Firing port

For example a late production Tiger I manual shows the Nahverteidigungswaffe being used as a firing port.

[8] Some pistol ports, such as on the Sherman, included vision slits such as "protectoscopes" increasing visibility around the tank.

[9]: 51 [10] Being a ballistic weak spot,[11] firing ports are often reinforced with additional armor,[12] and in subsequent designs reduced in number (BFV), or deleted altogether (Sherman and Tiger I [January 1944]).

[2] However, due to strong crew demand,[9] they are sometimes brought back, as happened with the Sherman.

[9] One of the Tiger I's firing ports (right) was converted into a loader's escape hatch and the other covered with an armored plug and eventually deleted from the design to improve production time and reduce costs.