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Fun fact: I would prefer not to get hit by any of these tank shells

Spookston: "overpressure turns driver into a gummy bear" TV producers: literally turn driver into a cartoon bear

Another good one : HEAT shells " melt " through the armor. The metal jet is " molten ". Its not. It's super plastic, IE behaving like liquid but is in fact solid and the penetration of the jet is still kinetic in nature, it doesnt use high temperatures.

Another widely circulated myth is that HEAT warheads work by melting the Copper lining and making it ''melt'' through the armour. In reality the pressure from the explosive charge changes the Copper lining into a Superplastic, which is when the pressure causes the otherwise Solid Copper to act more like a stream of fluid, even though it is way below it's melting point and still a Solid. This is important because actual molten metal would just splatter over the armour and not achieve much, but a Superplastic will bore through the armour, since it retains it's Solid form Density.

The tank crewman was most likely inferring that a combination of pressure, speed, and a little bit of heat vaporizes soft targets (i.e. humans or animals). The company that made the animation and hosted the interview most certainly misinterpreted it, and thought the hot spall created causes this "vaporization," which is extremely misleading.

I like just remind everyone that according to Gaijin a 1940s german tank crew could take french 47mm to the chest and just turn yellow. Despite historical records showing it was very effective against its target at the time.

I'm glad you were fair to the tanker in the interview, The documentary film makers clearly were the ones who misinterpreted his meaning too literally

Depleted uranium is incredibly dense, almost as dense as most of the defence department

I always find it funny when people hear uranium they think radioactive, which is fair to people who don’t know about it. Depleted uranium comes from the nuclear fuel enrichment process, and in the process of depletion, they are separating the U235 from U238. The U235 goes into the fuel because it’s more fissile, and the U238 is the depleted uranium. For reference, brand new unirradiated Nuclear fuel is safe to touch, so not super radioactive. Depleted uranium is less radioactive than brand new fuel.

I can speak from experience about inhaling the air around heavy metal. I was exposed to the air at an Iron Maiden concert and I've never been quite the same since.

Myth: You can't take out the 'mechs with bombs Fact: 'Mechs are invincible because no on can see them anymore.

While I'm sure the increased post-penetration performance is useful, I'm fairly sure the main reason for the adoption of depleted uranium is the increased penetration.

3:14 Boss, you killed a child!

2:22 Understood, APHE creates a minature nuclear explosion. :)

Spookston, just wanted to say you’re the best. I don’t know a lot about military technology or tanks, but I have an account on NationStates that I love writing military stuff for. Your videos have given me a lot of help designing my nation’s main battle tank! I really appreciate your content.

Another misconception I've seen, specifically relating to the arcadey nature of War Thunder, is that APHE is incapable of over pressure. Any round with an explosive filler is capable of over pressure, though usually only HE, HEAT, and HESH have enough to do it. Very high quantities of explosive filler on the larger German and Soviet guns can sometimes trigger a crew wipe.

For APHE, do you know how much of an influence is the shell's explosive type and amount in play? Surely a KV2 APHE would do more damage than if it were just a solid AP slug of metal? Also, wouldn't the explosion cause massive pressure inside of the crew compartment?

what about the myth that tank ammo explodes when shot, instead of simply vanishing onto the aether? or the polar opposite, the shell changes colour slightly, and it doesnt like this very much, so it has a temper tantrum and murders the crew members?

Shoutout to spooks for having one of the least obnoxious ad reads I've heard in a while!

I’m a huge subnautica fan (both games) so I love that you use subnautica music it always hits me with nostalgia.

Im glad you mentioned it, the radioactivity of DU is a total non-issue. People scared to death of tank husks because of radioactivity forget that those rounds were stored in an Abrams all at once, with the high energy Gamma completely ignoring things like even the armored ammo locker door. If it was as dangerous as they act, the crew of every Abrams would be dead in a few hours after entering the tank. But it's absolutely right too, that Uranium is poisonous, and that's actually dangerous. Basically like lead poisoning, so still stay out of tank husks so you dont breathe that crap in.

Any chance you'll make a new future tank technology video? Or more redesigns of fictional vehicles?

Self sharpening DU might also be a myth, the only research i've found on the topic simply describes DU as being less ductile. Which means it forms a smaller mushroom head at the tip when penetrating and thus acts like a smaller diameter penetrator than an equal diameter of WHA.

It's my birthday spookston & I'm glad to see you uploaded on it!

3:15 as a die hard Metalhead,I can't agree with you about this one

i love wathching Spookston makes my day

Thanks for the free advice i will not breath heavy metal anymore!

I love your myth busting videos

Very interesting topic, keep up the good work. :)

man i love your video keep it up

Nice video. Kidney problems down the line would be the least of the Tank crews worry, when they have the OMG the tank is on fire moment.

I love how his sponser is perfectly 10 seconds. I can just skip to the video with two taps.

Another thing is APHE pens worse, since you’ve hollowed out the round a bit to put high explosive in it

The self-sharpening effect of sabots comes from the way they are made, not the material used.

i like how friction was completely thrown over board in this video.

Me: fires Uranium shell My loader: don't you mean depleted Uranium. You loaded depleted Uranium shell right? The nuke I just loaded: Kaboom

APHE performance varies greatly depending on factors such as type of fuse, type of explosive(even taking TNT equivalent the speed of the blast being different the effect can vary quite a lot), shell speed, fuse time etc. the worst APHE are about equal to an simple solid shot

spook love your vid keep it up

Thanks for the video I always felt that the explanation for a capped shell was odd as it's not like the angular momentum would just disappear.

Very good video

I don't understand a word but it's entertaining and I like spook's voice

Sorry spook but I cannot concentrste when you drop that bombass gameplay bro. You're a beast

here in the UK, my father had some depleted uranium masonry drill bits, back in the 1980's. They had a health warning to wash hands, thoroughly, after handling, especially before eating.

I saw a comments section arguing about if a high calibre hesh shell would be sufficiently broken up by cage armour to not critically damage a lightly armoured tank. People were claiming the the sheer mass and explosive force or a shell like the one carried by the FV4005 would make it relatively unaffected by cages on tanks. I feel like this is untrue but could be something to look into for a part 2. nice video.

I love these

Actually DU- APDSFS rod penetrator rounds are capped too, and not sharp/pointy but rather blunt, like most AP tank ammo. We had one fall about 6-8 feet point first onto concrete, and the tip bent. Most diagrams show a pointy tip, but on occasion you can find an accurate diagram , which shows the wind-screen/cap.

The wich is just “what” lol sounded so funny for some reason

Hello spook ! Just to tell you that you are awesome, keep up the good work !

One thing that should have been mentioned is that while APCR does have a higher ability to bounce, it doesn’t mean it won’t go though angled armor. It works just like apds just more primitive

Fun fact: I got a "Shell Shattered" effect 3 days ago when playing warthunder and failing to pen a tank.

love these viedos

4:47 lol every time you say "anyway" it sounds like you're rolling your eyes and you're just glad that the video is over and you can go back to doing whatever

Love the daily tip

I think the liquefaction story come from another story from tests on the Bradley IFV. How the story goes, is that they took a broadside shot at a Bradley that had a couple of goats or sheep inside, to test weapon effects. When the vehicle was checked after the APFSDS shot, there was a clean set of entry & exit holes, & a fan of viscera on the ground of the exit side. Supposedly, the high speed shockwave of the round passing through first liquefied the livestock, then created a vacuum effect on exit. This supposedly pulled the liquefied remains out of the Bradley & deposited it in a fan shape on the ground downrange. I first heard this in the '90s & have shared the story, myself. However, I have been unable to verify it's accuracy.

Love that Aliens FireTeam music

thanks that helps

I don't play games but still watch this for military trivia lol

Hold up *Depleted uranium shaped charge?*

I enjoyed the video

I honestly thought this video was going to cover a lot more than it did hah

That moment when a video trying to bust myths itself spreads myths.

The US Army Officer talking is an actual personal friend and is a big name in the US Armor world when it comes to tanks. When SABOT rounds strike yes, they have thr ability to liquefy tissue cause what happens is the crew is stucked out the hole that the SABOT round creates upon exiting the target. Yes, not all of the liquefied matter is taken out, hence leaving behind different tissue of a human body that is in semi liquid forum, which yes can quite litterly hosed out of a tank.

It is also a myth that DU is self sharpening. It is just not mushrooming as much as Tungsten and therefore leaving a smaller hole while penetrating deeper. I'm early tests and do it's structure the scientists believed that it was due to layers peeling of but that has been proven to be incorrect many years later. However this myth is still around and widely spread among literature.

I love your videos man. Is there a chance for you to enable us to add subtitles to your videos ?

Spookston, my father was a Ranger operating in both Bosnia and the Gulf War. On a few occasions he has talked to me about inspecting knocked out T-72s and other enemy armor. The crews on occasion were indeed “melted.” To such an extent that the only remains he could find in fighting compartment were some knuckles of the spine.

is spookston on the spectrum

Thanks for 3:14 , I just wanted to do it.

Great video, those myths are so prevalent. One I think you could have added is the HEAT myth that the shaped charge liquifies the copper liner before it's sent through the armour. From my reading on the subject, the shaped charge merely accelerates a smaller penetrator inside the HEAT round, adding energy to an already fast moving object, thus increasing the penetration. Liquid copper would have no effect on armour, at all, no matter how fast it's moving; it'd just solidify on the outside as steel requires a good 300°C-500°C more than copper to melt. This applies to tank HEAT shells, RPGs, etc.

It's less the spelling that destroys the crew, is more the over pressure pops the crew like balloons

3:13 is a footage of Japanese time travelers stuck in a small tank and got destroyed by heavy machine gun

3:15 shoutout to the guy trying to get godmode

3:13 Oh my god, you killed Ke-Ni!

Tanks Ammunitions is why there is a 4th crewmember called the "Loader".

DM63 - No more ammo explosions :D

Hello Spookston have you ever done a video covering the German CL-13s? I wondered what your opinion was on CL-13s being matched up against Phantoms and MiG-21s

Could you provide the data on the firing test between APHE and solid shot? Firing tests back in the day (and sometimes even now) were often fraught with poor methodology or failure to take into account certain variables, and that's not including the ones that were done to purposefully get a certain end result. For example, in the age of the ironclad Britain (funnily enough the same country you mention) did firing tastes against iron plate that supposedly showed it was proof against the weapons it was likely to face, with the plate stopping the rounds while staying intact. However, it was found in practice that this did not occur, and so they ran the tests again, but this time accounting for the affect ambient temperature might have on the plate (sailing through the North Sea, for example, which would lower the temperature in the iron and make it more brittle). It was found that while effective at warmer temperatures, when in colder climates the iron plate in question would actually shatter rather than stop the rounds. This is why it is EXTREMELY important to try and look at multiple firing tests and especially post-battle damage reports rather than relying on just one firing test, as that firing test might be absolutely useless for predicting outcomes in the field.

Oh my god, you killed Ke-Ni! You bastard! lol

just here to read the comments of all the highly experienced tankers. Wow so many battle hardened veterans in here with so much expert commentary.

Awesome 😎 and ur amazing and spooks ton is this all of ur mind?

"generally speaking, you dont want to inhale any kind of heavy metal" *sad music noises*

Do special armor like composite screens and leopard arrowheads

The bodies "liquefying" is due more to the Overpressure than Spalling.

Spookston trying to correct a military higher-up 😂

There are nice simulations by Sy Simulations with the apbc

Also, service SABOT rounds (apdsfs-t) rounds are a DU core encased in tungsten, the DU is very heavy but relatively soft where tungsten is extremely hard and has a high melting temp...the tungsten can withstand penetration pressure and temp while the DU acts as the weight forcing it through...some targets with light armor or bad armor such as a T-54/55 don't posses enough armor to even breach the tungsten penetrator...basically a sledgehammer driving a thumbtack...the depleted uranium was not put in a sabot round to make it "nuclear" or "dirty", it was put in there to be a heavy core to act as a driving force for the tungsten penetrator because its one of the heaviest materials known to man.

i'm telling you boss we bounced fr fr, no cap

2:25 good idea

I have never heard a more confused and disbelieving “What?” In my life

1:51 Mr stark I don't feel so good-

for some reason I couldnt help but think of the meme with APHECBCHEATAPFSDST throughout this whole video

For some reason the thumbnail made me think he was going to talk about atomic ammunition, and I think that would be hilarious in war thunder. Instead of spawning in a nuke, you get a tank with a nuclear round. It does remove the possibility of shooting down the aircraft, but I’m mostly saying this because I think it’s funny, not because it would be a good addition to the game.

APCR, gets a lot better when the caliber gets bigger, I wish I knew a long time ago, also, join a squadron, I’ve gone 2 and a half years of not knowing I could’ve gotten squadron vehicles

@Spookston Please can you share the British tests on APHE rounds? I have not seen it but I have my doubts whether it is a good source to base on. Purely theorising these tests were done in the 20s/30s with intention of testing shells in AT use. The cannons used would mean a lot especially their caliber - keep in mind in those years Boys AT Rifle was seen as at adequate AT weapon so there is high chance that the cannons used would be QF 2-Pdr knowing that British had APHE ammo for it. And as we know APHE gets effective after certain point - shrapnel isn't everything and any significant amount of explosives bigger than few grams in closed enclosure like tank is going to cause serious pressure damage.

The US also uses DU because it will can cause birth defects if contaminated water is drank or soil is used for farming. Helps reduce future combat capable generations.

Actually, soft caps don't always help against slopes. Dejmian XYZ has a series of 3 simulations of various types of shell striking the Hetzer's 60@60° superstructure armour, 2 of which are 76mm M1 shells, and the uncapped M79 actually performs better than the M62 which is APBCB-HE, for multiple reasons, but one of them is the cap. The cap prevents the tip of the shell from breaking which allows it to be deflected and not bite into the steel, whereas the uncapped shell has the tip break and go up, but the rest of the shell actually pushes through. At least that's how I interpreted the video. Feel free to check for yourselves. They're very short.

the problem with DU is it "self sharpens" it atomizes and when it burns that can get into your lungs,the "it melts people" is from the middle east where people in a car get shot with a tank theres a guy that said two guys with a hose had to hose out the car

Love you spookston, but I wouldn't really say the military doesn't know what we are talking about. I'm a loader for a m1a2 sep v3. U made some great points but not everyone will know the full potential of our ammunition for obvious reasons. Keep up the good work.

Wait hold up. People though capped shells cause a normalizing effect? Granted the only reason I know it doesn't do that is drachinfel has a video talking about the evolution of ship borne cannon rounds

I love how the apfsds example is them shooting into a mini van Edit: it's a fin stabilized apds