ramor Posted June 13, 2001 Share Posted June 13, 2001 How common were they? I know that the Tiger, Panther , and PanzerIV all had the capability of mounting an MG 34 AA machine gun on the commanders cupula ringmount and that this was done on occasion but rarely have I seen combat photos of tanks with this option in place(usually only on the painted artwork rendition of the tank in armor books and German tank scale models)I see that CM does not include a firepower benefit for them either.Was the use of them that uncommon? [ 06-13-2001: Message edited by: ramor ] [ 06-13-2001: Message edited by: ramor ] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
offtaskagain Posted June 13, 2001 Share Posted June 13, 2001 I believe they were pretty rare. The Germans gave priority for MGs to infantry units, so tanks rarely had any spare ones to use. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stalin's Organ Posted June 13, 2001 Share Posted June 13, 2001 I vaguely recall reading many years ago that they would sometimes dismount the co-axial or hull MG and mount it for AA use when on trains or in convoy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramor Posted June 13, 2001 Author Share Posted June 13, 2001 Just seems strange to me as I would think that if anyone needed point air defence on their late war tanks, it would be the Germans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Panzer Leader Posted June 13, 2001 Share Posted June 13, 2001 Yeah, it seems strange to me too. I know that if I was a TC, I would make DAMN SURE I had a MG to use. Both for AA and also for those sneaky infantry. I like the Isreali philosophy to tank warfare. TCs are supposed to stay up and firing. I believe all their tanks mount a coaxial MG. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Emrys Posted June 13, 2001 Share Posted June 13, 2001 <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by ramor: Just seems strange to me as I would think that if anyone needed point air defence on their late war tanks, it would be the Germans.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> I've never heard of any German expounding on why they didn't have AAMGs on their tanks (they did put them on halftracks), so this is just a few WAGs on my part. One thing they might have noted was that they weren't really losing many tanks to aircraft. Another is that 7.92mm is not a really effective caliber for an AA weapon (though many armies used that size in that role, it seems that it was mostly for morale building). The Germans did have 15mm weapons, but it doesn't seem to have occurred to them to use them in this role. Finally, and this may be the truly decisive reason, they seem to have preferred to build specialized AA vehicles that carried guns big enough (20-37mm) to do the job properly, plus turrets and sights and trained AA gunners. This seems to be by far the best way to go with the existing technology. Michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WWB Posted June 13, 2001 Share Posted June 13, 2001 <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Panzer Leader: I like the Isreali philosophy to tank warfare. TCs are supposed to stay up and firing. I believe all their tanks mount a coaxial MG.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Uh, yeah. Most tanks do mount a coax. But I defnintely agree with Israeili doctrine regarding keeping tanks unbottoned. I never button mine unless under artillery fire or direct infantry fire at ranges less than 100m. WWB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mensch Posted June 13, 2001 Share Posted June 13, 2001 <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by wwb_99: Uh, yeah. Most tanks do mount a coax. But I defnintely agree with Israeili doctrine regarding keeping tanks unbottoned. I never button mine unless under artillery fire or direct infantry fire at ranges less than 100m. WWB<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> you must not play against someone who buys vetran sharp shooters offten do you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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