Abbreviation for each ammunition type, along with a brief explanation of how it works
| Acronym |
Name |
Characteristics |
| AP |
Armour-piercing |
- Solid shot
- Penetrates by means of kinetic energy
- Kills by boucing around the tank, hitting the crew members or setting off ammunition storage or because of the increased air pressure
|
| APBC |
Armour-piercing, ballistic cap |
- Solid shot with brittle cap on the tip
- Penetrates by means of kinetic energy, with improved aero dynamics
- Kills as AP
|
| APC |
Armour-piercing, capped |
- Solid shot with soft metal cap on the tip
- Penetrates by means of kinetic energy, with improved penetration capability against sloped armour
- Kills as AP
|
| APCBC |
Armour-piercing, capped, ballistic cap |
- Solid shot with soft metal cap on the tip and a brittle cap on top of this
- Penetrates by means of kinetic energy, with improved penetration capability against sloped armour and improved aero dynamics
- Kills as AP
|
| APCR |
Armour-piercing, core rigid |
- Soft metal shell, with small, high-density core
- Penetrates with the core only at very high speeds released from shell after impact
- Kills as AP
|
| APDS |
Armour-piercing, discarding sabot |
- Brittle cap with small, high-density core
- Penetrates with the core only at very high speeds released from shell before impact
- Kills as AP
|
| APHE |
Armour-piercing, high-explosive |
- Armour piercing shell with explosive filler
- Penetrates by means of kinetic energy
- Kills by setting off explosive filler after penetration
|
| HE |
High-explosive |
- Shell with explosive filler
- Explodes on impact
- Kills by imcreased air pressure, heat or blast fragments
|
| HEAT |
High-explosive, anti-tank |
- Conical round with explosive filler
- Penetrates by high-temperature jet, using the Monroe effect
- Kills by spraying molten metal and metal fragments around the interior of the tank
|
| HVAP |
High-velocity, armour-piercing |
See APCR |
