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In this breif informative guide, I hope to provide the reader with a basic sense of how the tanks operate, and to proivde an insight into the most important part of any vehicle: the crew. I will be mainly covering tanks in this vehicle, namely the Cromwell, Firefly, Tiger, and Panther, as I have the most experience piloting, operating, and commanding these tanks.
Other Post Scriptum Guides:
Introduciton
One the key features in Post Scriptum’s combat is the Tank section. Capable of operating a variety of vehicles, the Tank Crewman (you) is one of the few classes in Post Scriptum that can change the tide of a battle. However, he can not do it alone! Alongside up to four other players, he and his squad can be the decisive factor that wins the match. Or, they can be the reason for a loss, or a very difficult victory.
Thus, it is very important to learn how to work with your crew and to do your job effectively. Each tank can be divided into seperate tasks:
1. Driver: Manuevers the vehicle and is responsible for getting the tank out of fire, getting it into good shooting positions, and being the ‘second head’ of the vehicle.
2. Gunner: Perhaps the most popular role, he is responsible for operating the main gun and coaxial machine gun, and outputting the damage potential of the tank.
3. Commander: This is the man that must lead the tank, while also scanning about the horizon and guiding the driver where to go when they are buttoned up. He is the center of map knowledge and is the eyes and ears of the tank crew, listening to the infantry’s callouts, and looking for targets/threats.
4. MG Gunner/Assistant Driver: On some tanks, like the Cromwell, there is a bow gun open up for a fourth crew member. While easily dismissed as a boring position, this seat is very important, as it allows a crew member to be replaced easily if they are killed by a penetrating round.
As mentioned earlier, it is important to learn all about these roles. Mostly, so that you can be agile, and play any role the tank crew needs. So let us start then with the most important role in the tank: The Driver.
The Driver
Who Is He?
The Driver is, as stated, the most important role in the vehicle. Sure, the commander has the most vision, and gunner has the most impact on the battle, but without a good driver they cannot preform these duties. He is often the man who has to think the quickest, as he must react quickly, move quickly, look quickly.
What Does He Do?
As the title implies, he operates the vehicle’s engine and movement. That’s right: engine and movement. Pressing [E], by default, starts/stops the engine. This will be important later. The driver is the man you call upon to get you somewhere, whether it be on a good firing line behind a crest, out of sight of that Tiger’s Long 88, or even to block an exit to trap an enemy inside!
Living Conditions
The Driver inhabits the front of the tank, sitting in either the middle front, or the front left part of the vehicle. He lives in a dark hole, of which he is trapped in during combat, with only a small vision slit to give light to his pupils. Yet, all is not bad for this man, as he is often the one who survives most often when the tank is hit. This is due to most gunners shooting center mass of the vehicle when get a good side shot. He can use the [Scroll Wheel] to get himself some fresh air, opening up his hatch and giving him a greater view of the world! However, this presents his upper torso and head to the enemy, meaning the tank could easily be immobilized by a good sniper on the enemy team.
So What Do I Do?
When you drive any vehicle, always have a destination in mind, either provided by the commander, or by yourself. For example, don’t wander aimlessly about in your vehicle: are you going to help infantry, find that pesky enemy tank, or going to escort your logistic trucks and armored troop tranports? Whatever your goal, stick to it!
Now, the #1 reason why tanks get blown up in Post Scritpum, is driver error. For example, infantry tells your commander that there is PIAT holding up in a building down the road. Now, for some reason, you decide not to go behind this building, you drive right down the road! While you may bounce a few PIAT shots, one will definetly go through and detonate something…
Needless to say, it is important for any driver to pay attention to their surroundings! Go on YouTube to find a video of people playing with Panzershreks, PIATs, and AT guns. Learn how they set up and camp an area. Further, look at what spots they shoot at on numerous vehicles. This way, you learn how to angle your tank towards suspicious areas, and get a feel where the next PIAT/Panzershrek round is coming from next.
Also, you need to learn weakspots of enemy vehicles, just like any gunner would. This way, you can move to an area where you get your gunner a clean shot onto a weak point. Further, move in anyway that can help the gunner get a kill, as that may be the difference between life and death! Also, remember to shut off your engine if you going to stay in a position, it reduces your noise signature and makes it harder to know if your there. (The enemy can still hear your gunner’s turret!)
The Driver: Axis Tanks
Axis Tanks
These big Whermacht cats are the staple cream of the crop for anti tank engagements. Compared to their counterparts on the Allied team, all of them are able to penetrate any enemy tank frontally. As a driver of these vehicles, your job is to get your big guns into good firing positions over night.
Panzerkampfwagen V “Panther” Ausf. D
This tank was introduced as a new medium to replace the Panzer IV as the mainstay of German tank divisions. However, due to obvious wartime reasons, the Panzer V never made a signifigant number margin, with only around 5,000-6,000 models produced, compared to over 10,000 Panzer IVs. Armed with a KwK/42 L/70 7,5cm gun, the tank was capable of penetrating almost every Allied vehicle frontally.
As a driver of the Panther, you need to get your tank onto a good position to snipe enemy tanks before moving in the help infantry. If you don’t do this, then your gunney will be relying on reaction shots, meaning that you will likely die before your gunner can do anything.
This tank is best played when you manuever your tank from firing position to firing posiiton, taking pot shots, neutralizing logistic vehicles, and taking out SPGs. Remember, this is a very fragile tank if she’s in the open, and a driver must always be wary when playing her.
Panzerkampfwagen VI “Tiger I” Ausf. H1
The all mighty Tiger is in Post Scriptum, and the devastating KwK 36 8,8cm gun as well. The Tiger I was introduced to the Eastern Front in 1942, and was nearly impervious to all Soviet attempts to kill it. Unless it was bombed, hit with heavy aritllery, or had molotovs thrown onto its engine deck, a Tiger would keep going. Eventually, the Western allies had their first taste of the Tiger in 1943 in Tunisia, and would see it more often in the Sicily landings, Italia, and in Normandie.
In Post Scriptum, the Tiger is fearsome, but it is not invulnerable. A Sherman Firefly will penetrate your armor from quite a distance away in the sides, and can sometimes penetrate the front up close. However, the Tiger is still the most heavily armored vehicle in the game, and is capable of surviving plenty of PIAT rounds. This means that as the driver of the vehicle, you can position yourself in a street, and destroy plenty of tanks who come to support infantry. Just be wary of your speed, as you may not be able to get out of the way in time if artillery is called on your position. Also, the biggest thing to remember: angle your hull 1 hour left or right when getting shot at by a Firefly.
Conclusion
Axis tanks are bipolar in their design and utilization. One focuses on brawling, the other on mobile fighting and ranged dueling. It will be up to your crew to utilize the best strategies and gunnery positions to influence the battle.
The Driver: Allied Tanks
Allies (Currently Britain)
The Allied Powers of United States (planned into release), The United Kingdom, and Canada were the three powers that were involved in the main fightding during the daring paradrop raid in the Netherlands: Operation Market Garden, in 1944. As seen Post Scriptum, the Allies have a variety of vehicles, nontheless the Americans who will soon come to reinforce the British in Post Scriptum. While not the most powerful vehicles, the native design of the Cromwell, and the Sherman based Firefly are the main tanks the British feild for AT operations. At the moment, these are the only two tanks the British have, but British tankers will soon be getting the Churchill Mk. VII and Matlida II in a future patch.
Sherman, M4 “Firefly” 17 pdr.
This tank was initially designed as a stop gap measure until the British designed Cromwell and Challenger tanks could be fully developed. Nonetheless, this tank proved to be a powerful mainstay of British anti-tank vehicles in the late years of the war ever since proving its worth against Panthers and Tigers deployed in Normandy. Fireflies also excel at spacial awareness, with all three crew members having a free looking periscope to look around. But one thing the Firefly has over the German tanks, over all else, was mobilty.
This is where you as the Driver comes in. The Firefly excels at finding a good hull down spot, be it a crest or a trough, and blasting targets with its 17 pdr. The Firefly also excels at infantry support, with its tall profile able to protect all four men of a squad. It is perfectly acceptable to take the Firefly into the city, whether to support troops or attack enemy armor, as long as there are no Panzershreks you know of looking to eat your side armor.
However, a word of warning: Any round a tank fires at you, unless it hits at an extreme angle, will penetrate your armor. This means that you must pay close attention to the battle around you, and be ready to move whenever you feel there is a threat coming in. The Sherman chassis was not known for its durabilty, but it was for its reliability: this tank is very easy to play and get settled in respects to driving. Just remember, Allied tanks dont have neutral traverse, which means that you have to go forward in order to turn.
Cruiser “Cromwell” Mk. VI
This tank is the fastest tank in the game, able to reach critical sectors with ease. While it may not have as powerful of a gun as the Firefly, the 6 pdr High Velocity Gun can easily penetrate Panther sides and Tiger rears. As the class of her tank implies, Cruiser tanks are meant to be high speed raiders to disrupt communications and supply lines. However, this is just good news: it allows you to react to what ever your team needs in seconds!
As a driver you must maintain good speed discipline, as going extremely fast makes it easy to get stuck in a ditch. Stay a little faster of a Firefly, but not as fast as a scout car. A few ton machine going at those speeds is not good. Further, as a driver, you must pay attention even more. Going fast can blur your perception, and you have to ‘think’ faster in order to react in time. Pay attention to where AT guns or StuGs may be. Also, make sure to slow down before you turn!
Conclusion
While not as armored as the Germans, a need for speed consumes the Allies, and allows them to get into great positions across the map faster than the Germans. If you drive well, you may end up nullifying the German armor divisions to whatever scout car can zoom past you! Perhaps you might even drive across the bridge too far! But only if you can get your zippy nature down, and use it to help your gunner get good shots.
The Gunner, Ammo, and Guns
Whether or not you are experienced in gunnery or not, all guns on both tanks are relatively high velocity, and only minimal aim adjustment is needed. What is needed however, is knowledge of what shell to use during what moment.
Here are the shell types availible to you:
1. AP- Standard solid shot. Simply a bullet from a large gun, with normal levels of penetration. Creates spalling upon penetration. Fired by the Cromwell.
2. APCBC- Standard solid shot shell with a ballistic cap with another cap to improve aerodynamics. This is a round meant to defeat angled and sloped armor, as the hard cap and ballistic cap creates a ‘normalized’, or flat surface for the main penetrator. Creates spalling as it penetrates the armor. Fills most of your ammo rack. No chance of detonation if hit, due to having no filler. Found on the Firefly.
3. APHE- AP-High Explosive. This is a shell with built in explosive fillament. The shell’s HE filler detonates once a certain thickness of armor is penetrated. This is the deadliest round in the game for tanks, as one good shot means that the whole crew will be knocked out. However, you can one shot yourself is the enemy penetrates and hits your ammo racks, as this ammo has a moderately high chance of detonation when hit. Found on the Tiger.
4. APCR- Armor Peirceing Composite Rigid- A sub-caliber round that is smaller than other rounds. The small size of the projectile allows the same explosive force for regular AP ammo to fly faster, thus having more kinetic energy. While this can peirce all armor flat on, it is not very good handling angles. Further, it does little damage to internal modules and crew unless it is dead on, due to little in the way of spalling damage. No chance of detonation due to having no filler. Found on the Panther.
5. HE- High Explosive. This shell takes up around 1/4th of your ammo load. Useful for clearing out buildings and taking out scout cars/logistical vehicles/half-tracks/Bren carriers. Most likely to explode if hit during penetartion. Used on all tanks.
6. Smoke (Allies Only)- Standard smoke shell used to cover infantry or armor movements. Use as concealment or a distraction to move somewhere else. Takes up the rest of your ammo load.
These shells can be used at your discrestion, and the situation at hand. Now to go over the guns themselves:
A. KwK 42 L/70 7,5cm : Main armorment of the Panther, it takes the cake as the gun with the highest penetration in the game, on par with the 17 pdr. What makes it take the higher spot is simply the velocity of the gun, often becoming a laser beam at close ranges.
B. KwK 38 36 L/56 8,8cm : This gun is mounted on the Tiger, and has the most damaging shell in the game, being able to devastate any Allied tank caught unaware. While the reload speed is slow, it allows discipline in fire, as a missed round is likely one that will spell end as the Allied tanks swarm you. Further, the tank has a lower velocity compared to the 17 pdr or the L/70, adding more aim to the gun.
C. Vickers 17 pdr. Gun : The cream of the crop in terms of Allied tank guns, it is on par with the Panther in all but length. However, the power of this gun comes from the shells, not its gun. That being said, the APHE shells are very damaging, and sometimes packs a good punch better than the Panther.
D. Ordanance QF 75mm Gun : The Cruiser’s gun is a fast firing peice of work that can rapidly hole a Panther or Tiger. While it may not have as much damage as the other tanks, it can keep pounding crew members or even try to light the fuel tanks and ammunition.
For HE, the tanks have the following order in HE power by weight:
Tiger: 1.9lbs (.9 kg) [Most blast force]
Panther: 1.66lbs (.650 kg) [Most shrapnel]
Cromwell: 1.36-1.52lbs (.62-.69 kg) [Dependant on filler]
Firefly: 1.08 or 1.28lbs (.490 or .580 kg)
For all electrically powered turrets, the enemy can hear your turret’s movement, so always be holding your turret in one sport until you spot a target.
Weak Spots to Shoot
This will just simply be a list of all the weak spots on every main tank.
Tiger I:
-Lower glacis plate (area between the tracks)
-Commander’s Cupola
-Sides/Rear Turret
-Underneath the side skirts
-Rear
-Small vision slit where the driver sits (Very hard to fit a 75mm+ shell in)
Panther:
-Lower glacis plate (area between the tracks)
-Gun Mantlet, specifically the lower part. (With the Sherman Firefly) [To counter this weakness, point your gun away 1 or 2 hours from the person you are dueling.]
-Commander’s Cupola
-Sides (Right where the side skirts are and underneath)
-Rear
-Back angles on the rear of the turret.
Sherman:
-Anywhere that isn’t an extreme angle
-Driver’s side of the tank (The former bow gunner’s seat is heavily reinforced due to the prescence of another ammo rack, can still be penned, but more crew damage will be availible if you pen the driver’s side.)
Cromwell:
-Avoid the gun mantlet
-Hit anywhere in the hull, or the sides and rear of the turret.
Commander: The Great Spirit Bear!
Commander is another word for glorified finger pointer and recon element. Typically, it is the most experienced player in the group. However, any ‘ol joe can do it! And here’s the secret:
P.E.N.I.S.
+Plan: What is the best thing that my tank could do in this situation? What are my tank’s capabilites? What could I run into? What’s the best path to take? Ask yourself these question and answer them honestly and with common sense.
+Emulate: Envision your selected strategy, imagine how it could work, and how it could go wrong. You can most likely fix what may go wrong, but if the negatives outweight the positives, go back to P.
+Notorize: Make it clear to your crew what you want to do and what you expect of them. Tell them the objective, why it will win the battle, and how you want it preformed. Explain everyone’s jobs and get them in the roles they are best at.
+Inspire: Get your men’s blood pumping! Sing, make jokes, bull around! If it makes your men happy and jovial, chances are you’ll build synergy. This is especially true with randoms. Synergy is important, as it allows everyone to learn about each other and trust each other. When this happens, crew mates will automatically do movements with each other. One eample, is the driver moving forward without the gunner saying anything, getting the gunner a good shot. It’s the little things that count.
+Supervise: Ensure that all members of the crew are doing their job well. If tensions are rising between the bow gunner and the gunner, propose to swtich them so they get a chance to fire the main gun as well. Do everything in your power to keep a high level of synergy and trust in the crew.
While the acronym is a silly one, it’s an effective way to remember the key points of leading in batlle.
As commander, you also have the most visibility of all your crew, thus, you need to look everywhere while the rest of your crew is preoccupied.
Do you see a Panther 5 o’clock? Tell your gunner to swing the turret around and the driver to turn around!
Freindlies at 2 o’clock and your gunner is shooting something at 12? Tell him to watch his fire coming into 1 o’clock!
Commanders are the spirit and guiding soul of the tank. Without them, the crew would be stuck in a heated frenzy, but since the commander has nothing else to do, he calm everyone else down. This reduces panic and thus, reduces the amount of times your crew dies. Thus, if you play your cards right, everyone in your crew might praise you as a great player, but all you did was build them up and got them to play at a higher level.
Bow Gunner: “The Third Wheel”
Contrary to popular belief, the Bow Gunner is actually a very useful crew member! He can fix the tank without compormising roles, provide covering fire for infantry, keep infantry off the front end of the vehicle, and replace dead crew!
Bow gunners are needed, especially in large battles, as the gunner may not be able to get all the infantry with HE/coaxial attacks. Thus, you are very useful in these situations, as being able to kill more infantry, means less grenades on your engine deck!
Also, you are an extra set of eyes for the driver’s right hand side. Owing to this being a major blind spot of the driver, you will be able to help him know what’s in his blind spot! A good commander will make people shift roles, so don’t feel bad you are stuck in the bow gun, you’ll get your chance to shoot/drive in a bit!
Finally, you are imparitive for communication. This is especially true for large, noisy battles. You will be able to run to a squad, get intel, and book it back to the tank!
Don’t see yourself as the third wheel, see yourself as the spare tire that is used during driving!
Nice guide! Exactly what I was looking for, thanks a lot!!