stikkypixie Posted December 21, 2003 Share Posted December 21, 2003 When i read about the T-34/76, the dual role of the commander is always mentioned. Can anyone tell me more about the roles of the 4 members of a T-34 and all tanks in general. Thanks in advance! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vokes Posted December 21, 2003 Share Posted December 21, 2003 Not sure about the T34/76, but generally, you will have a driver, loader, gunner and commander. 3 guys in the turret, and the driver in the hull. Early T34's had only a 2 man turret; I think they combined the commander/gunner functions, and the loader double hatted as the radio operator, for commanders tanks (the only ones with radios). I'm pretty sure by the T34/85, they had changed the turret to a 3 man configuration. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stikkypixie Posted December 21, 2003 Author Share Posted December 21, 2003 So if there were only two guys in the turret and the commander also acted as gunner, what did the fourth guy do (not the driver or the loader i mean)? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Other Means Posted December 21, 2003 Share Posted December 21, 2003 hull machine gunner. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Straif Posted December 21, 2003 Share Posted December 21, 2003 My level of groginess < 0.01, but this is what I know from TV Turret crew: Commander (left) and gunner/loader (right) Hull crew: Radio/hull MG (left) and Mechanic (right) Pictures are from a polish TV show about a T34 crew, so take it with a grain of salt. Straif 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edgars Posted December 22, 2003 Share Posted December 22, 2003 Hey, that's from "Chetire tankista i sobaka" (Four "tankists" and the dog), one of my favorite books in the childhood... Haven't seen the movie thou. According to that book, the fourth guy was shooting hull machinegun and operated a radio (also an assistant driver). I wonder thou, what was he doing when there were no radios in early years T34? The commander of the tank however should've been pretty busy, shooting main gun, commanding the tank, communicating with other tanks via flags and decorating the turret with Christmas tree branches. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moon Posted December 22, 2003 Share Posted December 22, 2003 Ohhh... Czterech pancernych i pies... my favorite show as a kid, besides Kapitan Kloss Martin 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andreas Posted December 22, 2003 Share Posted December 22, 2003 The fourth guy would presumably be another mechanic (I think the official job title of the driver was 'driver/mechanic'). He also comes in handy when you need to do guard duty and as general runabout man. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tar Posted December 22, 2003 Share Posted December 22, 2003 Presumably that is just the TV, but that is one spacious tank! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andreas Posted December 22, 2003 Share Posted December 22, 2003 Originally posted by tar: Presumably that is just the TV, but that is one spacious tank! Well, that is because the Rodina provides well for its soldiers and defenders, unlike the fascist adventurers who all have to cram into much too small Panzers. Looks like re-education camp for you Comrade tar. 25 years hard labour in Vorkuta will cure you of any misconceptions you may harbour regarding the care the Rodina and our esteemed Comrade the Chairman of the Defense Council (may he live a 100 years!) take when it comes to the comfort of our worker-soldiers. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stikkypixie Posted December 22, 2003 Author Share Posted December 22, 2003 Oh so the fourth guy was just a maintenance guy sort to speak and not really a "combattant", i wonder why they did that. Why didn't they use him to relieve the commander of one of his duties, or was this a space issue? What about german panzers, they had a 5-man crew, did they bring a mechanic with them? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott B Posted December 22, 2003 Share Posted December 22, 2003 Originally posted by stikkypixie: Oh so the fourth guy was just a maintenance guy sort to speak and not really a "combattant", i wonder why they did that. Why didn't they use him to relieve the commander of one of his duties, or was this a space issue? What about german panzers, they had a 5-man crew, did they bring a mechanic with them? Everyone's a maintenance guy on a tank. Besides, they already said that fourth guy mans the hull machinegun and the radio. Scott 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andreas Posted December 22, 2003 Share Posted December 22, 2003 German Panzer III and IV tanks had dedicated commanders, and all had radios, meaning there was a job for everyone of the five guys. Scott is right that everyone's a mechanic in a tank crew, but I have my doubts they were all trained in this role to the same degree. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stikkypixie Posted December 23, 2003 Author Share Posted December 23, 2003 Ok thanks guys! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott B Posted December 23, 2003 Share Posted December 23, 2003 Originally posted by Andreas: Scott is right that everyone's a mechanic in a tank crew, but I have my doubts they were all trained in this role to the same degree. Hehe. Was careful to say "maintenance guy" rather than "mechanic." Scott 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andreas Posted December 23, 2003 Share Posted December 23, 2003 Originally posted by Scott B: </font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by Andreas: Scott is right that everyone's a mechanic in a tank crew, but I have my doubts they were all trained in this role to the same degree. Hehe. Was careful to say "maintenance guy" rather than "mechanic." Scott </font> 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wol Posted December 24, 2003 Share Posted December 24, 2003 try here afv interiors The duties are Commander/gunner, loader, radio operator/hull machine gunner, driver. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Carr Posted December 24, 2003 Share Posted December 24, 2003 What was that show about? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Determinant Posted December 24, 2003 Share Posted December 24, 2003 Originally posted by Jack Carr: What was that show about? I can make this pitch in 50 words or less: 'It's a screwball romantic comedy like a cross between 'Friends' and 'Mash' with a twist of 'Dead Like Me' thrown in'. It'll run for at least five seasons and the Easter '45 end of run finale will knock your socks off. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stikkypixie Posted December 24, 2003 Author Share Posted December 24, 2003 Ahhh nostalgia!!! And even in the right season too!!! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redwolf Posted December 25, 2003 Share Posted December 25, 2003 The standard 5-man crew is: - commander - gunner - driver - loader - radio operator/ co-driver/ hull machine gunner The radio operation is actually the most important duty of that right hull dude, WW2 radios required a lot of attention. The hull MG position also implies another pair of eyes looking out to the front. As said, some tanks had the commander operate the gun. I think they would probably have preferred to get rid of the co-driver, but that would require to make the turret bigger. In SP guns like the StuG you would usually not have the co-driver, instead you had three men in the superstructure. Radio operation seems to be regarded less important in a SP gun. The British firefly also got rid of the radio operator, filling its place with ammunition instead (the 17pdr ammo is pretty big). The radio was placed in an extended turret rear and operated by the commander. I assume that by that time the British might have advanced radios that didn't require too much attention and/or the commander could had it off to the loader. Modern western tanks are like the Firefly, no hull MG and the commander does the babbling. Modern Russian/Chinese tanks have autoloaders and a 3-men crew, commander, gunner, driver. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Tittles Posted December 25, 2003 Share Posted December 25, 2003 The StuGs had more advanced radios than most panzers I believe. The layout of the StuGs allowed better internal communications since the commander, gunner and driver were all within touching distance (allowing facing the vehicle quickly by kicking/tapping a shoulder). The more advanced radio in the StuG may have allowed platoon/company communications with less load on the commander. The US was probably the most advanced as far as radios and I would think the British tanks would use them. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreenAsJade Posted December 26, 2003 Share Posted December 26, 2003 Originally posted by Wol: try here afv interiors The duties are Commander/gunner, loader, radio operator/hull machine gunner, driver. Awesome web site. Amazing what is on the net! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vokes Posted December 26, 2003 Share Posted December 26, 2003 And on the theme of crew sizes, most Western armies have standardized on the 4 man crew, and have pooh-poohed the 3 man crew, mainly because there is one less man to do maintenance. But the latest trend towards lighter weapons platforms like the Stryker have gone to auto loaders and smaller crews...so the debate continues...ok...etiquette question...are we supposed to confine ourselves to WW2 stuff? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Splinty Posted December 26, 2003 Share Posted December 26, 2003 One reason that Western tanks have stuck to the 4 man crew is that the Russian auto-loaders ahve a tendancy to try to load the gunner. Ouch! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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