Planet SlowMo guys firing a Sherman and an M1955

[Adrian Harris]

Slightly annoying presenters but amazing slow motion footage of tank rounds.



Adrian.

[Stephen White]

Interesting vid Adrian. The instability of the round suggests it was not standard service ammunition. I guess the propellant will be something a civilian could buy and the round istself might not be correctly balanced. Either way, if that was representative of a service round, the tank would struggle to knock a hole in a paper bag.

The presenters are lucky not to have had an intercranial earplug insertion. Every schoolboy knows that you don’t wear earplugs on a tank range because the over-pressure can drive the plugs into your skull. That’s why tankies wear over-ear defenders.

Great entertainment though.

Thanks.

Stephen

[Adrian Harris]

I guess it comes down to who made the round. I don't suppose NOS 76mm shells are available off the shelf, and would they work after 70 years anyway?

There was a comment on the original posting which said that they were probably using a lanyard to fire the gun as a result of the two chaps who were killed doing a very similar filming exercise with an M18 Hellcat. In that case, despite expert analysis, they were unable to determine the exact reason for the explosion, other than the fact that the breech separated.

Adrian.