The effect of AT rounds

[Scipio]

A hollow charge (like used in Panzerschrecks, Bazookas etcetera) works this way: the explosion builds a fucosed 'jet stream' of high pressure and temperature. This powerfull jet penetrates even the best (WWII) armor (if the hollow charge is big enough).

The result in the tank is high pressure and heat. Both causes great harm to the crew and the equipment, especially ammo and/or fuel starts to burn/explode. The tank is normally irreparable damaged.

Normal AP rounds (tungsten rounds included) produce lots of fragments in the tank and cause also great harm to crew and equipment.

In CM, the crew often bails out unwounded after the hit of a hollow charge. This seems to be unrealistic - heat and pressure should (fataly) injure them, and the tank should tends to start burn easy.

Generally, the casualties of crews after an AT hit should be much higher - they are not killed always, bad often badly wounded and not able to run around - or am I wrong here?

And a more personal wish - it would be nice if knocked out tanks would look a bit more damaged. The sad lowered tube is so...

[Andreas]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Scipio:

In CM, the crew often bails out unwounded after the hit of a hollow charge. This seems to be unrealistic - heat and pressure should (fataly) injure them, and the tank should tends to start burn easy.

Generally, the casualties of crews after an AT hit should be much higher - they are not killed always, bad often badly wounded and not able to run around - or am I wrong here?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I think CMBO has that about right. My impression is that casualties from hollow charge hits are indeed a bit higher. Other than that, my readings indicate that casualties IRL were in the ballpark of CMBO casualties. I seem to recall that Steve said they actually built the model on figures of tanker casualties from the war. It is certainly not correct that that most of the crew were KIA or WIA in all cases after a hit, even by HC. Also, the hit does not necessarily occur in the crew compartment, but it could just go through the engine block. Still enough to brew the tank, but gives the crew a decent chance to bail.

[Mattias]

Scipio,

Actually the one really weak point for shaped charges is the poor behind armour effect. Even at this day and age developers are struggling with the noble task of increasing the behind armour lethality of HEAT rounds.

Naturally it is profoundly un-nice to have a shaped charge round hit your vehicle but it is not as completely devastating as one would think.

So, in the case of shaped charge rounds a high survival rate is generally not unrealistic.

M.

[Username]

Unless the "jet" actually hits ammo or fuel or people, its not as devastating as some people think.

The "jet" is actually metal from the liner of the HC. An interesting experiment showed that the metal is NOT vaporized and directed at the tank. The experiment took the liner and sawed it into three pieces. Each piece being a cross section of a cone. the HC was reassembled and fired into a pool of water. What did they find at the bottom? Three pieces of metal. If it was a jet, they would have melted together to form one piece of metal.

The point is that a HC is "firing" a piece of metal into the tank. Very high velocity, very thin penetrator.

I understand that the russians are using depleted uranium in new generation ATGM as the cone component. This should be nasty because of the DU habit of flashing after armor properties. This could be a solution to the "jet" improvement.

Lewis