What is the relationship between armor mobility and firepower?

Answer 1

The relationship between speed/mobility, armor protection, and firepower is the "measuring stick" for determining the overall combat effectiveness of an armored fighting vehicle. Too much, or too little, of any of the three measurable categories produces a vehicle that has limitations that can be easily exploited by an enemy.

An example would be the German Tiger tank (all variants). Although extremely well armored, and carrying the incredibly potent 88mm gun, the Tiger in effect was nothing more than folklore legend when it comes down to true battlefield statistics. It's incredible lack of speed/mobility and extreme mechanical reliability problems turned what was originally designed as the ultimate ground superiority weapon into nothing more than an ambush gun hidden in barns covered with hay to fire from a concealed position.

It's allied counterpart would be the Sherman. Although the Sherman received bad press during the war, it in all effects was quite possibly the most well balanced tank of WW2. It had better than average speed/mobility, it had reasonable armor protection, and the ease of which the main gun could be changed out based on the original design, it proved that the tank could mount multiple guns with acceptable firepower throughout the war. However, not one single thing "shines" about the Sherman. It simply did everything "OK". While the Tiger "shined" when it came to armor protection and firepower, it's lack of mobility proved to be it's Achilles's Heel.

Speed/mobility, armor protection, and firepower must be used in "relative terms" to the enemy forces AND the terrain the which combat is taking place in order for the formula to be used accurately and correctly. For example: If the combat terrain is the grounds of a large international airport with lots of stretches of paved concrete, and the combat forces being faced are infantry in shorts and T-shirts throwing marbles with their bare hands, a bicycle mounted man wearing Carharts, with a face shield, carrying a slingshot, completely overwhelms the opponent on all facets of speed/mobility, armor protection, and firepower. However, if someone were to show up to that same fight driving a Ferrari, with bullet proof glass, mounting a 9mm handgun... That would go down in the historical record as "the greatest armored fighting vehicle to ever take the field".

This is why it is so important to take into account the opponent and the terrain when using this formula. A perfectly designed vehicle could be able to outmatch any possible opponent in any possible terrain in all of the categories. The difficulty of achieving this balance is:

-As you add more speed/mobility, you must sacrifice weight which reduces both armor protection and firepower.

-Armor protection increases weight, sacrificing speed/mobility and/or firepower.

-Firepower increases weight but also adds to the chassis size, meaning you loose both armor protection and speed/mobility.