Sherman vs the Panzer IV

[DogDodger]

The original spit TC's hatch seems to have had a decent .50 cal mount that had both a rearward AA and a forward ground position. It could elevate from -25° to +56° in that forward position, while in the rear position it could elevate from +36° to +80°.

[shep854]

I noticed that when I saw the video; the wide opening with split leaves seemed to give fair cover when engaging aircraft. I wondered if AA use guided the hatch design.

[Interlinked]

It looks pretty good. It seems that the only downside is there is no anti-air sight haha

[shep854]

It looks pretty good. It seems that the only downside is there is no anti-air sight haha

As Nick Moran mentions in his video, the intent was to dissuade and distract the pilot with essentially volley fire, and give the troops something to do. Actually shooting him down was a happy bonus.

[Panzermann]

 

Don't want to start a new round of intellectual discussion, so I'll tag along on this post. As an ex-sailor, on U.S. tanks I see a .50 caliber machine gun close to the commander's hatch. Were they actually used in combat? Much? Today vs WW2?

Thanks

Ask Audie Murphy...oh, wait that was an M10.

 

Seriously, the .50 caliber was intended as an AA gun, but left the commander pretty exposed if used in the ground role. That is why at various times the idea of mounting it co-axially came up.

 

 

Not only that, mounted coax you can use the gunners optics to aim the .5" and actually make use of the avaibale effective range.

 

 

Or, lower, TC-friendlier mounts were improvised.

 

They also put additional M1919 on top of the turret or whatever they could find at times.