This is from the WOT guy. As usual, he makes errors even though he is a tanker. In this case, he seems to show reading comprehension issues.Aside from his periscope gun sight ( which is excellent), the gunner has no other type of observation device. He is therefore practically blind, one of the greatest shortcomings of the Panther.
The gunsight with two magnification stages is remarkably clear and has its field of view clear in the center. The gunsight enables observation of a target and shells out to over 3000 meters.
Once the commander has located a target, it takes between 20 and 30 seconds until the gunner can open fire. This data, which is significantly greater than that of the Sherman, stems from the absence of a periscope for the gunner.
The French have identified a key aspect that is missing from American comparisons and criticisms of the gunsights in Sherman tanks as compared to Panther (and other German) tanks. Yes the German optics were good. Clarity was excellent, and ranging reticles were more effective. Yet it was observed in combat reports that US gunners were able to find and get their sights on target faster. [Chieftain's Note: To be clear, this is part of the hand-off process from the commander to the gunner. With a fixed zoom on the gunsight, his field of vision is limited. As a result, the commander directing the gunner onto the target must lay the gunner on to a higher degree of accuracy before the gunner can even see the target in his field of vision to identify or aim at it. American tanks have a unity (Unmagnified) sight to give the gunner situational awareness of where he needs to lay in order to see the target in the high-power sight. On the M1A1 Abrams, the x3/x10 toggle switch performs the same role with one sight]
The Panther had a dual magnification sight. 2.5× and 5.0×
28° at 2.5×
14° at 5.0×
So, when not actually engaging a target, the gunner used the 2.5X and it gave a very good FOV 28 deg(field of view). The 5X would be used when a target has been called out and the gunner has it already sighted with the 2.5X. In close engagements, he may not even do that. And as far as the actual engagement time to open fire (20-30 sec??), that has many variables and range itself is a major one. If a sherman gets the first shot in at 2500 meters, well la-de-da, I would bet on the panther getting the second!
It is NOT a periscope. It was an articulated telescope Turmzielfernrohr TZF 12. The sherman had an additional periscopic device for the gunner 1x. So, unless one is fighting at short ranges (and that was the case in instances), this is being overblown in that report.
So, the panther, like most military things, uses a drill to engage targets. The drill is that the TC (tank commander) is the primary means by which targets are spotted and selected (not the gunner). It is the same in a StuG by the way. The TC has excellent vision devices to include all around vision blocks, binoculars, and the means to use the binocs (reticles), to estimate range himself. He calls out the target, range and the rotation. he has a post in front of his vision block that points forward. He commands the turret rotation in degrees or mils and uses terrain features to help the gunner get on target. The gunner then uses his reticles to estimate the range himself. Having 5X magnification helps this tremendously. Basically, a target at 1500 meters looks like it is 300 meters away. The reticles are in the center of his optics where the glass is clear. He, and the TC, can observe and correct from observing the fall of shot.