Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!att!cbnews!military
From: tek@CS.UCLA.EDU (Ted Kim (Random Dude))
Newsgroups: sci.military
Subject: Re: HEAT shell question and proposal.
Message-ID: <12929@cbnews.ATT.COM>
Date: 9 Jan 90 02:20:18 GMT
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From: tek@CS.UCLA.EDU (Ted Kim (Random Dude))

In article <12882@cbnews.ATT.COM> bxr307@csc.anu.oz writes:
>
>	I am surprised that no one in the military is looking at the use of
>HESH (H.E. Squash Head or HEP to the US people out there) as a counter to
>reactive armour as used by the Soviets on their latest tanks. 

I am certainly not an ordanance expert, but this is what I have heard
about HESH and its cousins. HESH works by spreading explosive material
on the surface of the armor and then detonates. As a result, it is
quite sensitive to the shape and regularity of armor surface. For
example, if it strikes a steeply sloped plate, the explosive will be
poorly distributed with a glob where it hit and a too thin sheet
further out. With reactive armor boxes, the surface may be quite
irregular and thus presents a difficult target to have the explosive
set right. 

> ...
>It would literally "blow off" the reactive armour boxes and leave large gaping
>holes in their covering of the main armour plate as well as severely disabling
>the vehicles crew (cuncussion), perhaps killing them (by the scabbing of
>secondary projectiles off the inner armour) and destroying or damaging most of
>the vehicles optical/optronic systems through the cuncussion.  

It could certainly scrape off a lot of reactive armor. However, the
amount of force transmitted to the underlying armor and interior would
depend on quite a bit on a good distribution of the explosive.
Followup rounds may have that much better chance of getting through. I
suppose, conventional fragmenting HE could also scrape off reactive
armor too. They could be followed by armor piercing stuff. 

-ted

Ted Kim                           
UCLA Computer Science Department  Internet: tek@penzance.cs.ucla.edu
3804C Boelter Hall                UUCP:    ...!{uunet|ucbvax}!cs.ucla.edu!tek
Los Angeles, CA 90024		  Phone:   (213) 206-8696