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 '''Fuel Tank''' - Storage of the fuel for the '''engine'''. Always source of trouble, as it is storage of highly flammable material - usually found wherever there is enough free space and still not enough, some tanks mounted also external fuel tanks. Diesel fuel is somewhat harder to catch fire than petrol, but in turn, such fire is also harder to put. Damaged fuel tank increases the risk of fire on subsequent hits. '''Fuel Tank''' - Storage of the fuel for the '''engine'''. Always source of trouble, as it is storage of highly flammable material - usually found wherever there is enough free space and still not enough, some tanks mounted also external fuel tanks. Diesel fuel is somewhat harder to catch fire than petrol, but in turn, such fire is also harder to put. Damaged fuel tank increases the risk of fire on subsequent hits.
? 
?'''Glacis''' - Highly sloped (at least relatively) part of front armor or (with later, all-sloped tanks) upper front armor. Sloped armor is intended to increase protection while reducing weight by using slope effect, works generally well against projectiles of similar caliber to glacis thickness. 
? 
?'''Hatch''' - Means to access crew seats in the tank. Whereas roof hatches are usually well hidden, driver's hatch is sometimes located on the tank '''glacis''' as on the T-34. 
  
 '''Idler Wheel''' - Part of the running gear of a tank, the idler wheel serves to propel the tracks. Damage to it can immobilize a tank. Especially important for changes in tracking mechanics in 6.4. '''Idler Wheel''' - Part of the running gear of a tank, the idler wheel serves to propel the tracks. Damage to it can immobilize a tank. Especially important for changes in tracking mechanics in 6.4.
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 '''Suspension''' - Means of suppressing vehicle shaking with various bumps on the road. In WWII, spring suspension or torsion bar suspension were usually used, though many tanks used also Christie suspension (most prominently BT series and T-34). Suspension limits how much weight can the tank carry without serious penalties to mobility. '''Suspension''' - Means of suppressing vehicle shaking with various bumps on the road. In WWII, spring suspension or torsion bar suspension were usually used, though many tanks used also Christie suspension (most prominently BT series and T-34). Suspension limits how much weight can the tank carry without serious penalties to mobility.
? 
?'''Transmission''' - Transfers power from the engine to '''idler wheels''', includes gearbox allowing switching gears. In game treated as part of engine, that's why German and US tanks suffer front hull engine damage so often. Also cause why they are taller than T-34 family. 
  
 '''Tracks''' - Secret of tank's mobility over broken terrain, tracks allow to cross difficult spot better than wheels. On the other hand they are fairly vulnerable to enemy fire. '''Tracks''' - Secret of tank's mobility over broken terrain, tracks allow to cross difficult spot better than wheels. On the other hand they are fairly vulnerable to enemy fire.
  
?'''Viewport''' - Means for the crew to see outside the tank with closed hatches. Most used methods were '''vision slits''' in earlier vehicles or later '''periscopes'''. 
  
?'''Vision Slit''' - '''Viewport''' built directly into vehicle's wall/front armor. Usually very lightly protected and thus vulnerable, moreover a crew member usually sits just behind them and a direct hit will incapacitate him. 
  
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 {{panel content|title=Turret/Superstructure|content= {{panel content|title=Turret/Superstructure|content=
  
?The fighting compartment of AFVs contains vehcle's primary armament and, usually, is located in a distinct fixed superstructure or, in case of tanks, in rotating turret. Usual crew of the fighting compartment includes vehicle commander, gunner and loader, however these functions can be combined - extreme case is for example French Hotchkiss 38H, where Commander also performed the role of gunner, loader and radio operator.+The fighting compartment of tanks contains vehicle's primary armament and, usually, is located in a distinct fixed superstructure or, in case of tanks, in rotating turret. Usual crew of the fighting compartment includes vehicle commander, gunner and loader, however these functions can be combined.
  
  
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 '''Gun''' - Main armament of AFV. For more detailed description see the '''Armament''' section. May mount a '''Muzzle Brake'''. '''Gun''' - Main armament of AFV. For more detailed description see the '''Armament''' section. May mount a '''Muzzle Brake'''.
? 
?'''Gun Shield''' - See '''Mantlet'''. 
  
 '''Mantlet''' - Moving part of armor, attached to the gun, protecting the gap in front armor through which the gun passes. Mantlets came in different sizes and shapes - and also functions. Mantlets usually partially overlap front armor, though in case of Tiger I, gun shield/mantlet is THE turret front armor, same as with Sherman (76). The second extreme is Sherman (75), where originally narrow gun shield expanded to cover a weaker part of front turret armor with additional layer. '''Mantlet''' - Moving part of armor, attached to the gun, protecting the gap in front armor through which the gun passes. Mantlets came in different sizes and shapes - and also functions. Mantlets usually partially overlap front armor, though in case of Tiger I, gun shield/mantlet is THE turret front armor, same as with Sherman (76). The second extreme is Sherman (75), where originally narrow gun shield expanded to cover a weaker part of front turret armor with additional layer.
  
?'''Muzzle Brake''' - Device redirecting part of propellant gases at the muzzle of the gun to reduce recoil. While muzzle brake can take away as much as 70% of gun recoil, thus enabling for faster target acquisition after shooting and reducing stress on vehicle, it causes other problems connected with the sound volume and muzzle blast magnitude. 
? 
?'''Turret Bustle''' - either integral part of rear turret, or additional box mounted on its outside, turret bustle usually serves either as munition storage (if integral) or to mount various equipment, such as radio (either internal or external), or just to store tools or equipment. 
  
 '''Turret Ring''' - Obviously, present only with rotating turrets, turret ring covers a bearing/turret rotation mechanism. Vulnerable spot on most tanks, as armor is usually thinner than on the rest of turret and sensitive machinery/crew is just behind. '''Turret Ring''' - Obviously, present only with rotating turrets, turret ring covers a bearing/turret rotation mechanism. Vulnerable spot on most tanks, as armor is usually thinner than on the rest of turret and sensitive machinery/crew is just behind.
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 '''Gun''' - Generally a shot or shell-firing weapon using lower register (below 45°) for direct fire, most often falls into following categories: '''Gun''' - Generally a shot or shell-firing weapon using lower register (below 45°) for direct fire, most often falls into following categories:
? 
?'''Gun, Anti-Tank''' - Self-explanatory. Antitank guns are designed with one main purpose in mind, and that is to punch holes into armored targets. The main aim of such gun is to fire a high-velocity shell at very flat trajectory and, if possible, accurately. To achieve this, antitank guns have usually long barrel (50-70 calibers or more). This however means that even HE shells have to have thick walls and thus carry often less explosives. 
?Many anti-tank guns started their career as something else, usually as field or anti-aircraft guns, ie applications which also needed high shell velocity and accuracy. 
?Typical examples: 57mm ZiS-2, 75mm PaK 39, 88mm PaK 43 
? 
?'''Gun, Close Support''' - Based on the WWI experience, tanks were supposed to provide close support to attacking infantry. For that purpose, it was important to have a relatively large-caliber weapon (to get a good HE payload), but muzzle velocity was not as crucial. Thus, at the beginning of the war, most countries employed fire support tanks with a low-velocity gun or howitzer. French army even based the entire doctrine around this concept. 
?Close support guns came usually in calibers from 37mm to 76mm, with rather short barrels (around 20 calibers or even less) and low muzzle velocity. Due to rapid advances in armor protection, they became obsolete very quickly and armies still using them had to deploy HEAT shells with them to keep them at least marginally useful in combat against other armored targets. 
?Typical examples: 75mm L/24 KwK 37 
  
 '''Gun, Conical''' - Usually referred to as taper-bore or squeezebore gun, it was a special category of anti-tank guns designed to provide high penetration without the use of special (and expensive) materials such as tungsten carbide, as well as to remove range limitations of APCR projectiles. Taper-bore guns used barrel with changing diameter, from original caliber to significantly smaller one, thus reducing the cross-section and drag of the projectile to extend its effective range. '''Gun, Conical''' - Usually referred to as taper-bore or squeezebore gun, it was a special category of anti-tank guns designed to provide high penetration without the use of special (and expensive) materials such as tungsten carbide, as well as to remove range limitations of APCR projectiles. Taper-bore guns used barrel with changing diameter, from original caliber to significantly smaller one, thus reducing the cross-section and drag of the projectile to extend its effective range.
? 
?'''Gun, Field''' - Artillery weapon, used for direct or indirect fire in lower register. Usually longer range than same caliber howitzers, in smaller calibers often firing fixed charge (fixed amount of propellant) to achieve high rates of fire, at the cost of larger dead zones. Light field guns were also often pushed to anti-tank duty, thanks to their high muzzle velocity resulting in good penetration. Conversely, obsolete antitank guns often wound up acting as field guns. 
?Typical examples: 76mm ZIS-3, 76mm PaK 36(r), 155mm M1A1 
? 
?'''Gun, Tank''' - Any gun specifically modified to be mounted in a tank. Due to different priorities, even exactly same guns may often vary significantly, both in the construction of their breech and in the recoil mechanism - this is because the artillery usually has little space constraints, whereas tank turret internal volume is a very definite one.  
?As an example of "tank-specific" changes, an evolution of US 76mm M1A1C gun can be taken. The original intent was to fit a 3-inch 76mm gun M7, used in Tank Destroyers and Heavy Tank M6, into a Sherman turret, but it was soon found that neither the recoil mechanism, breech or ammunition allow easy operations in the strict confines of tank turret. A new gun was thus designed, using a new ammunition - while projectiles were the same, cartridges were shorter and fatter, to give the same volume of propellant and thus the same muzzle velocity. Thus 76mm Gun M1 was created, and after shortening the barrel it became the ubiquitous M1A1/M1A1C, capable of being mounted in tanks. 
? 
?'''Gun-Howitzer''' - Artillery weapon, combining properties of field guns - long barrel, high muzzle velocity - with howitzers. Thanks to variable charge it is able to act as both, and since its advent it gradually proceeded to cancel both categories. Almost all weapons currently called "Howitzers" are, in fact, gun-howitzers. 
?In-game, there is what is considered the first gun-howitzer of any significance. The 152mm ML-20 gun-howitzer served not only in artillery battalions, but also as a heavy direct-fire weapon in SU-152 and ISU-152 assault guns. 
  
 '''Howitzer''' - Artillery weapon, with short barrel and low muzzle velocity, usually using separate charges. It was designed for high-register fires (above 45°) and thus to fire over hills and other obstacles. Howitzers are relatively light and share carriages with smaller guns - for example the carriages for US 155mm Field Gun and 8" Howitzer were the same. '''Howitzer''' - Artillery weapon, with short barrel and low muzzle velocity, usually using separate charges. It was designed for high-register fires (above 45°) and thus to fire over hills and other obstacles. Howitzers are relatively light and share carriages with smaller guns - for example the carriages for US 155mm Field Gun and 8" Howitzer were the same.
?Many countries thus used howitzers as a relatively simple way to increase tank firepower against soft target, to be used in assault guns and close support tanks. Because such vehicles had only a limited use against tanks, they were usually attached to tank units as support only, or concentrated in specialised units.+Many countries thus used howitzers as a relatively simple way to increase tank firepower against soft target, to be used in assault guns and close support tanks. Because such vehicles had only a limited use against tanks, they were usually attached to tank units as support only, or concentrated in specialized units.
 Typical examples: 105mm M4 Howitzer, 10.5cm Sturmhaubitze, 122mm M-30S. Typical examples: 105mm M4 Howitzer, 10.5cm Sturmhaubitze, 122mm M-30S.
  
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 '''APCR''' - ''Armor Piercing, Composite, Rigid'', basic ''subcaliber'' armor-piercing ammunition. APCR body consisted of a penetrator, with significantly smaller diameter than the bore, and of light metal casing around it, to fill up the bore. The light metal part was non-detacheable. Lighter mass gave the projectile higher muzzle velocity and higher penetration, however small sectional density gave by light weight, but full bore diameter, caused high drag and APCR lost velocity rapidly. APCR was used by all major players in WWII. '''APCR''' - ''Armor Piercing, Composite, Rigid'', basic ''subcaliber'' armor-piercing ammunition. APCR body consisted of a penetrator, with significantly smaller diameter than the bore, and of light metal casing around it, to fill up the bore. The light metal part was non-detacheable. Lighter mass gave the projectile higher muzzle velocity and higher penetration, however small sectional density gave by light weight, but full bore diameter, caused high drag and APCR lost velocity rapidly. APCR was used by all major players in WWII.
? 
?'''APCNR''' - ''Armor Piercing, Composite, Non-Rigid'', British designation for ''APSB''. 
? 
?'''APDS''' - ''Armor Piercing, Discarding Sabot'', evolution of APCR projectiles. The main difference was that upon leaving the muzzle, lightweight sabot fell off the projectile and only the subcaliber penetrating core continued towards the target. this solved the drag issues of APCR, even though it required higher degree of accuracy during production. First massively used by British 6pdr and 17pdr guns, early APDS witnessed accuracy problems. 
? 
?'''APHE''' - ''Armor Piercing, High Explosive'', ''AP'' shell with a small HE filler to enhance damage after penetration. Theoretically sound, HE often failed to ignite and cavity for HE often compromised the structural integrity of projectile. 
?Usually only ''AP'' is used, as most armies used APHE and it was rather pointless to distinguish between the two types. 
? 
?'''APFSDS''' - ''Armor Piercing, Fin-Stabillised, Discarding Sabot'', further development of ''APDS''. Not fitting in the WoT timeframe. 
? 
?'''APSB''' - ''Armor Piercing, Squeeze-Bore'', ammunition for conical/squeezebore/taper-bore guns. A penetrator is surrounded by a jacket of light, soft metal, which is squeezed by the conical portion of gun bore. this served to achieve very high muzzle velocities - comparable with APCR or APDS - while reducing the main problem of APCR, ie high drag. However it also presented large problems with gun barrel wear, as the conical part was hard to produce and had to be replaced very often. This, along with need for rare metals for the ammunition and with serious limit of other uses of the gun due to difficulties with HE ammunition, lead to suspension of the concept except specialised units, where light weight was critical, such as German 28mm sPzB.41 or British Littlejohn adapter for 2 pdr gun. 
  
 '''HE''' - ''High Explosive'', generally used term for any shell whose primary damage mechanism comes from an explosion of its charge, as opposed to kinetic damage done by AP shells. There are multiple kinds of HE projectile, the most often used is probably ''HE-Frag''. In its basic sense, pure HE shell would have only thin walls and would create little fragmentation, relying on blast to do the damage - thus, HE shells were often designed against hardened positions etc. However, practice showed that HE-Frag can be almost as effective as pure HE, while having more effect against soft targets, and as He-Frag took over the role, it took over the designation as well. '''HE''' - ''High Explosive'', generally used term for any shell whose primary damage mechanism comes from an explosion of its charge, as opposed to kinetic damage done by AP shells. There are multiple kinds of HE projectile, the most often used is probably ''HE-Frag''. In its basic sense, pure HE shell would have only thin walls and would create little fragmentation, relying on blast to do the damage - thus, HE shells were often designed against hardened positions etc. However, practice showed that HE-Frag can be almost as effective as pure HE, while having more effect against soft targets, and as He-Frag took over the role, it took over the designation as well.
? 
?'''HE-Frag''' - ''High Explosive-Fragmentation'' shells carry less explosive than pure ''HE'', but their thicker shell casing allows for higher muzzle velocities and creates more fragments. Modern HE-Frag often use pre-fragmented shell casing to increase effect in the target zone. 
  
 '''HEAT''' - ''High Explosive, Anti-Tank'', armor-piercign projectiles using hollow charge effect. Cup-shaped charge forms a thin jet of gases or of HEAT liner material, that travels at very high velocity. Contrary to kinetic energy AP, HEAT maintains the same penetration regardless of the shell velocity, so it was a popular choice for low-velocity guns and howitzers. However, WWII HEAT was often prone to failure and had usually short range. On the other hand it was cheap to produce - by the war's end, German tanks often carried a significant portion of their ammunition load in HEAT, replaing both AP and HE shells. '''HEAT''' - ''High Explosive, Anti-Tank'', armor-piercign projectiles using hollow charge effect. Cup-shaped charge forms a thin jet of gases or of HEAT liner material, that travels at very high velocity. Contrary to kinetic energy AP, HEAT maintains the same penetration regardless of the shell velocity, so it was a popular choice for low-velocity guns and howitzers. However, WWII HEAT was often prone to failure and had usually short range. On the other hand it was cheap to produce - by the war's end, German tanks often carried a significant portion of their ammunition load in HEAT, replaing both AP and HE shells.
? 
?'''Hlgr''' - ''Hohlladunggranate'', German designation for ''HEAT''.  
? 
?'''HVAP''' - ''High Velocity Armor Piercing'', US designation for ''APCR'' projectiles. 
  
 '''Pzgr''' - ''Panzergranate'', German designation of kinetic energy (''AP'') projectiles. Usual designation for most frequently used shells was Pzgr.39 (''APCBC'') and Pzgr.40 (''APCR''). '''Pzgr''' - ''Panzergranate'', German designation of kinetic energy (''AP'') projectiles. Usual designation for most frequently used shells was Pzgr.39 (''APCBC'') and Pzgr.40 (''APCR'').
  
?'''Sprgr''' - ''Sprenggranate'', German designation for ''HE'' or ''HE-Frag'' shells.+'''Sprgr''' - ''Sprenggranate'', German designation for ''HE'' shells.
  
?'''Subcaliber''' - General designation for any shell or shot whose diameter (or diameter of the penetrator) is significantly smaller than the caliber. Generally in game you can encounter ''APCR'' and ''HVAP'' projectiles. 
  
 }} }}
 }} }}
 [[category:Tutorials/Guides]] [[category:Tutorials/Guides]]

Revision as of 23:49, 9 September 2011

Frequently Used Terms and Abbreviations in WoT
This list will attempt to explain some of the more common jargon found within WoT that is not always readily apparent to the newer player.


1 shot/1 shotted - To kill or be killed with one shot.

88 - Any of the German 8.8 cm guns. (8.8 cm PaK 36 L/56, 8.8 cm KwK L/71, etc)

AFK - Away From Keyboard, not at the computer (e.g. "That PzIV hasn't moved, I think he's AFK")

AP - An Armour Piercing shell.

Arty - Artillery, Self Propelled Guns. (e.g. "Arty is lit up")

Base - The area marked by a flag and white circle. (Previously, the WoT Developers have placed a Christmas Tree instead of a flag for the holiday season)

Bounce - A shot that ricocheted off of or failed to penetrate another tank. This can be used in either perspective. (e.g. "I just bounced a Maus," meaning your shot bounced off or "That [tank] just bounced me" meaning that that tank bounced off of your armor

brb - Be Right Back

Camo Net - A piece of equipment that reduces the spottable range for still vehicles.

Camper - Someone who sits in one spot for at least 3/4 of a battle. (e.g. [username] is a camper! He's been sitting in that bush the whole match!!!)

Campinovka - The map titled 'Malinovka' so named for the amount of camping which takes place on this map.

Cap - To capture the enemy base. (e.g. "Cap before they do" meaning capture the enemy base before they can capture yours. This is usually said towards the end of the battle.)

CC - Community Contributor

Consumables - Equipment that can be purchased with credits and used when needed by pressing the 4, 5, or 6 keys.

Creds - Credits, WoT's in-game monetary system

Critical Hit, Crit - A shot that damaged a module or crew member in another tank. (e.g. I got a critical/crit hit for no damage on that IS-7)

cya - See Ya!

Def - To defend one's base. (e.g. Def base guys!)

Derp Gun - A gun that causes a lot of damage with one shot, usually having a very long reload time and low penetration. Usually associated with short, High-caliber guns that load HE. Arty's guns are not considered derps. (e.g. the 'derp gun' on the USSR tank KV)

DEV/DEVs - WoT developer/developers

Ding - A shot that has ricocheted.

Face Hugging - The tactic of placing the front of your hull against the front of the enemy's hull. (e.g. Why do IS-7 drivers always face hug Mauses?)

Ferdi - Ferdinand, a German Tank Destroyer.

FTW - For The Win

gg - Good Game

gl - Good Luck!

Gold - See this page for details.

Gold Consumables - Equipment that can be purchased with in-game gold. These consumables are sometimes automatic, sometimes you need to press the 4, 5, or 6 keys.

Gold Round - A munition which can be purchased for in-game gold such as HEAT or APCR. These munitions usually have better penetration or damage rates.

gs/ns - Good Shot/Nice Shot (e.g. gs joe!)

gtg/g2g - Got to Go

HE - A High Explosive munition.

hf - Have Fun!

HT - A Heavy Tank

Hull Down - To keep your tank's hull below a hill or other obstacle to prevent shots hitting it. (e.g. Hiding behind a fence on Malinovka in a T29)

IMHO - In My Humble Opinion

IMO - In My Opinion

k - OK

Kill Stealer - Someone who deliberately shoots a tank that you have nearly killed and only need one more shot to finish, thus taking the credit for destroying it.

Light - A Light Tank

LOL - Laughing Out L oud

LOL-Traktor - The German Tier 1 Tank, The Leichtraktor. Although sometimes more recently used to mean any of the Tier 1 tanks.

Med - A Medium Tank

Mod - A WoT in-game or forum moderator.

Nerf - To weaken. (e.g. "Nerf the T29, the turret is too strong" means to make the turret have less armour)

nvm - Never Mind

OP - Over Powered, too strong compared to other vehicles, usually of the same tier. (e.g. Maus is OP, give it less armour to balance)

Peek-a-boo - The tactic of rounding a corner to take a shot at another tank and immediately reversing back to the cover of the corner while reloading.

Pen - The amount of penetration for a given gun or to penetrate a target.

Penetrate - To shoot at a target and have the shell penetrate the armour.

Pwn - To utterly destroy without effort. Its usage is generally supposed to have come from a typo of the word 'own'.

Pwned - To be utterly and effortlessly destroyed. (e.g. I just got pwned by that SU-26) or a victory cry by someone who has just effortlessly or resoundingly beaten an opponent. (e.g. ARTY PWNED!!!)

Prem - Premium, can refer to premium accounts, premium tanks, premium shells, premium consumables, or even your garage.

Rammer - A device that shortens the loading times on tanks, SPGs, and Tank Destoryers.

Ramming - To crash into another tank and thus damage it.

ROFL - Rolling On The Floor Laughing

RTB - Returning to Base or Return to Base

Rush - To charge either directly or indirectly at the enemy base, usually along one flank.

Schoolbus - SU-14, its usage is now very rare.

Scout - A tank that spots enemy vehicles. Usually a light or medium tank, although, sometimes a Tank Destroyer or Heavy Tank will do the job.

Skin - The texture on a tank. This word usually refers to a user-created texture. (e.g. I love the skin that so-and-so made.)

SPG - Self propelled gun, artillery. (e.g. That SPG on the other team just 1 shotted me!)

TD - A Tank Destroyer

Team Killer - Someone who deliberately kills or damages a friendly tank. (These players are easily spotted by their cyan name tag)

Track - To destroy another tank's tracks thus rendering it immobile. (e.g. Track that Maus!)

Tracked - A tank that has had the tracks destroyed. (e.g. "Maus tracked)


Directions
North - The top side on the in-game mini-map.

South - The bottom side on the in-game mini-map.

East - The right side on the in-game mini-map.

West - The left side on the in-game mini-map.


Parts of a Tank
Every armored fighting vehicle consists of three main compartments: Driving compartment, fighting compartment and engine compartment. For a basic description, however, it is easier to divide the vehicles into hull and turret/superstructure, where hull contains driving and engine compartments and turret/superstructure contains fighting compartment.
Hull
Hull usually houses driving compartment (Driver or driver and assistant driver/radio operator) and engine compartment, plus of course part of the fighting compartment and ammunition storage.

Ammo Rack - ammunition storage, the function is clear: To store and to protect ammunition. However many compromises have to be made with regards to the amount of ammunition, thus ammo rack is always a weak part of any tank.

Armor - Basic attribute of tank, armor provides protection against the enemy fire. Armor has usually varying thickness and slopes and is usually divided into front armor (incl. Glacis), side armor (often split between upper and lower sections with different thicknesses/slopes) and rear armor.

Armor Skirts - Additional armor designed to protect weaker-protected parts of tanks, usually hull sides. Introduced by German designers to protect primarily against 14.5-mm antitank rifle projectiles and 76-mm HE shells, it was discovered that this additional armor is able, under proper conditions, to damage capped AP projectiles and to degrade penetration of HEAT weapons (though at angles around 90°, it actually augmented the penetration in some cases).

Chassis - General term used for all parts of hull connected to engine/transmission/suspension. Often vehicles use the same chassis, even though they serve completely different purposes.

Engine - The core of the tank, providing power and source of devastating fires. In WWII, usually rear-mounted. Petrol engines were considered more flammable than diesel engines, but when a shell hit the tank, the difference usually was not all that important.

Fuel Tank - Storage of the fuel for the engine. Always source of trouble, as it is storage of highly flammable material - usually found wherever there is enough free space and still not enough, some tanks mounted also external fuel tanks. Diesel fuel is somewhat harder to catch fire than petrol, but in turn, such fire is also harder to put. Damaged fuel tank increases the risk of fire on subsequent hits.

Idler Wheel - Part of the running gear of a tank, the idler wheel serves to propel the tracks. Damage to it can immobilize a tank. Especially important for changes in tracking mechanics in 6.4.

Periscope - Periscopic devices were used to provide visibility with closed hatches without the need to have a vision slit in a tank's glacis/walls, thus removing said weak spots.

Sponson - Part of tank hull located above tracks. Often used to store ammunition, in some cases also to mount the tank's armament. This is most prominent on M3 Lee, where the main tank's armament is sponson-mounted.

Suspension - Means of suppressing vehicle shaking with various bumps on the road. In WWII, spring suspension or torsion bar suspension were usually used, though many tanks used also Christie suspension (most prominently BT series and T-34). Suspension limits how much weight can the tank carry without serious penalties to mobility.

Tracks - Secret of tank's mobility over broken terrain, tracks allow to cross difficult spot better than wheels. On the other hand they are fairly vulnerable to enemy fire.


Turret/Superstructure
The fighting compartment of tanks contains vehicle's primary armament and, usually, is located in a distinct fixed superstructure or, in case of tanks, in rotating turret. Usual crew of the fighting compartment includes vehicle commander, gunner and loader, however these functions can be combined.


Ammo Rack - ammunition storage, the function is clear: To store and to protect ammunition. However many compromises have to be made with regards to the amount of ammunition, thus ammo rack is always a weak part of any tank. Ready ammo rack, usually found in turret, was in most tanks totally unprotected and thus very vulnerable.

Armor - Basic attribute of tank, armor grants it protection from enemy fire. Armor has usually varying thickness and slopes and is usually split into front armor (incl. mantlet), side armor and rear armor. Turret armor is always more exposed than hull armor, especially if vehicle is fighting from hull-down positions. In case of rotating turret it also presents even more compromises than hull armor, as it influences the balance and thus turning of the turret - for example this is the reason PzKpfw IV ended war with just 50mm front turret armor.

Cupola - Additional small "turret" on top of superstructure/tank turret, usually reserved for commander, providing him with 360° vision. However the downside is that cupolas usually present a rather vulnerable target and their damage means incapacitation of the vehicle's commander.

Gun - Main armament of AFV. For more detailed description see the Armament section. May mount a Muzzle Brake.

Mantlet - Moving part of armor, attached to the gun, protecting the gap in front armor through which the gun passes. Mantlets came in different sizes and shapes - and also functions. Mantlets usually partially overlap front armor, though in case of Tiger I, gun shield/mantlet is THE turret front armor, same as with Sherman (76). The second extreme is Sherman (75), where originally narrow gun shield expanded to cover a weaker part of front turret armor with additional layer.


Turret Ring - Obviously, present only with rotating turrets, turret ring covers a bearing/turret rotation mechanism. Vulnerable spot on most tanks, as armor is usually thinner than on the rest of turret and sensitive machinery/crew is just behind.


Armament
Automatic Cannon - Rapid-fire weapon of 20mm or larger caliber. Used in early-war light tanks to give them edge versus their (by then) machine gun-armed opponents. However, quick shell-vs-armor race left automatic cannons rapidly behind and used only by few specialized German reconnaissance vehicles. However, automatic cannons vastly expanded in the region of anti-aircraft defense.

Typical examples: 20mm KwK 38, 20mm TNSh

Gun - Generally a shot or shell-firing weapon using lower register (below 45°) for direct fire, most often falls into following categories:

Gun, Conical - Usually referred to as taper-bore or squeezebore gun, it was a special category of anti-tank guns designed to provide high penetration without the use of special (and expensive) materials such as tungsten carbide, as well as to remove range limitations of APCR projectiles. Taper-bore guns used barrel with changing diameter, from original caliber to significantly smaller one, thus reducing the cross-section and drag of the projectile to extend its effective range.

Howitzer - Artillery weapon, with short barrel and low muzzle velocity, usually using separate charges. It was designed for high-register fires (above 45°) and thus to fire over hills and other obstacles. Howitzers are relatively light and share carriages with smaller guns - for example the carriages for US 155mm Field Gun and 8" Howitzer were the same. Many countries thus used howitzers as a relatively simple way to increase tank firepower against soft target, to be used in assault guns and close support tanks. Because such vehicles had only a limited use against tanks, they were usually attached to tank units as support only, or concentrated in specialized units. Typical examples: 105mm M4 Howitzer, 10.5cm Sturmhaubitze, 122mm M-30S.

KwK - Kampfwagen Kanone, German for Tank Gun.

PaK - Panzerabwehr Kanone, German for Anti-tank Gun.

StuH - SturmHaubitze, German for "Assault Howitzer", Close support gun created by mounting a howitzer in an armored vehicle.

StuK - SturmKanone, German for "Assault Gun", ie weapon specifically designed to be mounted in Sturmgeschütz.
Ammunition
AP - Armor Piercing, ammunition type dedicated to penetrating enemy armor and thus disabling a tank. Often used as blanket term covering all various kinetic energy full-bore projectiles, "classic" AP shot was made of solid metal with no filler nor composite structure, relying only on its mass to penetrate and do sufficient damage to the enemy tank. While most WWII countries used APHE, the United Kingdom preferred to use solid shot and while theoretically tests showed some difference in the internal damage of target tank, in real condition it usually did not matter.

APCR - Armor Piercing, Composite, Rigid, basic subcaliber armor-piercing ammunition. APCR body consisted of a penetrator, with significantly smaller diameter than the bore, and of light metal casing around it, to fill up the bore. The light metal part was non-detacheable. Lighter mass gave the projectile higher muzzle velocity and higher penetration, however small sectional density gave by light weight, but full bore diameter, caused high drag and APCR lost velocity rapidly. APCR was used by all major players in WWII.

HE - High Explosive, generally used term for any shell whose primary damage mechanism comes from an explosion of its charge, as opposed to kinetic damage done by AP shells. There are multiple kinds of HE projectile, the most often used is probably HE-Frag. In its basic sense, pure HE shell would have only thin walls and would create little fragmentation, relying on blast to do the damage - thus, HE shells were often designed against hardened positions etc. However, practice showed that HE-Frag can be almost as effective as pure HE, while having more effect against soft targets, and as He-Frag took over the role, it took over the designation as well.

HEAT - High Explosive, Anti-Tank, armor-piercign projectiles using hollow charge effect. Cup-shaped charge forms a thin jet of gases or of HEAT liner material, that travels at very high velocity. Contrary to kinetic energy AP, HEAT maintains the same penetration regardless of the shell velocity, so it was a popular choice for low-velocity guns and howitzers. However, WWII HEAT was often prone to failure and had usually short range. On the other hand it was cheap to produce - by the war's end, German tanks often carried a significant portion of their ammunition load in HEAT, replaing both AP and HE shells.

Pzgr - Panzergranate, German designation of kinetic energy (AP) projectiles. Usual designation for most frequently used shells was Pzgr.39 (APCBC) and Pzgr.40 (APCR).

Sprgr - Sprenggranate, German designation for HE shells.
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