Sulman Posted December 29, 2020 Share Posted December 29, 2020 Encountering some Panthers with my 2 Churchill sections, I did not expect an easy time of it. What did surprise me was the ease with which the big cat shrugged off penetrating hits. The Churchill VII like the M4 75mm needs flank shots, and I managed it a few times; this panther was knocked out by rushing (if you can rush a Churchill...) a tank for a rear shot. It still took 2 rear hits to do it in. The three hits observable to the side did nothing. The other side: What made so many hits possible was that I got a number of hits to the front which, though ineffective did take the gun out of action. This seems to be quite common for me with the Panther. I note that vs the Sherman flank shots seem more decisive. This isn't a complaint, but I did think a hull penetration was quite a serious event for the poor meatbags inside the vehicle, but in the case of this Panther it successfully killed two of the attacking tanks having suffered multiple penetrating 75mm hits; in other words it did not seem to impair the vehicle's fighting ability at all. I've seen the same thing with the 2pdr vs the pzIV, you can drill it plenty without any noticeable effect. The 37mm M3 (great gun) is similar, but I suspect little energy is left after getting though the armour. I expected more from 75mm though. Maybe the APC-T is just a better round? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sulman Posted December 29, 2020 Author Share Posted December 29, 2020 Actually the internet tells me the APC-T Ammo is the same. Maybe It's just the roll of the dice. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vanir Ausf B Posted December 30, 2020 Share Posted December 30, 2020 (edited) The British in WW2 used solid shot AP ammo, so no explosive filler (APHE) like the US, Germans and Soviets used. This actually improves penetration slightly but at the cost of less satisfying after armor effects. Edited December 30, 2020 by Vanir Ausf B 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vanir Ausf B Posted December 30, 2020 Share Posted December 30, 2020 (edited) DP Edited December 30, 2020 by Vanir Ausf B 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sulman Posted December 30, 2020 Author Share Posted December 30, 2020 I thought the ROQF 75mm was designed such that it could use American M61 rounds, but at a reduced velocity and thus slightly poorer penetration. Ref: https://www.quarryhs.co.uk/alt WW2 tank gun.htm I did discover it absolutely shreds PZiv tanks with no difficulty, so it has that in common with the M3 75mm. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vanir Ausf B Posted December 31, 2020 Share Posted December 31, 2020 British use of US 75mm APCBC projectiles entailed removal of the HE burster and replacement with inert filler, which increased penetration capability by about 4% according to published ballistic test figures. -- World War II Ballistics: Armor and Gunnery, pg 104 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sulman Posted December 31, 2020 Author Share Posted December 31, 2020 24 minutes ago, Vanir Ausf B said: British use of US 75mm APCBC projectiles entailed removal of the HE burster and replacement with inert filler, which increased penetration capability by about 4% according to published ballistic test figures. -- World War II Ballistics: Armor and Gunnery, pg 104 That's really interesting, thanks. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slippy Posted December 31, 2020 Share Posted December 31, 2020 On this subject can anyone recommend any good books covering WW2 Tank armament and ammunition please? I have a pdf copy of World War II Ballistics: Armor and Gunnery mentioned above. cheers 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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