The 'Overhang' British Gun That Was The Only Allied Weapon Tiger Crews Truly Feared

Описание: February 1943, Tunisia. A German Tiger tank crew sits inside 100 millimeters of frontal armor that has never been penetrated in combat. They've watched British two-pounders bounce off like pebbles. They've seen six-pounder shells glance away harmlessly. Even American 75-millimeter guns are useless unless you're practically touching the Tiger's hull. For months, these crews have operated with the kind of confidence that comes from being genuinely untouchable. Then, over the course of several brutal days at a place called Hunt's Gap, everything changes. Tigers are getting knocked out at ranges where British guns should be completely ineffective. Some crews abandon their vehicles. Others die inside them. The Germans would later call this place the Tiger Graveyard.

The technical specifications explain why the 17-pounder dominated. At 500 meters, standard armor-piercing rounds penetrated 163 millimeters of rolled homogeneous armor. At 1,000 meters, penetration remained 150 millimeters. For context, the Tiger carried 100 millimeters of frontal armor. The Panther's turret was 110 millimeters. Both were comfortably within engagement range.
But the real transformation came with revolutionary new ammunition. Armor-piercing discarding sabot, or APDS, used principles the French had explored before the war but never perfected. The concept was elegant. A small tungsten carbide penetrator, just 38 millimeters in diameter, sat within a lightweight sabot that fell away after leaving the barrel.

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