Shortround6
Major General
B-17 with up to multiple 88 bits. From an old B-17 book I can look some video or pics on the web up and find the same though.
P47 one in the wing huge hole, another case 4 feet of wing gone, that is in Bob Johnson's book.
AS has been noted, you imply that P-47s took multiple 88mm hits but then change the story.
I am not refuse to acknowledge type of damage for the 20mm, I said is was designed for blast effect and as far as I can tell pre-fragmented warheads in 20mm were not used in WWII or at least very little. Most effort was of larger guns having VT fuzes
Who's 20mm shells were designed for blast effect? The German Mine shell was but the shells used by other nations or guns? You keep spouting off about pre-fragmented warheads but it was well known by the beginning of WW II that fragmentation could be greatly affected (if not actually "controlled")by the material, heat treatment and type of explosive used. The fragmentation difference between steel and cast iron is rather notable and even all cast iron is not the same.
"Needless to say HE shell design is not a simple matter, the strength of the steel body has to be balanced with the quantity, power and violence of the explosive to produce the desired fragmentation."
"However, in late 1944 a new and more powerful fill was adopted for shells - RDX/TNT and started to appear in small quantities in 1945, the reason for its introduction was improved fragmentation for anti-personnel effects by about 25%."
from:AMMUNITION
You seem to be saying that the shell body of a 20mm HE shell pretty much ceases to exist at the point of explosion and can be left out of the damage effects.
A German mine shell for the 20mm weighed 92 grams of which 20 grams was explosive, the fuse was a substantial part of the weight. let's assume 30 grams for now ( correction welcome), that leaves 42 grams of shell wall.
The British 20mm Hispano HE weighed 130 grams of which 10-10.5 grams was explosive, the fuse again was substantial and lets assume the same 30 grams for now, that leaves about 90 grams of shell wall or twice as much material for fragments as the German shell. It is also about twice the weight of a .50 cal bullet. What happens to these 90 grams of steel?turn to dust? splits into two large pieces?
Most 20mm shells used explosives about 15-25% more powerful than TNT.
There is a relationship between fragment size, number of fragments, shape, target, velocity, blast pattern.
Too large a fragment and it tends to miss, too small and more fragments tend to hit but do less or insufficient damage.
True but they do exist and have to be taken into account.
A time delay on a HE round gets the round inside to expand against the inside skins/structure (confined space). If it hits very closed to a structural element the blast may be high enough to fracture it.
Or, if fairly close (several inches?) a number of grams of steel moving at high velocity even if not a solid piece may fracture it or even carry away pieces of it much like a shotgun blast.