Everything used to do shit tones of crits iirc. Like every shot had a chance (and the stuka had lots of shots) which is obviously extreme. But I think controlled reintroduction could be alright as an alternative to balancing certain problematic units.
I don't remember exactly how it worked, but I do remember main gun crits used to save a tank from death i think?
Like a 160hp or less tank could survive a full shot just because of a dice roll. Basically the current abandon mechanic except you still had full control/speed