[WoT] Digging Through Archives: On 8.8 cm PaK 43

Some "archive stuff". The image below represents penetration tests of 8.8 cm PaK (Germany), 122mm D-25T (USSR), and 152mm howitzer ML-20 (USSR) done against IS-3 prototype by Soviets.

 

Central Archive of the Russian Ministry of Defence, fund 38, inventory 11355, case N2943, page 16

IS-3 wasn't impressed at all.

Text above the image:
Front plate of IS-3 is practically immune to contemporary tank guns. The durability of welded plates ensures the required level of protection.
After 7 hits of 88-152mm rounds, the front plate is still good to go. 

Text under the image:
Mark 16: hit by 88mm round from 330m.
Marks 17 and 18: hits by 122mm and 152mm rounds respectively from 690m.

[WoT] Digging Through Archives: Soviet 122mm D-25T and 152mm ML-20S Being Tested on Ferdinand and Panther

As continuation of the penetration topic, below are the photos featuring the results of 122mm D-25T and 152mm ML-20S tests with Ferdinand and Panther being used as test targets. What the pics show is that guaranteed penetration doesn't equal to extreme penetration. Shells of 100+ mm have their own (sometimes very funny) effects for their victims.

First off, the results of BL-8 tests (regular AP rounds).
Central Archive of the Russian Ministry of Defence, fund 38, inventory 11369, case N304

150mm armour plate 

Rounds 1-4 fired at 30 deg slope, 5 and 6 and 0/90 degree slope.

180mm armour plate

All rounds fired at 0/90 degree slope.


203mm armour plate

All rounds fired at 0/90 degree slope.

Now getting to our Panther and Ferdinand using Следующий эпизод - обстрел Пантеры и Фердинанда из D-25T and ML-20S.
Central Archive of the Russian Ministry of Defence, fund 38, inventory 11369, case N40

D-25T vs Panther

 

See the image above: Panther's front hull has got a reach-through hole of 150x230mm from 122mm round (distance - 1400m).

And the second image, far more interesting..

N33.  Panther's turret hit by 122mm rounds.
1. A reach-through hole of 130x180mm. The opposite side of the turret is off.
2. A reach-through hole of 130x230mm. The turret itself came off the hull by 500mm.
Distance - 1400m.

N34. Rear turret coming off.

Strangely, the same thing happened to Ferdi. Based on table values its superstructure shouldn't have been penetrated by this gun. 

N35. Ferdinand's front hull being hit by 122mm rounds.
The first plate has been penetrated (100mm), the second bounced the round off.
Distance - 1400m.

N36. Ferdinand's turret being hit by 122mm rounds.
1. There are a dent of 100mm and a small bulge on the other side. Armour thickness is 200mm.
2. A reach-through hole, the shell got stuck. Armour thickness - 150-180mm.
Distance - 1400m.


And now it's ML-20's turn. Looks impressive.

N37. Panther's front hull being hit by 152mm AP rounds.
There is a breach of 360x470mm.
The round ricocheted.
Distance - 1200m.


N38. Panther's turret being hit by 152mm AP rounds.
Again, there is a breach of 360x470mm, including the opposite side. Turret is really messed up.
Distance - 1200m, estimated angle of impact - 60 deg.

And our Ferdi.

N39. Ferdinand's side being hit by 152mm AP rounds.
And we are gettinga breach of 220x230mm.
Distance - 1000m.

N40. Ferdinand's front being hit by 152mm AP rounds.
The outer plate (500x1000mm) has naturally come off. 
Distance - 1200m.

And that's how the poor Ferdi looked after that.

[WoT] Digging Through Archives: Some Penetration Tests

Not wishing to continue (pour oil on the flames) the gold old "underestimated penetration of  German guns" topic, just sharing some of the newly-found information (as always thanks to our military experts).

The tables below feature the penetration data gathered by the Soviet tank forces during the WWII. Unlike some propaganda materials, these figures were used directly for military purposes such as the calculation (and subsequent construction) of the necessary protection level for Soviet tank armour plates.

Table 1

Some explanation. The first column gives distance to target in meters, penetration is given for a number of guns for both 60 and 90 deg armour slope.
Tested guns (from left to right):

• 45mm mod. 1938 for T-70 (USSR)
• 57mm ZiS-4 for T-34 (USSR)
• 76mm F-4 for T-34 and ZiS-3 for SU-76 (USSR)
• 85mm D-5 for SU-85 and S-53 for T-34-85 (USSR)
• 85mm experimental (USSR)
• 100mm D-10S for SU-100 (USSR)
• 122mm D-25 for ISU-122 (USSR)
• 152mm howitzer (?) for ISU-152 (USSR)
• 152mm gun (?) for ISU-152 (USSR)
• 152mm OBM experimental (USSR)
• 57mm (UK)
• 75mm for M3 (US)
• 50mm mod.1938 for Pz. III (Germany)
• 75mm mod.1940 for Pz. IV (Germany)
• 75mm mod. 1942 for Pz. V Panther (Germany)
• 88mm for Pz. VI Tiger - L56 - (Germany)
• 88mm for Ferdinand - L71 - (Germany)

German guns are marked with red square in the pic.

Notes:
1. Fraction represents penetration value for AP (above) and APCR (below) rounds
2. Penetration is measured in mm.

Comparing that data to what we have got in the game at the moment:
50mm mod.1938 for Pz. III (Germany) - 74/110 (table) vs 60/96 (in-game) -18.9% / -12.7%
75mm mod.1940 for Pz. IV (Germany) - 103 (table) vs 106 (in-game) +3%
75mm mod. 1942 for Pz. V Panther (Germany) - 150 (table) vs 138 (in-game) -8%
88mm for Pz. VI Tiger - L56 - (Germany) - 120 (table) vs 132 (in-game) +10%
88mm for Ferdinand - L71 - (Germany) - 168 (table) vs 203 (in-game) +20.8%

Smell antyhing here?

You can compare the rest on your own.

Table 2

Table 2 basically repeats what has been given earlier, only 105mm K18 gun is added there. Plus the table at the bottom contains the data on armouring in mm (front, side, rear, top) of Panther (it's called a heavy tank there btw), Tiger, and Ferdinand.

And a bit of German tactics explained at the very bottom (also translated from the document):

• high concentration of tanks on the main attacking directions
• taking advantage of accurate guns at long-range combat (1500-2000m)
• taking advantage of good armour and right positioning (hiding one's hull)