US 3in & 90mm AP shot effects

[MINENAZ16]

I like this photo :

 

[frijoles108]

Ive seen this photo before, is this the front of a m4a3e2 they are testing on?

 

[M8owner]

That photo certainly supports the reports that US base fuses on high explosive filled armor piercing rounds failed to function properly quite often.

 

[MINENAZ16]

Ive seen this photo before, is this the front of a m4a3e2 they are testing on?

I don't know

 

[MINENAZ16]

That photo certainly supports the reports that US base fuses on high explosive filled armor piercing rounds failed to function properly quite often.

Maybe not good label because, as far as I know M62 were fired empty, plugged with tracer (no fuze).
I think rounds are unexploded M62A1 (maybe they tried to fire empty or filled but with failed operation of fuzes).

 

[greif]

Also interesting to see: two pictures from the internet taken probably somewhere at the Maginot line and showing impacts of three 8,8 cm Pzgr, one of them still unexploded.

 

[M8owner]

The two 3 inch AP on the left clearly have M66 base fuses. I have some of the tracer plugs, and the plugs look nothing like the fuses.

 

[jeff w]

Ive seen this photo before, is this the front of a m4a3e2 they are testing on?

Definitely the lower front hull/final drive assembly of a jumbo.
The casting in the picture is marked as 56 degrees for some hits and that corresponds to the lower front hull slope of a jumbo.
The jumbo front armor ranged from 4 to 5.5 inches thick. The results shown do seem to correspond with that thickness for those projectiles at the given velocities.
Plus it has that little 5"+ ruler on the front, just enough to cover the depth of penetration.
Cool picture.

 

[jeff w]

That photo certainly supports the reports that US base fuses on high explosive filled armor piercing rounds failed to function properly quite often.

Looks like they were just testing the ballistic properties of the armor - so you would think the projectiles were made inert before firing.
An early detonation would nullify the results. Not to mention the chance of nullifying the GI who had to go down range and do the inspecting and measuring.

The base detonating fuze problems they had were with both premature detonation and no detonation. The far worse problem being premature detonation, which prevented complete penetration of the plate.