Brille Posted September 28 Share Posted September 28 (edited) Hi there folks, I have a simple question I´d like to clarify: Were the hatches of the Panzer III- at the radioman and driver position real escape/emergency hatches, like in this picture ? As far as I understood it those were maintenance hatches only, to get onto the final drive and other stuff at this location. That´s not to say that they weren´t used as escape hatches eitherway as desperate situations let soldiers do unimaginable things sometimes. However looking at internal videos and pictures of the inards of the Panzer III makes me think that there would be not enough room to do even that or at least not fast enough to call it an emergency exit. So what do you think about that ? And don´t get me wrong: Even if they were not used in this way ever and it is misrepresented ingame (as I think it is), I don´t want to get it patched out. So this is no bug-report or "fix that" thread, as it would have no impact gameplay wise. The more movable parts and details a vehicle has, the better. Edited September 28 by Brille 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vergeltungswaffe Posted September 28 Share Posted September 28 When I bailed the crew of a PzIIIM in CMFI, they all appeared below the tank, and the hatches that are open in your screenshot stayed closed. So, I'm not sure why yours looks that way unless it's a function of the tank brewing up. I assume you didn't happen to see the crew bail out? The PzIII didn't have the hull top hatches like the PzIV, so I doubt those hatches being open is supposed to represent that. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aldirin Posted September 28 Share Posted September 28 You remember correctly, those front hatches are for routine maintenance. They are unlatched from the inside but I can't see anyone actually making it through there unless they were some kinda cat-human hybrid. Up to the Ausf L there were some hulls with the side escape hatch which looks barely more usable but obviously that's not the case for these. Someone might need to do some testing on abandoning their Panzer IIIs versus brewing them up just to see what happens. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brille Posted September 28 Author Share Posted September 28 52 minutes ago, Vergeltungswaffe said: When I bailed the crew of a PzIIIM in CMFI, they all appeared below the tank, and the hatches that are open in your screenshot stayed closed. So, I'm not sure why yours looks that way unless it's a function of the tank brewing up. I assume you didn't happen to see the crew bail out? The PzIII didn't have the hull top hatches like the PzIV, so I doubt those hatches being open is supposed to represent that. As far as I know explosions or "brewing up" will not cause the hatches to open in Combat Mission. Either the crew exits through them (or at least try) or they were open as the fatal blow hits the tank. In my case all "necessary" hatches were opened: What you cannot see in this picture is that the side turret doors are open too, only the commanders hatch stayed closed up since the tankcommander was killed in the tank. Everyone else got out after the hit. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldSarge Posted September 28 Share Posted September 28 The Chieftain did a video with an early Panzer IIIL, no skirts, and those front hatches are definitely only to allow for maintenance access. The hull side exits were removed sometime in the middle of the IIIL production, even if they were there the skirts would hamper egress. That would leave the gunner/loader hatches on the turret sides, I'm not sure if the turret skirts would hinder the hatch doors or not. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warts 'n' all Posted September 29 Share Posted September 29 13 hours ago, Aldirin said: they were some kinda cat-human hybrid. . Ah, you don't wanna mess with them. They're evil. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brille Posted September 29 Author Share Posted September 29 (edited) 15 hours ago, Vergeltungswaffe said: So, I'm not sure why yours looks that way unless it's a function of the tank brewing up. In this case only the hatch on the radio operators side stayed closed. He was the only one that got killed. @OldSarge Quote That would leave the gunner/loader hatches on the turret sides, I'm not sure if the turret skirts would hinder the hatch doors or not. The turret skirts of the Panzer III had sections at the level of the turret doors that could be swung open if needed. There should be enough room to first open the side turret doors from the inside and then the skirt sections. http://tank-photographs.s3-website-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/panzer-3-ausf-m-tank-turret.jpg Edited September 29 by Brille 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vergeltungswaffe Posted September 29 Share Posted September 29 5 hours ago, Brille said: In this case only the hatch on the radio operators side stayed closed. He was the only one that got killed. Definitely looks like something that shouldn't be happening then. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.