THE SHOT THAT KNOCKED OUT TIGER 131 | Armour Piercing Simulation

Описание: In 1943, Tiger 131 engaged in a counter-attack against British troops at Point 174 in North Africa. It was hit by multiple rounds from Churchill tanks and a captured AT gun, disabling the vehicle. The most notable hit was a 6pdr which glanced off the mantlet, penetrated the deck armour, and jammed the turret: This video simulates that impact using engineering software.

Tiger 131 was then captured by the British and is now on display at ‪@thetankmuseum‬. It is also the only Tiger-1 still running, with it featuring in the movie 'Fury'.

This incredibly lucky shot comes with a large amount of uncertainty, with the range, impact angle, and Tiger 131's gun elevation & turret position (at the time of impact) having to be approximated. Based on images of Tiger 131 from when it was captured, the gun appears almost level, with the turret directly forward. The projectile velocity was set to match a 6pdr at 500 yards, which is said to be the initial range of engagement [1]. The angle of impact was set through trial and error until the impact marks matched those on Tiger 131 (it appears the shot came in from under the gun, as if the Churchills were at a lower elevation to the Tiger). TO NOTE: the second indentation along the barrel shroud could not be accounted for; I'm not sure how this was caused in reality but it may be from the driving band or from the projectile spinning off axis [2].

The mantlet's geometry was made as accurate as possible, with only certain parts of the Tiger being deformable bodies; the rest of the model is rigid and is purely for visuals (for a vehicle as special as Tiger 131 I felt like it would be better to see the whole tank). The mesh had to be coarse as the simulation was very long and I had limited time to simulate it.

Learn more about Tiger 131:    • Tiger 131: Inside & Out | The Tank Museum  
Projectile off-axis spinning:    • WWII Tanks Firing in Slow Motion