There are many types of shells implemented in War Thunder, each of which has its own characteristics. In order to competently compare different shells, choose the main type of ammunition before the battle, and in battle for different purposes in different situations to use suitable shells, you need to know the basics of their design and principle of action. This article describes the types of projectiles and their design, as well as advice on how to use them in combat. This knowledge should not be neglected, because the effectiveness of the weapon largely depends on the shells for it.
Types of tank ammunition
Armor-piercing caliber shells
Chamber and solid armor-piercing shells
As the name suggests, the purpose of armor-piercing rounds is to penetrate armor and thereby hit a tank. Armor-piercing shells are of two types: chamber and solid. The chamber shells have a special cavity inside - the chamber, in which the explosive is located. When such a projectile penetrates the armor, the fuse is triggered and the projectile explodes. The crew of an enemy tank is hit not only by shrapnel from armor, but also by an explosion and shrapnel from a chamber shell. The explosion does not occur immediately, but with a delay, thanks to which the projectile has time to fly into the tank and explodes there, causing the greatest damage. In addition, the fuse is set to sensitivity, for example, 15 mm, that is, the fuse will only work if the thickness of the pierced armor is higher than 15 mm. This is necessary so that the chamber projectile explodes in the fighting compartment when the main armor is penetrated, and does not fly up against the screens.
The solid projectile does not have an explosive chamber; it is just a metal blank. Of course, solid shells do much less damage, but they penetrate a greater thickness of armor than similar chamber shells, since solid shells are stronger and heavier. For example, the BR-350A armor-piercing chamber projectile from the F-34 cannon penetrates 80 mm at right angles point-blank, and the BR-350SP solid projectile as much as 105 mm. The use of solid shells is very typical of the British tank building school. It got to the point that the British removed explosives from the American 75-mm chamber shells, turning them into solid ones.
The destructive power of solid projectiles depends on the ratio of the thickness of the armor and the armor penetration of the projectile:
- If the armor is too thin, then the projectile will sew through it and damage only those elements that it touches along the way.
- If the armor is too thick (at the border of penetration), then small non-destructive fragments are formed, which will not cause much harm.
- Maximum armor action - in case of penetration of sufficiently thick armor, while the penetration of the projectile must not be fully consumed.
Thus, in the presence of several solid projectiles, the best armor-piercing action will have a higher armor penetration. As for the chamber shells, the damage depends on the amount of explosive in TNT equivalent, as well as on whether the fuse has worked or not.
Sharp-headed and blunt-headed armor-piercing shells
Oblique blow to the armor: a - sharp-headed projectile; b - blunt-headed projectile; in - swept sub-caliber projectile
Armor-piercing shells are divided not only into chamber and solid, but also into sharp-headed and blunt-headed. Sharp-headed projectiles pierce thicker armor at right angles, since at the moment of meeting the armor, the entire impact force falls on a small area of the armor plate. However, the efficiency of sloped armor is lower for sharp-headed projectiles due to a greater tendency to ricochet at high angles of encounter with the armor. Conversely, blunt-headed projectiles penetrate thicker armor at an angle than sharp-headed projectiles, but have less armor penetration at right angles. Take, for example, the armor-piercing chamber shells of the T-34-85 tank. At a distance of 10 meters, the BR-365K sharp-headed projectile penetrates 145 mm at a right angle and 52 mm at an angle of 30 °, and the BR-365A blunt-headed projectile penetrates 142 mm at a right angle, but 58 mm at an angle of 30 °.
In addition to sharp-headed and blunt-headed projectiles, there are sharp-headed projectiles with an armor-piercing tip. When faced with an armor plate at a right angle, such a projectile acts as a sharp-headed projectile and has good armor penetration compared to a similar blunt-headed projectile. When hitting the sloped armor, the armor-piercing tip "bites" the projectile, preventing the ricochet, and the projectile works like a blunt-headed one.
However, sharp-headed projectiles with an armor-piercing tip, like blunt-headed projectiles, have a significant drawback - higher aerodynamic resistance, due to which armor penetration at a distance drops more than that of sharp-headed projectiles. To improve aerodynamics, ballistic caps are used, due to which armor penetration is increased at medium and long distances. For example, on the German 128-mm KwK 44 L / 55 gun, two armor-piercing chamber rounds are available, one with a ballistic cap and the other without it. An armor-piercing sharp-headed projectile with an armor-piercing tip PzGr at right angles penetrates 266 mm at 10 meters and 157 mm at 2000 meters. But an armor-piercing projectile with an armor-piercing tip and a ballistic cap PzGr 43 at right angles penetrates 269 mm at 10 meters and 208 mm at 2000 meters. In close combat, there are no particular differences between them, but at long distances the difference in armor penetration is huge.
Armor-piercing chambers with an armor-piercing tip and a ballistic cap are the most versatile type of armor-piercing ammunition that combines the advantages of sharp-headed and blunt-headed projectiles.
Armor-piercing shells table
Sharp-headed armor-piercing shells can be chambered or solid. The same applies to blunt-headed projectiles, as well as sharp-headed projectiles with an armor-piercing tip, and so on. Let's summarize all the possible options in the table. Under the icon of each projectile, abbreviated names of the type of projectile are written in English terminology, such terms are used in the book "WWII Ballistics: Armor and Gunnery", according to which many projectiles in the game are configured. If you hover over the abbreviated name with the mouse cursor, a tooltip with the decryption and translation will appear.
 Dullhead (with ballistic cap) |
 Sharp-headed |
 Sharp-headed with armor-piercing tip |
 Sharp-headed with armor-piercing tip and ballistic cap |
|
| Solid projectile |
APBC |
AP |
APC |
APCBC |
 Chamber shell |
|
APHE |
APHEC |
|
Subcaliber shells
Reel-to-reel sabot projectiles
The action of a sub-caliber projectile:
1 - ballistic cap
2 - case
3 - core
The above described armor-piercing caliber shells. They are called caliber because the diameter of their warhead is equal to the caliber of the gun. There are also armor-piercing sub-caliber projectiles, the diameter of the warhead of which is less than the caliber of the gun. The simplest type of subcaliber projectiles is reel (APCR - Armor-Piercing Composite Rigid). A reel-to-reel sabot projectile consists of three parts: a body, a ballistic cap and a core. The body serves to accelerate the projectile in the barrel. At the moment of meeting with the armor, the ballistic cap and body are crushed, and the core penetrates the armor, hitting the tank with shrapnel.
At close range, APCR shells penetrate thicker armor than caliber shells. First, an APCR projectile is smaller and lighter than a conventional AP round, thanks to which it accelerates to higher speeds. Secondly, the projectile core is made of hard alloys with a high specific gravity. Thirdly, due to the small size of the core at the moment of meeting the armor, the impact energy falls on a small area of the armor.
But reel-to-reel sabot projectiles also have significant drawbacks. Due to the relatively low weight, sub-caliber projectiles are ineffective at long distances, they lose energy faster, hence the drop in accuracy and armor penetration. The core does not have an explosive charge, therefore, in terms of the armor action, sub-caliber shells are much weaker than chamber shells. Finally, sub-caliber shells do not work well on sloped armor.
Reel-to-reel sub-caliber projectiles were effective only in close combat and were used in cases where enemy tanks were invulnerable against caliber armor-piercing projectiles. The use of sub-caliber shells made it possible to significantly increase the armor penetration of the available guns, which made it possible to hit even outdated guns with more modern, well-armored armored vehicles.
Sub-caliber projectiles with a detachable pallet
APDS projectile and its core
Sectional APDS projectile showing ballistic tip core
The APDS projectile with a detachable sabot (APDS - Armor-Piercing Discarding Sabot) is a further development of the design of the APDS projectiles.
The reel-to-reel sabot projectiles had a significant drawback: the body flew along with the core, increasing aerodynamic resistance and, as a result, a drop in accuracy and armor penetration at a distance. For sub-caliber projectiles with a detachable pallet, instead of the hull, a detachable pallet was used, which first accelerated the projectile in the gun barrel, and then separated from the core by air resistance. The core flew to the target without a pallet and, due to the significantly lower aerodynamic resistance, did not lose armor penetration as quickly at a distance as reel-to-reel sabot projectiles.
During World War II, sub-caliber shells with a detachable pallet were distinguished by record armor penetration and flight speed. For example, the Shot SV Mk.1 subcaliber projectile for a 17-pounder gun accelerated to 1203 m / s and penetrated 228 mm of soft armor at right angles at 10 meters, and the Shot Mk.8 armor-piercing caliber projectile only 171 mm under the same conditions.
Subcaliber feathered projectiles
Separating the pallet from the BOPS
BOPS-type projectile
Armor-Piercing Fin-Stabilized Discarding Sabot (APFSDS) is the most modern type of armor-piercing projectile designed to destroy heavily armored vehicles protected by the latest types of armor and active protection.
These projectiles are a further development of sub-caliber projectiles with a detachable pallet, have an even greater length and a smaller cross-section. Rotational stabilization is not very effective for projectiles with a large elongation, therefore, armor-piercing feathered sub-caliber projectiles (abbreviated as BOPS) are stabilized with the help of feathers and, as a rule, are used for firing from smooth-bore guns (nevertheless, early BOPS and some modern ones are designed for firing from rifled guns).
Modern BOPS projectiles have a diameter of 2-3 cm and a length of 50-60 cm. To maximize the specific pressure and kinetic energy of the projectile in the manufacture of ammunition, materials with a high density are used - tungsten carbide or an alloy based on depleted uranium. The muzzle velocity of the BOPS is up to 1900 m / s.
Concrete shells
A concrete-piercing shell is an artillery shell designed to destroy long-term fortifications and durable capital buildings, as well as to destroy enemy manpower and military equipment hidden in them. Often, concrete-piercing shells were used to destroy concrete bunkers.
From the point of view of design, concrete-piercing shells occupy an intermediate position between armor-piercing chambers and high-explosive fragmentation shells. Compared to high-explosive fragmentation projectiles of the same caliber, with a close destructive potential of an explosive charge, concrete-piercing ammunition has a more massive and durable body, which allows them to penetrate deeply into reinforced concrete, stone and brick obstacles. Compared to armor-piercing chamber shells, concrete-piercing shells have more explosive, but a less durable body, therefore concrete-piercing shells are inferior to them in armor penetration.
The G-530 concrete-piercing shell weighing 40 kg is included in the ammunition load of the KV-2 tank, the main purpose of which was to destroy pillboxes and other fortifications.
Cumulative projectiles
Rotating cumulative projectiles
Cumulative projectile device:
1 - fairing
2 - air cavity
3 - metal cladding
4 - detonator
5 - explosive
6 - piezoelectric fuse
A cumulative projectile (HEAT - High-Explosive Anti-Tank) by the principle of action is significantly different from kinetic ammunition, which include conventional armor-piercing and sub-caliber projectiles. It is a thin-walled steel projectile filled with a powerful explosive - RDX, or a mixture of TNT with RDX. In the front part of the projectile, the explosive has a glass-shaped or cone-shaped recess, lined with metal (usually copper) - a focusing funnel. The projectile has a sensitive head fuse.
When the projectile collides with the armor, an explosive is detonated. Due to the presence of a focusing funnel in the projectile, part of the explosion energy is concentrated in one small point, forming a thin cumulative jet consisting of the metal of the lining of the same funnel and the explosion products. The cumulative jet flies forward at a tremendous speed (approximately 5,000 - 10,000 m / s) and passes through the armor due to the monstrous pressure it creates (like a needle through oil), under the influence of which any metal enters a state of superfluidity or, in other words, leads yourself like a liquid. The armor-piercing effect is provided both by the cumulative jet itself and by the red-hot drops of pierced armor squeezed out inward.
The most important advantage of a cumulative projectile is that its armor penetration does not depend on the speed of the projectile and is the same at all distances. That is why cumulative shells were used on howitzers, since conventional armor-piercing shells would be ineffective for them due to their low flight speed. But the cumulative shells of the Second World War also had significant drawbacks that limit their use. The rotation of the projectile at high initial velocities made it difficult to form a cumulative jet, as a result of which the cumulative projectiles had a low muzzle velocity, small aiming range and high dispersion, which was also facilitated by the shape of the projectile head, which was not optimal from the aerodynamic point of view. The manufacturing technology of these projectiles at that time was not sufficiently developed, so their armor penetration was relatively low (approximately equal to the caliber of the projectile or slightly higher) and was characterized by instability.
Non-rotating (feathered) cumulative projectiles
Non-rotating (feathered) cumulative projectiles (HEAT-FS - High-Explosive Anti-Tank Fin-Stabilized) represent a further development of cumulative ammunition. Unlike early shaped-charge projectiles, they are stabilized in flight not by rotation, but by means of a folding tail. The lack of rotation improves the formation of a cumulative jet and significantly increases armor penetration, while removing all restrictions on the projectile's flight speed, which can exceed 1000 m / s. Thus, early shaped-charge projectiles had typical armor penetration of 1-1.5 caliber, while post-war shells had 4 or more. However, feathered projectiles have a slightly lower armor-piercing effect compared to conventional shaped-charge projectiles.
Shrapnel and high-explosive shells
High-explosive fragmentation shells
A high-explosive fragmentation projectile (HE - High-Explosive) is a thin-walled steel or cast iron projectile filled with an explosive (usually TNT or ammonite) with a head fuse. Upon hitting the target, the projectile immediately explodes, striking the target with shrapnel and a blast wave. Compared to concrete-piercing and armor-piercing chamber shells, high-explosive fragmentation shells have very thin walls, but they have more explosives.
The main purpose of high-explosive fragmentation shells is to defeat enemy manpower, as well as unarmored and lightly armored vehicles. Large-caliber high-explosive fragmentation projectiles can be very effectively used to destroy lightly armored tanks and self-propelled guns, since they break through relatively thin armor and disable the crew by the force of the explosion. Tanks and self-propelled guns with anti-cannon armor are resistant to high-explosive fragmentation shells. However, hitting large-caliber shells can even hit them: the explosion destroys the tracks, damages the gun barrel, jams the turret, and the crew gets wounded and concussed.
Shrapnel shells
The shrapnel shell is a cylindrical body divided by a partition (diaphragm) into 2 compartments. An explosive charge is placed in the bottom compartment, and ball-shaped bullets are in the other compartment. A tube filled with a slowly burning pyrotechnic composition passes along the axis of the projectile.
The main purpose of the shrapnel shell is to defeat the enemy's manpower. It happens in the following way. At the moment of the shot, the composition in the tube ignites. Gradually, it burns out and transfers fire to the explosive charge. The charge ignites and explodes, squeezing out the bulkhead with the bullets. The head of the projectile comes off and the bullets fly out along the axis of the projectile, deviating slightly to the sides and hitting the enemy infantry.
In the absence of armor-piercing shells at the early stage of the war, gunners often used shrapnel shells with a tube mounted "on strike." In terms of its qualities, such a projectile occupied an intermediate position between high-explosive and armor-piercing, which is reflected in the game.
Armor-piercing high-explosive shells
An armor-piercing high-explosive projectile (HESH - High Explosive Squash Head) is a post-war type of anti-tank projectile, the principle of which is based on the detonation of a plastic explosive on the surface of the armor, which causes chipping of fragments of the armor on the rear side and their damage to the fighting compartment of the vehicle. The high-explosive armor-piercing projectile has a body with relatively thin walls, designed for plastic deformation when it meets an obstacle, as well as a bottom fuse. The charge of an armor-piercing high-explosive projectile consists of a plastic explosive that "spreads" over the surface of the armor when the projectile meets an obstacle.
After "spreading", the charge is undermined by a slow-action bottom fuse, which causes destruction of the rear surface of the armor and the formation of spalls that can hit the internal equipment of the vehicle or crew members. In some cases, through penetration of the armor can also occur in the form of a puncture, a break or a knocked out plug. The penetration ability of an AP shell is less dependent on the angle of inclination of the armor compared to conventional AP shells.
ATGM Baby (1st generation)
ATGM Shillelagh (2nd generation)
Anti-tank guided missiles
Anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) is a guided missile designed to destroy tanks and other armored targets. The former name of ATGM is "anti-tank guided missile". ATGMs in the game are solid-propellant missiles equipped with on-board control systems (operating at the operator's commands) and flight stabilization, devices for receiving and decrypting control signals received via wires (or via infrared or radio command control channels). The warhead is cumulative, with armor penetration of 400-600 mm. The missile's flight speed is only 150-323 m / s, but the target can be successfully hit at a distance of up to 3 kilometers.
The game features ATGMs of two generations:
- First generation (manual command guidance system)- in reality, they are manually controlled by the operator using a joystick, English. MCLOS. In realistic and simulator modes, these rockets are controlled using the WSAD keys.
- Second generation (semi-automatic command guidance system)- in reality and in all game modes, they are controlled by aiming the sight at the target, eng. SACLOS. Either the center of the telescopic crosshair or a large white round marker (reload indicator) in third person view serves as a sight in the game.
In arcade mode, there is no difference between generations of missiles, they are all controlled using a sight, like second generation missiles.
ATGMs are also distinguished by the launch method.
- 1) Launched from the channel of the tank barrel. To do this, you need either a smooth barrel: for example, the smooth barrel of a 125-mm gun of a T-64 tank. Or a keyway is made in the rifled barrel, where the rocket is inserted, for example, in the Sheridan tank.
- 2) Launched from the guides. Closed, tubular (or square), for example, as in the RakJPz 2 tank destroyer with the HOT-1 ATGM. Or open, rail-mounted (for example, as in the IT-1 tank destroyer with the 2K4 Dragon ATGM).
As a rule, the more modern and the larger the ATGM caliber, the more it penetrates. ATGMs were constantly improved - the manufacturing technology, materials science, explosives were improved. Combined armor and reactive armor can fully or partially neutralize the penetrating effect of ATGMs (as well as HEAT shells). As well as special anti-cumulative armor screens, located at some distance from the main armor.
The appearance and structure of shells
Denormalization phenomenon that increases the path of a projectile in armor
Starting from version 1.49 of the game, the effect of shells on sloped armor has been redesigned. Now the value of the reduced armor thickness (armor thickness ÷ tilt angle cosine) is valid only for calculating the penetration of cumulative projectiles. For armor-piercing and especially sub-caliber projectiles, the penetration of inclined armor was significantly weakened due to the denormalization effect, when a short projectile turns around in the process of penetration and its path in armor increases.
So, at an angle of inclination of the armor of 60 °, earlier for all shells, penetration fell by about 2 times. Now this is true only for HEAT and HE shells. For armor-piercing shells, penetration in this case drops by 2.3-2.9 times, for ordinary sub-caliber shells - 3-4 times, and for sub-caliber shells with a detachable pallet (including BOPS) - 2.5 times.
List of shells in order of deterioration in sloped armor performance:
- Cumulative and armor-piercing high-explosive- the most effective.
- Armor-piercing blunt-headed and armor-piercing sharp-headed with armor-piercing tip.
- Armor-piercing sub-caliber with a detachable pallet and BOPS.
- Armor-Piercing Sharphead and shrapnel.
- Armor-piercing sub-caliber- the most ineffective.
Here, a high-explosive fragmentation projectile stands alone, in which the probability of penetrating armor does not depend at all on its angle of inclination (provided that there was no ricochet).
Armor-piercing chambers
For such projectiles, the fuse is cocked at the moment of penetration of the armor and detonates the projectile after a certain time, which provides a very high armor effect. In the parameters of the projectile, two important values are indicated: the sensitivity of the fuse and the delay of the fuse.
If the thickness of the armor is less than the sensitivity of the fuse, then the explosion will not occur, and the projectile will work as a regular solid, inflicting damage only on the modules that are in its path, or simply fly through the target without causing damage. Therefore, when firing at unarmored targets, chamber shells are not very effective (as are all the others, except for high-explosive and shrapnel shells).
The fuse delay determines the time after which the projectile will explode after breaking through the armor. Too short a delay (in particular, for the Soviet MD-5 fuse) leads to the fact that when it hits a tank attachment (screen, track, chassis, caterpillar), the projectile explodes almost immediately and does not have time to penetrate the armor. Therefore, it is better not to use such shells when firing at shielded tanks. Too long fuse delay can lead to the projectile passing through and exploding outside the tank (although such cases are very rare).
If a chamber round is detonated in a fuel tank or ammunition rack, an explosion is likely to occur and the tank will be destroyed.
Armor-piercing sharp-headed and blunt-headed projectiles
Depending on the shape of the armor-piercing part of the projectile, its propensity to ricochet, armor penetration and normalization differ. As a general rule, blunt-headed projectiles are best used against opponents with sloped armor, and sharp-headed projectiles - if the armor is not sloped. However, the difference in armor penetration for both types is not very large.
The presence of armor-piercing and / or ballistic caps significantly improves the properties of the projectile.
Subcaliber shells
This type of projectile is distinguished by high armor penetration at short distances and a very high flight speed, which makes it easier to fire at moving targets.
However, when the armor is pierced, only a thin carbide rod appears in the armor space, which damages only those modules and crew members in which it hits (as opposed to an armor-piercing chamber projectile, which fills the entire fighting compartment with shrapnel). Therefore, to effectively defeat a tank with a sub-caliber projectile, you should shoot at its vulnerable spots: the engine, ammo rack, fuel tanks. But even in this case, one hit may not be enough to disable the tank. If you shoot at random (especially at the same point), you may need to make a lot of shots to disable the tank, and the enemy may get ahead of you.
Another problem with APCR shells is a strong loss of armor penetration with distance due to their low mass. A study of the armor penetration tables shows at what distance you need to switch to a regular armor-piercing projectile, which, in addition, has a much greater lethality.
Cumulative projectiles
The armor penetration of these projectiles does not depend on the distance, which allows them to be used with equal efficiency for both melee and ranged combat. However, due to the design features, cumulative projectiles often have a lower flight speed than other types, as a result of which the trajectory of the shot becomes hinged, accuracy suffers, and it becomes very difficult to hit moving targets (especially at a great distance).
The principle of operation of a cumulative projectile also determines its not very high lethality compared to an armor-piercing chamber projectile: a cumulative jet flies a limited distance inside the tank and inflicts damage only on those components and crew members that it directly hit. Therefore, when using a cumulative projectile, you should aim as carefully as in the case of a sub-caliber one.
If a cumulative projectile did not hit the armor, but a hinged element of the tank (screen, track, track, chassis), then it will explode on this element, and the armor penetration of the cumulative jet will significantly decrease (every centimeter of the jet's flight in the air reduces the armor penetration by 1 mm) ... Therefore, other types of shells should be used against tanks with screens, and also do not hope to penetrate the armor with HEAT shells, firing at the tracks, chassis and gun mantlet. Remember that a premature detonation of a projectile can cause any obstacle - a fence, a tree, any building.
HEAT shells in life and in the game have a high-explosive effect, that is, they also work as high-explosive fragmentation shells of reduced power (a light hull gives less fragments). Thus, large-caliber cumulative projectiles can be quite successfully used instead of high-explosive fragmentation projectiles when firing at weakly armored vehicles.
High-explosive fragmentation shells
The destructive power of these shells depends on the ratio of the caliber of your gun and the armor of your target. So, shells with a caliber of 50 mm and less are effective only against aircraft and trucks, 75-85 mm - against light tanks with bulletproof armor, 122 mm - against medium tanks such as the T-34, 152 mm - against all tanks, with the exception of shooting in the forehead at the most armored vehicles.
However, it must be remembered that the damage inflicted significantly depends on the specific point of impact, therefore, it is not uncommon for even a shell with a caliber of 122-152 mm to inflict very little damage. And in the case of guns with a smaller caliber, in doubtful cases, it is better to use an armor-piercing chamber or shrapnel shell, which have a greater penetration and high lethality.
Shells - part 2
What is the best way to shoot? Overview of tank shells from _Omero_
Armor-piercing sharp-headed chamber projectile
Sharp-headed projectile with an armor-piercing tip
Sharp-headed projectile with armor-piercing tip and ballistic cap
Armor-piercing blunt-headed projectile with a ballistic cap
Sub-caliber projectile
A sub-caliber projectile with a detachable pallet
Cumulative projectile
Non-rotating (feathered) cumulative projectile
In World of Tanks, vehicles can be equipped with different types of projectiles, such as armor-piercing, sub-caliber, cumulative, and high-explosive fragmentation. In this article, we will consider the features of the action of each of these shells, the history of their invention and use, the pros and cons of their use in a historical context. The most common and, in most cases, standard shells for the vast majority of vehicles in the game are armor-piercing shells(BB) gauge device or sharp-headed.
According to the Military Encyclopedia of Ivan Sytin, the idea of a prototype of the current armor-piercing shells belongs to the Italian navy officer Bettolo, who in 1877 suggested using the so-called “ bottom shock tube for armor-piercing projectiles"(Before that, the shells were either not equipped at all, or the explosion of the powder charge was calculated to heat the head of the shell when it hit the armor, which, however, was not always justified). After breaking through the armor, the striking effect is provided by projectile fragments heated to a high temperature, and armor fragments. During the Second World War, shells of this type were easy to manufacture, reliable, had a fairly high penetration, and worked well against homogeneous armor. But there was also a minus - on the sloped armor, the projectile could ricochet. The thicker the armor, the more armor fragments are formed when such a projectile penetrates, and the higher the destructive power. 
The animation below illustrates the action of the chamber sharp-headed armor-piercing projectile. It is similar to an armor-piercing sharp-headed projectile, but in the rear there is a cavity (chamber) with an explosive charge made of TNT, as well as a bottom fuse. After breaking through the armor, the projectile explodes, striking the crew and equipment of the tank. In general, this projectile retained most of the advantages and disadvantages of the AR projectile, differing in a significantly higher armor-piercing effect and somewhat lower armor penetration (due to the lower mass and strength of the projectile). During the War, the bottom fuses of projectiles were not perfect enough, which sometimes led to a premature explosion of the projectile before the armor was pierced, or to the failure of the fuse after penetration, but the crew, in the event of a penetration, rarely felt better from this.
Sub-caliber projectile(BP) has a rather complex structure and consists of two main parts - an armor-piercing core and a pallet. The task of the pallet, made of mild steel, is to accelerate the projectile in the bore. When a projectile hits the target, the pallet is crushed, and a heavy and hard pointed core made of tungsten carbide penetrates the armor.
The projectile does not have an explosive charge, ensuring that the target is hit by fragments of the core and fragments of armor, heated to high temperatures. Sub-caliber shells are significantly lighter than conventional armor-piercing shells, which allows them to accelerate in the gun barrel to significantly higher speeds. As a result, the penetration of sub-caliber projectiles is significantly higher. The use of sub-caliber shells made it possible to significantly increase the armor penetration of the available guns, which made it possible to hit even outdated guns with more modern, well-armored armored vehicles.
At the same time, sub-caliber projectiles have a number of disadvantages. Their shape resembled a coil (there were projectiles of this type and streamlined shape, but they were much less common), which greatly worsened the ballistics of the projectile, in addition, the light projectile quickly lost speed; As a result, at long distances, the penetration of sub-caliber projectiles dropped significantly, being even lower than that of classic armor-piercing projectiles. During World War II, sub-caliber projectiles did not work well on inclined armor, since under the action of bending loads, a hard but brittle core easily broke. The armor-piercing effect of such projectiles was inferior to armor-piercing caliber projectiles. Small-caliber sub-caliber projectiles were ineffective against armored vehicles that had protective shields made of thin steel. These shells were expensive and difficult to manufacture, and most importantly, scarce tungsten was used in their manufacture.
As a result, the number of subcaliber shells in the ammunition load of guns during the war years was small, they were allowed to be used only to engage heavily armored targets at short distances. The first, in small quantities, subcaliber shells were used by the German army in 1940 during the battles in France. In 1941, faced with well-armored Soviet tanks, the Germans switched to the widespread use of sub-caliber shells, which significantly increased the anti-tank capabilities of their artillery and tanks. However, the shortage of tungsten limited the release of this type of projectile; As a result, in 1944, the production of German sub-caliber projectiles was discontinued, while most of the projectiles fired during the war years had a small caliber (37-50 mm).
Trying to circumvent the problem of tungsten shortage, the Germans produced Pzgr.40 (C) sub-caliber shells with a hardened steel core and Pzgr.40 (W) surrogate shells with a conventional steel core. In the USSR, a fairly large-scale production of sub-caliber projectiles, created on the basis of captured German ones, began in early 1943, and most of the projectiles produced were of 45 mm caliber. The production of these shells of larger calibers was limited by a shortage of tungsten, and they were issued to the troops only when there was a threat of an enemy tank attack, and for each spent shell it was required to write a report. Also, sub-caliber shells were used to a limited extent by the British and American armies in the second half of the war.
Cumulative projectile(KS).
The principle of operation of this armor-piercing ammunition is significantly different from the principle of operation of kinetic ammunition, which include conventional armor-piercing and subcaliber projectiles. A cumulative projectile is a thin-walled steel projectile filled with a powerful explosive - RDX, or a mixture of TNT with RDX. In the front of the projectile, the explosive has a glass-shaped recess, lined with metal (usually copper). The projectile has a sensitive head fuse. When a projectile collides with armor, an explosive is detonated. At the same time, the metal of the cladding is melted and compressed by the explosion into a thin jet (pestle), flying forward at an extremely high speed and piercing the armor. The armor action is provided by a cumulative jet and splashes of armor metal. The penetration of the HEAT shell is small and has melted edges, which has led to a common misconception that HEAT shells “burn through” armor.
The penetration of a cumulative projectile does not depend on the speed of the projectile and is the same at all distances. Its manufacture is quite simple, the production of a projectile does not require the use of a large amount of scarce metals. A cumulative projectile can be used against infantry and artillery as a high-explosive fragmentation projectile. At the same time, cumulative projectiles during the war years were characterized by numerous disadvantages. The manufacturing technology of these projectiles was not sufficiently developed, as a result, their penetration was relatively low (approximately the same as the caliber of the projectile or slightly higher) and was characterized by instability. The rotation of the projectile at high initial velocities made it difficult to form a cumulative jet, as a result, the cumulative projectiles had a low muzzle velocity, a small effective firing range and high dispersion, which was also facilitated by the suboptimal shape of the projectile head from the aerodynamic point of view (its configuration was due to the presence of a notch).
A big problem was the creation of a complex fuse, which must be sensitive enough to quickly detonate the projectile, but stable enough not to explode in the barrel (the USSR was able to work out such a fuse, suitable for use in shells of powerful tank and anti-tank guns, only at the end of 1944 ). The minimum caliber of a cumulative projectile was 75 mm, and the effectiveness of cumulative projectiles of this caliber was greatly reduced. The mass production of shaped-charge projectiles required the deployment of large-scale RDX production.
The most massively cumulative shells were used by the German army (for the first time in the summer and autumn of 1941), mainly from 75 mm guns and howitzers. The Soviet army used cumulative shells, created on the basis of captured German ones, from 1942-43, including them in the ammunition of regimental guns and howitzers, which had a low muzzle velocity. The British and American armies used shells of this type, mainly in the ammunition load of heavy howitzers. Thus, in the Second World War (in contrast to the present time, when improved projectiles of this type form the basis of the ammunition load of tank guns), the use of cumulative projectiles was quite limited, mainly they were considered as a means of anti-tank self-defense of guns that had low initial velocities and low armor penetration with traditional shells (regimental guns, howitzers). At the same time, all participants in the war actively used other anti-tank weapons with cumulative ammunition - grenade launchers, aerial bombs, hand grenades.
High-explosive fragmentation projectile(OF).
It was developed in the late 40s of the twentieth century in Great Britain to defeat enemy armored vehicles. It is a thin-walled steel or steel cast iron projectile filled with an explosive (usually TNT or ammonite) with a head fuse. Unlike armor-piercing shells, high-explosive fragmentation shells did not have a tracer. When it hits the target, the projectile explodes, hitting the target with shrapnel and a blast wave, either immediately - a fragmentation action, or with some delay (which allows the projectile to go deeper into the ground) - a high-explosive action. The projectile is intended mainly to destroy openly located and sheltered infantry, artillery, field shelters (trenches, wood-earthen emplacements), unarmored and lightly armored vehicles. Well-armored tanks and self-propelled guns are resistant to high-explosive fragmentation shells.
The main advantage of the high-explosive fragmentation projectile is its versatility. This type of shells can be effectively used against the vast majority of targets. Also, the advantages include a lower cost than that of armor-piercing and cumulative projectiles of the same caliber, which reduces the cost of providing combat operations and training firing. With a direct hit into vulnerable areas (tower hatches, engine compartment radiator, ejection screens of aft ammunition rack, etc.), the HE can disable the tank. Also, the hit of large-caliber shells can cause the destruction of lightly armored vehicles, and damage to heavily armored tanks, consisting in cracking of armor plates, jamming of the turret, failure of devices and mechanisms, injuries and contusions of the crew.
High-explosive fragmentation shells present in the game as both conventional and premium ammunition. This is the main type for self-propelled guns and short-barreled large-caliber guns. They have the highest potential damage for their calibers and the lowest armor penetration. The peculiarity of HE shells is that in order to inflict the full damage declared in the performance characteristics, they must necessarily penetrate the main armor of the tank, while if they do not penetrate, the damage is inflicted taking into account the absorption coefficient of the armor.
HE shells have the concept of "splash" - the radius of fragmentation with a linearly falling to zero penetration of fragments along the length of the radius of expansion (center - maximum damage, edge of the passport splash radius - 0 damage). Premium HE shells have an increased radius of dispersion of fragments, HESH shells have increased armor penetration. The fragments ignore the overlap of tanks, thus, a small tank, being behind a large tank in relation to the point of explosion, will receive its "legal" vectors with fragments.
The same rule applies to ignoring destructible / indestructible objects. A tank behind a wall can take damage from shrapnel if a shell explodes from the back of the wall.
High-explosive fragmentation shells do not have normalization, do not ricochet. To calculate the penetration, the reduced thickness of the armor at the point of impact of the projectile is used.
The main features of high-explosive fragmentation shells
- The penetration of the projectile does not decrease with distance.
- When a land mine explodes on armor (when damage passes through the armor, but without the projectile penetrating the space behind the armor), the damage is halved.
- More than half of the crew members cannot be damaged by a shock wave (a rupture on the armor or near the tank). For crews with an odd number of tankers, rounding in both directions is equally likely.
If the HE shell did not penetrate the tank's armor or exploded next to it:
At the moment of the explosion of a high-explosive projectile, a sphere of fragmentation is built. Vectors to all modules and groups of tank armor are built from the center of the sphere. The server also determines the damage (a value of ± 25% is selected, which is divided by 2). In the future, when calculating the damage caused by the fragments, the resulting number participates in the mechanisms of attenuation with distance (the distance of the fragments flight is taken into account) and the absorption of damage by armor (the thickness of the armor and the absorption coefficient from the installed lining are taken into account). After calculating the damage for each shell fragment, for all modules and armor groups, the maximum value is selected, and it is this damage that is inflicted on the tank's hull.
Thus, the use of high-explosive shells is extremely effective against weakly armored targets.
Also, high-explosive shells of large-caliber guns can be used to inflict damage on heavily armored tanks, the armor of which is difficult to penetrate with other types of shells.
In English military terminology, the British term "High Explosive Squash Head" is used. HESH) and adopted in its place in the United States "high-explosive with plastic explosive" (eng. High Explosive Plastic - HEP). The principle of operation of an armor-piercing high-explosive projectile is based on the spread of the charge over the largest possible area of the armor and the defeat of the internal equipment and the crew of the armored vehicle resulting from the detonation of splinters from the inner side of the armor.
Armor-piercing high-explosive shells were created in Great Britain and became widespread in the 1950s - 1960s, primarily together with the 105-mm tank gun, which became the de facto standard in Western tank building. At the same time, the low effectiveness of armor-piercing high-explosive shells against combined and especially spaced armor, as well as their low effectiveness against enemy infantry due to insufficient fragmentation action, caused a drop in interest in high-explosive armor-piercing shells in the 1970s - 1980s and abandoning them in favor of cumulative in most countries, with the exception of the UK.
Design and principle of operation
By its design, an armor-piercing high-explosive projectile is generally similar to a conventional high-explosive, however, unlike the latter, it has a body with relatively thin walls, designed for plastic deformation when it encounters an obstacle, and always only a bottom fuse. The charge of an armor-piercing high-explosive projectile consists of a plastic explosive and, when the projectile meets an obstacle, "spreads" over the surface of the latter. Contrary to popular myth, an increase in the angle of armor negatively affects the penetration and armor-piercing of HE shells, which can be seen, for example, in the documents on testing the British 120mm L11 gun.
After the "spreading" of the charge, it is undermined by a slow-action bottom fuse, creating a pressure of explosion products up to several tens of tons per square centimeter of armor, falling to atmospheric pressure within 1-2 microseconds. As a result, a compression wave is formed in the armor with a flat front and a propagation velocity of about 5000 m / s, which, when it meets the rear surface of the armor, is reflected and returned as an extension wave. As a result of wave interference, the rear surface of the armor is destroyed and spalls are formed that can hit the internal equipment of the vehicle or crew members. In some cases, through penetration of the armor can also occur in the form of a puncture, a break or a knocked-out plug, but in most cases it is absent. In addition to this direct action, the explosion of an armor-piercing high-explosive projectile creates a shock impulse acting on the tank's armor and capable of disabling or disrupting the internal equipment, or injuring the crew members.
The effectiveness of the impact on armored targets, in American documents, is estimated as up to 1.3 of the caliber.
Due to its principle of action, an armor-piercing high-explosive projectile is effective against homogeneous armor and, like shaped-charge projectiles, its action depends little on the speed of the projectile and, accordingly, the firing distance. At the same time, the action of an armor-piercing high-explosive projectile is ineffective against combined armor, poorly transmitting the explosion wave between its layers, and practically ineffective against spaced armor. Even against conventional homogeneous armor, the effectiveness of the armor-piercing high-explosive projectile can be significantly reduced or even nullified by installing an anti-fragmentation lining on the inner side of the armor.
Two more disadvantages of the high-explosive armor-piercing projectile stem from its design features. The thin-walled shell of the projectile forces its muzzle velocity to be limited compared to other types of ammunition, including cumulative ammunition, to less than 800 m / s. This leads to a decrease in the flatness of the trajectory and an increase in flight time, which sharply reduces the chances of hitting moving armored targets at real combat distances. The second drawback is associated with the fact that an armor-piercing high-explosive projectile, despite the significant mass of the explosive charge, has a relatively small fragmentation shell, since its body has thin walls, and its mechanical properties are designed primarily for deformation, and not for the effective formation of fragments. as in specialized high-explosive fragmentation or multipurpose cumulative projectiles. Accordingly, the action of shells against enemy manpower turns out to be insufficient, which is considered as a serious drawback of armor-piercing cumulative shells, since with the rejection of high-explosive fragmentation shells on the overwhelming majority of western tanks, the role of the latter in the fight against manpower falls on cumulative or armor-piercing high-explosive shells. shells.
Action and designed to defeat a large number of types of targets: defeat enemy manpower in open areas or in fortifications, destruction of lightly armored vehicles, destruction of buildings, fortifications and fortifications, making passages in minefields, etc.
When it hits the armor, it does not transfer kinetic force, but explodes, causing surface damage (scattering fragments at high speed, additionally causing damage to armored vehicles, concussion, injuring or killing the crew and the accompanying infantry), incapacitating the tracks (tracks), damaging the triplex - observation devices, causes damage to armor, deflections and microcracks
It is used to fire at the site of the intended attack, to facilitate the breakthrough of the enemy's defense by attacking tank and motorized infantry units. The most explosive among all ammunition.
As a tank ammunition, it is included in the main ammunition load of the T-64 / / / 84U / T-90 tanks and usually in the ammunition rack accounts for up to 50% of the total number of shells.
Fuse
For a long time, the only used fuse was the shock fuse, which was triggered when the projectile hit the target.
Impact fuses are the simplest and most reliable. Most fuses of this type can be set to contact or slow mode. In the first case, the explosion occurs at the first touch of the obstacle and is intended to destroy objects around the obstacle. In the second case, the projectile goes deep into the target and only there detonation occurs - this allows you to effectively destroy fortifications and buildings.
In case of a direct hit into vulnerable areas (tower hatches, engine compartment radiator, ejection screens of aft ammunition rack, etc.), the OFS can disable a modern tank. Also, a shock wave and shrapnel, with a high degree of probability, disable observation devices, communications, weapons placed outside the armor volume, and other complexes installed in large numbers on modern armored vehicles.
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