Mortar carriers - 3 types
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?
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