15. Vehicles Firing

Any activated weapon on a vehicle fires once in a Phase. It may fire at any target that is visible and in the weapon's Arc of Fire. Weapons fired by moving vehicles are limited by their movement speed. See Section 11.1.4, Moving & Firing.

15.1 Vehicle Arcs of Fire

Weapons mounted on Transport vehicles can fire at any enemy in their 90° Arc of Fire. Weapons mounted at the front, side or rear are limited to firing in those arcs; weapons cannot traverse outside these.

The forward arc of the main gun on vehicles with rotating turrets is determined by the direction in which the gun is pointing. Tanks have a 90° Arc of Fire, 45° either side of the barrel. Tank hull machine guns and remotely fired machine guns always have an Arc of Fire of 90° measured from the front of the vehicle.

To fire at an enemy outside these arcs of fire, the turret needs to be rotated where one is present, or on a self-propelled gun the driver needs to be activated to move or rotate the vehicle. See Section 11.1.3, Turning, Reversing & Rotating.

15.1.1 Rotating Turrets

The tank turret rotates when the Gunner is activated to fire. The ability to engage targets outside of the forward arc is dependent on turret speed. A tank firing at a target within its Arc of Fire rotates its turret to point directly at the target and fires. This is not counted as movement. In subsequent Phases, the firing arc is calculated from the new position of the turret.

Average Turrets

Average Turrets have a 90° Arc of Fire, 45° either side of the barrel. Average Turrets can rotate to fire at any target within that Arc of Fire without penalty.

Average Turrets can rotate up to 45° and fire at any target in their new Arc of Fire with a -1 on the roll to hit

Average Turrets that do not fire can rotate up to 90°.

Fast Turrets

Fast Turrets have a 180° Arc of Fire, 90° either side of the barrel. Fast Turrets can rotate to fire at any target within that Arc of Fire without penalty.

Fast Turrets can rotate up to 180° and fire at any target in the new Arc of Fire with a -1 on the roll to hit.

Slow Turrets

Slow Turrets have a 90° Arc of Fire, 45° either side of the barrel. They can only fire at a target in their original Arc of Fire.

Slow Turrets that do not fire can rotate up to 90°.

Self-Propelled Guns

Self-Propelled Guns do not have a turret and only fire straight ahead. They can rotate further by activating the driver, being able to fire at any target straight ahead after moving, but counting as moving.

15.2 Vehicle Fire Against Infantry

AFV Hull machine guns or remotely fired machine guns can only Fire for Effect if the target Unit is in the Open. They may only fire Suppressing fire against a target in cover.

Machine guns controlled by the main gunner, can choose to Fire for Effect or fire Suppressing Fire. The turret machine gun may not be fired if the main gun is firing in that Phase.

Heavy machine guns and cannons can choose to Fire for Effect or fire Suppressing fire. Heavy machine guns and cannons reduce the target's cover by one level.

Main guns roll their H.E. Firepower Dice. Firing is always at Close Range, hitting on 4, 5 or 6. Main guns firing H.E. reduce the target's cover by one level and have the Storm of Steel Bonus.

15.2.1 Vehicle H.E. Fire at Buildings

Vehicles will only fire H.E. at buildings when targeting a Unit inside it. The exception here is engineering demolition vehicles specifically designed for that purpose, such as the Churchill AVRE.

15.2.2 Vehicle MG Suppressing Fire

An MG mounted on an armoured vehicle firing Suppressing Fire targets up to two enemy Teams within 4" of each other, or an unoccupied area of cover with a 9" frontage. A Suppressing Fire marker is placed in front of the target Units or terrain

15.3 Vehicles Deploying Smoke

Vehicles with smoke projectors can deploy smoke once during the game using a Leader's Order.

The player places a 6" wide by 3" deep area of smoke 6" directly in front of the vehicle. The smoke breaks Line of Sight until the end of the Turn, when it is removed from play.

Soviet AFVs were not equipped with smoke projectors, but did use smoke grenades, each thrown by the vehicle's commander. They may select Smoke Grenades as a support option and the Leader may throw one for each Order used.

In action
A German Panther has seen a British Cromwell off to its right, outside its Arc of Fire. It moves forward cautiously with one Movement Dice. This slow movement will still allow it to fire its main gun which, in this situation, is critical. In position, it now rotates its turret 60 degrees to get a bead on the British tank. Firing, it now rolls 2D6 to hit but applies a -2 to the result as it has an Average Turret and has turned beyond its 90° Arc of Fire and it has moved.