Soviet live fire experiments with HESH fired from a 105 mm tank gun and a 106 mm recoilless rifle were published in the Armoured Journal (Bronetankoviy Vestnik) as a part of a study on tank protection. In this study, various types of armour layouts were simulated by placing thin 2P steel or aluminium alloy plates of various types, representing skirt armour, at a distance of 330 mm away from a thicker 2P steel plate, representing the side of the tank's hull. The shots were fired from 100 meters. Here are the results.
Caliber (mm) | Angle (deg) | Impact velocity (m/s) | Armour thickness (mm) | Damage | Normaliza-tion angle of fragments | |
First plate | Second plate | |||||
105 | 0 | 634 | 5+20 (Steel) | Breach 650x400 mm | Breach 240x300 mm* | 0 |
105 | 0 | 615 | 5+80 (Steel) | Breach 500x550 mm | Dents from fragments up to 12 mm deep over 350x400 mm | 0 |
105 | 0 | 605 | 5+20 (Steel) | Breach 650x480 mm | Dents from fragments 10-12 mm deep over 500x550 mm | 0 |
105 | 0 | 614 | 10+20(Steel) | Breach 600x600 mm | Plate cracked, two penetrations, dents from fragments over | 0 |
105 | 0 | 722 | 10+20(Steel) | Breach 500x400 mm | Three penetrations, dents from fragments over 350x370 mm. | 0 |
105 | 0 | 617 | 10+30(Steel) | Breach 550x600 mm | Dents up to 7 mm deep over 370x400 mm. | 0 |
105 | 0 | 607 | 30 (ABT-101) + 20 (Steel) | Plate cracked | Dents up to 8 mm deep over 450x400 mm, 706 mm long crack. | 0 |
105 | 0 | 615 | 5 (AMG-6) + 80 (Steel at a 60 deg angle) | Penetration 170x110 mm | Plate cracked** | - |
105 | 45 | 606 | 5+20 (Steel) | Breach 780x350 mm | Plate cracked. Dents from fragments up to 10 mm deep over 550x500 mm | 15-25 |
105 | 50 | 606 | 5+20(Steel) | Breach 650x290 mm | Plate cracked. Dents up to 11 mm deep over 550x500 mm | 20-25 |
105 | 60 | 640 | 5+20(Steel) | Breach 550x340 mm | Dents up to 13 mm deep over 500x620 mm. | 20-30 |
105 | 60 | 635 | 10+20(Steel) | Plate cracked | 40x40 mm penetration, dents from fragments over 350x500 mm. | - |
105 | 60 | 599 | 13(ABT-101) + 20 (Steel) | Breach 500x480 mm | Dents up to 100 [sic] mm deep over 500x490 mm. | 20-30 |
105 | 0 | 489 | 5+45(Steel) | Breach 620x480 mm | Dents up to 5 mm deep over 600x560 mm. | 0 |
106 | 60 | 489 | 10+20(Steel) | Plate cracked | Breach 310x170 mm, dents from fragments over 430x400 mm. | 35-40 |
106 | 60 | 489 | 20+45(Steel) | Breach 800x550 mm with spall fragment | Dents up to 15 mm deep from fragments over 360x380. 20 mm dent from spall fragment. | 30-40 |
*The shell did not explode upon striking the first layer, but deformed slightly.
**The shell penetrated the spaced armour and exploded upon hitting the main armour.