Sniping

[DRG]

It is very rare but so is crew losses from direct fie AP attacks. but it does happen. The main benfit of sniping at an unbottoned tank is to get them to button up

[cbo]

I've just read Buckleys book about British Army in Normandy and he quotes a few stats on tank crew casualties from the ORS reports.

50% of losses happened to crews while inside their tanks.
13% happened when crews were partially exposed, mostly tank commanders commanding their tanks from an open hatch.
12% of losses happened to crews while bailing out or seeking cover after bailing out.
18% of losses happened to crews off duty outside their tanks.
7% happened outside the tanks in circumstances unaccounted for.

In game terms, I assume that tank being "unbuttoned" effectively means
that some of the crew har their heads out of the hatches, as situational awareness drops when the tank is buttonned up per Mobhacks post.

Still, none ofthis says something directly about the risk of crew casualties while "unbuttoned" in game terms, i.e. how often should the crew suffer losses when an unbottoned tank is fired upon.

But it does indicate that it was not without risk of crew casualties to drive around with you hatches open.

As I understand it, it was normal for the crew members in British tanks to train for at least two and often more crewpositions. And as a tank without a commander would be useless, one would assume, that in case the commander became a casualty, the crew would redistribute roles and, the situation permitting, swap positions.

So, in game terms, the tank taking suppression and buttoning up does reflect the situation where a crewmember becomes a casualty, because it makes the tank less effective, even if a crew casualty is not actually registered. Ideally, the tank taking a crew casualty should remain less effective throughout a game, but given the scale of the game, I think it the current modelling is quite reasonable - you get benefits from firing at a tank, even if your weapons cannot destroy or damage it.