Mortar carriers - 3 types

[TDR]

There are fundamentally 3 types of mortar carriers. Some of these are modelled in the game others don’t quite fit properly.

Type 1: The basic carrier or half track that just carried the mortar. It has to be assembled by the crew each time it is used. This is modelled in the game and obvious.

Type 2, SP Mortar – limited or no traverse weapon. This type of mortar carrier has the mortar assembled in the vehicle and only provides limited traverse of the weapon. Such vehicles are the M21, M4 and M4A1. Also there were some Universal carriers modified; (field works) that had the 3 inch mortar assembled in the read compartment. The legs were on the forward plate of this compartment and the base plate on the engine cover or in the rear compartment. This also only provided limited traverse. There is a picture of one some where just have to find it again.
Note in the above types of carried the mortar has little traverse. The best traverse being the M21 with an arc of 60 degrees. Major direction changes required the vehicle to physically move.

Type 3 SP Mortar – full 360 traverse of the weapon. There are few of this type. The main one being unit #130, Carrier 3 inch mortar in the ANZAC OOB. From memory I think one German carrier had this ability. This carrier allowed fully 360 degree rotation of the weapon within the vehicle with out moving the vehicle to obtain main direction changes.
The various unit #130s in OOBs other than the ANZAC one should be modelled as a Type 2 SP mortar.

The main issue being can all 3 types be modelled in the game engine correctly?

[Mobhack]

All SP mortar vehicles are probably your "type 2" - the vehicle turns to the firing direction. (There is no cost for spinning in SP games).

Cheers
Andy

[TDR]

Andy true, but it does have restriction in areas such as immobilised vehicles, e.g. track damage, bogged, etc. The type 3 as I called it would still be able to fire in the full 360 degree range. At present this can not happen.
The Type 3 mortar carrier is a bit like having a turret, game wise.
It would depend if this can be done with in the game engine.

[Mobhack]

nope - mortar carriers are not turreted vehicles. (although that may be from lack of a turret icon (even a dot like some AAMG APC have)? - e.g the soviet modern BTR mounted one does turn methinks).

Cheers
Andy

[TDR]

True, the SP Mortar carriers are not turreted vehicles. What I was trying to say is that the SP Mortar that does actually have 360 degree rotation of the mortar should behave as if the mortar was like a turret that is the mortar’s, (weapon), allowed facings should be independent to that of the vehicle. This does not mean it is a turret in the normal sense of the word but just the action of independent rotation to the hull/vehicle..

If the weapon was given a turret defined as a dot as you described then the weapon would have the ability to rotate. That also depends on how the class SP MORTAR is defined in the code.

Also this only afects about 2 vehicles in all the OOBs. Most other SP Mortars in teh OOBs have a limited travers and so teh current behaviour is Ok. It wa just these 2 - 3 units that have the full 360 ability.