wasn't getting the things running (they filled on T-34 up and just drove it off the monument), it was sourcing the ammunition.

That's a militia problem though. If the things were modernized then the guns would likely be replaced.

Speculation aside, there's a president set for using older gear on the modern battlefield. Its not common, but it happens. So from a gaming perspective you could probably get away with anything, up unto just using a WWII tank with WWII insignia (...its a tribute act).

[cuprum]

In Ukraine, known to me only one episode of a real use of the tank of the Second World War in a real fight. It was the tank-monument of the IS-3, exempt by rebels from the pedestal.
Naturally, his weapon was defective, so he was armed with an automatic grenade launcher AGS-17 "Flame" on the turret for anti-aircraft machine gun.
The attack on the Ukrainian checkpoint was successful. In the future, the tank is out of order engine and he was thrown during the retreat.





And here is the Croatian tank, during the events in Yugoslavia, he destroyed the Serbian T-55.

[carlos marighela]

Did Paraguay not buy up a load of Sherman upgrade kits from the Israelis too? Could just buy a Company B Super Sherman model and that I guess.

Nope, You are probably thinking of Chile. They bought Israeli Shermans in the late 1970s and 60mm Hyper velocity gun kits for their Shermans in the 1980s. All long retired. The Paraguyan Shermans were, IIRC, all ex-Argentine Fireflies,some of  the ones they didn't convert in the 1970s/80s as part of their repentenciado program (basically a French 105mm and a new engine).


Whilst there are numerous examples of T-34s and other WW2 era museum pieces floating around into the early parts of this century and even the odd one to this very day, you need to be careful about a lot of those lists, including Wiki the IISS etc that show such items in inventory. Most are purely nominal as spares dried up yeas ago. Some never even existed like putative T-34s in Guinea-Bissau. If you are having difficulty getting the 1950s/1960s era T-55s in your inventory running how much more likely is that you have operational 1940s era tanks?

In reality working WW2 era vehicles are much rarer than wargamers seem to think.

The Brazilian  X-1A s (Stuart derivatives) are all in museums. All long out of service.  Uruguay had some M-24s until a few years ago. Replaced by ex Brazilian M-41s and other kit. Colombia still had quite a few M-8 Greyhounds running around until relatively recently, including a local TOW armed AT version but I think they've all gone now. From memory I think Bolivia was one of the last users of Stuarts, again all out of inventory.

[commissarmoody]

Of course as a wargamer, you can use what ever you want in what ever fictional conflict and country you like. 
Just say that the country in question be lives in using things until they are no longer useful or that the rebels found one or two in the local museum, tossed a new engine in it along with a new gun and bam! Your there.