What sort of damage would these rounds do? I plan to show a hole in the side of an Achilles and of course damage to the interior.Would the entry hole be rather small and neat in appearance?
Thanks

The Panzerschreck, like the bazooka, PIAT, Panzerfaust, RPG-2 and -7, and even modern AT missiles, had a HEAT warhead. The warheads form a tiny jet of gases and molten metal and burn through the plate. The hole that results tends to be smooth with edges that look sort of melted. I don't know the size of the hole but it could not exceed 88mm, which is the bore of a Panzerschreck. It may be significantly smaller.

The hole left by the penetrating jet of a HEAT round is much smaller than the calibre of the projectile.

Think about something more like 20-30mm diameter (real size), with a larger scooped-out area on the surface of the plate around the penetration.

Several books on the Sherman show the external effect of HEAT attacks, which will give you some idea of the look to aim for. Modelling the internal damage might give you a few more problems, as these should include scorching, the effect of the jet itsself and also any spalls dislodged from the inside of the armour. I don't remember seeing any photos of the internal effects though.

You are correct that the hole would be 20mm to 30mm in diameter or 2 to 3 inches depending where you are in the world. The inside would be scorched black. HEAT rounds work as a shape charge. If you notice, HEAT rounds are cone shaped. This is to direct the blast towards the vehicle surface causing it to burn through at a given point. What kills the poor guys inside is the fire ball that is released once the hole breaks through. Keep in mind that this happens in a fraction of a second. Even worse are SABOT rounds. These use inertial energy focused on a point like a needle. Very little damage is caused to the vehicle, but the guys inside can be sucked out of the exit hole about the same diameter as above depending on where they are compared to where the round hit. What a bummer!

Re: earlier text 20-30mm = 2-3 inches.... 25mm IS equal to 1 in. So on your model the hole should be just a little smaller than you first thought:)

Barry Friesen

The Motorbooks Sherman volume has a photo of a test some GIs conducted with a Panzerfaust against the transmission of a Sherman which had been covered with concrete filled sandbags. The blast blew the bags off the hull and punched a neat, round hole through the transmission - probably about 3" or 4" across.

there was very interesting site by Claus Bonnessen
"Battle Damage - a Pictoral Record" but now I can not locate it. There is one photo of a Sherman Crab hit by panzerfaust. The penetration holes are really small. If you are interested in this photo let me know. Or maybe someone knows the right address of this site.

Petr

Below is an excerpt from "Death Traps", by Belton Cooper, in which he describes testing a panzerfaust against an abandoned King Tiger:

"I took the panzerfaust and paced off approximately thirty yards directly in front of the tank. I set the sight for thirty yards and aimed directly at a ten-inch-square patch of the forward turret faceplate just to one side of the gun mantlet. I fired, and the panzerfaust struck it dead center...
"The blast center was about four inches to the right of the aperture where the machine gun came through the faceplate. Upon closer examination, I could see a distinct penetration about a half inch to three-quarters of an inch in diameter on the outside that went all the way through the faceplate of the turret and opened out about half an inch in diameter on the inside. The hole was complete all the way through the eight-and-a-half-inch turret faceplate."