Re: Tiger Kills and Losses
Posted: Mon Feb 01, 2010 6:41 pm
Hammy,
An interesting comparison, but your last statement left me wondering what you meant, since modern TANK armor can deal pretty well with the threat.
With regard to HESH or HEP ammunition, there are some problems. In US use it had to be stored vertically in the turret because the filler tended to flow "downhill" and would make the projectile unstable in flight if stored horizontally. M1 tanks don't have any vertical ammo storage. Secondly, it simply doesn't work very well against modern tank armor and often doesn't create the spall effect like advertised. Also, reactive armor completely defeats it.
The most effective weapon against modern tank armor is still some version of SABOT.
It may also surprise you to know that RPG hits that penetrate a fighting compartment don't necessarily kill the vehicle or injure anyone. Whatever is in the path of the jet of molten material gets hurt, and it's pretty narrow and well defined.
An interesting comparison, but your last statement left me wondering what you meant, since modern TANK armor can deal pretty well with the threat.
With regard to HESH or HEP ammunition, there are some problems. In US use it had to be stored vertically in the turret because the filler tended to flow "downhill" and would make the projectile unstable in flight if stored horizontally. M1 tanks don't have any vertical ammo storage. Secondly, it simply doesn't work very well against modern tank armor and often doesn't create the spall effect like advertised. Also, reactive armor completely defeats it.
The most effective weapon against modern tank armor is still some version of SABOT.
It may also surprise you to know that RPG hits that penetrate a fighting compartment don't necessarily kill the vehicle or injure anyone. Whatever is in the path of the jet of molten material gets hurt, and it's pretty narrow and well defined.