Redwolf Posted April 3, 2004 Share Posted April 3, 2004 John, the trouble with the delayed fuses is that the WW2 models were much less precise. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fredi Posted April 10, 2004 Share Posted April 10, 2004 Interesting discussion sofar. Got me thinking about my own real life experiences.. Does anyone know if either side in ww2 ever used delay fuses for their tanks HE-rounds? I was a tank commander in the military and we were taught to(ideally) set the timer on the HE when dealing with trenches and "reverse slopes". Together with our tanks speedy auto-loader, this meant we were fairly effective artillery units as well as mbt's. We were effective with indirect fire out to 6000m with onboard equipment but could extend that with some help from the local arty guys. Our guns fired 105mm shells and the effect from the HE blast was less than impressive(damn hollywood), so I have no problem believing that 155mm or better is needed to really destroy something(trenches in this case). 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Kettler Posted April 10, 2004 Share Posted April 10, 2004 Fredi, Yes, it was done using ricochet fire. For a quickly available example of such use, see Wilson's FLAME THROWER (he was a Churchill Crocodile commander). The target? An AT gun in a trench! I believe someone also produced German tactical doctrine along the same lines. We had quite a thread going at one time on the topic. Try searching Under "ricochet fire" to find that thread, in which I posted a brief excerpt from Wilson's book. BTW, in what military and tank type did you serve? Regards, John Kettler 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
average Posted May 5, 2004 Share Posted May 5, 2004 155mm VT is an effective solution, but I think its worth suggesting that effective vertical cover is integeral to having a robust position capable of withstanding sustained bombardment. 155mm VT will certainly disable defenders in vertical cover. Phos and VT (also timed if your not planning on walking over what you've just blasted for a while) will make life unpleasent but the killing effect of the fire isn't outstanding. I think part of the angst is probably that people expect the preddy explosions to kill and maim the defenders. The reality is that point fire from 4 tubes of 155mm firing 50 impact fuzed HE rounds isn't going to kill a great many dug in defenders. What it will do is force them to remain below ground, deny them mobility and upset them. As for the suggestion you can't dig a trench in arid conditions and i mean this with no slight, I'd suggest you've maybe watched lawerence of arabia one time to many and formed a definite view of the desert as being like that. You can dig in arid places, just its hard work. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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