Best weapons of their category in their first year in service?

Question

Jägdpanther
T-34/85
M1 Abrams
French 75mm field artillery
P-51
Panzerschreck
Lee/Enfield MK1 rifle

if not, what was better?

Answer 1

The M1 Abrams was plagued by problems in its' first years of service (mid 80s). 60 Minutes even did a feature on how bad it was and all the problems it was having. Looks like they worked those out pretty well. Bottom line, the more complicated a system is, the more problems it will have in its' early service life.

Answer 2

The longbow. Once a side got the longbow, you could kiss your enemies goodbye. The American Indian can shoot 30 arrows a minute while riding upsidedown under their horse and there are some archers in Japan that can hit you in the head at 300 yards. The English deafeated a larger army of knights using their longbows. The longbow lasted until the repeating rifle as a weapon of choice for some. Many weapons now get outdated in 50 years or less. The longbow had survived 100s of years.

Answer 3

I can't remember what it was called but the Germans used it towards the end of WWII. I believe it was the first assault rifle, It closely resembled the AK-47. it just came into service to late to make a difference

Answer 4

This little puppy was a tack driver right out of the box (very big box)

see pic
http://www.af.mil/shared/media/photodb/photos/030128-O-9999J-028.jpg

And so there is no confusion, here is an old pic of "Spooky"
http://www.theaviationzone.com/images/gunships/ac47/bin/ac47_05.jpg

Answer 5

My husband said that his favorite weapon is his F-16.

Answer 6

m4