8.8cm KwK 43

    The 88mm KwK 43 is known as the best tank gun of World War II. Using newer technology than the model 36 cannon, it can penetrate more armor with more explosive filler. This gun is truly a nightmare to Allied tank columns. This gun was mounted on various tanks, the most popular being the Tiger II or "King Tiger" tank. It was also on tank destroyers such as the Elefant tank destroyer.

    Pictured below are the Elefant tank destroyer (top) and the Tiger II heavy tank (bottom).




In the Tiger II picture on the bottom, you can clearly see shells that are used in the 88mm KwK 43 cannon.

The model 43 cannon uses the same type of shells as the model 36, but with higher velocities. This is due to the longer barrel and more gunpowder pushing the projectile. The longer barrel helps with muzzle velocity because the gases pushing the projectile are pushing for a longer period rather than them immediately dispersing into the air at the end of the muzzle.

Let's get into the physics of this cannon.

I will not mention the HEAT round in this cannon because it is the same one used on the KwK 36 cannon.

APBC:
                 This round is vastly different than the model 36 cannons APBC round. This round has a slightly increased mass of 10.4 kg and travels at about 200m/s faster than the model 36 round. It clocks in at 1000 m/s. Using the kinetic energy equation we can find that this round has 5,200,000 joules of energy. With this amount of energy, it can penetrate up to 202mm of armor, defeating anything that the Allies can throw at it.

APCR:
                The APCR round in the model 43 cannon is something of magnificent. Having a mass of 7.3 kg and traveling at a blistering 1,130 m/s, this round can penetrate up to 238mm of armor. with the kinetic energy equation, we can determine that this round has 4,660,685 joules of energy. This is very interesting. The armor-piercing shell has less energy but can penetrate more? This is because the round is traveling only 130 m/s faster than the APBC shell but has 3 kg less mass.