I get the impression that post war Russian 100mm ammunition is not too hard to find in Europe as it was used in the T54/T55 tanks. I was able to put together this complete AP round with a 1944 dated case. The HE projectile appears to be dated 1984 for comparison. I know the 122mm complete AP round here for comparison should not have the projectile on the case as it was separately loaded; however they do fit together very tightly. I did do some restoration work on the armor piercing projectile to lessen the severity of the corrosion pitting.
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WWII Russian 100mm Armor Piercing Round for the SU-100 Tank Destroyer
- Thread starter M8owner
- Start date
M8, lovely to see these side by side 100mm, 122mm projectiles and cases... very jealous
However, does anyone know why Russian projectiles are almost always severely pitted ...I've always assumed it must be the quality / composition of the steel, or perhaps the paint was much thinner or of different constituents.
rich
However, does anyone know why Russian projectiles are almost always severely pitted ...I've always assumed it must be the quality / composition of the steel, or perhaps the paint was much thinner or of different constituents.
rich
Those are tension release and breaking grooves. The nose is hardened, and tends to break apart upon high speed impact with armour ( the Russians use no piercing caps). The breaking grooves enshures the tension flows away into the grooves and if the projectile breaks apart, it breaks on the groove, leaving the rest of the projectile complete to pierce the target.
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My understanding about these grooves is to keep the explosive cavity intact after piercing the target. When the projectile impacts and travels in the armor it is being compressed. After leaving the armor on the other side it springs outwards trying to regain its original shape and because of the tension it breaks apart while the delay element in the fuze is still burning. The grooves are to control this side-effect. With the use of the self-regulating delay fuzes that detonate right in the moment of the complete penetration (like the DBR, DBR-2) these grooves have become obsolote.
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Hoeksel
Guest
Never seen before, a WW2 dated 100 mm case!
