Tank Busting Armaments... Whats The Best Setup???

[Anonymous]

Expend tugsten core amunition on aircraft is a very expensive bussines.

But even in 15 mm there was a version of the Hartkermunition. Is the H panzergranate from Mauser Heavy machinegun ( not cannon ) Mg-151/15.
15x96mm.

Sure it was developed. It was even deployed a little. But my point is I don't think it was commonly used - it was just too expensive for aircraft guns where most of the rounds would miss the target anyway. Something around 10% or less of aircraft ammo actually hit a target - that's a lot of wasted tungston which was essential to many industrial tools.

The USA had M8 API rounds with tungsten penetrators but switched to a moly-steel penetrator because it was deemed a waste of precious tungsten. And the USA had a lot more avialable tungston than Germany, especially later in the war.

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[CharlesBronson]

No. the SAE 8620 isn`t stainless. Actually is a Cr-Ni-Mo-Si steel specially designed for superficial hardening by heat treatment.

There is better steel for armour without heat treatment, like SAE 1075, 4340, 4140, but this is really hard when is cemented.

Returning to our topic a gumcam of Hs-129 attaking a unknown russian tank.

 

[Anonymous]

No. the SAE 8620 isn`t stainless. Actually is a Cr-Ni-Mo-Si steel specially designed for superficial hardening by heat treatment.

There is better steel for armour without heat treatment, like SAE 1075, 4340, 4140, but this is really hard when is cemented.

Returning to our topic a gumcam of Hs-129 attaking a unknown russian tank.

Hmmm, I thought the 8000 series steels were all stainless (at least to a degree). Doesn't substantial chromium and Nickle define stainless????

I cannot view the file - it requires some codec that is not part of Windows Media player.

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[CharlesBronson]

Yes it does, but you need more than 17 % of cromium and-or more than 15% nickel in the alloy for make it stainless. The 8620 have much less of that.

You need codec Divx. Can be downloaded from:

http://www.divx.com/divx/drdivx/download/

 

[Anonymous]

No. the SAE 8620 isn`t stainless. Actually is a Cr-Ni-Mo-Si steel specially designed for superficial hardening by heat treatment.

There is better steel for armour without heat treatment, like SAE 1075, 4340, 4140, but this is really hard when is cemented.

Returning to our topic a gumcam of Hs-129 attaking a unknown russian tank.

I think that's some kind of self propelled howitzer. The turret sits far back on the hull. We cannot see the gun length because the gun is pointed twoard the attacker.

BTW: nice film!

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[MP-Willow]

If it is cheep and works, use it. I think that volume of fire can help to make up some difference.

 

[BountyHunter15]

If you ask me, I think the P-51D Mustang with two 20mm cannons would stop tanks dead in their tracks.

 

[MP-Willow]

Would that be for tanks or for aircraft ?)

 

[cheddar cheese]

I never even knew 'Stangs were equipped with 20mm's...

 

[the lancaster kicks ass]

2x20mm wont "stop tanks dead in their tracks", 4x20mm will suffice for "soft" targets, and there are far better ground attack platforms than the P-51, principly the tiffy, with 4x20mm funnily enough........

 

[cheddar cheese]

Also the Hs-129, with 1x BK 7,5 cannon

 

[MP-Willow]

P-51s did have 20mm mostlyused by the RAF. The USAAC used 8x0.50s

We have talked about shells and rockets, but the most common way to kill a tank a 100lb bomb!
Or mybe a good artillery volley.

 

[Anonymous]

I never even knew 'Stangs were equipped with 20mm's...

The P-51A1 had 2 x Hispano II's. Most were delivered to the British who used them with 20mm installed. Most, but not all, of those kept by the USAAF after the US entered the war had the 20mm replaced with .50s.

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[the lancaster kicks ass]

USAAF P-51s had 6x.50cal, not 8, and i can't speak for the US, but the RAF didn't use 100lb bombs, do you mean 1,000lbs??

 

[Anonymous]

2x20mm wont "stop tanks dead in their tracks", 4x20mm will suffice for "soft" targets, and there are far better ground attack platforms than the P-51, principly the tiffy, with 4x20mm funnily enough........

20mm Hispano's won't kill a tank except for maybe Italian tanks and some very early German tanks. Armored car's and halftracks yes, tanks no!

As an example, the British took a captured Panzer III and set it in a prime location and attacked it repeatedly with Hurc-IIc's. After several thousands of hits something like only 1 was deemed to maybe have killed the tank and two more had disabled it.

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[the lancaster kicks ass]

oh i'm sorry, when did i say 4x20mm would take out a tank?? oh i'm sorry, I DIDN'T!! i said "4x20mm will suffice for "soft" targets", if you want a true british tankbuster take a hurricane Mk.IID..............

 

[Anonymous]

I was agreeing with you there Lanc

 

[cheddar cheese]

Yes I thought that...I dont know how he could read it otherwise

 

[KraziKanuK]

Americans have claimed that they can knock out Tigers with their 8x .50s fired from the P-47. Bounced them off the road surface into the belly, they did.

Don't know how they can claim doing so since the Tiger had a 1" steel belly.

 

[Anonymous]

Americans have claimed that they can knock out Tigers with their 8x .50s fired from the P-47. Bounced them off the road surface into the belly, they did.

Don't know how they can claim doing so since the Tiger had a 1" steel belly.

I'm rather dubious of this claim as well. It is well known that Tigers were regularly taken out by shooting the fuel trailer they often towed until they were on the front lines, but otherwise I think the chances are slim.

There are two ways the Tiger could be destroyed by such an attack. The first is that a hatch was left open underneath the tank (I'm not sure these were easily opened I think they were for emergency exit only). The other would be if a round bounced up and went up the downward facing exhaust pipe or into one of those downward facing louvers. Once inside under the armor in the engine compartment, it would bounce all over the place spewing 4000+ deg. F incendiary metal and the odds of a fuel fire/explosion would be quite good. I personally think this probably happened once or twice but it really is a fluke.

Another possibility is they just caught the tank unwares and the turret or drivers hatches were open and a round got inside.

Yet another possibility is that it was not really a Tiger. Some of the earlier German tanks (some of which were still in service) and especially armored cars had rather thin armor and could be destroyed by lots of .50 hits. Mis-identification of the type of tank was very common.

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