The two .30 cals are interior mounted, one in the chassis one in the turret. While they are good antipersonnel, they are less effective at armored transports and aircraft. The .50 cal is better suited for those, but larger in size. So it is roof mounted, with more range of motion and room. Gives a balance between capability and other constraints, like space and ammo storage?
It’s also the last tank with a bow mounted machine gun, FWIW. I assume designers had the same feeling, and perhaps figured the top mounted .50 was more useful and effective.
Perhaps a gentleman with such distinguishing taste as yourself would be interested in the M1117 Guardian Armored Security Vehicle, with 4x4 front-and-rear wheel independent suspension, and a 260hp Cummins Diesel engine.
The “Sport” model comes equipped with a Mark 19 40mm automatic grenade launcher and a “Ma Deuce” .50 calibre machine gun in a turret twin-mount, a M240B 7.62mm machine gun for when you need to take quick pit stops, sunroof windows and climate control AC. Armor protection rated against 7.62mm rounds will also serve you well during the Rush Hour commute.
EDIT: “Anti Infantry” and “Antipersonnel” mean the same thing, I just didn’t think of the right word until the second time I wanted to use it. As far as inconsitencies of the Wiki page, consider that the exact kit of any particular vehicle or system will vary through it’s production run, including changes in design and typical field modifications (for example, compare the Spitfire that fought at the Battle of Britain with some of the models that served by the end of the war, or the stark difference between the B-17B that served in the Army Air Forces in 1941 and the far more heavily armed B-17G that was in front line service by war’s end. Or hell, just look at the M4 Sherman’s evolution.)
I was originally skeptical about the utility of .50 BMG rifles due to their unwieldiness and high recoil. But the never-ending quest to make humongous guns shoulder-fireable has yielded a new contender: the GM6 Lynx .50BMG rifle. Semi-automatic, and its “bullpup” design allows the barrel to soak up enormous amounts of recoil, sharply reducing the maximum impulse felt by the shooter. See here, 0.22- 0.26:
Maybe a traditional heavy game rifle like the .460 Weatherby Magnum would be slightly more powerful, but the GM6 Lynx looks pretty formidable!
I hate these over-produced “OMG WE ARE SO FARKING COOL LISTEN TO THIS GUITAR RIFF” videos that always get produced by firearms and ammo manufacturers. Just show me the damn gun and stop with the loving auto commercial closeups of you taking it out of the box.
Anyways, I don’t see how being a bullpup has anything to do with the reciprocating barrel. You could probably do that more easily with a conventional rifle just because there’d be more distance that the barrel could travel. As it is, many modern assault rifles have a reciprocating weighted buffer on a spring inside the stock that serves a similar shock absorption purpose, albeit for a much smaller round (new shooters are sometimes told that the buffer in the M-16 is actually a shake-to-charge flashlight which will turn on if you shake it enough times, because cleaning an M-16 is boring and it’s fun to make the new guy do harmless stupid shit).
Most estimates I’ve seen place T. Rex weight at 5-7 tons. Wikipedia says potentially lighter, and the highest estimated weight was around 9 metric tonnes. Sadly, 13 tons is too heavy.
