Shot trap
A shot trap is a deficiency in an armored vehicle's design. It is a location where a shell that fails to penetrate may ricochet in such a manner as to "trap" the round, guiding it to weak spots or imperfections. A trap usually forces rounds towards the hull roof or turret ring.
Examples
[edit]The initial turret designs of the Panther, Tiger II, M26 Pershing and KV-1 tanks had shot traps.[1] In these examples, the lower edge of the curved mantlet deflected incoming shots downwards. This does not always create shot traps, as the curved Russian turret designs such as the T-34 and T-44 had a similar shape, but their lower turrets were instead penetrated directly.
Prevention
[edit]In an attempt to minimize the shot trap potential, some late production Panther Gs and the M26 Pershing T26E5 prototype modified the lower edge of the mantlet.[2] The final Tiger II production turret did not feature the curved front of the early turret, instead using a flat design sloped back 10 degrees.[3]
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A model depicting the curved front of the early Tiger II turret -
The flat front of the later Tiger II production turret
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Panther with regular rounded mantlet -
Panther with flattened lower 'chin' mantlet
Notes
[edit]References
[edit]- Hunnicutt, R.P. (1971). Pershing: A History of the Medium Tank T20 Series. City: Feist Publications. OCLC 500632382.
- Jentz, Thomas; Doyle, Hilary (1993). Kingtiger Heavy Tank, 1942-45. London: Osprey. ISBN 1-85532-282-X.
- Zaloga, Steven (1993). Sherman Medium Tank 1942-1945. City: Osprey Publishing (UK). ISBN 978-1-85532-296-7.
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