Artillery Observer Tanks

[DesertFox]

Hi folks,

maybe I missed something but I can´t find Artillery Observer Sherman tanks in the OOBs. Shermans with dummy guns made of plywood were quite common in Normandy. IIRC there is also a well known picture of Major Wells Sherman KOed in Villers-Bocage. Also the editor doesn´t seem to allow reducing ammo load on a Sherman to zero, to simulate such a FOO tank.

Any tips on this? Workarounds? Am I missing something?

Could you Battlefront guys be so kind to integrate the option to reduce ammo load to zero as a workaround, if there are no FOO Shermans in the game ?

cheers!

[Father Ted]

I know this isn't quite what you're talking about, but I often find that I use tankers as ad-hoc FOOs - usually with better results than the  designated unit.

[Michael Emrys]

10 hours ago, DesertFox said:

maybe I missed something but I can´t find Artillery Observer Sherman tanks in the OOBs.

That's because they are not there. Similarly, armored vehicles for air controllers are absent. These were usually specialist ACs or tanks with extra VHF and/or UHF radios.

The Germans also employed command vehicles with dummy guns and extra radios, but I don't know if they were specifically tasked as artillery observers or air controllers.

Michael

[Sgt.Squarehead]

The German equivalent, known as Beobachtungspanzer were usually artillery observation vehicles IIRC, I'm not sure the Luftwaffe had a close equivalent.

[Michael Emrys]

2 hours ago, Sgt.Squarehead said:

The German equivalent, known as Beobachtungspanzer were usually artillery observation vehicles IIRC...

This raises an interesting question. I could swear that years ago I read that the Beobachtungspanzer were for battalion and regimental commanders to control their armored companies primarily. I suppose they could have had the secondary function of being the main comm to the artillery. Of course all this is dependent on the reliability of my memory, which to  be honest "ain't what she used to be".

Michael

[Michael Emrys]

1 minute ago, Michael Emrys said:

Of course all this is dependent on the reliability of my memory, which to  be honest "ain't what she used to be".

As proof of which, when I just looked it up in Wikipedia I was reminded of the distinction between "Befehlspanzer (command tank), Beobachtungspanzer (artillery observer vehicle)". My bad. But in defense of my confusion, it might be noted that the Befehlspanzer also had a dummy gun.

Michael

[Sgt.Squarehead]

Some early Befehlspanzer mounted dummy guns, but others had a gun with reduced ammo capacity.....I'd have to check to be precise, but IIRC the Befehls Pz.35(t) & 38(t) and possibly one of the later Pz.III variants were armed.  With later tanks like the Pz.IV & Panther the Befehlspanzer variant was almost identical, discernible only by the extra antenna.

Edited April 10, 2017 by Sgt.Squarehead

[Lille Fiskerby]

I really miss observer tanks, the british used the RAM tank for this purpose, but a tank platoon/company commander can do the trick.

[Michael Emrys]

5 minutes ago, Lille Fiskerby said:

...a tank platoon/company commander can do the trick.

Certainly. But I would expect a specialized observer to get through a little faster with more accurate results on average.

Michael

[Lille Fiskerby]

Just now, Michael Emrys said:

Certainly. But I would expect a specialized observer to get through a little faster with more accurate results on average.

Michael

Agree 100 %, I would buy a vehicle pack with only one kind of vehicle: observer tanks.

[Sgt.Squarehead]

I think these vehicles were probably common enough in the Allied forces to warrant inclusion, but I'd prefer to see things like mine-roller tanks & Partisans in CM:RT before asking BF to dedicate time to this. 

A simple 'Empty' option added to the ammo settings and the use of a regular Sherman would be a quick and acceptable fix in the short term and it would give scenario designers a new tool to play with too.

Edited April 10, 2017 by Sgt.Squarehead