Tanks-some questions...

[Jack]

Since this is my first topic in the new forums (went under J OBrien in the old forum), I would first like to congratulate Tripwire on ROOST, I have been with the mod since the release of 2.0, and played steadily, although for some releases less than others. While I disagreed with some of the things the team did to RO during its development, overall I never kidded myself that the team was working with a winning formula. Anyway, good job guys, you really deserve to be where you are at now.

My question is about the new tanks: I know others have already asked about tank gears, ammo count, turret view, etc. but I haven't seen anyone ask yet about the armament.... so will tanks finally have co-axials now, or just the bow machine gun? For that matter, will we see any machine guns atop turrets? Any other info about tanks would be really cool-I can't wait to use them in Ost.

 

[[-project.rattus-]]

My question is about the new tanks: I know others have already asked about tank gears, ammo count, turret view, etc. but I haven't seen anyone ask yet about the armament.... so will tanks finally have co-axials now, or just the bow machine gun? For that matter, will we see any machine guns atop turrets? Any other info about tanks would be really cool-I can't wait to use them in Ost.

I am very confident that the tanks in RO:O will have the historical accurate armament. Concerning turret mounted MGs though, IIRC they were very seldom seen on the Ostfront, so they might not be in.

 

[Manstein]

AFAIK turret-mounted MG's were mainly for AA purposes, and not a common sight to begin with, and if co-axials are in (plzplzplz) there's no reason to have another MG on top the turret, since the gunner and commander are the same guy in RO, unless that's changed too, hmm

 

[Golf33]

Here's a question: did WWII tank commanders have the ability to traverse the turret (like modern turret override)? Or were they limited to voice direction to the gunner to get on target?

 

[Manstein]

AFAIK commanders did NOT have turret override, and had to mostly rely on voice commands, the Tiger tho, had some kind of clock system in the turret so the commander could say, target "8 oclock" and the gunner actually had a visual device to tell him when the turret was at 8 oclock, not sure exactly how it worked tho

but to answer your Q, no turret override

 

[Manstein]

just been poking through my book "The Tiger tank"

couldn't find the clock thing I mentioned, but the commander apparently had an additional turret crank, tho the gunner was the one with the ability to lock the turret traverse, not the commander

 

[Jack]

I think I remember from my reading on the Tiger that it took around 720 revolutions on that hand crank to rotate the turret through 360 degrees....definitely not what you want to have in a close-in, mobile fight!

Now of course, for only rotating a few degrees left and right in a hull down position, I'm sure it was fine.


Anyway, about MGs on the turret, I am aware many of the tanks we will see in Ost didn't have them (e.g. T34/76, MkIII) but you see many photographs of Tigers, Panthers, and Stalins with them. I don't know why there would be less AA MGs on the East Front...it's not like the air threat was any less!

Also about the clock system, I think the gunner would be able to keep his orientation relatively easily, I mean he would know the front of the tank is 12, rear is 6, and so on, and his optics would allow him to see where the gun was laying relative to the rest of the tank.

Finally about turret override, it depended on the tank. In many of the light tanks of the early war the commander had access to these controls, and in the case of the T-34/76, the commander *had* to operate the traverse, since the only other guy in the turret with him was the loader.

 

[[TW]Wilsonam]

No - the commander had no "turret over-ride" function in those days. The Germans did make use of a "clock" system, with the commander having a counter-rotating clock ring in the cupola.

As an aside, the co-axial isn't on top of the turret - it is mounted alongside the main gun, on the loader's side, so that the loader can reload it. Operated by the gunner, usually with a separate foot-pedal or trigger to the main gun. Not true in some of the light tanks, with only 1 crew member in the turret, obviously!

EDIT: MGs mounted on the roof were primarily for AA work - having the commander sticking out to fire at infantry tends to be a fairly suicidal idea They weren't terribly common on the Eastern Front. The Germans field-mounted them (and the Panther came with a factory-fitted MG ring for the cupola later in the war) on late-war tanks. Some late-model StuGs had a roof-mounted MG that could be operated (but obviously not reloaded) from within the hull. Not staggeringly effective!

 

[Jack]

Thanks Wilsonam, but who said that the co-axial was mounted atop the turret? The name kind of is self-explanatory, "co-existing on the axis (of the main gun)," we are talking about the co-axial and the top-mounted AA MG.

Lol, ok I see your edit. But anyway....will we have co-axials or not? I must know this if I am going to sleep tonight....

 

[SasQuatch]

....will we have co-axials or not? I must know this if I am going to sleep tonight....

Dude, that's unhealthy

 

[[TW]Wilsonam]

But anyway....will we have co-axials or not? I must know this if I am going to sleep tonight....

I hope you got some sleep after all

And, as I often reply in the forums at the moment - "you'll just have to trust us to hit the key points of realism". While we don't have the time to get every single weapon system of the period into the game, we will be covering the major stuff. So that means no Krumlauf (sp?) attachment for the Stg44, I'm afraid

 

[radix]

O.O an stg with an Krumlauf barrel and persicope !!!!

 

[[-project.rattus-]]

O.O an stg with an Krumlauf barrel and persicope !!!!

Not to forget the Vampir night vision scope!

 

[[TW]Wilsonam]

Sad people. In that case, I want a Goliath. Actually - I do want a Goliath! That would be a hoot...