Pz VIE (early) was not fitted with AAMG, nor was it an 'option'.
Pz VIE (early) had 2 x 3 smoke discharger, and carried 'S-mine' on exterior as a crude close defense system. 'S-mine' were deleted as Pz forces were more and more in the defensive and/or counterattack role (less chance of facing enemy infantry without their own escorting infantry).
The 92mm grenade projector was revolutionary. Rotated/elevated/aimed by commander from within vehicle. It could fire smoke or AP rounds (think along the lines of chucking a small claymore above the AFV, anywhere from directly overhead to within about 30 meters of AFV). Very devastating vs. close assaulting enemy infantry because grenade fragments coming down from above - being prone made attacking infantry more of a target and most cover is not overhead cover on the battlefield.
I interviewed a bunch of German, American, British, and Russian WW2 AFV crewmen for SSIs 'Panzer Commander'. When I get home I'll try and dig those interviews up - very fascinating stuff. Some surprising things:
Russian MBT 'aces' far preferred the T-34/85 to the IS-2 (far better ROF, far better mobility, much faster turret traverse, and a smoke discharger system).
American MBT crew losses were insane - more than one MBT battalion suffered 300%+ crew losses between June 1944 and December 1944 (that means if they had 510 men on the roster they had 1500+ KIA or WIA severe enough to not return to unit). The letters they wrote home, about how their MBTs were 'death traps' vs. opposing German MBTs were the exact opposite of what their famlies were being told ("Your boys have the best tanks in the world!", etc.). Pressure from inquisitive families (especially ones with letters from now KIA Sons and Fathers) actually helped get the M26 'Pershing' deployed before the end of WW2 (but still far too late for a few thousand brave U.S. armored crewmen).
British MBT crewmen had a morbid nickname for lend-lease Sherman MBTs: 'Tommy Cookers' (this due to early model Shermans having very poor ammunition storage, which lead to frequent 'cook-offs' of ready ammunition from penetrations that would otherwise not have 'catastrophically killed' the Sherman in question).
There's a Waffen-SS and a Wehrmacht Pz. commander living within 4 blocks of each other in central CA., USA. They lived that close to each other for over 30 years and never knew of their similar experience until they were interviewed by SSI.
Mike/wulfie
