c3k Posted July 1, 2002 Share Posted July 1, 2002 Gents, I'm aware that the Germans used highly developed transmissions to allow their tanks to rotate in place. One track going forward, the other in reverse. Did the Russians have this capability? Or did they have to brake a track and move the other, slewing the vehicle? This would be critical in an encounter with a slow-turreted or assault-gun chassis. The initial Soviet hull orientation would probably not change to facilitate rapid turret rotation were this true. I know CMBO uses a combination of turret and chassis rotation to help lay a gun on target faster, but is this appropriate to all combatants? Ken (edited....because I needed to.) [ June 30, 2002, 09:55 PM: Message edited by: c3k ] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
offtaskagain Posted July 1, 2002 Share Posted July 1, 2002 IIRC Shermans werent capable of this either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gyrene Posted July 1, 2002 Share Posted July 1, 2002 If I'm not mistaken this type of track system was a British development that was copied by the Germans from Brit tanks captured in the Desert Campaigns. I don't think any of the Russian tanks used it, but the T34 was capable of very tight turns around one track. (There was a very neat clip of one doing high speed turns like that) Gyrene Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kanonier Reichmann Posted July 1, 2002 Share Posted July 1, 2002 Originally posted by Gyrene: If I'm not mistaken this type of track system was a British development that was copied by the Germans from Brit tanks captured in the Desert Campaigns. GyreneI thought the neutral steer system was copied from Churchill tanks captured from the aborted Dieppe raid. Could be mistaken though. I'm sure someone will correct me if I am. Regards Jim R. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gyrene Posted July 1, 2002 Share Posted July 1, 2002 Originally posted by Kanonier Reichmann: </font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by Gyrene: If I'm not mistaken this type of track system was a British development that was copied by the Germans from Brit tanks captured in the Desert Campaigns. GyreneI thought the neutral steer system was copied from Churchill tanks captured from the aborted Dieppe raid. Could be mistaken though. I'm sure someone will correct me if I am. Regards Jim R.</font> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Firefly Posted July 1, 2002 Share Posted July 1, 2002 Originally posted by panzerwerfer42: IIRC Shermans werent capable of this either.My memory's a bit vague (OK.. a lot vague) and I don't have my copy Tank to hand, but I'm pretty sure Ken Tout describes just such a manoeuvre. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Firefly Posted July 1, 2002 Share Posted July 1, 2002 Double post, sorry. [ July 01, 2002, 04:54 PM: Message edited by: Firefly ] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug Beman Posted July 1, 2002 Share Posted July 1, 2002 I think this is what was referred to as the "Merrit-Brown epicyclic steering" thus: http://www.kithobbyist.com/AFVInteriors/church/church1.html My copy of German Tanks of World War Two credits the Panther with this type of "controlled differential" steering, allowing a turn radius of 5m (lowest gear) to 80m (highest gear). Tiger featured a "fully regenerative and continuous system, similar to the Merritt-Brown type found on the British Churchill tank." Turning radii are not given for PzI-IV. BTS has already detailed their reasoning for the abstraction that every tank is capable of zero-radius turning. I don't have the links offhand, and the search feature is being recalcitrant, but I believe it was ruled that giving ALL vehicles 0-radius turns even though SOME did not have it was more favorable than giving NO vehicles 0-radius turns for the same reason. Also, denying 0-radius turns would have forced extra coding for vehicles needing to turn, as they would have to move forward, which would require on-the-spot calculations of the turning curve, which could be different depending on terrain etc, and would be impacted by obstacles, requiring the kind of "back-and-forth" dance the AI produces whenever you try to maneuver tanks through very narrow gaps in impenetrable obstacles. DjB [ July 01, 2002, 05:50 PM: Message edited by: Doug Beman ] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c3k Posted July 2, 2002 Author Share Posted July 2, 2002 Exactly!! I started this for a reason. It's not to see a zig-zagging tank while it moves. I'm okay with a zero radius turn for movement. But, I'd like to see a penalty for firing for those tanks which did not have this capability. So, show everyone pivoting to follow a target, but if the tank couldn't do it in real life, give it an accuracy penalty when it shoots. Ken Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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