Half-tracks are worse than any other vehicle off or on road

[axytho]

- They get stuck in the smallest ditches

- They are slower than the biggest tanks/APC's

- The gunner can't defend himself even if the halftrack is pointed the correct way. The K/D of all halftrack gunners must be less than 0.1


Using them is suicide for an entire squad.

[InfantryGamer42]

Originally Posted by axytho

Using them is suicide for an entire squad.

Main thing that you get whit half-track is decent mobility (this is Normandy, so yeah not great in general), ammo, ability to request kits and pretty sure permanent rally point when dropped next to HT (did not try this). In general, you do not bring HT for its firepower, but for its utility.

[axytho]

Originally Posted by InfantryGamer42

Main thing that you get whit half-track is decent mobility (this is Normandy, so yeah not great in general), ammo, ability to request kits and pretty sure permanent rally point when dropped next to HT (did not try this). In general, you do not bring HT for its firepower, but for its utility.

It has no utility beyond getting you killed and being a big warning sign to the enemy that you are coming. (I have no problem with VAB's and BRDM-2 supports for example, because at least they're somewhat quiet, fast and low-profile).

Not having firepower wouldn't be a problem if at least it was as fast as a transport truck and didn't get stuck in every ditch.

At the end of every game, Carentan and Brecourt are littered with half-tracks that deviated a tiny bit from the main road. Check any tracker:

http://gammagroup.wtf/trackers/index..._cq_128.PRdemo

I'm just randomly picking these from http://gammagroup.wtf/br/main/tracker/

http://gammagroup.wtf/trackers/index..._cq_128.PRdemo


1) The only time that a half-track leaves main is when all transport trucks have left, and there's absolutely no alternative.

2) Whenever the halftrack arrives, it either gets abandoned, stuck or killed (as opposed to transport trucks, which usually get reused, and almost never get stuck).


If the half-track happened to be a mistake of a vehicle that was terrible at everything, this would be ok because it would be realistic.

But half-tracks were great vehicles! The reason they are not used is the mechanical complexity of maintaining them. They could drive at over 50 km/h ([1] and [2]) and were much BETTER at driving through rough country than transport trucks.

[1] https://www.nationalww2museum.org/vi...-m3-half-track

[2] https://tanks-encyclopedia.com/ww2/n...51_hanomag.php

[Coalz101]

Originally Posted by axytho

1) The only time that a half-track leaves main is when all transport trucks have left, and there's absolutely no alternative.

2) Whenever the halftrack arrives, it either gets abandoned, stuck or killed (as opposed to transport trucks, which usually get reused, and almost never get stuck).

I would use Half tracks more if they werent soo slow and require a crew man kit to drive. I'm pretty sure theres no need to have a crewman kit for just an armoured truck with tracks for rear wheels. Mind you that this thing is worse than most vehicles that require crewman kit. The only thing its good for is getting free ammo by requesting kits whilst defending other than that I'd rather have them removed and get a kubelwagen over it.


Note:
Another way to get people to use those half tracks is to probably make a mortar version of it or an AA version other than that, it can kiss my ***

[InfantryGamer42]

Originally Posted by Coalz101

I would use Half tracks more if they werent soo slow and require a crew man kit to drive. I'm pretty sure theres no need to have a crewman kit for just an armored truck with tracks for rear wheels.

Eliminating crewman kit as requirement for HT driver would be nice buff for beginning and it would maybe make people rethink HT as more useful vehicle.

Originally Posted by Coalz101

Another way to get people to use those half tracks is to probably make a mortar version of it or an AA version other than that, it can kiss my ***

For special HTs, crewman kit should stay as requirement.

[axytho]

Originally Posted by InfantryGamer42

Eliminating crewman kit as requirement for HT driver would be nice buff for beginning and it would maybe make people rethink HT as more useful vehicle.

The crewman kit isn't really the problem though. In fact, if the crewman kit gets eliminated, what you'll probably see is a lot of people soloing the half track as if it were a motorbike and using it for personal transport, because no one will yell at you for taking it.

What's really necessary is making the half-track faster than the transport truck (i.e. giving it its real life speed), and making it better off-road than all other vehicles (it should certainly be better than the Greyhound.

"The M8 Greyhound's excellent on-road mobility made it a great supportive element in the advancing American and British armored columns. It was marginal off-road, especially in mud."

In other words: the Greyhound should get the half track's current speed off-road, and the american half track should get the greyhound's speed both on and off-road.

(I know that off-road isn't a thing in project reality, but what I mean is that the greyhound should get stuck in the smallest ditch in the same way that the half-track currently gets stuck, while the half-track should really be able to climb any hill)

[BRZbruh]

If they had the 360 turret like it was supposed to it would have been 100% better.

[InfantryGamer42]

Originally Posted by BRZbruh

If they had the 360 turret like it was supposed to it would have been 100% better.

SdKfz 251 did not. I am not sure if all versions of M5 had 360* mg.

[=-=kittykiller2]

right now its only redeeming quality is you can request kits, its speed needs a serious looking into. it was made for off road. if this was bombing around offering kits it would be harder to hit and fill a niche roll, a light apc, similar to shit box . like a guy said earlier if it was this much of a lame duck it would have been well documented

[InfantryGamer42]

Originally Posted by =-=kittykiller2

right now its only redeeming quality is you can request kits, its speed needs a serious looking into. it was made for off road. if this was bombing around offering kits it would be harder to hit and fill a niche roll, a light apc, similar to shit box . like a guy said earlier if it was this much of a lame duck it would have been well documented

Thing is, you need to look they way both were used. M5 HT transported INF to point of contact, after that it was not rare for INF to leave M5 behand whit only driver, who would man HMG. From what I read, it was not even uncommon for driver to leave M5 behand and take Bazooka carried in vehicle to reinforce squad whit AT ability. Germans on other hand, whit there SdKfz 251 fought from APC itself.

Off road ability of HT was better compared to trucks, but it was not something more impressive. Point is, for SdKfz 251, DEVs would need to find way for hole crew to effectively engage enemy from inside of vehicle whit there weapons. On other hand, M5 seams right in big picture.