PTAB anti-tank aviation bomb testing.

[SCG_Darbzy]

I've been trying to figure out how to best use these weapons for a while. I still think the 37mm AP is better for killing tanks.

 

[216th_Lucas_From_Hell]

Nice video! Historically, it was dropped at a height of about 25m, in close formation, to deploy a screen of bombs over an enemy tank group. They were liked exactly because they produced a very tame explosion so pilots didn't have to worry about fuse or drop altitude, it would never hit them. The damage occured inside the tanks, occasionally reaching the fuel tanks or ammunition which then led to pretty explosions.

[Roast]

Very enjoyable to see

 

You may want to try this on stationary aircraft as well, and ..

even flying ones too. Stuka's are nice targets to try these 'eggs' on

 

It takes a bit of practice, especially good timing on flying targets, but it certainly

is worth the effort

 

Good hunting!

[SCG_Darbzy]

Interesting Lucas, it would be great if I could read cyrillic as I'm sure there's heaps of info out there in Russian about this weapon. I guess the shaped charge was designed to punch holes in armour and set fire to fuel and ammo inside, not explode. Was there an arming height or time, as the bombs seem to have windmill driven fuses on the back?

 

Cheers Roast, I'll give it a try on an airfield attack at some stage!

Edited August 9, 2017 by 19//Darbzy

[HR_Tofolo]

Nice video mate.

 

There is a topic regarding the use of PTABs in-game, which aparently seem to be far from realistic (and a bit disappointing).

 

In my tests I achieved best results dropping at a pretty high altitude (150-200m) using the standard 5-second fuse, although I don't know if that setting really affects the PTABs. However, these parameters seem to be kinda random.

 

 

Interesting Lucas, it would be great if I could read cyrillic as I'm sure there's heaps of info out there in Russian about this weapon. I guess the shaped charge was designed to punch holes in armour and set fire to fuel and ammo inside, not explode. Was there an arming height or time, as the bombs seem to have windmill driven fuses on the back?

 

Cheers Roast, I'll give it a try on an airfield attack at some stage!

 

For those who can read spanish better than russian, some squadmates translated quite a few articles regarding soviet military equipment and of course you can find some PTAB information, with several pictures and useful data.

 

Check it here:
http://rkka.es/Armamento/004_bombas/001_PTAB/000_PTAB-2.5-1.5.htm

[216th_Lucas_From_Hell]

Tofolo bringing in the good stuff! I recommend rkka.es to anyone, use Translate if you must but do spend at least 5 hours there, it's honestly one of the best WW2 portals ever.

 

Most of the combat reports in that article list 200-300m as their drop altitude, with the occasional 600m drop.

[Haza]

I'm glad I'm not the only one trying to 'sus out' these cluster bombs!

Nice video!

Cheers

[Max_Damage]

PTAB is a super weapon. just drop them at 250m at least(no less). There is a balance between their spread and your ability to line up on to your target. if you drop too low, they dont spread well enough. if you drop way too high, they spread too much and you probably cant aim as well. Thats why you need an optimal altitude which can be anywhere between 200-300 meters and is probably 250-300 optimally.

 

Edited December 30, 2017 by Max_Damage

[Jade_Monkey]

Nice video!

 

The trucks that just broke without explosions, is there a chance you were using a static object instead of a vehicle? That's one of the reasons why they might not be exploding.

[56RAF_Roblex]

Here is a two minute video I made testing PTBs offline.

 

I make the initial pass using just one of the four canisters  and it appears to disable a Pz38T. I am not sure why it did not blow up or burn but zooming in it looks as if the tracks have been badly damaged.  I include a short piece of the second pass just to demonstrate something a few other people have commented on ie the bombs do not always give an even spread.  You can see bombs hitting before & after a PzIV-G (unless they *did* t hit the tank but did nothing?).   The last run pass shows a drop from about 350-400m along a line of three PzIV-Fs with TWO canisters , ie one on each wing) and two of the tanks blow sky high! I cannot see whether the first tank shrugged them off or whether I just missed it.

 

https://youtu.be/3a9Y3vg-GMc

 

There *always* seems to be a 'stutter' in every drop so you end up with a gap.   This picture illustrates a tank seeming to get away with being in the gap of an otherwise good drop.   You can see bomblets still in the air and they seem quite concentrated.

 

 

This one shows a tank nearly fitting in the gap but even though there appear to be some hits they don't do enough damage to stop it or even start it smoking

 

 

Notably, in both pictures you can see bombs exploding on the ground even though they are only supposed to explode when they hit something hard so I am not sure how they work.

Edited December 31, 2017 by 56RAF_Roblex

[=RvE=Windmills]

Why should they not explode when they hit the ground? Usually the ground is a fairly solid object as well 

 

Anyway, it seems like their fuses don't trigger unless you drop them from a fairly high altitude like some other people described, this seems to be the best way to use them. Is it because they are not striking with a sufficient nose down angle to trigger the fuse when dropped from very low? In general this does seem odd, it feels like you have to drop them higher than intended for them to be effective. They are somewhat useful atm, but I'm not sure if they are working entirely correctly.

 

What fusing do you use btw Roblex?

Edited December 31, 2017 by Windmills

[Max_Damage]

Bombs do the explosive animation any time you hit the area around a tank. When it plays explosive animation on a tank, the bombs still need to roll a dice to hit. if the dice roll failed the tank is not damaged.