Quote:
Originally Posted by CDAT
I did some research into this years ago, as near as I could find it comes from the 101st AB in Vietnam, when they were using M113 with the .50 and two 7.62 MG's. The Vietnamese were waiting for the MG's to run out of ammo (all ran out at about the same time) then a guy with a RPG would step out and shoot the track. So the commanding General (I do not remember his name and to lazy right now to look it up again) put out an order that you would not use the .50 to engage the troops, but would save it for when the M60's were reloading to take out the anti-tank weapons (this became equipment over time).
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I can't find my source but I think this exact thing happened over and over.
Originally tanks were either little and well protected (FT-17) or big and less protected (British Mk IV). The little ones couldn't survive the .50 AP round but the big ones created a problem; they were so big inside that 37mm AT shells, the standard of the time, could sail right through one and out the back without hitting anything and this got worse as the vehicle got more refined and the crews were reduced in size. However the M2 (not the HB variant I have noted above) could
riddle the bastard and kill everyone inside. The US developed this doctrine fighting UK-supplied or captured armour in The Russian Civil War.