While waiting on my game....

[ottoramsaig]

I have found the T34 vs Tiger manual and reading through it, found myself interested in the Ranging utilized in the game. This is of great interest as I have commanded an M48A5 (1977) a non stabilized gun and sight. We were trained to roll to a quick stop engage and move out (a good driver never rocks the tank). Once completed we would pull into a defencive posistion "Hull Down". This would bring into play the Range Finder, a mechanical gear driven system that superimposed a mirror image of the target you looking at. Rotation of the mirror with a manual hand crank would place the Ghost Image over the target and provide the TC a range + or - 10 meters. Balistic Sabot, and HEAT-T actually compensated for the range discripancy while the high velocity and superelevation (Range) of the ballistic solution was feed through a mechanical link by the TC to the 105mm gun Ballistic Drive System. Easy Right?

During Tank Table 8 a crew is timed on all aspects of "Moving and Stationary" gunnery. On the offense engagement the crew is presented a stationary tank while they are moving. The command and order of events are graded by an evaluator. "Gunner Sabot Tank, Driver Stop, Identified, Up, FIRE! Target, Driver move out, Crew Report. At which time the Gunner inputs data to the ballistic Drive, selecting Ammo (normally Sabot) and a range of 1200 meters. As you can see a lot is happening and can take away the TC's ability to manage the moving engagement. The work around was a technique call "BATTLESIGHT" Gunnery. The selection of ammo detiremined the BATTLESIGHT range, i.e: Sabot 1200m, HEAT-T 1600, HEP-T 1800. The solution fed to the ballistic computer would be compensated by each different rounds flight caracteristics. The command is simple and effective: Gunner! Battlesight! Tank!. The gunner now simply applies his proper recticle for the engagement (Sabot or Heat-T) aims the 1200 meter aiming dot (1200 Meters in the sabot recticle) Yells Identified and "On the Way"!squeezing the triggers.

A good crew would would shave 10 - 15 seconds on the offensive enagement gaining the crew 1000 points towards qualification. In 1984 at Fort Drum, New York I was engaging the course (Tank Table 8) and had just continued to move out after my offensive engagement towards a defensive posistion. I knew that is would be a moving from a stationary battle posistion when a malfunction of the range equipment raise the moving tank target on top of a berm and was moving smartly, being so pumped up I gave the command Gunner! Battlesight! Moving Tank! Fire! My gunner without stabilization utilizing BATTLESIGHT gunnery hit dead center Mass. I have always believed in the Battle Ready Posture of a round in the chamber, ammo selected, predetirmed range indexed, weapon (105mm) on safe. We qualified "Top Gun" that year.