Can’t HESH irl are very effective against Russian tanks Gaijin can’t allow it to happen in the game
4 Likes
considering HESH’s operating principle, it’s not that wrong, you just hit the tracks or anything but the hull armor.
But it’s over pressure do need a fix, it’s limited like HEAT, but HEAT is limited to simulate Monroe Effect, HESH shouldn’t be limited, should perform like equal HE at least.
and to polish it’s damage, I think the spall’s range, number and pen should all be increased to do more damage.
3 Likes
What kind of cope is that because my HESH literally vanished on the TOW tube of a Wiesel, last time I checked that is not Russian. It didn’t even break the launcher. Just ✨disappeared✨
2 Likes
Not cope really
long ago HESH used to be very effective against T-54 T-55 T-62 and some soviet heavy tank like IS3 when top tier still Centurion VS T-54/55 it was work like it supposed to
But it seems too effective until Gaijin nerf it (until this day)
3 Likes
On the contrary, small objects or gaps shouldn’t significantly interfere with the effect of HESH rounds, as they were specifically designed to impact those inside a heavily fortified bunker. The question isn’t whether fragments get caught in some armored vehicle’s spaced armor, but rather that HESH rounds should work as intended when hitting the side or any other area of the vehicle—unless there’s a pre-detonation that prevents it from reaching the hull or turret.
1 Like
Small HESH being bad is annoying, Big HESH being bad is mine bogglingly frustrating because you have no choice but to use it, there’s no other ammunition for you. If these were APHE rounds the tanks would be OP, but because they’re HESH they’re just so unreliable to use. And now APDS shatters a lot too so half of Britains ammunition is ehhh sometimes it works, sometimes it don’t, feel free to change nation because you get fed up with failing due to no fault of your own. It is simply amazing they are unable to recognise how anti fun it is for your rounds to do nothing half the time.
Can we also mention how no matter where you hit on say the front of an IS-3 you can’t actually kill the turret crew. The very tiny drivers hatch weak spot mayyybe but good like trying to hit it with low velocity shells and a massive shell hitbox that triggers early, or hits a track and does nothing etc etc.
Even beside the god awful crew damage in the image above, the complete randomness of damaging tracks or barrels is bizzare. I’ve hit peoples guns and gun mantlets so often to do no gun damage and other times missed the same kind of tank, hit the floor 20ft away from them and it damages the gun. It defys all logic.
5 Likes
Brother, I almost had a heart attack out of frustration watching your videos… Even the weak points aren’t actually weak points when using HESH rounds! Like you said, it’s beyond frustrating that in 99% of cases, you’re at the mercy of the Snail God just to get a ‘critical damage’ on the enemy tank.
Props for keeping calm in your videos—I’d be yelling loud enough for half the city to hear out of sheer frustration by now! :3
3 Likes
Again, HESH rounds should really be reworked in terms of functionality. To me, it seems impossible that ammunition designed to destroy reinforced bunkers with heavy structures is so weak in the game even against lighter vehicles like the BMP-1, M41, TAM, and others.
1 Like
Can’t HESH irl are very effective against Russian tanks Gaijin can’t allow it to happen in the game
lol, Now, I can’t say for sure, but HESH rounds definitely seem to love ricocheting off Russian vehicles in the game that’s for sure.
1 Like
21 KG of TNT next to a tank with the barndoor should kill everything it touches
1 Like
Bump because of current mini event/sale for the M728 CEV (though NOT on discount, smh) :
My comments on the current M728 CEV thread about how HESH rounds still need to be fixed:
Spoiler
EDIT: Mods: I searched but did not find a better/main HESH thread, so if there is a better/older/main thread, please let me know and I will use that one instead, ty mods.
Well no Russian tanks use HESH so that it’s not working is a non issue at Best and a feature at Best
the fix for HESH Is extremely Easy just give it the HE Effect HESH has or at least Half of it
But instead it has less he effect than heat which is just strange
2 Likes
The fact that Russian tanks don’t use HESH is irrelevant to whether or not it should function properly in the game. War Thunder aims for a degree of realism, and HESH is currently underperforming compared to its real-life capabilities.
HESH (High-Explosive Squash Head) was specifically designed to cause massive spalling upon impact, capable of damaging crew and internal components without needing penetration. In reality, it was used effectively against armored vehicles, bunkers, and even reinforced concrete structures.
Yet, in War Thunder, its damage model is highly inconsistent. Instead of generating large spalling effects, it often results in minor mobility damage, even against lightly armored vehicles.
Comparing it to HEAT doesn’t make sense, as HEAT relies on penetration via molten jet, whereas HESH is about large-area spalling damage. The simplest fix would be to adjust spall mechanics and ensure HESH performs closer to real-world results.
As for the ‘fix’ being easy, simply increasing HE effect isn’t enough. HESH works differently from HE it doesn’t rely on blast damage but rather on shockwave transmission through armor. If it’s modeled correctly, it should be devastating against armored vehicles, as intended in real life.
1 Like
well it can always be improved of course but there is simply no reason for it to have less HE effect than heat if something heat should have way less
the performance against armor is one thing the fact 22kg of HE equivalent is just ignored and it cant kill light tanks is another
1 Like
The reason HESH has less HE effect than HEAT is that they work fundamentally differently. HEAT relies on a focused penetration effect using a molten jet, while HESH causes spalling by spreading shockwaves across the armor surface.
If HESH simply had a stronger HE effect, it wouldn’t be a proper fix it would just turn it into another HE round rather than simulating its intended purpose. The real issue is that HESH’s spalling effect is too weak and inconsistent in the game. Instead of adjusting HE effects, the focus should be on making spall damage more realistic.
Of course, if HESH rounds at least caused the creation of medium/small fragments upon impact with an enemy vehicle, it would already greatly improve the usability of this ammunition in many aspects.
It’s also obvious that the ‘knockout’ effect should be maintained because 22 kg of TNT hitting a vehicle wouldn’t just incapacitate the crew regardless of the impact location it could leave them with serious injuries due to the sheer force of the blast. Considering we are talking about WWI and WWII-era armored vehicles, where crew protection consisted of simple uniforms with zero defense against shockwaves or shrapnel, the impact should be much more severe.
Trying to apply the same destruction mechanics from one shell type to another makes the existence of both unnecessary in the game. We need the development team to give proper attention to HESH rounds so they actually have the destructive power they should!
Or at least 70% of it, which would already be perfect and even then, a large part of the community would probably consider it overpowered.
1 Like
Kind of the Point
Have you noticed most tanks that use HESH don’t have a HE round?
Becouse it is a HE round and regarding the amount of explosive a really good one the entire Middle is filled with explosive behind a very thin wall.
Why haven’t we all switched to HESH then?
Because similar to the German Stielhand granades
He Effect is less effective than Fragments against Infantry
So He-frag doas win in that regard(which means much thicker walls and less explosive)
It doesn’t need to a one to one ratio but 20kg of TNT equivalent should at least perform like a 5kg he (Minus the spalling unless armor is hit)
To fix HESH though I think they’d also need to rework APCB shells since they too heavily rely on shrapnel to do the work of wrecking the contents of the tank.
Instead at the moment we have APHE rounds that go off like a bomb if they penetrate or worse glance off the top of a tank and nuke the crew (I’ve lost count of the amount of times I’ve been killed through the turret from a glancing shot when solid shot did nothing. Or worse, from a HESH that should have popped the roof off like a tin can but only managed to knock out an aerial or MG to then get wrecked by a main gun I can’t see the muzzle of from a crew that should have been stunned at the very least.
1 Like