2 problems

[JohnN]

Im having 2 problems at the moment

Problem 1- When i create a platoon of four at the screen bottom it shows the order of tanks as 1 4 2 3. It looks like their out of order to me , shoulnt the order be 1 2 3 4?

Problem 2 - When i practice choosing what round i want i aim at say a house using a sabot or ammo 1 and shoot, then i go to ammo 2 and the round type starts flashing at the top of the screen i guess because the next round will still be a sabot, i fire the sabot and the next round should be heat and when i fire it the number left should go down but it doesnt it still flashes and it fires a sabot that i dont want. Am i doing something wrong? Thanks in advance JohnN cheers

[Ssnake]

Im having 2 problems at the moment

Problem 1- When i create a platoon of four at the screen bottom it shows the order of tanks as 1 4 2 3.

I stand corrected: 1 PLT Leader - 4 PLT SGT - 2 wingman - 3 wingman. It's the order of the food, err, command chain.

Problem 2 - When i practice choosing what round i want i aim at say a house using a sabot or ammo 1 and shoot, then i go to ammo 2 and the round type starts flashing at the top of the screen ...

Only the commander is authorized to choose the ammunition. As a lowly gunner you are just there to index whatever ammunition the loader put into the breech. As long as the (computer-controlled) commander doesn't order a switch to HEAT, the (computer-controlled) loader will continue to load the last ordered type of ammo until he runs out of it.

[sabot_ready]

For Problem #2.

If you are the gunner you don't get to pick what round you want to fire......only the round you are instructed to fire. I infer that you are in a M1/M1A1.....so if the TC tells you to fire Heat....you select the "delete" key after the round is loaded and not before. You must empty the current round if it is a sabot....which may mean using a round that might not be the best for the job.

[rump]

Hi,

Welcome to the world of military logic.

From: http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/agency/army/platoon.htm

The tank platoon is organized to fight as a unified element and consists of four main battle tanks organized into two sections, with two tanks in each section. The platoon leader (Tank 1) and platoon sergeant (Tank 4) are the section leaders. Tank 2 is the wingman in the platoon leader's section, and Tank 3 is the wingman in the platoon sergeant's section.

Regarding problem number 2, you're indexing a round which is not loaded. What vehicle are you in?

- Rump

[JohnN]

Thanks guys for shedding some light on the subject.

Im driving the M1A1(HA) and now im gonna have to figure out if i go to the commanders position i can command to load a heat round wnen i need to.

i hope i can, i dont drive in the commanders position but i want at any given time to fire a heat round as a gunner in his position. Again thanks for the quick support. Cheers for now JohnN

[SeanPatrick]

Also, remember that in certain "special" circumstances the commander may want the next round fired to be a different type than what is loaded. In this case (in SB) the player in the commander's position can double tap the key for the ammo he wants and the loader will unload the current round and load the new choice.

The only time I ever felt the need to use this feature was when firing at enemy infantry concealed within a structure. I wasn't pressed for time and didn't want to waste a sabot for no reason. (Although I might have hit someone with a sabot, I just wanted to be sure!)

[JohnN]

What key is that please, not the insert or delete key?

I dont think that is realistic because you always have to fire the round thats loaded irregardless because thy are sensitive charges. is it true that you never unload a round after it has been loaded or is there flexability in that routine. Thanks johnN

[Grenny]

What key is that please, not the insert or delete key?

I dont think that is realistic because you always have to fire the round thats loaded irregardless because thy are sensitive charges. is it true that you never unload a round after it has been loaded or is there flexability in that routine. Thanks johnN

Depends on what ammo therr is: 120mm combustible cartige...pulling the ammo out of the breach is a less then clever idea.(and I should add: not modeled in SB for that very reason)

105mm brass (like Leo1) you could do it.

Any way..."unloding forward" is sometimes faster then pulling out one round...put it away...put new round in

[SeanPatrick]

What key is that please, not the insert or delete key?

Yes, double tap the Insert key to unload HEAT (or whatever) and load Sabot, etc...

[JohnN]

i think insert and delete key in gunner just indexes but in commander it actually changes the round type. one must switch from gunner to commander then back to gunner etc i guess thats ok and a fairly realistic way to get what you want. Thanks johnN

[Ssnake]

Depends on what ammo therr is: 120mm combustible cartige...pulling the ammo out of the breach is a less then clever idea.(and I should add: not modeled in SB for that very reason)

Not true. You can do it. One day we'll add a 10% chance or so that the base stub rips off and you somehow have to fire the old round anyway, and a 1% chance or so for an accidental deflagration that might take out your entire crew. Until that day it's pretty safe to do it in SB.

[Grenny]

You are sayin that it actually does work in SB :-o

Ten years...and you still learn new stuff ...

[Tacbat]

Yeah, that's what I fear about the upgrades. New stuff to learn.

[Hedgehog]

Yes, double tap the Insert key to unload HEAT (or whatever) and load Sabot, etc...

Doesn't work on the Abrams.

US Army work on the "Unloading via the Target" Principle.

[Ssnake]

It should work even in the Abrams since... well, maybe 2.460, maybe since 2.538. Some said that denying it the capability would favor the Leopard 2. I'm not sure that I follow that logic, but I didn't see a specific reason either why the Abrams in SB should not be able to do this. So, both can swap rounds now.

[JohnN]

Would swapping rounds be considered cheating or not realistic. Id like to stick to the rules that the actual field personnel use in real life. Do they actually swap the 120 mm rounds in the abrams in the real world or is it just a convenience for the game. id like to shape my behavior based on your feedback thanks.

[Mogwa]

It works in the SB M1 and in real life it isnt usually done, probably due to the chance of a catastrophic explosion.

[Kingtiger]

Doesn't that apply for the Leos to? they have the same "powder" cartridge doesn't they? so unloading a round in a Leo should be as high risk manouver as in a M1? or is it me being lost again?

[Volcano]

Doesn't that apply for the Leos to? they have the same "powder" cartridge doesn't they? so unloading a round in a Leo should be as high risk manouver as in a M1? or is it me being lost again?

Well, on the Leo 2 you already have ammunition in the crew area. On the M1 the crew is taught to be overly sensitive about such things, because if you lap load or have long times of a round being in the crew area it defeats one of the primary design features of the tank (separate ammo compartment with blast doors / blow out panels).

On the M1, unloading rounds is generally avoided when the gun / breach is hot after repeated firing. Also, carbon builds up in the... chamber, I guess you could call it, and it often makes extraction of rounds difficult to impossible in some cases. Once that happens and you try to extract the round it can get stuck. Once you have a "stuck round" (where it is partially out of the breach and mostly in the breach) continual tugging on the base with the extraction tool can cause the casing to break and spill the propellant and possibly ignite it in a flash fire. So, M1 crew can and will change rounds, but if the loader "pops" the breach open with the loader's breach operating handle and the round doesn't slide out easily then the best and safest course of action is for the loader to kick the round back into the breach and not swap it out.

I imagine the same is true on the Leo2 as well. So whether one tank can and would swap out a round depends on many things. The M1 crews generally try to exercise extra safety with ammo in the crew compartment, and the conditions of extracting a live round depends on the circumstances at the moment. But this is all splitting hairs -- on the M1 it is possible and it is done IRL, yes (depending on the situation).

[Ssnake]

Possible yes, but "usually" not practiced. Do it only when you're low on ready ammo and not in a particular hurry to shoot at a specific target that warrants a different ammo type than then one that is currently loaded.

In other words, use common sense.

[JohnN]

Thanks for shedding some light on the subect.