Originally posted by Zuum
...88mm AP-shell of Tiger is really a devastating one!!! One aa-gun or rubber tire of M8 cannot dampen that explosion and damage....
Zuum, you're are correct the 88mm AP shell is a devastating one. That is WHEN it ENTERS it's target.
AP projectiles of this period used a bursting charge of about 1-3% of the weight of the complete projectile, the bursting charge is detonated by a rear mounted delay fuse. The delay fuse ensured the projectile was inside of it's target before the busting charge was detonated.
At any range but especially at close range, the small items you hit (tires and a gun) would not have activated the delay fuse in time to explode the bursting charge on the target. This is due to the speed of the projectile and the relatively small target hit. Remember these were designed to penetrate armor, not a tire, or rim of a tire, or the sheet metal of an unarmored vehicle.
Now with that said, have you ever noticed a delay between hitting a tank with an AP round and when it explodes? This usually isn't lag, it's the time delay for the round to explode. And it usually happens when you hit in a less armored section of the tank. Why? Because the shell penetrates faster and the delay is more pronounced because of that. Penetrate an area with more armor and the explosion seems to be immediate.
Anyway I hear this a lot with people trying to kill M3s, M16s, etc with AP. Hit one of these with AP and you will usually get nothing but a big hole in the sheet metal (which is not modeled in the graphics). Why? Because the impact was not enough to activate the fuse.
I hope that this helps you understand the perceived problem that really isn't a problem.
