Hello everyone,
Don’t know what ammunition to use for what purpose? Follow the guide!
For simplicity’s sake, I’ll skip the subtleties of the caps (ballistic and armour-piercing) because they don’t affect the post-piercing effect of AP (-1°) and APHE (-2°) shells.
I’ll now let you see, below, the different effects thanks to my invaluable talents on Paint 
!! Detail !! that tutorial are a traduction with Deepl of my work in french section. Images are in french, copy/past form the original topic.
!!! WARNING !!! The following shells - AP, APHE, APCR, APDS and APFSDS - are so-called “kinetic” armour-piercing shells. These shells are capable of piercing certain light obstacles (low walls, fences, trees, etc.) without losing their armour-piercing power, as well as heavier obstacles (certain house walls, thick low walls) while losing some of their armour-piercing power.
-1°) AP shells
Armor Percing. Available with different caps: APC (Armor Percing Capped), APBC (Armor Percing Balistic Cap) and APCBC (Armor Percing Capped Balistic Cap)
These shells simply perforate the target’s armour, generating shrapnel inside over a fairly wide cone. Generally effective, but quickly loses its penetrating power.
Click Here: AP effect
-2°) APHE shells
Armour Percing Hight Explosive. Also available in APC, APBC and APCBC versions (see AP)
These shells penetrate the target then explode inside it after travelling about 1.5m, generating a lot of shrapnel. They are slightly less effective perforation than APs (due to the explosive charge) but are the most effective shells in the game at low and medium BR due to the damage inflicted on the crew and modules.
Russians have Schrapnell shells on some tanks (KV-1, for example). These shells operate in the same way as the APHEs. The differences are a more sensitive fuse, poorer perforation and a greater number of fragments than conventional APHEs.
Click Here: APHE effect
-3°) APCR shells
Armour Piercing Composit Rigid
A shell which perforates the target with a dense penetrator (often tungsten) which is thinner than the barrel, surrounded by a light steel sabot (the same diameter as the barrel) which crushes the armour allowing the penetrator to perforate the target. This shell rapidly loses its perforating capacity with distance, but is more effective than an AP shell at short range. The main drawback is their low post-piercing damage. It is therefore necessary to aim carefully at the crew. What’s more, they have a higher chance of ricocheting, so it’s best to aim for a flat surface.
These shells are also known as heavy-core shells.
Click Here: APCR effect
-4°) APDS shells
Armour Piercing Discaring Sabot
Same principle as the APCR but the sabot, which has the diameter of the barrel, detaches from the penetrator as it leaves the barrel. Tends to ricochet easily off sloping armour. As with the APCR, post-piercing damage is fairly limited and requires precise aiming.
They are also called sub-calibre shells because the penetrator is of a smaller calibre than the gun and needs a sabot to be fired.
Click Here: APDS effect
-5°) Arrow shells (APFSDS)
Armour Piercing Fin Stabilized Discaring Sabot
Ultimate form of APCR and APDS shells. The penetrator, which is very fine and made of very dense metal (tungsten alloy, depleted uranium), effectively perforates even very inclined armour, generating a significant number of fragments with a good dispersion cone in the target. As with the APDS, the sabot detaches as it leaves the barrel.
Like the APDS, it is also called a sub-calibre shell.
Click Here: APFSDS effect
!!! WARNING !!! The following shells - HE, HEAT, HESH and HE-VT - are explosive shells known as “Chemical”, with a sensitive primer, obstacles such as bushes, low walls or fences are likely to cause your shell to explode prematurely.
-6°) Les Obus HE
High Explosive
Conventional high-explosive shells are effective on light targets or targets with large roof surfaces (in which case you have to fire at the turret to appreciate the effect).
In addition to projecting shrapnel that is lethal to exposed crews, HE shells also generate an “OverPressure” effect that can disable armoured crews. This will be the main effect at work when you destroy an armoured target with a fairly large HE shell (150mm at least).
Click Here: Effet HE
-7°) HEAT, HEAT-FS shels and Anti-Tank missiles
High Explosive Anti-Tank (Fin Stabilized)
Also known as shaped charge, these shells explode outside the target, generating a copper projectile at very high temperature (but not molten) which melts the armour rather than piercing it, and the gases following the projectile expand violently inside the target. Very effective on lightly armoured vehicles (BMP, Bradley etc) and more dangerous for ammunition than other types of shell. Does not lose its perforating capacity with distance because perforation is determined by the explosive charge.
HEATFS shells differ from HEATs in that they are fired at greater speed (and therefore have a greater range) and have stabilising fins (like arrow shells), but function in exactly the same way.
Anti-tank missiles are all loaded with shaped charges (HEAT) and therefore work in exactly the same way. Some missiles have a tandem charge: two shaped charges are placed one behind the other to maximise the chances of penetration, particularly against reactive armour (ERA).
Top-Attack" missiles pass over the target and, using a detector, detonate a shaped charge placed perpendicularly downwards to perforate the target’s roof.
Overpressure is present on HEAT shells, but the effect is much weaker than on other “chemical” shells.
Click Here: HEAT effect
-8°) Les Obus HESH
Hight Explosive Squash Head
These shells, which were particularly popular with the British, worked in a rather unusual way. They don’t really pierce the armour. Their flexible explosive head will expand on the armour, THEN explode (well, it’s quick, just a few hundredths of a second). In fact, the explosion on contact with the armour creates a shockwave that deforms it and fragments it on the side opposite the explosion (inside the target).
Overpressure is also normally present on this type of ammunition, but the effect is weaker due to the smaller calibre of the shell (105 to 120mm).
Click Here: HESH effect
-9°) HE-VT shells
High Explosive Variable Time
There are 2 ways to detonate a variable time shell:
A°) chronometric detonation
Mainly used on ships and ground flak, these shells are fitted with an adjustable fuse detonator. This fuse, triggered when the shell is fired, allows the shell to explode after a set flight time (and therefore distance) BEFORE firing, so that it explodes close to the target.
B°) radio detonation
commonly known as Proxi-fuse
Radio-detection shells have a radio or magnetic detector that detonates the shell when it comes within range of a target. This is the ultimate short-range anti-aircraft munition.
These munitions can also explode close to tanks with the normal effects of a normal HE shell except that they do not explode on contact.
Click Here: HE-VT effect
-10°) Anti-Aircraft and Air-to-Air Missiles
The operation of ground-to-air missiles and air-to-air missiles used by aircraft is identical to the HE-VT radio shells, but with a much greater range (several tens of kilometres for some air-to-air missiles) and above all they can be guided along their entire trajectory to bring them close to the target. Ideal for killing mosquitoes at long range.
That’s all it for the different effects of in-game ammunition. Don’t hesitate to ask any questions you may have.