Im making this post because as me playing a person and doing research and watching a lot of documentaries about ww2 I feel like penetration is overely wrong. So i’ll just break it down in sections. This primarly deals with germany and america since I have only played those contries
America
I do have problems with the way pen works for the super Pershing. Especially when fighting tiger 2’s where it has a problem penning the front. Unless you aim for a known weak spot in the game. Turret cheeks for example. Or simply outflank it. The fact that a super Pershing can’t frontally pen a tank it was designed to go up against is crazy. Not to mention an account from the super Pershing gunner during the actual war saying he took out a tiger head on during the battle of Dassouse.
Secondly. My other pet peeve is with the Shermans. Now understandably with the easy eight or the jumbo that would make sense that it could pen a tiger 1. But there have been countless times were angled I have been penned by a 75 Sherman or a lower ranking Sherman in general without them shooting and not aiming for weak spots. This should not be happening. Real tankers from the war will say that most German tanks even the (cough cough) German panzer iv. Could not be penned head on. You had to flank them. Otherwise, the shell would bounce off.
Germany
I will never understand why German tanks have a hard time have penning Shermans front on. Once again. Even when aiming with weak spots not always using stock ammo. I don’t pen. How is this possible. A German tank should not have to aim for the gun port every time when facing a Sherman tank. This is just not accurate.
Since we are running with memoirs as solid indesputable evidence, have you ever encountered the stories of american tank crews falsely calling everything square or 5 km away from them a Tiger?
How does a shell “bounce off” on a flat surface? Explain that science to me.
It is difficult to do so as people will find accounts that say a different thing.
It is one of the main reasons shell pen was changed to what it is now. Pen stats would change constantly because someone dug up a new test report saying something different.
There are a lot of variables that are in real life testing/experience that is not present in-game. Stuff like armour/shell quality and conditions. Not the mention that accounts from a battle can be wrong.
Once again. sitting here playing calculator ym+b square rooted to figure out penetration does not mean its accurate just because the game says its accurate. Kinda like how an m22 can kill a leopard 2a6 from the side. Even tho that’s not historically accurate. So if you want the proof, you can go watch the documentaries where veterans will tell you the exact obviously than what this game portrays. I will not be providing watered down google proof because you believe the internet.
It might be true on some occasions. But I’m pretty sure you don’t see a Sherman round clearly bounce off a panzer and be like Emm yeah that went through.
You dont get it. For a bounce to happend the shell instead of piercing or getting stuck in the armor, has to be deflected by it. Try throwing a ball at a flat wall and see where it will “bounce” off to
