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At what angle should AP shells penetrate a tank barrel?


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OK, there are of course lots of variables here, so or simplicity's sake let's say a Sherman fires at a Panther nearly exactly from the front. It doesn't hit the muzzle brake, it hits the actual barrel.

At what angles should one expect the shot to deflect alongside the barrel and hit the mantlet of the tank, and at what angles would it go through?

 

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There was a famous Israeli photo from the 1980s showing a T62's gun tube that had been struck at a very shallow angle, the round  entirely penetrating the barrel. I believe it was an Israel-manufactured oldstyle 105mm APDS round that did that. I tried to hunt that photo down on the web but failed.

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Thanks for the great replies so far.

The pic with the shallow hit was an APDS round though, I'd like to know if the oldfashioned metal slug 75mm and 76mm AP could do the same.

I'm sure I once saw a couple of pics of tank barrels that had grooves gouged out of them lengthwise but where the round didn't penetrate... can't seem to find them now.

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3 hours ago, Bulletpoint said:

Tigerdamage.jpg

Found it finally. This is what I was talking about, not rounds hitting from the side.

Hm, this looks strange. The photo is too new. The Tiger to well painted, the building looks like a Museum and the first gauge mark does not look too convincing. If you look closely, they remove the paint around the scratches.

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If I'm not mistaken that Tigger is...

Quote

This tank was the first Tiger to be captured intact by British or U.S. forces when it was knocked out in the final month of the Tunisian campaign. It arrived in Tunisia some time between 22nd March and 16th April 1943 and was involved in an action with 48 RTR near Medjez-el-Bab on 21 April 1943. It knocked out two Churchills but a shot from another's six pounder stuck the gun mantlet, and although unable to penetrate the tank's thick armour, jammed the turret and wounded the commander. Damage is still visible on the mantlet, superstructure front plate and turret lifting boss. The crew abandoned the tank and it was recovered the next day and refurbished using parts from other vehicles. The Tiger was later displayed in Tunis and inspected there by King George VI and Winston Churchill. In October 1943 it was sent to the School of Tank Technology for evaluation and in November 1944 displayed on Horse Guards Parade.

 

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Sands%20105mm%20Silhouette%20Shoe.jpg.ga

Skipping stone / skipping bombs / skipping shells 

Barnes Wallis and all that...

Funnily enough it's much the same technique to recover test rounds fired at my local test firing range

http://www.clactonandfrintongazette.co.uk/news/16287888.mysterious-bangs-keep-our-boys-safe-mp-giles-investigates-explosions-from-across-the-water/

https://shoeburyness.qinetiq.com/about/index.aspx

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