AFV destruction

[Ace Pilot]

Does anyone know the method by which it is determined if an AFV is simply knocked out, or set on fire, when it is destroyed? The board game Squad Leader had a simple but effective rule that if the to kill dice roll was less than half of the kill number required, the AFV was set on fire. I was curious if CM employed something similar, or if, instead, it took into account the location of the hit, projectile velocity, etc., to determine if fuel tanks, or ammunition was hit. With all of the other amazing detail that goes into the game, I figured this might be one more detail that was taken into account.

[MikeyD]

I have noticed the smallest vehicles tend to have the most catastrophic explosions. A little Universal Carrier will cook-off like an A-bomb when hit! It certain can be spectacular,

I recall any previous posts discussing whether catastrophic tank explosions are a roll of the dice or a result of where the vehicle is penetrated... but now that I think of it, isn't where the vehicle is penetrated just a roll of the dice as well?

[Ace Pilot]

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by MikeyD:

I have noticed the smallest vehicles tend to have the most catastrophic explosions. A little Universal Carrier will cook-off like an A-bomb when hit! It certain can be spectacular,

I recall any previous posts discussing whether catastrophic tank explosions are a roll of the dice or a result of where the vehicle is penetrated... but now that I think of it, isn't where the vehicle is penetrated just a roll of the dice as well?<hr></blockquote>

And I thought it was just my AFVs that exploded like A-bombs.

I don't know a whole lot about tank design, but I would think that things like fuel tanks would be a lot harder to hit from the front than from the side or rear. Plus, as I understand it, the ballistics model determines very specifically where on the front (or side/rear depending on what is facing the shooter) the round hits. So I was wondering if that level of detail is carried a step further by taking into account what specifically is behind the armor when a round penetrates the armor.

[MikeyD]

Take the Sherman for instance (this will also be general for most other tanks):

Round stowage against the upper hull sides and under the turret basket, also in ready racks around turret ring; mg rounds by the thousands in every free corner; smoke bombs; high octane fuel either side of the engine... AND let's not forget the hydraulic fluid for the turret drive under tremendous pressure! It wasn't so much where a penetration could occure to cause a catastrophic explosion, but where a hit could possibly occure the WOULDN'T cause a catastrophic explosion! They weren't nicknamed 'Ronson' for nothin!

[Mud]

I doubt that they take into account exact engineering diagrams versus shell entry point, because vehicles are represented as point objects, anyway.

However, check your vehicles -- especially most Shermans, as MikeyD notes. Some have the 'Burns Easily' tag, which might account for anything such as how the ammunition is stored (e.g. if ammo is unusually likely to go off on a penetration hit). I can't tell you whether the 'Burns Easily' tag is binary (flag=on or off only) or whether it merely indicates the presence of an unknown quantity (e.g. different levels of 'Burns Easily').