Soviets testing captured german HEAT shells.

[Peasant]

Recently I came across a soviet document on testing of captured german 75mm and 88mm HEAT shells and I would like to summarize the most interesting points:

1. From the description and a crude schematic and the performance figures obtained it can concluded that these were the HL/B model shells that can reliably perforate thickness up to their own calibre at 30°.

2. German artillery HEAT shells can reliably fuse at angles up to about 63° and their perforation is not appreciably degraded at high angles of impact. At higher angles they explode and leave mark like HE shells and fail to defeat LoS thickness they wre able to at lower obliquities.

3. Safety limit (PTP) is equal to about 15% more LoS thickness than it's rated penetration by german standards. For example a 75mm medium hardness plate, that the 75mm HL/B shell was rated to reliably perforate at 30°, would provide full protection at angles of 41° and over.

4. Soviet high hardness RHA is less effective at high obliquity against these shells but about as effective as medium hardness at low obliquity.

5. The damage produced behind the armour upon full perforations is decreased the thicker the LoS thickness the shell had to defeat was. When tested against a 60mm/30° target with a 3mm mild steel plate set 700mm behind it, the 75mm shells produced mostly dents in the witness plate in an area of 250x350mm, but also a number of perforations (up to max of 13) each of which could've been a lethal hit to a person.

These findings are pretty consistent with Yugo trials data.
Also, of note is that the german 75mm guns can defeat a 75mm/30° RHA target using APCBC round at up to about 1500m, making the decision of producing HEAT ammunition for them questionable.

[ThatZenoGuy]

I wonder if captured 75mm HEAT-FS munitions had any influence on postwar HEAT-FS shells.

[Peasant]

I should've mentioned that these trials were taking place in the "second half of 1945", so post WW2, not during it.
The 75mm HEAT shells were fired from a Pak 40 gun at 100m distance. Striking velocities recorded were in between 430 - 480m/s. Both captured german service rounds were used as well as spent casings reloaded with soviet propellant.



And the same data in graphical form:

[Yoozername]

These findings are pretty consistent with Yugo trials data.
Also, of note is that the german 75mm guns can defeat a 75mm/30° RHA target using APCBC round at up to about 1500m, making the decision of producing HEAT ammunition for them questionable.

I view the whole 7,5 cm HL/X manufacture as a need to facilitate PzGr 39 rounds. That is, SOP stated NOT to use PzGr39 unless it was needed. Almost certainly true from reports from 1942/1943. Use at kursk certainly shows they were a main gun round.