Let me preface this by admitting Im not an expert. Now, when it comes to the external armor of the SP, the armor is not registered as spaced, external, or even accounted for sometimes. As far as I can tell, yes the front plates seem accurate, they are spaced but they are simply boiler plates, really shoddy metal. That being said, the whole front plate of the turret doesn’t protect from much beyond the standard armor. My biggest issue is HE, and HEAT; these rounds don’t account for the spacing of the armor nor the fact they are external from the tank. I cannot believe how many times my crew is overpressured despite being hit on one of the outer plates. Is this a long standing issue? Am i simply not well versed enough in physics? I consider myself a fanatic, but lately there have been physics in the game, that have defied it all. The main issues stemming while using the SP. Hopefully this can get some attention as I love the concept of the SP, but dread even using it due to the above issues.
Since it’s introduction to the game, the T26E4 Super Pershing in War Thunder currently has its add-on 38.1mm of boiler plate hull armour actually only modelled as ‘Structural Steel’ in-game, which is inaccurate and also a protection nerf in of itself (since boiler plate is known to be stronger higher quality steel material):
“We found 38 mm thick boilerplate in well equipped German workshops. We decided to make the front armour multi-layered. We cut out V-shaped plates shaped like the front of the tank. The tank was protected by 102 mm of cast armour and two 38 mm boilerplates with a space in between them. Despite the softness of the boilerplate, we hoped that the angle and layered armour will cause German shells to ricochet.” -Lieutenant Cooper, Cooper, B. Deathtraps: Survival of an American Armoured Division in WWII, 1998.
The only reason I can think of as to why your overpressure issue is happening is that the current overpressure mechanics in-game still ‘kill’ the Super Pershing’s entire crew with the 38.1mm steel plates acting similarly to how you can kill and one shot enemy vehicles that have protruding miscellaneous areas externally located on the tank.
(Ex: Radar, Cupolas, Rocket tube/ ATGM launchers, Machine gun shields, Tracks).
This is really noticeable with larger caliber guns such as 155mm HE fired from an SPH or even at top tier with a 125mm equipped Russian MBT at top tier firing 3OF26 at modern MBTs.
(M1A2 SEPv2 target used for ex:)
It’s worth noting that at 6.7 BR is also filled with Cold War vehicles as well, so the T26E1-1 Super Pershing’s armour can’t be relied upon that much so in my personal experience using it as a sniper tank with its long 90mm reload and avoiding getting hit in the first place usually benefits me whenever I play it.
I’m going to assume you may have a general hatred for U.S. or one nation mains in general (which is weird to have in War Thunder 2025, no offense). So I’ll just keep this short and sweet.
The T26E1-1 Super Pershing has been in War Thunder since Update 1.57 “Battle March” which was 8 years ago. There were already so many reports on the inaccuracy of its ‘Structural steel armor’ since the very moment it first was added to the game.
The Super Pershing’s armour is still incorrect and my point still stands true.