Small Scale Military Headquarters

I just got a 21st Century 1/18 Sherman Series 1 and wanted to know if the awkward positioning of the commander's 50 cal machine gun is entirely accurate?
I've seen the 50 cal. being fired by the gunner standing outside the turret in BAND OF BROTHERS and KELLY'S HEROES, but if 21st's 50 cal. is accurately positioned, it appears that it cannot be fired by the commander while he's in the turret. If the 50 cal can only be fired by the gunner outside the turret, what's the Army's reasoning for having him fully exposed to enemy gunfire in order to fire the 50 cal?

the .50 is ring mounted on real tank. This ring is not functional on 21st model.

phil

EXETHER_MEGA:

Thanks for the info.
Apparently 21st Century and Hollywood have their own reasons for the 50 cal. machine gun positioning.

I do not believe that is correct.

The Sherman had a .50 mounted on a post, not a ring mount. The post was designed to be fired from the outside when fired forwards, against troops or soft skinned vehicles. The commander would fire the .50 in the AA mode from his position inside the tank.

As a field modification, the post was sometimes moved to the front of the commanders cupola or the the front of the gunners hatch.

Audie Murphy received his MOH firing a .50 from outside a tank. In his movie they used a Sherman but actually, he fired a .50 from an open turret M-10 Tank Destroyer, but the position of the gun was the same in both vehicles. To make it even more dangerous, on the open topped M-10, the ready rounds are stacked right under the .50 gun, ready to "cook off" as the TD was on fire.

Remember tanks very rarely operated without infantry riding along to protect the tank from enemy infantry with anti-tank weapons.

TTT

The early Shermans with split hatch, as represented by the 21st Century Sherman , had the 50 is on a mount that is part of the cupola ring. The whole mount pivots so the gun can be where the commander wants to use it. Shermans with the later single hatch cupola had a fixed post mount on top of the turret. The 105mm Sherman that BBI makes had a third option with the MG post attached to one of the extra roof ventilators.

grockwood wrote:The early Shermans with split hatch, as represented by the 21st Century Sherman , had the 50 is on a mount that is part of the cupola ring. The whole mount pivots so the gun can be where the commander wants to use it. Shermans with the later single hatch cupola had a fixed post mount on top of the turret. The 105mm Sherman that BBI makes had a third option with the MG post attached to one of the extra roof ventilators.

Thanks Grockwood. I was sure the .50 was mounted on a ring

phil