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By the fall of 1940 the PzKpfw III was being armed with the 5cm/42 main gun. Older model PzKpfw III were upgraded to this standard when due for overhaul. A nice balance of firepower, armor protection, mobility and reliability. At 22 tons it was light enough to use most European road bridges of that era.
Panzerkampfwagen III
By the fall of 1940 the PzKpfw III was being armed with the 5cm/42 main gun. Older model PzKpfw III were upgraded to this standard when due for overhaul. A nice balance of firepower, armor protection, mobility and reliability. At 22 tons it was light enough to use most European road bridges of that era.
I would like to know what is better than a coaxial?
Certainly this :File:Japanese type 95 3.jpg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
And the similar set up on the type 97 leave a lot to be desired.
many bow or hull mounted MGs have rather limited traverse and in the case of the Italian M13/40
File:M13 slash 40 Bovington museum.jpg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
the two hull guns can't point in different directions and may be doubled to compensate for the 24 round magazines.
Hull guns also can't be used from hull down positions. Usually have a rather crappy sighting system and/or feild of veiw.
Russian T-28 can certainly engage multiple targets but just how does the tank commander decide who shoots at what?
http://legion-afv.narod.ru/USSR/Multi-turret/T-28_Moskow_CMMF/T-28_Moskow_CMMF_014.JPG
Please note there is a MG mounted in the rear wall of the turret.
The hull MG of the French B 1 bis is fixed in traverse and has to be aimed by swinging the tank and according to some acounts is moveable in elevation by using a turnbuckle.
THe German MK III armed with 37mm guns generally had 3 MGs but two were mounted like this;
File:Bundesarchiv Bild 146-1994-009-17, Griechenland, gefangener Neuseeländer.jpg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
If the second gun can move indepentently of the 1st MG and main gun, who is aiming it and how?
If it is the loader then he is not loading the main gun or tending to the 1st MG or he is spliting his efforts which reduces the effort of the tank as a whole.
Is one gun better than two? NO.
But 2 guns (or three) are not twice (or three times) as good as one.
British had also CS tanks, which at that time had 3" howitzer as armament, bit like PzIV in WM, it had HE and smoke ammo. At that time British counted mg as anti-infantry weapon and bullets of Besa went through German A/T gun shields at distances which were normal battle distances in 39-40.
Juha