Thin Red Line Posted October 16, 2003 Share Posted October 16, 2003 Almost all the armor graphic and mods (including the stug in the CMAK banner) show the end of guns darkened because of a smoke and powder layer. Is this a graphical covention or does this reflect the reality ? It is a question i've always wanted to ask 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
95Bravo Posted October 16, 2003 Share Posted October 16, 2003 Its not mentioned in the manual but if you look closely in the graphics, only the lead tank has a clean barrel. The rest are black. This is due to the lead tank stopping quickly when first shot at and the following ones ram into the rear of the one ahead. Same thing happens in shower lines at large prisons.... 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flamingknives Posted October 16, 2003 Share Posted October 16, 2003 That's wrong on so many levels. On a less disturbed note, I would expect guns with a muzzle brake to have that blackened, as the gun vents over it. Other guns shouldn't have the exterior of the barrel blackened as all the propellent gases go out the front and away. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moon Posted October 16, 2003 Share Posted October 16, 2003 Funny enough I remember an internal debate about this a long while ago, because Dan had been wondering exactly the same thing. What sparked the question was that Dan had noticed that most photos do not show blackened barrel ends. After some back and forth I think we concluded that guns would be cleaned thoroughly after each use so most photgraphs would show them clean, but during combat they would be blackened. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kwazydog Posted October 16, 2003 Share Posted October 16, 2003 Also Ive since discovered that the Germans did actually paint the end of their guns black on some vehicles, too. Im not sure what the reasons for this would be though. Dan 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moon Posted October 16, 2003 Share Posted October 16, 2003 Less cleaning? Martin 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Dorosh Posted October 16, 2003 Share Posted October 16, 2003 Camouflage? Like the underside of the 17pounder on Sherman Fireflies? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanaka Posted October 16, 2003 Share Posted October 16, 2003 Originally posted by Moon: Less cleaning? The dream of any crew ! BTW, TRL, don't you own me a turn ? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thin Red Line Posted October 17, 2003 Author Share Posted October 17, 2003 Originally posted by Tanaka: BTW, TRL, don't you own me a turn ? Sure, but i'm busy raising extremely important questions who attract at least three official BFC answers 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperSulo Posted October 18, 2003 Share Posted October 18, 2003 Speaking of those fireflies... why was it painted blue on the underside of the barrel? The only situation that would work as camo is when the tank has rolled up to a trench with the barrel sticking out over the trench. When a german soldier in the trench looked up, he wouldn't see the barrel... Doesn't seem that practical to me... So how was it supposed to work? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-E Posted October 18, 2003 Share Posted October 18, 2003 Originally posted by Moon: Less cleaning? What effect would that have on the job security of the Waffenschleppenvasher? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordon Posted October 18, 2003 Share Posted October 18, 2003 The German's used a smokeless propellant in their shells, so there was less combustion residue, so German guns should be less black on the ends than Allied guns. I suspect that a lot of the apparent color difference (in black and white photos) could be attributed to the paint being worn by the barrel cleaning brushes. The blue or white wavy under-painting on the Firefly and Wolverine barrels is called counter-shading. When sunlight strikes the barrel of the gun it makes the top lighter and the bottom appear darker. By leaving the top painted dark and painting the bottom light, it reduces the contrast of the barrel and makes it less visable from a distance, hence making the barrel look like a normal 75mm barrel (or so the theory goes). It's why many prey animals are similarly dark on top and lighter below, in fact that's where the idea came from. Gordon 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Tittles Posted October 18, 2003 Share Posted October 18, 2003 There is actually a reason to paint a barrel white. It takes advantage of an optical effect. At a distance, light colored objects blend nicely into light backgrounds. I think it is called the Yahuda effect or something like that. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WineCape Posted October 19, 2003 Share Posted October 19, 2003 Good to know BFC deliberate over issues as "seemingly" unimportant as gun barrel colours. :cool: Thanks for the answers. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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