155mm HE round vs Explosive Reactive Armor

[dstal]

Playing through one of the Cry Havoc Battle scenario earlier today I hit a T-90 with a precision guided 155mm round fired from a M109 and the tank survived with an explosive reactive armor message. 

The same tank shook off a 120mm HE round to the rear hull with just an armor spalling message a few moments later, so perhaps it was just particularly lucky.

 

My limited understanding of ERA is that it works by destroying or disrupting the penetrator or shaped charge, so my guess is that the burst from a 155mm HE round wouldn't be something the ERA would protect against. 

 

Took out a few other T-90s in the same scenario using 155mm HE rounds so they were effective overall, but I'm just wondering if ERA would really protect against a 155mm HE round direct hit?

[Vanir Ausf B]

I don't know if the ERA detonates or not, but even if it doesn't the thickness of the ERA blocks would add some protection. These precision rounds are HE, not HEAT, so they really don't have a lot of penetration. 10mm of armor this way or that can make a big difference.

[MikeyD]

And by sheer coincidence I believe BFC increased T-90 turret roof armor by about 10mm in the patch! 

[Alexey K]

Is shock damage from HE rounds that didn't achive penetration modeleed in game?

[Vanir Ausf B]

Yes.

[agusto]

Is shock damage from HE rounds that didn't achive penetration modeleed in game?

 

The British in CMSF had HESH rounds for their Challengers IIRC, rounds that solely work by sending shock waves through the armour of the target, causing intensive spalling and eventually casualties among the crew. I wonder how that would be modelled in CMx2 v3.0.

[Michael Emrys]

In the training campaign I was tank sniping with 155s and sometimes 120s and almost always it was one round-one kill. However...there was this one tank that shrugged off five hits by 155s, two direct hits and three near misses. No ERA was involved, it was just one tough tank. I finally sent in an F-16 to drop a bomb on it and that worked.

 

Michael

[panzersaurkrautwerfer]

 

 

The British in CMSF had HESH rounds for their Challengers IIRC, rounds that solely work by sending shock waves through the armour of the target, causing intensive spalling and eventually casualties among the crew. I wonder how that would be modelled in CMx2 v3.0.

 

Not as much as it used to.  Most tanks have some sort of liner (like kevlar or a final spaced layer of armor) designed to defeat HESH.  It's still around because it works wonders on buildings, but the prime time for HESH as AT was decades ago.

 

On topic:  Artillery is pretty hit or miss (har!) on tanks.  Most amusingly I put an Oplot in a hole after two precision barrages failed to kill it (2Xsalvos of 3), so I guess I removed it from battle at least?  On the other hand I've unzipped more than a few other tanks on a first hit basis.  

 

I've just taken it as semi-abstracted, like the round striking the top of the frontal slope, while other rounds land square on the commander's hatch or something.  The ERA may have not even defeated the artillery round in the original example but simply triggered at the round, and the HE shell then hit somewhere that would deflect most of the blast.  On the other hand contact fuses are sensitive so perhaps the concussion and fragments of the ERA would cause an airburst type detonation.  

[CPC922]

I also had the same result, in the same scenario. No penetration, after multiple precision rounds the crew finally bailed.