APCR & HEAT ammunition usage?

To what degree was APCR, HEAT and other special ammunition types used by the main combatants (Germany, Russia, USA and Britain, to make myself clear), and by what types of cannons/tanks were they used? For instance, was it common for AT-Guns to use APCR or HEAT ammunition, or was it mainly reserved for tanks?

I'm very interested in this, so anything that may be of help would be greatly appreciated, esp. tips on where to find the information so I can find it myself! Well, like I said, anything that could be of help would be greatly appreciated! So far I have gotten the impression that APCR ammunition was relatively common for Panzer IIIs to make up for their relatively weak tank gun, and I have seen some statistics that suggest that HEAT ammo was fairly common.

I have also been told by other amateur researchers (like myself ) that special ammunition wasn't particularly common within the Red Army; which doesn't surprise me, considering I have read the shells they used was often of low quality.

There, now I think that I managed to throw what I already know, aswell as my impressions in there. But it would be great if someone with more insight in the subject could provide more & preferably detailed information & it would be highly appreciated too of course.

 

There's some info here on the US 105mm HEAT round:
105mm Howitzer Ammunition - Ammunition
are you interested in rifle grenades and rockets as well as arty?

 

Incase anyone else is interested on the matter, I have found plenty of info since March.

German weapon and ammunition production: German Weapon and Ammunition Production

American and British loadouts: WWII Ammunition Loadout Questions - Battlefront Forum

A Russian guy on a forum called tanknet.org claimed this:

[FONT=&quot]"T-34/76 was supposed to have 4 APCR (so 75 HE, 21 AP, 4 APCR).[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]T-34/85 was supposed to have 5 APCR (36 HE, 14 AP, 5 APCR)[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]SU-76M was supposed to have 8 APCR (36 HE, 16 AP, 8 APCR)[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]SU-85 was supposed to have 8 APCR (24 HE, 16 AP, 8 APCR)[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]57mm AT guns were supposed to have 8 also.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]By late 44/early 45 it appears that supply was relatively good so those numbers were often fulfilled. Earlier, supply varied by unit - some got enough, some got very few, some got none."[/FONT]

Link: Yet another T-34/76 recovered - Tanknet

Unfortunately, he didn't provide any references, so I can't decide for sure whether he's correct or not. I also noticed that he didn't mention HEAT ammo. Was HEAT ammo any popular in the Red Army, if anyone happens to know? I have tried various searchwords to find out loadouts for Russian tanks, aswell as shell production, but to little avail.

 

I have read that in the US army AT guns in particular the TD's had higher priority for the special rounds. On the otherhand the US Army (actually military in general) was famous or perhaps infamous for the amount of horse trading that went on. Also consider that one of the reasons the Sherman burned so readily is the tendency for the crew to overload it with excess ammo. Apparently they were willing to accept the increased risks vs the risk of running out.

 

Oh yes, this was mentioned on the Battlefront forums too, except it was only mentioned that the British AT-Guns received plenty of APDS. Do you think that the M5 AT-Gun received HVAP ammo, or do you lean to think that it was mainly prioritized for the Sherman 76Ws?

 

Reference for Shell (projectile) - Search.com)




Below is a list of some Soviet armour piercing ammunition showing what I know about the date when particular ammunition entered service. I would be grateful if anyone can help fill in those in service dates that I don’t know. Thanks.

Neil

25mm BR-167P (APCR) – introduced ?
45mm BR-240SP (solid shot AP) – introduced ?
45mm BR-240P (APCR) – introduced April 1942
45mm APDS – introduced 1945
57mm BR-271K (?) – introduced ?
57mm BR-271P (APCR) – introduced October 1943
57mm BR-271N (APDS) – introduced ?
76.2mm BR-350SP (solid shot AP) – introduced ?
76.2mm BR-350B (APBC) – introduced 1942
76.2mm BR-350P (APCR) – introduced October 1943
76.2mm APDS – introduced 1945
76.2mm BK-354 (HEAT) – introduced after the war but don’t know when
76.2mm BP-350A (HEAT for regimental guns) – introduced ?
76.2mm BP-350M (HEAT for regimental guns) – introduced ?
85mm BR-365K (?) – introduced ?
85mm BR-367P (APCR) – introduced February 1944
100mm BR-412B (APBC) – introduced ?
100mm BR-412D (APCBC) – introduced ?
100mm BM-8 (APDS) – introduced ?
122mm BR-471B (APBC) – introduced ?
122mm BR-460A (HEAT) – introduced 1944
152mm HEAT – introduced 1944

Armour Piercing Ammunition In Service Dates - Armchair General and HistoryNet >> The Best Forums in History


Soviet Union's Gun Penetration Table

Soviet Union's Gun Penetration Table - World War II Vehicles, Tanks, and Airplanes


Artillery shells of 122, 130 and 152 mm, and tank gun ammunition of 100, 115,
The APCR projectile is a core of a high-density hard material such as
led to the Germans dropping the use of APCR during late World War II.

Shell_-projectile-

http://www.bookrags.com/wiki/Shell_(projectile

 

I believe it was prioritized to the M-10, M-18, and M-36 although the only competitin for the 90mm round used by the M-36 was likely the very few M-26's that made it to Europe although some of the AAA batteries may have "acquited" a few "just in case".

 

Thanks for the info, guys!

Also, my cousin recently provided me with a rather interesting link on tank ammunition that I thought I would share: http://theminiaturespage.com/boards/msg.mv?id=103178