Why Post WW2 Tanks removed hull machine guns/ gunners?
The hull gunner, depending on the nation employing the tank and the kind of the tank it was might also serve as an assistant driver, or radio operator or just the hull machine gunner or some combination of the above. By the end of the war it was clear to most that this position was redundant. It was much more efficient for the tank commander to operate the radio. Improvements such as the introduction of automatic transmissions made assistant driver redundant and as a practical matter, the hull machine gun couldn’t hit anything. Aiming was done by walking fire onto a target with tracer and the arc of fire was limited. The hull machine gun also introduced a point of vulnerability in the glacis plate that could make the tank more vulnerable. Removing this crewman allowed for increased fuel and/or ammunition stowage, which was far more useful.
