Tankette vs. Muzzle loading cannon

[kilopi505]

How would a Type 97 Chi-Ha fare up to a muzzle loading gun from the Spanish-American war if it is ambushed from the side, at a range of 10 meters more or less? If it was shot in the front?

[Sea Skimmer]

Type 97 Chi-Ha is firmly a medium tank with thicker max armor then a Panzer III Ausf. E. I do believe you mean the Type 97 Te-Ke which was less then one third the weight of the Chi-Ha. Anyway its going to depend on what you mean by a muzzle loader, a pretty wide range of such weapons were used in 1898 alongside modern breachloaders. The weaker ones are going to be mere 4pdr and 7pdr field guns which aren't going to defeat any piece of armor on a Te-Ke at any distance, but anything much heavier would start having a real chance on the flanks with the right ammunition. Plus with such a weak tank the suspension and running gear is easily destroyed by anything.. and heck .30cal AP would go through the thing at 10 meters. The front on the Te-Ke would certainly fail to a big enough muzzle loader at 10m, maybe a 20pdr, certainly a 40pdr is going to kill the crew with spall if nothing else. A big problem is most ammo in 1898 is going to be shrapnel and shrapnel shells will shatter mighty easily. I'm assuming blackpowder. The modern smokeless powder field pieces of 1898, of which the US deployed none, would knock out a Te-Ke at hundreds of yards.

[kilopi505]

Well...these guns

http://webzoom.freewebs.com/philippinea ... niards.jpg

http://webzoom.freewebs.com/philippinea ... CANNON.jpg

http://webzoom.freewebs.com/philippinea ... 201900.jpg

http://www.freewebs.com/philippineameri ... cannon.jpg

http://www.freewebs.com/philippineameri ... edited.JPG

http://www.freewebs.com/philippineameri ... 201899.jpg

http://www.freewebs.com/philippineameri ... cannon.jpg

http://webzoom.freewebs.com/philippinea ... 201899.jpg

[Simon_Jester]

Basically, the bigger ones could put a solid cannonball through, if you can find powder and shot, I'd bet. The smaller ones might very well go "boink" only louder and with more metallic sounds.

Let me guess- Filipino guerillas find an old gun dating back to the Spanish-American War. Biggest problem will be decent powder.

[Sea Skimmer]

The big ones look to be 30-40pdrs and they’d certainly be able to mess up the front and side armor with pointed shot, and probably with a round ball too. The small stuff is going to bounce off, though it might dent the armor anyway. But I mean, if you can get within 10 meters a firebomb is a much better option then using a cannon, all the more so if you've also dug tank traps or anti tank ditches, it doesn't take much of either to stop a mere five ton tank. With exploding shells even the worst cannon cannon have actual value against the tank’s accompanying infantry at any range they can reach compared to use as then worlds worst anti tank weapon.

[kilopi505]

Basically, the bigger ones could put a solid cannonball through, if you can find powder and shot, I'd bet. The smaller ones might very well go "boink" only louder and with more metallic sounds.

Let me guess- Filipino guerillas find an old gun dating back to the Spanish-American War. Biggest problem will be decent powder.

Would anything concocted from guano be decent powder? And does how much powder you put into the gun affect how much...power the shot has to it?

[kilopi505]

The big ones look to be 30-40pdrs and they’d certainly be able to mess up the front and side armor with pointed shot, and probably with a round ball too. The small stuff is going to bounce off, though it might dent the armor anyway. But I mean, if you can get within 10 meters a firebomb is a much better option then using a cannon, all the more so if you've also dug tank traps or anti tank ditches, it doesn't take much of either to stop a mere five ton tank. With exploding shells even the worst cannon cannon have actual value against the tank’s accompanying infantry at any range they can reach compared to use as then worlds worst anti tank weapon.

Umm, are the small stuff the improvised cannons? And...are 12 pdrs also counted as small?

[kilopi505]

And...fire bombs are another term for molotov cocktails, right? I see....
How about using shot instead of exploding shells against the infantry? You could just stick nails and pebbles in there. My plan in the story is using random pebble and gravel as the ammo vs. the infantry in a one shot, many dead targets scenario?

[LaCroix]

Nails would work, pebbles less so. Depending on material, the shock wave might pulverize them.

Mythbusters did a test on improvised ammo...