rwcanuck Posted November 25, 2000 Share Posted November 25, 2000 In the Panzermuseum at Munster, Germany there is a beautiful Befehls Panther Ausf. A on display which brings to mind a topic which has probably been discussed before and that is the need for Command Vehicles in this great game. You have HQ units with a sphere of influence over other squads and bailed out crews but no command vehicles with influence over intact crews of vehicles. I have played a few "vehicle only" scenarios and each time the morale factor drops so fast as soon as you start losing a few vehicles. A Command vehicle like a Befelhs Panther would be what is greatly needed in the game especially in "all" vehicle encounters. My 2 cents RW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gaffertape Posted November 25, 2000 Share Posted November 25, 2000 Interesting thought. I know that the Germans used command tanks, but did the allies? I always got the impression that our COs used armoured cars (not that this would change your suggestion at all, and I think its a good one). GAFF, a fellow Canuck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Formerly Babra Posted November 26, 2000 Share Posted November 26, 2000 Allies did indeed use command tanks, aka O/P Tanks. Of especial interest to Canucks is the Ram OP. Yes, our vaunted homebrew did indeed see combat action in Europe, albeit without its main gun. EDIT: In fact, those ammo-less Sherman IIIs depicted in the VB scenario are meant to represent OP Tanks. EDIT EDIT: Deleting reduntant use of "in fact" in same sentence because it makes me look as stupid as I am. ------------------ I remember it perfectly: The Germans wore grey; you wore blue... [This message has been edited by Formerly Babra (edited 11-25-2000).] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gaffertape Posted November 26, 2000 Share Posted November 26, 2000 Thanks for clearing that up BABRA; good info. PS: I haven't forgotten the tentative expedition to Worthington (Borden), I've just been rather busy at work. My car is tiny, but it'd be neat to see the place again. GAFF Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlyMolo Posted November 26, 2000 Share Posted November 26, 2000 oh my god! it's Canuck! lol Nice to see ya here. Just ordered my copy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Formerly Babra Posted November 26, 2000 Share Posted November 26, 2000 Just say the word, gaffer me lad. I can squeeze into the glove box if necessary YET ANOTHER EDIT: Just learned the other day that Peter Worthington of Sun fame is the son of J.M. Worthington. Don't know why that surprised me, but it did. ------------------ I remember it perfectly: The Germans wore grey; you wore blue... [This message has been edited by Formerly Babra (edited 11-25-2000).] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rwcanuck Posted November 27, 2000 Author Share Posted November 27, 2000 Nice to see you again Flymolo...we'll have to have a TCP/IP game once the demo is out. I'll revert back to Gds_rwcanuck once CM2 is out Hopefully CM2 will have Command vehicles especially with the battles around Kursk. Tank only battles were more common on this front where Command vehicles like the Befehls Panther were first widely used. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlyMolo Posted November 28, 2000 Share Posted November 28, 2000 hehe... yeah I will too. That's one thing CC has over CM ... uh ... yeah. Command tanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apex Posted November 28, 2000 Share Posted November 28, 2000 <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>I always got the impression that our COs used armoured cars <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Imperial War Museum in London has Montgomery's command tank from North Africa, a M3 Lee with the turret armament replaced by a dummy since radio sets were fitted in place of the 37mm ammunition (the 75mm hull gun remained operational). apex Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Formerly Babra Posted November 30, 2000 Share Posted November 30, 2000 Just found the following interesting tidbit on both the command and artillery spotting capabilities of the allied O/P tanks: <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR> The Ram also provided the basic chassis for numerous other vehicles. One of these was the Command or Observation Post tank. Eighty-four of these were produced at Montreal during 1943 and additional vehicles were converted from Ram IIs in the United Kingdom. During conversion, the 6 pounder and its coaxial machine gun were elimintated and replaced with a dummy gun. The turret basket and hydraulic traversing gear were removed and the manual rotation was limited to 90 degrees. This provided sufficient space for a six man crew with the necessary seats and a map table. Two radio sets were installed, one in the turret bustle and one in the left sponson. Additional line communication equipment was fitted and a forward observation post was located at the front of the turret with a sliding door view port just below the dummy 6 pounder gun. Artillery fire control equipment was carried and the rotating turret hatch was calibrated so that the hatch periscope could be used as a direction finder. Armament was limited to the .30 caliber bow machine gun and the .30 caliber anti-aircraft gun fitted to the turret hatch. Unlike the Ram II on which it was based, the Command/Observation Post tank was widely used by the Canadian Armoured divisions during operations in Northwest Europe.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> From Hunnicutt's Sherman, page 114. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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