Anti-Tank Rifles vs. Tank Tracks

[Col Deadmarsh]

I have a PZB39 German Anti-Tank Rifle team who won't shoot on my opponent's T-34. Now, I understand that the gun's shell can't go through the armor of a Russian tank like that but can't it shoot at the tracks to try to immobilize it? Or is the 7.9 cm shell useless against that too?

[PiggDogg]

Dead,

I don't have any historical or factual backup, but I suspect that the ATR can't do anything against the T34's tracks, at least in BB.

Cheers, Richard

[MeatEtr]

Or any track for that matter. I've never seen a AT rifle team immobilize any HT's. Maybe somebody else has.

[SgtMuhammed]

It would take an extreemly lucky shot to imobilize a track with an ATR. While an AP round has a chance of actually clipping the track or destroying several road wheels or what have you there is little chance that an ATR will do so.

[SFJaykey]

I thought the reason the Germans started using skirts was to protect the tracks from ATRs? And the effectiveness against HEAT was a happy side effect? Am I wrong again, or did they just overestimate the risk?

- Matt

[Gutshot]

Just an observation--My AT-rifles have scored fairly regular "track hits",but I've never yet seen any "immobiliseds". Also,My ATRs get the odd "wheel hit" against armoured cars without immobing them.

[Cogust]

In a very informative discussion on these boards some months ago, some people claimed that the skirts was added to protect the tanks from ATRs penetrating the hull and turret sides, not the tracks. I remember them having pretty convincing sources as well as only the tanks with sides vulnerable to ATRs were given skirts, Tigers that had thick sides were not given skirts.

[Stalin's Organ]

Lower hull sides tend to be very thin on most tanks, especially those types whos service predates WW2 - just loo kat hte figures for Pz3 and -4's.

As for tracks - so you put a 8mm or 15mm hole in a track or a wheel - what do you expect to happen then?

It's not like there's crew to be hit by splinters, or that such a hole is likely to cause complete failure of that track or wheel!!

[dima]

Could someone explain to me how skirts protect from ATR rifles. I understasnd for HC, it detonates charge prematurely, but ATR round is simply a piece of metal.

Thanks !

[Andreas]

Dima, it would deflect and deform an ATR round that is already pretty marginal in terms of penetration. ISTR that the added armour of the first Schürzen was exactly the minimum amount needed to prevent ATRs from penetrating.

[Gutshot]

In ex-Desert Rat C.S.Joly's book "Take These Men",he mentions the time some disgruntled 1942 Brit tankers aired their disquiet to a senior officer about how their armour wasn't capable of stopping German AP-shot,to which he gave the assurance "Cheer up men,better tanks are on the way,and remember not all shots hit head-on,and will glance off if the angle is narrow,just as they'd bounce off water"