Matrix Games Forums

Originally posted by Lars Remmen:


Being nitpicky? I just pointed out that I think you are wrong. Tungsten utilized in AP ammo is used to make the projectile hard, light and thus to make the projectile leave the muzzle faster then the ordinary AP round. Not to make the projectile heavier. Since you said (at least the was how I read it) that the reason the US round was heavier was due to tungsten I don't think that is being nitpicky

Originally posted by pbear:


OK my two cents. If you make a core of tungstan inside a shell (surrounded by a steel/lead jacket) the shell will be heavier than a normal AP round. If you also drive this round at a higher velocity. Then you will get much higher energy in the round. Now an interesting thing happens when this sort of round hits an armor plate, the outer jacket peals off but it imparts the overall energy to the smaller tungstan core giving it a much higher energy per sq inch this much higher energy causing the core to penatrate a much thicher plate. A higher velocity can be achived by using something other than steel/lead for the jacket. Using a pure tungstan round it not feasiable because you wear out the rifleing in the barrel and it's to heavy to achive the velocity. The velocity is important for two reasons it is part of the force equation and the longer a round takes to reach a target the more it drops this caused and accracy problem.

Shh! Don't confuse them with facts.... just reduce the American gun.

Did I say two cents opps.

Originally posted by FrankyVas:
Sven, please refrain from posting again unless you have something constructive to say. One post might have been OK? but you haven't said anything usefull. Most people don't know how a gun's ballistics work and would be interested in learning. If they read your crappy posts they probably won't read on and won't learn.

Frank V.

Originally posted by pbear:


OK my two cents. If you make a core of tungstan inside a shell (surrounded by a steel/lead jacket) the shell will be heavier than a normal AP round. If you also drive this round at a higher velocity. Then you will get much higher energy in the round. Now an interesting thing happens when this sort of round hits an armor plate, the outer jacket peals off but it imparts the overall energy to the smaller tungstan core giving it a much higher energy per sq inch this much higher energy causing the core to penatrate a much thicher plate. A higher velocity can be achived by using something other than steel/lead for the jacket. Using a pure tungstan round it not feasiable because you wear out the rifleing in the barrel and it's to heavy to achive the velocity. The velocity is important for two reasons it is part of the force equation and the longer a round takes to reach a target the more it drops this caused and accracy problem.

Did I say two cents opps.

Originally posted by vex:
I originally Posted:
if you're going to get technical, tungsten is what makes it heavier, heavier then brass,steel,etc.etc. but also alot harder then lead. thereby giving it mass(=force)while not compromising on its hardness (ability to pierce).

a simple (and correct answer) to a simple question to add some more information to a problem. i am a degreed chemist with a master's in chemical engineering and work as such. i could have pointed at the density, atomic weight and boiling point which all point to the same answer in a long winded way but didn't see the point because, that wasn't my point. i would love to have a educated discussion/argument on such a topic but calling me wrong and then stating the same answer in different ways shows that you are being a know-it-all who only cares about trying to be right and not have an intelligible conversation/discussion. this is more of a "jerry springerish" type argument and therefore will take no part in it. their are numerous reasons for the 37mm phenom in SPWAW another could even be the way guns were often tested in WW2 (see "death traps" by cooper) or many other tales of flawed US ordinance tests.

oh, to take a shot at being larsish or svenish. AmmoSgt, your information is quite proper - however, i believe that e=mc2 is not the equation you are looking for, because this is part of eintein's quantum theory where c=the speed of light coeffient.
i believe you were looking for force=massxacceleration. maybe i am wrong?

Originally posted by Brummagem:
The 37 mm Anti-tank Gun, M3
In 1935 the U.S. Army began the development of an anti-tank gun, a newly conceived field artillery piece whose mission was to defeat the recently developed tanks of that era. Foreign anti-tank guns were studied including the 25 mm French Hotchkiss and the 37 mm German Rhinemetall. In 1937 with World War II imminent, the Ordinance Department issued a requirement for an anti-tank gun weighing less than 1000 lbs so that it could be transported by a jeep. The resultant design was essentially a copy of the 37 mm Rhinemetall with minor modifications. The barrel size was 37 mm with a dropping block breech. Anti-tank ammunition was developed with a projectile velocity of 2900 fps. The small anti-tank gun served as the predecessor of the 37 mm guns for the Stuart light tanks and the M8 armored car. Between 1939 and 1943 over 20,000 37 mm anti-tank guns were manufactured. The M3 37 mm anti-tank gun proved too light a caliber to be effective against tanks in North Africa and Europe. In the Pacific theater the M3 anti-tank gun was more effective against Japanese armor and proved to be an accurate direct fire weapon for stationary hard targets. A large hand crank wheel controls traverse of the barrel while the small knob below it changes gun elevation.
ADDITIONAL TECHNICAL DATA 37 MM ANTI-TANK GUN, M3

Length............10 ft. 10.5 in.
Width..............5 ft. 3.5 in.
Height.............3 ft. 2 in.
Weight.............912 lbs.
Firing Rate........5-20 rounds per minute
Munition...........Fixed HE, AP, APC and Cannister
Projectile Weight 1.5 to 2 lbs.