Col Deadmarsh Posted November 10, 2002 Share Posted November 10, 2002 I take it there's a driver, a commander, and at least one gunner. I assume this is correct for the 3-man vehicles. What about the AFV's that have 4-5 men in them? Another gunner who mans the mg's? What about the other guy? Is he a loader for the main gun? Do the mg's need to be re-loaded during battle like a support team's mg? I'd specifically like to know how many guns can be fired at once in CMBB on a tank and who's job it is to do what. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gunnergoz Posted November 10, 2002 Share Posted November 10, 2002 In most tanks, all can be fired at once, though the main gun is not normally fired when the coaxial MG is on line. MG's are for the most part belt fed, though the length of the belt varied. German tanks tended to have short 50-rd belts in some. Allied tanks tended to have 200 or so round cans from which they were fed. Refilling the ammo was the function of the man who was firing the gun. Most tanks had a driver and gunner as a minimum. The additional men were usually a loader, commander and radio-man/mechanic/bow gunner. It depended upon the tank. Some older tanks had 6 or seven men. As late as the 50's and 60's, the US M-103 heavy tank had 2 loaders (due to the separate loading rounds). German tanks from the Pz III on had 5-man crews. This was the standard for most of the war in the US, Brit and later Russian tanks. Post war tanks mostly dispensed with the bow gunner and simply had a driver up front, and three men in the turret. Hope this helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Dorosh Posted November 10, 2002 Share Posted November 10, 2002 The usual five man configuration was Driver - drives the tank Commander - commands the tank - directs the driver and the gunner, spots targets, and communicates via radio to the his platoon leader, or the men of his platoon if he is the leader Gunner - lays the main gun and the coax machine gun Loader - loads shells for the main gun Co-Driver - mans the Bow MG and operates the wireless set (or at least he did in Allied vehicles, not positive about German ones or Russian ones). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Emrys Posted November 10, 2002 Share Posted November 10, 2002 Originally posted by Colonel_Deadmarsh: I take it there's a driver, a commander, and at least one gunner. I assume this is correct for the 3-man vehicles. What about the AFV's that have 4-5 men in them?One of the extra guys is a loader for the main gun. The second is variously called the assistant driver or radio operator. He also mans the hull MG if there is one. Do the mg's need to be re-loaded during battle like a support team's mg?Yes. They are usually belt fed and there are only so many rounds on a belt. After a belt is exhausted, a new one has to be installed. I'd specifically like to know how many guns can be fired at once in CMBB on a tank and who's job it is to do what.Either the main gun or the coax can be fired at any given instant, but the coax can be fired while the main gun is being reloaded. But that is an option that might not be taken if it would necessarily lead to relaying the main gun. Additionally, the hull MG can be fired and if the vehicle possesses an AA MG and the TC has his head out, it can be fired as well. There are variations on this pattern, but this is the most common. Michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bullethead Posted November 10, 2002 Share Posted November 10, 2002 While I bow to the groghood of those who have posted previously in this thread, my own experiences differ considerably. From what I can tell, the crewmen of my own tanks have the following roles : </font>Driver: Responsible for immobilizing the tank in a mudhole on a reverse slope, where it completely lacks an LOS to any enemy unit at the time.</font>Gunner: Responsible for pointing the turret at a stray squad that finally comes around the end of the slope 1000m away.</font>Loader: Responsible for dying from a side turret penetration when an enemy tank platoon crests the ridge 200m away while the turret is pointed in the wrong direction.</font>Commander: Responsible for freaking out over the death of the loader and ordering the other crewmen to bail out as more shells strike home.</font>Assistant Driver: Responsible for getting out of the tank alive so as to provide a target for all the MGs of the enemy tank platoon. </font>This well-choreographed drill is only possible after intensive training. The teamwork they exhibit is awe-inspiring [ November 10, 2002, 02:26 AM: Message edited by: Bullethead ] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Dorosh Posted November 10, 2002 Share Posted November 10, 2002 Originally posted by Bullethead: While I bow to the groghood of those who have posted previously in this thread, my own experiences differ considerably. From what I can tell, the crewmen of my own tanks have the following roles : </font>Driver: Responsible for immobilizing the tank in a mudhole on a reverse slope, where it completely lacks an LOS to any enemy unit at the time.</font>Gunner: Responsible for pointing the turret at a stray squad that finally comes around the end of the slope 1000m away.</font>Loader: Responsible for dying from a side turret penetration when an enemy tank platoon crests the ridge 200m away while the turret is pointed in the wrong direction.</font>Commander: Responsible for freaking out over the death of the loader and ordering the other crewmen to bail out as more shells strike home.</font>Assistant Driver: Responsible for getting out of the tank alive so as to provide a target for all the MGs of the enemy tank platoon. </font>This well-choreographed drill is only possible after intensive training. The teamwork they exhibit is awe-inspiring Yeah, these new features make you appreciate all the improvements over CMBO, don't it! :eek: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tarquelne Posted November 10, 2002 Share Posted November 10, 2002 What about the AFV's that have 4-5 men in them? You didn't ask, but the 18 man tanks like the German A7V were supposed to have: Commander Driver Mechanic Signaler Cannon gunner Cannon loader 6x machinegun gunners 6x machinegun loaders I'd like to see the A7V in CMBB, but I suppose BFC had some good reasons not to include it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Mike Posted November 10, 2002 Share Posted November 10, 2002 Yeah - it went out of service 23 years before Barbarossa!! lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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