| Louie N | 15 May 2022 2:24 p.m. PST |
Hello all, Is there is a reason why all modern tank turrets have the main gun down the center line. Is there a practical reason for weight and balance? Could we ever see a main gun mounted on one side of the turret? The Puma IFV from Germany kinda has one.
Just wondering out loud. Thanks |
| Rich Bliss | 15 May 2022 2:56 p.m. PST |
Generally, you want to maximize the size of the turret ring to maximize the size of the weapon you're carrying. Hence the centerline mounting. |
| Louie N | 15 May 2022 3:56 p.m. PST |
I think I get it. The longest distance you get is down the center. If you place the weapon on the side you only get a fraction of the length inside the turret for the gun breech etc. insightful Thanks |
| emckinney | 15 May 2022 4:29 p.m. PST |
Generally, it's weight and balance. Aside from everything else, unbalanced turrets are difficult or even impossible to rotate when the vehicle is on a side slope. (Or any slope depending on which way the turret facing.) |
Oberlindes Sol LIC  | 15 May 2022 4:59 p.m. PST |
Offset turrets do look cooler, however. If you're mounting an energy weapon, an offset turret is probably a viable option. On the other hand, you don't want to make it easy for the enemy to distinguish your vehicles from each other and pick the better targets. |
| Zephyr1 | 15 May 2022 8:36 p.m. PST |
Plus there is the problem of recoil; If the gun is off center, it just might spin the turret around when it fires… ;-) |
| Bunkermeister | 15 May 2022 11:00 p.m. PST |
Lee & Grant had the sponson on the side. But center is generally best. Mike Bunkermeister Creek
Bunker Talk blog |
| Martin Rapier | 16 May 2022 3:46 a.m. PST |
Even in the heydey of multi turreted tanks, the biggest one was usually in the middle for very practical reasons. Sponson guns were usually offset to the side so they didn't get in the way. iirc on the Grant the 37,mm turret was slightly off centre, but that was to make room for the 75mm. That was pretty common with sponson guns e.g. the M11/39 and Char B. Vickers Independant, TOG, T28, T35 etc all had the big turret in the middle, but yes you COULD have a turret off to one side, it would just be smaller. |
| Andrew Walters | 16 May 2022 9:19 a.m. PST |
While most afvs *appear* to have the turret on the center of the body and the main gun in the center of the turret, I think many are off just a bit to allow for various mechanisms. You'd have to measure, they look "right", but the engineering realities push things around just a bit. But ultimately you want to be able to fight on both sides, drive on either slope, be able to cover either flank in a wedge, and be able to echelon on either side. So symmetry is an advantage. |
| Garand | 16 May 2022 11:13 a.m. PST |
Having the turret off center is less of a big deal than having the gun off center in the turret. Even in asymmetrical turrets (like the Tiger 1, or the Abrams), the gun is still in the centerline of the turret ring, principally to deal with recoil. In smaller guns this is not as big a deal (i.e. 20mm in Pz IIs), but with larger guns an off-balanced recoil could cause unnecessary wear or stress on the turret rotation components, or even outright damage them. Damon. |
 javelin98 | 19 May 2022 3:59 p.m. PST |
Having seen a number of vehicles roll over while in the Army, I wouldn't want to have a 27-ton turret (which is what the M1A1's turret weighs) off to one side. The odds of the vehicle rolling over on that side when on a slope would go up a lot if it were off-center. |
 Legion 4 | 28 May 2022 9:18 a.m. PST |
I'd think whoever engineered/designed a vehicle would take into consideration the turret's location, etc. And how it would affect the vehicle's performance, etc. But today, if a turret is off center it would be a smaller design on an APC/IFV. Not packing a big cannon, like an MBT. |
looks for scenario material in a World War IV boardgame.
