What are shrapnel naval shells for?

[ulzgoroth]

A lot of British shells and some Soviet shells are "shrapnel (self-destroying)". What's the role for these? Are they time-fused AA rounds? How do they differ from HE when fired into ships?

[Arpente Reves]

I might be wrong, but HE is pure violent explosive, while shrapnel is explosive with a lot of... shrapnel. I don't play navy battles, but it might do more spread damages to unarmored parts?

[HudsonM1A2]

Shrapnel is used to cause as much damage to the crew as possible. Usually, the armor on the ships is not really thick, so shrapnel shells have a big potential to cause a huge dent on the enemy's crew numbers. HE also generates shrapnel, but it's due in part only because of the casing and the own target's metal structure, so it's not as much as a shrapnel shell.

[ulzgoroth]

I'm talking gameplay here - do you think shrapnel causes increased damage to compartments compared to HE? In the cases I've seen that would seem pointless, since the guns in question will completely wipe out a compartment on any ship I've fired them at in one basic HE shell.

[ulzgoroth]

I can confirm that the shrapnel shells are not time-fused.

Which means that unlike everybody else, most british destroyers don't have any large-caliber AA capability.

[Comrade Tiedanski 五月天]

Shrapnel evolved from Grape shot( shooting little balls like a shotgun from a cannon ), the earliest was used during the US civil War, Boshin Wars from what I can recall, it was massed used during WWI where these shells filled with metal shards would explode in proximity and raining metal shard in an array of area( although sometime it will just plunge to the ground and explode like a grenade ), the shrapnel effect would usually lead to some nasty wounds or amputees in which it's very unpleasant to be struck by them especially during WWI.

[ulzgoroth]

I think that 'evolution' description is questionable, but moreover it does absolutely nothing to answer the question.

[Comrade Tiedanski 五月天]

Shrapnel in-general is used as an Anti personel shell where you scatter fragments of metal shards across an array of area( quite useful when dealing with planes tbh with proximity fuse), while HE shells fire and explode upon impact causing structural damage and personel causalties, the Shrapnel would sometimes explode in mid air( before they added a fuse cap ) and rain metal shards upon the crew causing mayhem and panic overall, HE is used as an soft structual demolition shell while the Shrapnel is used for Crew men on board.

The only time I can relate shrapnel being effective is when you try to capture the ship/boat your attacking by disabling the crew members while keeping most components intact for you to operate. But in war thunder, shrapnel has nothing to do in that direction or capturing ships or even board, better to use HE than shrapnel in War Thunder for ships, I can see shrapnel might be useful in taking crew members of boats and gunboats in-general, but HE is still more reliable tbh.

[trevorkrause]

This is why you used chain mail in your tank.

[Comrade Tiedanski 五月天]

Originally posted by trevorkrause:

This is why you used chain mail in your tank.

LOL, tbh, that make little use as chain mail is mainly a type of protection against slashing damages rather than pirecing damages, Flak jackets is what you need but than again, Chain mail is way underrated am I right? Today the German police use chain mail against knife attacks so I guess chain mail is still useful :P

[trevorkrause]

Originally posted by ✯Comrade Tiedanski 五月天:

Originally posted by trevorkrause:

This is why you used chain mail in your tank.

LOL, tbh, that make little use as chain mail is mainly a type of protection against slashing damages rather than pirecing damages, Flak jackets is what you need but than again, Chain mail is way underrated am I right? Today the German police use chain mail against knife attacks so I guess chain mail is still useful :P

The tank crews used chain mail in ww1 tanks vs shrapnel and yes it worked very well.

[ulzgoroth]

In gameplay-relevant notes, I've belatedly noticed that the shrapnel shells on the british 4-inch guns (and the SAP shells) have much better muzzle velocity than the gentle lob that their HE gets.

So for them I guess the point is a shell that works on soft targets and shoots fast. Doesn't cover the soviet boat with those shells, though.

[Carcoona]

Originally posted by ✯Comrade Tiedanski 五月天:

Shrapnel evolved from Grape shot( shooting little balls like a shotgun from a cannon ), the earliest was used during the US civil War, Boshin Wars from what I can recall, it was massed used during WWI where these shells filled with metal shards would explode in proximity and raining metal shard in an array of area( although sometime it will just plunge to the ground and explode like a grenade ), the shrapnel effect would usually lead to some nasty wounds or amputees in which it's very unpleasant to be struck by them especially during WWI.

I think you will find that Grapeshot was used by the British way before the American Civil War. Although your description of what it was used for, is correct. I think cannister shells were the next evolution of it. With a can fired full of musket balls.

[Comrade Tiedanski 五月天]

Originally posted by Carcoona:

Originally posted by ✯Comrade Tiedanski 五月天:

Shrapnel evolved from Grape shot( shooting little balls like a shotgun from a cannon ), the earliest was used during the US civil War, Boshin Wars from what I can recall, it was massed used during WWI where these shells filled with metal shards would explode in proximity and raining metal shard in an array of area( although sometime it will just plunge to the ground and explode like a grenade ), the shrapnel effect would usually lead to some nasty wounds or amputees in which it's very unpleasant to be struck by them especially during WWI.

I think you will find that Grapeshot was used by the British way before the American Civil War. Although your description of what it was used for, is correct. I think cannister shells were the next evolution of it. With a can fired full of musket balls.

Canister shot actually contain a bunch or shard of brass and tin that is pretty deadly but is limited to close range, basically a early version of shrapnel shot, but the real Shrapnel shot is the one who perfected the long range capability, having a hollow point and filled with fragments of shards or balls, like canister shot can has the range of a standard shell and final form of all Anti personnel shell was the HE shell which we all came to know in war thunder.

[Oddwest]

Shrapnel was used as a flak round as well for the british the 4 in qf mark 5 is a AAA gun hence the "self destroying" tho i find it strange that the british have no flak on their flak guns.