What is a tank round?

Generally the round is made from special, high chromium steel which is forged into shape, rather than cast, and then annealed; this imparts extremely high tensile strength into the round. They are generally used against tank armour, concrete or other defences, depending on the calibre of the round being used.

How does a tank round work?

At its nose, the round has an extended impact sensor. When the impact sensor collides with a target, it ignites an explosive, which melts surrounding copper. A shape charge liner concentrates the molten metal and hot gases into a narrow blast that cuts through the armor.

What size is a tank round?

120×570mm NATO tank ammunition (4.7 inch) also known as 120×570 R is a common, NATO-standard (STANAG 4385), tank gun semi-combustible cartridge used by 120mm smoothbore guns, superseding the earlier 105×617mmR cartridge used in NATO-standard rifled tank guns.

How powerful is a tank round?

The M829A1 round weighs 20.9 kg (46 lb) and has an overall length of 984 mm (38.7 in). The 7.9 kg (17 lb) of JA-19 propellant creates a chamber pressure of 5,600 bars (81,221 psi), which results in a muzzle velocity of 1,575 m/s (5,170 ft/s).

Do tank rounds explode?

Set to Point Detonation-Delay, the round does not explode immediately on contact – this is the mode used against obstacles and bunkers, as it gives enough time to penetrate deeply into concrete of other material before exploding.

A Guide to Tank Ammo | Koala Explains: Tank Ammunition Types and their Differences

What caliber are tank rounds?

Gun calibers have standardized around a few common sizes, especially in the larger range, mainly due to the uniformity required for efficient military logistics. Shells of 105 and 155 mm for artillery and 105mm and 120 mm for tank guns in NATO.

What happens to a tank crew when hit?

Any penetrating hit in the turret or hull can set off the ammunition, with a result sometimes describes as Jack-in-the-box effect: the force of the blast from the ammo tears the tank apart from inside, often detaching the turret with such force that it is thrown clear. Such events are instantly fatal to the crew.

How far can a tank shoot accurately?

The tank cannon has a maximum effective range of about 3000 meters, and precise aim is required to make a hit. The self-guided missile, however, can — like Longbow Hellfire — be effective to more than 8000 meters, and the electronic brain continually corrects the flight path as necessary.

Can you buy tank rounds?

In fact, you can buy one of those right now for a quarter million dollars. But is it legal? And can anybody just up and buy something with the insane firepower of a tank or grenade launcher? According to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, yes, totally legal.

What kind of bullets does a tank shoot?

The most common rounds in use today are a high explosive anti-tank (HEAT), armor piercing fin stabilized discarding sabot (APFSDS), high explosive squash head (HESH), and high explosive (HE). Below is a picture of what the US Abrams tank uses (m828, and 829A1 are APFSDS).

How fast is a tank round?

Tanks employ much larger tungsten-carbide projectiles driven at velocities in excess of 4,000 feet per second. At that velocity, the big projectiles literally melt their way through armor--but not through the newest, toughest armor.

Why are tank guns smooth bore?

The smoothbore design of most modern tank barrels makes it easier for tanks to fire missiles through the same barrel used to fire projectiles. The gun itself is not the sole factor influencing the range of a tank during combat operations.

Can a grenade disable a tank?

AT grenades are unable to penetrate the armor of modern tanks, but may still damage lighter vehicles.

Can an M1 Abrams survive a nuke?

Obviously, no tank could survive at ground zero of a nuclear bomb, but it would be possible for a tank to survive the blast near the borders of the area affected. After all, the armor is designed to survive a direct hit from a fast-flying, armor penetrating round at any given point.

Why do Russian tanks lose their turrets?

Images of destroyed Russian tanks with their turrets blown off have become common since the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine. Experts say that Russian tanks have a design flaw that makes them vulnerable to being decapitated by Ukrainian attacks, called a "jack-in-the-box effect," CNN reported.

Why do Russian tanks explode?

A Russian tank apparently rolled over a mine before being hit by Ukrainian ordnance that caused it to explode in what is known as a Jack-in-the-box effect. The Jack-in-the-box effect happens when a tank's ammunition compartment explodes, causing its turret to be violently torn off the rest of the vehicle.

Why do Russian tanks burn?

Unlike modern Western tanks, Russian ones carry multiple shells within their turrets. This makes them highly vulnerable as even an indirect hit can start a chain reaction that explodes their entire ammunition store of up to 40 shells.

Do tanks have toilets?

Tanks do not have any bathroom facilities. First of all, there is no room for a toilet. Tank has to be concealed from the outside world, ideally, so tank's bathroom would have to have some sort of waste management system.

Do tanks have AC?

No A/C! Advanced modern tanks like the Abrams don't have air conditioning for the crew. (Though the latest model has a "Thermal Management System" to keep the computers cool in the desert.)

Do tanks have a bottom hatch?

The inside of the tank as seen in this video is definitly not real - from the moment on he closes the hatch (many tanks do have hatches in the bottom, at least this much is correct) it must have been filmed inside a studio. And it looks like whoever designed this set has never personally seen the inside of a tank.

Are tank guns rifled?

Throughout the history of tank guns, they have almost exclusively been rifled weapons, however most modern tanks now use smoothbore guns. Rifling of the barrel imparts spin on the projectile, improving ballistic accuracy.

Can tanks be used as artillery?

All tanks can, using high explosive ammunition, bring down accurate fire to engage soft targets up to 10 km. This engagement which is undertaken at ranges beyond visual range, is directed by an observer who views the target in the same fashion as is done when bringing down in direct artillery fire.