What is good about a cumulative projectile?

In connection with the release of update 0.8.1 "The world of tanks", it became possible to buy "gold" shells for playing silver. The WOT cumulative projectile is not a panacea for any kind of "non-penetration". Many believe that such ammunition can shoot at any enemy tanks in any part of it, and are very indignant when they hear: "did not strike." The world of tanks uses a completely realistic system for penetration by armor-piercing, high-explosive shells, and also by cumulative ammunition. The principle of operation and application of the latter will be considered below.

At the very beginning of the war, Soviet tankmen collided with German tank destroyers, who used cumulative missiles. The very term "cumulation" appeared already in the second half of the XIX century. At that time, the action of the cumulative jet was partially studied, but in combat conditions it was not applied until 1940. The cumulative projectile completely changed the tactics of fighting on tanks. Now the tank, which was left unguarded, became an easy target for enemy fighters. How does the cumulative projectile work?

The principle of its operation is quite simple. The warhead is supplied with a small funnel made of metal about 1 mm thick. And the pointed part of the funnel is directed towards the explosive. The shell explodes before the cumulative projectile touches the armor.

The detonation of explosives starts at the top of the funnel, the subversive wave flattens the funnel to the center along the axis of the projectile. The pressure inside the projectile reaches 500,000 atmospheres, which turns the funnel into a quasi-liquid flow. A huge pressure pushes it to the surface of the armor, which it begins to "wash away", roughly like a jet of water washing away the sand.

During the formation of the cumulative jet, different parts of it acquire a different speed, due to which its length increases. The very same jet begins to break down, the degree of its penetration decreases. The cumulative projectile has the greatest degree of penetration when it is blasted at some distance from the main armor. The piercing ability of the projectile is approximately equal to its 6-8 caliber. In the event that depleted uranium is used in the projectile , the penetration of such an ammunition is 10 calibers.

Of the advantages of the cumulative jet, one can note its independence from the speed and range of the projectile's flight. Such ammunition is excellent for small field artillery, hand grenade launchers. Independence from the range of firing gives the main advantage when firing cumulative projectiles in the "World of tanks". But at shooting it is necessary to take into account the lower speed of the projectile's flight, and, therefore, to take a greater lead.

The use of such projectiles in powerful artillery with high velocities of the projectile's flight is associated with great difficulties. The effect of the cumulative jet is directly dependent on the angle of its development direction, and also during the flight the projectile is given a high speed of rotation, which negatively affects its ability to penetrate. During the shooting from the smooth-bore weapon, the projectile does not rotate, its flight is stabilized by the feathers, but the high velocity of the projectile approach does not allow time for the formation of the cumulative jet.

To protect their tanks from the damaging effect of the cumulative jet began during the war, the Soviet tankmen, hanging on combat vehicles various screens that caused the cumulative projectile to fire earlier, and its penetration rate decreased significantly. Similar can be seen in the "World of tanks": many tanks are equipped with screens that increase the chance of getting "non-penetration" even with "gold" shaped projectiles.

At present, combined armor is widely used in NATO countries , which consists of several layers of metal and ceramics. When a cumulative jet penetrates into such armor, its effect is dissipated with each new layer overcome, as a result, the jet breaks up. In the army of Russia and Israel, dynamic armor is widely used, which destroys the cumulative jet by an inverse explosion.