Don,
Hope you had a great weekend! CINCLANTHOME just wanted everyone to know she can "hang with the boys" as we both rode (30min.) in the turret of a fully restored original M8 across a field through the mud and puddles with mud in our faces and a little on our cloths in a light rain on 24 Aug before our ballgame that night. What amazed me is how fast it accelerated to it's top speed of 56mph. That was a good lead in to get you into the WWII frame of mind with item one below as it could cross over into both games if acted upon. So...
1) I just finished reading the final installment of Pulitzer Prize (For book one.) winning author Rick Ackinsons "Liberation Trilogy" in it he spent ~three full pages ( 458-462) of the Battle of the Bulge section discussing code name 'Posit" better known as the "VT" or "T-98" fuze. It's first use was in AA in the early 40's, then for the same purpose in the Pacific by the USS HELENA in Jan. 1943 to bring down a Japanese plane. For eighteen months the rounds with the fuze could only be used at sea or in friendly territory for fear of a dud falling into enemy hands. This fuze was the reason for the high degree of success it saw against the V-1 over London during the "second blitz and in Antwerp "...-British officials considered them up to five times more effective than time-fuzed rounds-...".
SHAFE with approval of the "Charlie-Charlies" in the Fall of 1944got approval to supply U.S. artillery units with them on Christmas. HERBSTNEBEL changed that, IKE released them immediately to the 12th Army Group, just over 200,000 would be used a small faction of all rounds however, it would represent a 1/4 of all heavy rounds fired during the Battle of the Bulge (Mostly 155mm.).
It used radio signals to detect the ground or other targets as well as the occassional Air AO if a shell came by to close. it would explode at 50 to 75 feet above ground and was highly effective against log re-enforced bunkers both in test and in battle as reported by both sides. A single 155mm airburst reportly could shred every square foot within a 75yd. diameter.
Among a few such from both sides to include Patton himself, I end with the following for you to further consider this for the games...During tests in North Carolina a senior Army general was qouted "the most important new development in the ammunition field since the introduction of high explosive projectiles." The situation from the German prospective as reported bt one was "pure manslaughter," and "The devil himself could not escape." About the time of the battle 2 million fuzes a month would be produced at a cost of $20 each.
If not addressed and it is decided to do so, recommend these be assigned to 155mm units only though AA units did have them in June 1944 to protect the Mulberries and later after the fall of Antwerp I cannot find any evidence to suggust they used them in the AA role anywhere else on the continent at least not until the Bulge but think January 1945 better.
Taken all together in his "notes" section he sites almost a full page of military and other ref. sources (NOTES / 763 & 764.)
2) Are you ready for TARGETING pods? These are as prolific as the weapons carried on the planes. If allowed though in real life it would be well in excess of this number, thinking 80 vision a feel good number at least should be 60 "podless" for some planes to say we recognize this technology but also the improved air to ground electronics out there for the last few years. An example of this (And has to be added.) the South Korean F-15K(?) they got a couple of years ago and have chosen to order more of over the F-35 (ouch!) just recently. I would not try to add new units for the "major players" if it can be avoided it'll take longer but date changes just might work this could be for next year for most units however one or two would have to be addressed unless South Korea wouldn't be an issue. Why South Korea? Because in
both deals every jet bought was equiped with a SNIPER Pod matched to it.
3)
Russian UNIT 059 T-90AM the MG is correct as is the TI/GSR but, that gun is not the standard one mounted on the T-90 series it has been improved upon. I offer the same main ref. again of which others support the following, this taken from the
armament section...Well it won't let me cut/paste so basically the changes made the techinical dispersion was reduced on average by 15% of all types of shells thus increasing the effective range of fire. I'm not sure if it matters here or not as I'm not sure how to quantify that range increase number. I'm sure the ~15% number above doesn't
= to a ~15% increase in range.
http://www.armyrecognition.com/index...k=view&id=5230
At your leisure-THANKS!
Regards,
Pat