Military equipment is, in most cases, not a thing in which at least something is done just like that or "for beauty." Each element available in a combat vehicle carries not only its own semantic load, but also has a functional application. Take, for example, a very strange machine gun located in the rear of the turret of some tanks from the Second World War. Even the IS-2 has one.
The machine gun in the stern of the IS-2 tower was not needed at all because this machine was originally created for the NKVD barrage detachments. In fact, the machine gun in the back is needed by the tank for exactly the same purpose for which it needs it in front, namely, for firing at enemy manpower, unarmored or lightly armored vehicles, suppressing fire points.
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It is quite obvious that the stern of a tank is one of its most vulnerable spots both in a battle with another tank and during a battle with infantry. Often tanks (both Soviet and German) were destroyed by infantrymen precisely from behind. In order to give the crew an additional chance, it was decided to install another machine gun in the turret stern for the commander of the combat vehicle.
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This weapon is especially useful during a breakthrough of enemy positions, as well as during a battle in a settlement. In both situations, the enemy's infantry now and then finds itself behind the tank, which means it should be able to suppress it with machine-gun fire. In addition, the presence of a stern machine gun eliminates the need for the crew to rotate the turret 360 degrees in battle (this, incidentally, makes the tank more vulnerable from the front).
Continuing the topic, read about because of what the German destroyed tanks "Tiger" guns are directed down after they were hit.
Source: https://novate.ru/blogs/070120/52983/