BeWary Posted July 31, 2000 Share Posted July 31, 2000 I've read people's comments about these 2 variants of the Sherman gun. It seems odd to me that 1 tiny millimeter would make such a big difference in the power of the gun. Can someone explain this to me? Thanks! BeWary ------------------ "Liberty or Death?" Make it "Victory or Pretty Damned Badly Wounded", and I'm yours. - a prospective recruit during the American Revolution. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ash Posted July 31, 2000 Share Posted July 31, 2000 76mm has a longer barrel and a higher velocity. Think of it as a "sniper" barrel. ------------------ The names Ash, Housewares Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jgdpzr Posted July 31, 2000 Share Posted July 31, 2000 Ash is on to something. One mm is not much of a difference. The key is the other measurement in the equation, that being barrel length. I've forgotten the precise numbers applying to the 75 and 76 respectively (IIRC, this is because the US didn't normally include the length in it's gun designation, unlike the germans with their 75L/70 & 75L/48, 88L/56 & 88L/71, etc.), but the 75 was much shorter than the 76. What does this all mean? For the sake of simplicity, the longer the barrel, the higher the muzzle velocity (there are other considerations as well, but as I said, keeping it simple). The higher the muzzle velocity, the more kinetic energy that round brings to its target. The more kinetic energy, the greater the punching power. Keep in mind that, in general, the muzzle velocity of an ATG is the principal determinant of its power. For example, compare the 88L/56 (Tiger I) and the 75L/70 (Panther). Which is more lethal (at all but the very longest effective ranges)? Yep, you guessed it, the L/70. Muzzle velocity is the reason. ------------------ "Sometimes you eat the bar and sometimes the bar eats you. Take it easy, Dude." -- The Stranger The Dude abides. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeWary Posted July 31, 2000 Author Share Posted July 31, 2000 Cool! Thanks guys, I learned something new today. ------------------ "Liberty or Death?" Make it "Victory or Pretty Damned Badly Wounded", and I'm yours. - a prospective recruit during the American Revolution. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrD Posted July 31, 2000 Share Posted July 31, 2000 And something else: Because of the higher velocity of the 76mm gun, the HE shell actually carried less explosive than the 75mm because more explosive makes the shell more fragile. In fact the reason the US originally armed the Sherm with the 75 was for its HE capability -- they believed tanks should primarily take on infantry with TD's taking on enemy tanks. When they came out with the M4A3 they actually made 2 variants : the M4A3 (76) and the M4A3 (75), with about 1/3 consisting of the latter. This was to retain some of the higher HE power of the 75mm. In CM you'll find that the 75 does have about 50% more blast power than the 76 but much less armor penetration. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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