Glossary : Différence entre versions
| Version du 18 janvier 2012 à 10:33 Added Autoloader. Slightly revised Auto-cannon. | Version du 18 janvier 2012 à 10:46 Grammar edits of Howitzer | |||
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| '''Autoloader''' - An automatic loading mechanism first used by the French, and exclusively used by French tanks during the time period covered in the game. Tanks with an autoloader are capable of firing several shots in rapid succession, drawing rounds from a magazine. These are not to be confused with an auto-cannon, as these fire single shots from full-size cannons. When the magazine is used up, the crew member filling the Loader position must then refill the magazine. This can take some time, so taking shelter behind cover while reloading is recommended. Some modern (not in game) autoloaders are capable of drawing ammunition directly from the ammo rack, completely eliminating the need for a crew member to load ammo. | '''Autoloader''' - An automatic loading mechanism first used by the French, and exclusively used by French tanks during the time period covered in the game. Tanks with an autoloader are capable of firing several shots in rapid succession, drawing rounds from a magazine. These are not to be confused with an auto-cannon, as these fire single shots from full-size cannons. When the magazine is used up, the crew member filling the Loader position must then refill the magazine. This can take some time, so taking shelter behind cover while reloading is recommended. Some modern (not in game) autoloaders are capable of drawing ammunition directly from the ammo rack, completely eliminating the need for a crew member to load ammo. | |||
| ? | '''Howitzer''' - Artillery weapon, with short barrel and low muzzle velocity, usually using separate charges. It was designed for high-register | + | '''Howitzer''' - Artillery weapon, with short barrel and low muzzle velocity, usually using separate charges. It was designed for high-register firing (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 the 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 | + | Many countries thus used howitzers as a relatively simple way to increase tank firepower against soft targets, to be used as assault guns and close support tanks. Since such vehicles were of limited use against tanks, they were usually attached to tank units as support only, or concentrated in specialized units that weren't expected to encounter enemy tanks. | |
| 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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| {{panel content|title=Ammunition|content= | {{panel content|title=Ammunition|content= | |||
| ? | '''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 | + | '''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 combat conditions 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-detachable. Lighter mass gave the projectile higher muzzle velocity and higher penetration, however | + | '''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-detachable. Lighter mass gave the projectile higher muzzle velocity and higher penetration, however the smaller sectional density given by the light weight, but full bore diameter, caused high drag resulting in APCR losing 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 | + | '''HE''' - ''High Explosive'', a generally used term for any shell whose primary damage mechanism comes from an explosion of its charge, as opposed to kinetic damage done by the mass of the shell. There are multiple kinds of HE projectile, the most often used is probably ''HE-Frag'', which has a shell that fragments on impact, creating a hail of lethal shrapnel. A pure HE shell would have thin walls and would create very little fragmentation, relying on the 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 being more effective against soft targets, and as HE-Frag took over the role, it took over the designation as well. | |
| '''HEAT''' - ''High Explosive, Anti-Tank'', armor-piercing 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, replacing both AP and HE shells. | '''HEAT''' - ''High Explosive, Anti-Tank'', armor-piercing 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, replacing both AP and HE shells. | |||
Version du 18 janvier 2012 à 10:46
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