Tank Commanders should have their own MGs!!!

[mbuhr 0]

gee, wouldn't it be grand if the M-1A1 came with a machine gun for the tank commander mounted on the tank copola just like the real thing? Having one coax mounted MG for all those infantry is really weak....

[The Jub-Jub Bird 1]

I totally agree with you, however the OFP engine doesn't support more than one weapon being used by any unit at anyone time. Therefore only the gunner in a tank can use any weapons (and only one at a time).

I think you could get around that by disabling the gunner's use of weapons whenever the commander wants to use the machine gun up top. But then what do you do about the guners machine gun that also exists uptop on an M1A1?

I recently learnt also that the M1A1 didn't actually exist back then, so maybe BIS should stop calling it an M1A1 and from 1.30 onwards reffer to it at an Abrams. But thats another story.

[pzvg 0]

Actually the M1A1 was just being intergrated into USAEUR forces in '85 with 3rd and 8th ID (having smaller tank forces than Heavy Divisions) turning over there M1's on a platoon exchange level.

I was there, the paperwork alone was a freakin nightmare

[The Jub-Jub Bird 1]

Well I always thought that they were around in 1985, and then someone correctly pointed me out as wrong and showed me the FAS site, which says that the M1A1 didn't exist till the 90s. I'm still confused about this one. Well its not liek there is a alot of difference between the two, in terms of what Flashpoint could show us.

[pzvg 0]

There are actually two versions of the A1, the interim version was a simple retrofit of the 120mm smoothbore gun vice the 105, and an updated GPS (Gunner's primary sight) with new computer to handle the different ballistics of the gun, the later version which in documents is considered the "Real" M1A1 had upgraded

armor, suspension,fire suppression, and engine enhancements, this is perhaps the reason for the conflicting dates I've seen on several sites, (and even military documentation as well)

[The Jub-Jub Bird 1]

So you saying that the thread I replyed to months ago that I was totally slatted in for saying that the M1A1 around in 1985, I was perfectly correct all along?

[RedRogue 0]

Not really,

In 1985 after the M1A1 upgrade development had already begun and initial testing had starting. The military correctly decided "Well If I'm gonna have all these M1s sitting around anyway why don't I bring them all up to the future M1A1 standards as much as I can. So the updrading began in 1985, but wasn't into full swing until much later in the year.

[The Jub-Jub Bird 1]

August right?

[LordZach 0]

Just think of it as a field test.

[iloveyanks 1]

Right the subject was "gee, wouldn't it be grand if the M-1A1 came with a machine gun for the tank commander mounted on the tank copola just like the real thing?  Having one coax mounted MG for all those infantry is really weak...." your answers were "M1A1, did it even exist"-that a new topic. However i'll let you all off for being stupid and say yes .50cal would be a wicked idea for the commander as it would be ammusing and also for cocky commanders it would be an easyier way to anoy them.

[BlueJames 1]

well let's think of it this way: OFP takes place in an alternate 1985, that allows for some inaccuracies in the game. Things could be close, but i don't think that they would have to be right on; especially when it's a case of only a few months.

[Cucuma 0]

The tank commander has a boring job but to give it a machine gun would be ok but only if it was a unit clearer not a high powered shot that peirces tank armor.

[Soon2B 2nd LT 0]

Well to be realistic it would have to be a .50 cal machine gun for the commander. They also have a m240 mounted on top for the gunner in real life.