Blitzen Posted July 8, 2020 Posted July 8, 2020 Just took the "new" Ferdinand out for a QM spin and ran into numerous Ivan tanks,I couldn't seem to figure out how to compute range correctly as guner & even up glose I couldn't hit them as they pelted me with dozens of shots.I probably won't be using this new tank much , but when I do I'd like to at least be able to shoot & survive...
Thad Posted July 8, 2020 Posted July 8, 2020 What? A newly released armored vehicle for Tank Crew has bugs? ? It would be more surprising if it didn't. 2
Blitzen Posted July 8, 2020 Author Posted July 8, 2020 Not bugs so much as the range finder scope is quite simple & not at all like what we are used to in other German tanks...
352ndOscar Posted July 8, 2020 Posted July 8, 2020 (edited) Well, this much I discovered.....it’s s-l-o-w. Mission builders that use this need to put it in position from the start and not have it advance too far before engagement. Also, I had problems issuing commands to the gunner - issued tilde, F1,F2,F3, then tilde F2,F6,F3 multiple times and could not get him/her to fire at ranges under 1km....still testing. Edited July 8, 2020 by 352ndOscar
SCG_judgedeath3 Posted July 8, 2020 Posted July 8, 2020 29 minutes ago, Blitzen said: Not bugs so much as the range finder scope is quite simple & not at all like what we are used to in other German tanks... Ferdinand used a different sight system, due to the placement of the sight system and the guns placement, different mill system too, so have to aim on feeling or use the system that works differently, or wait until the devs releases the scissor binos that they used for better range finding, for ferdinand it was almost a must have. 2
LachenKrieg Posted July 9, 2020 Posted July 9, 2020 The gunner used the Sfl.ZF.1a periscope. The commander had to open his hatch to view/range with his SF 14Z Scissors periscope. Taken from Kenneth Estes, German Heavy Fighting Vehicles.To help with aiming, I deselected tanks from the QMB to practice without being shot at. Keep your target in the very top part of the large triangle and adjust your fire accordingly. You should be pretty close though. Thanks to the Devs for such a beautiful job on the Ferdinand. Even the track mechanics? 1 1
MicroShket Posted July 9, 2020 Posted July 9, 2020 9 hours ago, LachenKrieg said: The commander had to open his hatch to view/range with his SF 14Z Scissors periscope And what is problem with calculations using sight triangular markings? ?
LachenKrieg Posted July 9, 2020 Posted July 9, 2020 There is no problem. All of these sights work the same way. The gunner, and this was part of his skill, needed to keep in mind two things. He needed to know the scale of each small triangles side. This gives him an object of a known size at a know distance. Lets say in this case the size of a 1 meter object being viewed at 1000 meters. Then the gunner has to have an idea of the dimensions of the thing he is targeting. Lets say in the case of a KV-1 3.3 meters wide, or a T-34 3 meters. Now he compares the size of both objects to estimate distance. If the thing being targeted is bigger, then its distance is less. If the thing being targeted is smaller, then it is further away. The Sfl.ZF.1a had 5x magnification with an 8 degree field of view. So the tank in the image above is further away then it actually appears in the image. A T-34 at 1000 meters should occupy the distance between two triangles which includes the space between them if the scale is 1 at 1000. In the image above, we can see that it occupies a little more than 4 (meaning two triangles and the two spaces before and after them + a small part of the third triangle). Its distance is estimated to be about 750 meters. It was well known in the day that the gunners probability of hitting the target went up after the first salvo, or when the commander helped with target identification and range finding with his scissors periscope. In my second QM run in the Ferdinand I selected tanks, and had no problems knocking out all of the 8 KV tanks shooting at me. I really like the job they did with the Ferdinand. Beautifully modeled. 2
Blitzen Posted July 9, 2020 Author Posted July 9, 2020 One has to wonder how many reichsmarks were wasted on this (at best ) questionable weapons system in 1942-43...money that could have been much better spent on Pz IV’s Tigers and PzV’s Panther and/or perfecting them( perhaps more powerful engines) and crew training ( a problem that would show up during Citadel. I don’t envy the first crews who had to man these cumbersome slow assault guns..”Where’s a coaxial machine gun?” And “What genius thought this one up? Must have been common remarks...
LachenKrieg Posted July 9, 2020 Posted July 9, 2020 I think you are probably right, and if you read some of the historical documents left behind, it appears that the relationship between Hitler and Dr. Porsche might have been an influencing factor. Initially, the Porsche design was given a green light for the production of the heavy Tiger I tank ahead of viewing. This manifested into the pre production order of 100 hulls by Porsche. When he lost the contract due to the cost of copper and other more serious power train issues, he turned to Hitler for help. Based on actual performance of the Ferdinand, we can only imagine how much sooner the war would have ended had Porsche been awarded the Tiger I contract. Because of the urgent circumstances of Germany's position at that point in the war, the Ferdinand entered service with very little field testing. Hence, there were a lot of problems that cropped up as it rolled into battle. But I am happy with the addition of this extremely rare armor piece in TC. It sported the most powerful gun from either side in WWII. With a effective indirect fire range of 15 Km, it was meant to sit back and support.
SCG_judgedeath3 Posted July 9, 2020 Posted July 9, 2020 1 hour ago, Blitzen said: Where’s a coaxial machine gun?” And “What genius thought this one up? Must have been common remarks... Not as big issue as you imagined it as many german tank destroyers didnt have machine guns as they were designed to be operating in a support role and in their designed role they wouldnt engage infantery. The idea would be that infantery would cover these tanks as the tanks supports the infantery, or other tanks would give them close support fire: spraying the ferdinands with machine gun fire if needed etc. Somehow historians and books etc loves to repeate the same info on the ferdinand from one main source but missing how many german tanks didnt either have machine guns and only make it seem ferdinand had this issue xD
No_Face Posted July 9, 2020 Posted July 9, 2020 I don't know anything about it, but I quite agree with SCG_judgedeath3. Tanks like the Ferdinand are not designed for close combat, which limits their encounter with enemy infantry. If they see the infantry in their sights, it will be from a distance and an HE shell will be much more effective than a machine gun with limited range.In addition, some speak of coaxial machine guns, but the principle of these machine guns is to be in the same axis as the gun, except, on the destroyer of tank which do not have a turret, this machine gun would be very limited and it would be simple enough for the enemy infantry to get around it. (the farther the enemy is, the more area you cover but the closer it is, the easier it will escape you). (Sorry for my english) 1
JG27_Steini Posted July 9, 2020 Posted July 9, 2020 (edited) Hi, i have a problem aiming with the Ferdinaned. Techno chat tells me that someting about left (or right) for the canon, and my shots went always right from my center. I did not find a controll setting. What is this about and how to use it? Thank you Edited July 9, 2020 by JG27_Steini
LachenKrieg Posted July 9, 2020 Posted July 9, 2020 2 hours ago, JG27_Steini said: Hi, i have a problem aiming with the Ferdinaned. Techno chat tells me that someting about left (or right) for the canon, and my shots went always right from my center. I did not find a controll setting. What is this about and how to use it? Thank you Can you post a video of what you are seeing? Here is a nice video showing off the aiming system in the Ferdinand.
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