How???

The gunners don't have to do anything. All the work is done by the designers and manufacturers of the shells, and it is apparently a very lengthy business to get it just right !

The fuze is inset into the base of the shell. It therefore has to withstand the explosion of the propellant; it is then set in action by the shock of the impact with its' initiation delayed for a tiny fraction of time to allow it to penetrate the armour. And then.....

No wonder the Allies didn't seem to bother. This seems like another case of German ingenuity and application.

 

Yeah... I really wonder about the effectiveness of the "filler". How often it actually went off- I have read many sources that note a very high percentage of german munitions that either were duds or just did not work entirely right.

It certainly seems like it was enough just to put a hole in the tank- an extra explosive dosen't really seem necessary!

 

What I think would be more scary.....I heard some stories that occurred during the Vietnam War.
The VC/NVA used shaped charges for their RPGs that would be used to good effect against lightly armoured APCs. Sometimes, these charges would hit the APCs, but not detonate...that would be far scarier I think, knowing that you came so close to your own demise!!!