Can the panzerfaust go through the turret at this close range?????????? And the hole would be about fist size correct?

The engine compartment has plasticard in place now and Dartmoor figures are on the way. This will be a very recent "after action" burned tank so I plan on using mostly ash, smoke, blacks, black-greys, black-blues and NO rusts. There will be lots of rubble and dirt so much of the brick may not be visible. Thanks for looking

I do not have any of my reference materials at my disposal, as I am at work. But if I recall correctly the potential penetrative performance of the later models of panzerfaust would be sufficient to defeat the side armor of a Stalin tank.

Penetration is not a function of range for shaped-charge weapons like the panzerfaust. The key for them to work effectively is to get a direct hit at as close to a 90 degree angle as possible. The point blank range that you have depicted would certainly facilitate a getting a solid hit.

I do not think the hole would be as large as a fist, however. Shaped-charge weapons work by directing a narrow stream of molten metal into the armor. I'm sure the somebody will correct me if I'm wrong, but I think that a hole the diameter of a quarter (tiny in 1/48) would be more appropriate.

Hi Guys -

Tod, I believe you are quite correct. Panzerfausts, Panzershrecks, and bazookas are EFP (explosively formed penetrator) type warheads. They work by using a jet of molten copper moving at very high speed to go through the armour like a cutting torch. The actual penetration hole would be quite small, but there would be evidence of very high heat and melted steel in the immediate area. That could work to your advantage, as you could portray the raw metal edges to highlight the hit area.

By the way, Panzerfausts came in two sizes, you should definitely go for the bigger one. I think the Tamiya Kettenkraftrad and Goliath kit has both sizes in it. After the weapon was launched, all that would remain would be the launching tube, the big end, which is the rocket propelled projectile, would have been expended.

Greg, your diorama is shaping up very nicely!

Cheers -

Malcolm

Thanks guys. That will be very useful info. As for the sizes of the panzerfaust, I found a pretty complete story on the wiki encyclopedia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panzerfaust
the links at the end are very good too.

Hi Greg -

You got me curious, so I was looking at them too . Did you catch the "fist-to-finger" description of the penetration hole?

Malcolm

Hi Greg,

This is going to be one cool looking diorama!

Isamu

The front of the turret of of a JSII is 160mm, the side is about 110mm. The panzerfaust 30, 60 and 100 penetrate about 200mm of armour, so bore away!

More thanks guys. After reading through a few more times I found the statement Malcolm reported:

"The key to the effectiveness of a HEAT round is the diameter of the warhead. As the penetration continues through the armor, the width of the hole decreases leading to a characteristic "fist to finger" penetration, where the size of the eventual "finger" is based on the size of the original "fist"".

I'm glad you caught that. I'll find a Tamiya man hand and match up a drill bit to it to start the hole and and maybe a pin tool to finish finger width. I learn something new with each kit. Greg