What actually IS an “Oscillating” turret?

Oscillating turrets are a unique and interesting part of tank history that is rarely seen or talked about these days. In this video I explain what they are, where they came from, their advantages, their disadvantages, and the fatal flaw that doomed these vehicles in the modern age.

Sources:
Firepower - A History Of The American Heavy Tank, R.P.Hunnicutt

All content is presented in historical context for educational purposes. All footage is owned by it's copyright holder and is used in this channel under "fair use".

Music by Epidemic Sound

[RedWrenchFilms]

Thank you so much for 10k subs! Best place to chat to me if you’ve any questions/suggestions is the Discord -

[simonbarabash]

I've heard it said that French engineers rarely imitate other countries... and other countries rarely imitate them. They do their own thing for better and worse and there tends to be a very unique flavor to french military equipment.

[chost-]

French post war tanks are peak transitional period aesthetics, Amx-50's just look so cool and futuristic for the time

[wogelson]

I think an explanation on how tank designs and roles changed during WW2 or even in the 20-21st century would be interesting to see

[qee]

4:18 Gotta point out, modern tank sights aren't enslaved to the gun, it can stay on target when the gun is away while the loader is doing his or its job

[philo]

Another good one, well done! Thinking of the S tank, oscillating the entire vehicle Swedish engineers solved the auto loader issues by mounting the gun rigidly to the chassis thereby eliminating alignment problems. Maybe an idea for a future film? I’m always looking forward to your films, keep ‘em coming! 👍

[pioneer_]

Considering that many new tanks are moving to unmanned turrets and either choosing or being forced (on account of the weight of 120mm+ shells) to move to autoloaders there may be a chance of oscillating turrets making a comeback

[voneror]

Given that unmanned turrets seems to be the future it's quite likely it will become default design.

[domschra]

Another big issue probably also is the fact that its quite difficult to stabilize the entire turret and not just the gun

[kalanmccowan]

Excellent video, I only vaguely understood ocelating turrets before this and know I see why it was such a interesting and clever idea

[tricosteryl]

Amx13 had a "rubber" skirt around the joint between the 2 turret parts, making it NBC protected accordingly to standards of its time. But this was vulnerable and also had to be replaced frequently because of Wear.

[derrickstorm]

AMX 13 are some of the prettiest tanks ever made <3

[executivedirector]

Excellent video as usual.

If I'm not mistaken the French Army was experimenting with oscillating turrets even before WW2. The Panhard EBR did not enter production till after WW2, but was in the design phase before the war. The Panhard 201 might be another example.

[joeblow]

I liked how clearly you explained this. I had heard about it for years but was never quite sure what is was.

[Raven-ohfl]

Excellent video, however, quick note about aiming the gun away from the target after firing. most modern tanks are capable of delinking the sight from the end of the gun tube. example, the M1 Abrams' loader has a switch he can flip. Doing so will move the gun to a more favorable position to reload(if the gun is at max depression the breach block is near the roof of the turret), at the same time delinking the gun tube with the gunner's sight. During loading the gunner can continue to track the target due to ballistic computer being linked to the optic and not the gun. When loading is done the switch can be flipped off for the gun tube to relink with optic. with powered elevation the gun tube moving from index position to where the sight is pointed takes a second at most. so having the gun index is not as significant of an issue as stated in the video.

[mariebcfhs]

The Kürassier tank of Austria is also a notable oscillating turret tank still in use. They have the same turret as the AMX 13 and look just as iconic

[sisigs]

The gap in the oscilating turrets actually might not be an issue nowadays, if your able to control the turret remotely, while the crew is actually in a safe sealed off in another part of the tank.

[dannyzero]

With the increasing interest in unmanned turrets, I think this kind of turret would came back in popularity. The crews are safe in a highly armored compartment in the hull, the turret is not even manned so you could get away with even bigger guns like how the M1128 did it and have the option of swapping out new turrets in the field by replacing the upper turret with something like a missile battery for AA duty, auto cannons, laser weaponry, etc while still keeping the lower turret (collar).

The problem I can think of with this design is that it is very difficult to reload new ammo into the bustle in the field without exposing the crew, so we could also use an ammo carrier similar to how the K9 howitzer has its own dedicated reloading vehicle based on the same chassis.

So a modern oscillating turreted tank, with full NBC protection, smaller hull and turret as well as a bigger gun and reloadable bustle, very interesting concept indeed.

[mickvonbornemann]

The big benefit of oscillating turrets is with full stabilisation, which means the crew gets fully stabilised with the gun, it also makes automatic loading a lot simpler. But it means a lot more decisions need to be made in the design phase.

[shadovanish]

The oscillating turret's carriage is basically the same design as has been used for artillery for many years; the older artillery gun barrels had trunnions (pivot pins that would allow for gun or howitzer elevation & depression) that would attach directly to a cradle mounted on the gun carriage.