Panda Hobby

[PR19_Kit]

A 'Tank' is an anti-tank gun (high velocity, low angle, direct fire), in a 360 deg turret, on a tracked chassis, with enough armour to stop almost anything.

A 'Self-Propelled Gun' is an artillery gun (medium velocity, high angle, indirect fire), maybe in a turret or maybe not, on a tracked chassis, with just enough armour to stop bullets and shell splinters.

An 'Armoured Gun System' is what you call a Tank when you don't want the politicians to notice that you're buying a Tank...

Magic, thanks. I hadn't considered the direct-indirect fire differences.

And the last description is an absolute PEACH! 

[zenrat]

What's the difference between a Tank, a Self Propelled Gun and an Armoured Gun System? 

$2,000,000 and a defense department contract?

[PR19_Kit]

What's the difference between a Tank, a Self Propelled Gun and an Armoured Gun System? 

$2,000,000 and a defense department contract?

[Weaver]

A 'Tank' is an anti-tank gun (high velocity, low angle, direct fire), in a 360 deg turret, on a tracked chassis, with enough armour to stop almost anything.

A 'Self-Propelled Gun' is an artillery gun (medium velocity, high angle, indirect fire), maybe in a turret or maybe not, on a tracked chassis, with just enough armour to stop bullets and shell splinters.

An 'Armoured Gun System' is what you call a Tank when you don't want the politicians to notice that you're buying a Tank...

Magic, thanks. I hadn't considered the direct-indirect fire differences.

And the last description is an absolute PEACH! 

Actually, allow me to elaborate a little:

A Light Tank is like a Tank, but lighter: usually MUCH lighter. Since you never get something for nothing, there's a price to be paid in Firepower, Protection or Mobility for 20-40 tons of 'lightness'. Sometimes Firepower pays some of the price, but Protection always pays most of it. This is because politicians need to see that they're getting something for your money: a bigger gun is always sexier than a smaller gun, but thick armour look just the same as thin armour, at least until it's between you and the enemy and it's got a sudden unplanned hole in it, by which time it's always too late (see every Washington Cruiser ever...)


An Armoured Gun System (AGS) is what you call a Light Tank when you don't want the politicians to notice that you're asking for a Light Tank, having spent the previous twenty years swearing blind that no light tank could ever be good enough for you, and you also can't face explaining to them ninety-seven times that:

a) No, you're not trying to pull a fast one by calling something that weighs 20-30 tons 'light',
b) The fact that it's not as well protected as a 60-ton tank doesn't mean it isn't worth having,
c) The fact that it's worth having doesn't mean you don't also need 60-ton tanks (see every light fighter procurement by a major air force ever).


A Mobile Protected Firepower vehicle is what you call an Armoured Gun System when you don't want the politicians to notice that the thing you're asking for now is the same thing they said you could have twenty years ago, but you then decided that you didn't want anyway, but now you do. Things change, as do politicians...


"War is the continuation of politics by other means." - Carl von Clausewitz

[Captain Canada]

That would be a sweet little build. Always liked the idea.