Sherman vs Tiger

I have talked at some length about how Soviet guns were perfectly capable of dealing with German armour, so let's talk about the Americans for a bit. In popular history, the Tiger effortlessly cleaves through dozens of Sherman tanks at a time. Let's see what happens when the Sherman's gun is pitted against the Tiger's armour in a more rigorous test than hearsay and memoirs.

CAMD RF 38-11377-12

This test was performed firing a 75 mm M3 gun from an M4A2 Sherman with M-61 and M-72 rounds. Here are the results:

Side, shell type M-61, distance 400 m. Result: penetration, spalling inside in an area of 300 mm by 300 mm
Side, shell type M-72, distance 625 m. Result: penetration, minor spalling on entrance and exit.
Side: shell type M-72, distance 625 m. Result: same as above.
Turret: shell type M-61, distance 650 m. Result: dent 50 mm deep, 140 mm diameter. Penetration of the turret platform.
Turret: shell type M-61, distance 650. Result: dent 40mm deep, 120mm diameter.
Side: shell type M-61, distance 650. Result: Penetration. Shell knocked out a cork-like section of armour.
Side: shell type M-61, distance 650. Result: same as above.

The photo for this particular test is missing, but here's the Tiger after the other tests.

CAMD RF 38-11377-12

As you can see, the Allies' guns in general, and the Sherman's gun in particular, were very capable of dealing with the Tiger in 1943. The more observant of you will notice that the turret is no longer on top of the turret ring. This was a common side effect for German tanks that were being shot at by Soviet 122 mm and 152 mm caliber guns.