M48 PATTON vs T-54 | Standoff at Checkpoint Charlie Pt.2 | M332 HVAP Armour Penetration Simulation

The 1961 standoff at Checkpoint Charlie was one of the Cold War’s most infamous escalations, with the simulation presenting what could have happened if one of the US M48 Patton tanks fired at a T-54 -at only 100m range. At this point in time, the most powerful 90mm rounds the M48 could fire were the M332 Hyper Velocity Armour Piercing (HVAP) round, as well as early HEAT-FS ammunition. The latter could penetrate the T-54 anywhere on the front, however it occasionally had issues with fusing on oblique armour. This round could not be simulated due to computational limitations, so the M332 HVAP projectile was chosen instead. This round features a hard and dense tungsten carbide core, with a lightweight aluminium body, giving it exceptional penetration against vertical armour. This round would be able to penetrate the flatter portion of the turret cheeks as well as the lower glacis at a decent range, but would not be able to penetrate the upper glacis. The turret of the T-54-3 was modelled based on Soviet drawings and measurements available here: The point of impact is 1A, which has a line of sight thickness of approximately 207mm. The Cast Homogenous Armour has a hardness of 270BHN. Amazing Thumbnail Artwork from: Ivan Chukarev