The Austrians did have actual proper APCs too… but those are also pretty cramped:
The proliferation of bullpups was indeed largely informed by the needs of mechanized infantry - having long rifles was fine back when everyone marched with the rifle slung over, but widespread mechanization changes the game (and a lot of Western vehicles of the period aren’t anywhere near as spacious as people imagine when they whine about how Soviet stuff sucks - this is a BMP-2 compared to a German Marder for example, the Marder is bigger but not by that much:
and here’s a Swedish APC:
)
Modern APCs/IFVs solve this problem by just… being ridiculously big and heavy (the one on the left here weights as much as a T-55 tank!)
oh so thats why they have a hardon for bullpups they stuff 8+ dudes in what, the legth of a pickup truk?
The Austrians did have actual proper APCs too… but those are also pretty cramped:
The proliferation of bullpups was indeed largely informed by the needs of mechanized infantry - having long rifles was fine back when everyone marched with the rifle slung over, but widespread mechanization changes the game (and a lot of Western vehicles of the period aren’t anywhere near as spacious as people imagine when they whine about how Soviet stuff sucks - this is a BMP-2 compared to a German Marder for example, the Marder is bigger but not by that much:
and here’s a Swedish APC:
Modern APCs/IFVs solve this problem by just… being ridiculously big and heavy (the one on the left here weights as much as a T-55 tank!)