34 replies to this topic

[EdAWACSdenyY]

For some context, HESH stands for High Explosive Squash Head. It's primarily used by the British Army who still hold a premium over this ammunition type even to this day. In real life, HESH is essentially a shell filled with Plastic Explosive. Upon impact against the hull of an enemy tank, the HESH shell squashes against the surface of the tank like a cow pat. A secondary fuse than ignites the plastic explosive which detonates, sending shock-waves throughout the tank's hull causing pieces of hot metal (known as spall) to be projected off the interior wall at high velocity killing the crew, igniting the ammunition or fuel etc. etc. So basically in real-life HESH does not have to pierce armour to do damage. 

 

However, I'm not here to talk to you chaps here about the real-life workings of HESH, you can Google that yourselves. I'm here to discuss how HESH works in game and when or when not to use HESH as well as where to aim for when using HESH against certain vehicles. 

 

So let us begin chaps!

 

What is HESH exactly in World of Tanks and what does it do?

 

HESH ammunition is the premium and standard ammunition used only by certain British Tanks. Tanks in WOT (PC) which use HESH as their premium ammunition are the Centurion 7/1 tier 9 Medium tank, The FV4202 Tier 10 British Medium tank, The FV215B Tier 10 heavy tank, The Charioteer tier 8 British Tank Destroyer, The FV215B 183 tier 10 British Tank Destroyer, and the FV4005 Stage II Tier 10 British Tank Destroyer.

 

In World of Tanks and World of Tanks Blitz, HESH ammo differs greatly to it's real life equivalent. In game, HESH ammunition functions as a High-Explosive shell...but with a much higher penetration value than regular HE ammunition. This is unique to the British Line of tanks. While most other tank's utilize APCR or HEAT as their premium ammunition for that extra penetration, HESH forgoes that extra penetration for increased damage instead.

 

For example. The Penetration value of HESH on the Centurion 7/1 is 210 mm compared to the 105mm of penetration it has on regular HE shells. 

 

But Ed, that sucks! What's the point of having a premium ammunition which doesn't have that extra penetration I need to pen that <insert heavily armoured tank name> frontally?

 

For some people used to just switching over to premium shells when they cannot penetrate a target, HESH will seem like a terrible choice of premium ammunition compared to HEAT or APCR. However, I don't see it that way. Sure you won't be penning E100 or E75's frontally with HESH. But you will be a menace to any tank out on the battlefield showing their flank to you or are generally poorly armoured. Against these tanks, HESH can be absolutely devastating allowing you to finish off those tanks much faster than had you been using standard ammunition. 

 

Neat! what else should I know about HESH?

 

Since HESH is basically HE ammo. It goes without saying that it is subject to the same game mechanics as HE ammo itself. Like HE, HESH is not subject to normalization, and like HE, if HESH penetrates the armour of an enemy tank, it will detonate inside and more likely damage any crew members and modules. If HESH fails to penetrate the armor, it will still explode outside the hull dealing minor splash damage. The downside to HESH having the same attributes as HE ammo is that its damage will be mitigated upon hitting spaced armor or tracks. Which can sometimes be very frustrating to players. Well this guide will help you to determine when it's best to use HESH and which tanks can it potentially devastate!

 

EdAWACS's words of advice when firing HESH.

 

• Never ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever fire HESH ammunition from long range or snipe enemy tanks with HESH. At these ranges it's much more difficult to hit weak spots. If you fire HESH at range, you could potentially waste a very valuable shot in a game where every shot counts. Only use HESH at point-blank ranges where you can easily target weak-spots, increasing your chances of dealing massive damage.
•  HESH requires a generally flat surface to hit in order to deal the full damage specifications listed on the shell. Avoid aiming at well angled, curved, or other not at all flat surfaces unless the penetration of your HESH shell greatly over-matches the armor's effective thickness even when sloped.
• Take your time to aim shots carefully when firing HESH. Avoid firing Clutch with HESH. Take your time and aim well. Trust me, It is worth it to aim well with a shell that costs 5200 credits per shot.
• If the frontal armor of an enemy tank is too thick and the side armor of the tank is covered by tracks mostly, than the best option is to aim for the back of the tank in the engine deck.

 

Now that you know this much about HESH, Let's look over which vehicles HESH are much more effective against than others. 

 

German Tanks:

 

German tanks are some of my favourite targets to utilize HESH against since they have relative large profiles and have nice flat side turret armor and hull armor not covered by tracks. This makes it relatively easy to use HESH against German tanks if you know where to aim.

 

Heavy Tanks:

 

Tiger 1:

Spoiler

The Tiger I is an extremely easy target to utilize HESH against due to the relatively thin armor it has all around. Usage of HESH against this tank is highly recommended. When firing HESH at this tank, aim for the large lower glacis of the tank if it is facing you frontally. This can potentially damage his engine or even set it on fire! If you have a Tiger 1's flank try to aim at the side armor underneath the turret or at least near the turret. This could potentially detonate his ammunition allowing you to take him out in one shot! Or at best lower his Rate of fire.

 

Tiger P:

Spoiler

The Tiger P is a much more trickier target to use HESH against since it has 200mm of frontal armour which your HESH shell will have difficulty punching through. It is strongly advised that you flank around this Heavy Tank and fire HESH into the more vulnerable side and back armor of the hull and turret. Avoid trying to snipe the Commanders cupola with HESH. As you are more likely to miss even at medium ranges. Only use HESH on the commander's cupola of a Tiger P if he is face hugging you.

 

Tiger 2:

Spoiler

The Tiger 2 has much stronger frontal armor being a tier 8 heavy tank. Therefore it would be foolish to utilize HESH against a Tiger 2 frontally. Instead, get to the Tiger 2's flank and aim for it's much thinner side and rear armor. If you get a Tiger 2's side, try to aim for the side armor directly underneath his turret to potentially ammorack him! Or shoot him in engine to potentially set it on fire. You can also aim for the side and rear of the turret.

 

 

VK4502A:

Spoiler

 The VK4502A has weaker frontal armor than the Tiger 2. If you really want to use HESH on that tank frontally, I would suggest you aim for the upper glacis as opposed to the lower glacis. You have a 93% higher chance of penetration if you aim there as opposed to the 73% chance you have when shooting the lower glacis. However I would strongly advise against shooting the front of a VK4502A. Best stick with the safer option and flank aiming for the thinner side and rear armor.

 

E75:

Spoiler

 A common enemy you will face in the Centurion 7/1 and the FV4202. By this point you should have already gotten the point not to fire HESH frontally at higher tier heavy tanks. But for those who won't know better. I will repeat and advise you avoid firing HESH at an E75 frontally. It's lower glacis is much thicker than what your HESH shells can go through. Whenever possible, Aim for the weaker side and rear armor. Your HESH rounds have enough penetration to go through an E75's side and rear hull armor even if it is slightly angled.  However be careful if you are firing HESH at the side or rear of an E-75's turret cause unless it's completely flat facing you there will be certain areas on a slightly angled E75 turret which will mitigate your HESH shell turning lethal 400+ damage to less harmful splash damage, wasting your precious shot. 

 

VK4502B:

Spoiler

 When facing this tank. Apply the same strategy you would use against the E75. Avoid firing HESH frontally and instead flank and fire at the weaker side and rear armor. Keep in mind the same details on shooting an E75 in the turret when you shoot the VK4502B in the side and rear of the turret.

 

E100:

Spoiler

 A massive monster of a tank with overall thick armour and a terrifying 15 cm gun. Avoid firing HESH frontally unless you wish to tickle this beast before he blasts you to kingdom come in return for your measly attack. Avoid aiming for the hull armor of the E100 with HESH ammo as the sideskirts and the wide tracks covering its hull will absorb most of your shell's destructive potential, wasting your shot. Aim instead for the nice flat side and rear turret armor of this behemoth to insure maximum damage. However do not fire HESH at an E100's turret if it is angled as it will mitigate your shot. Make sure when you are aiming, that you have a mostly flat turret side or rear to aim at or expect to do only minor splash damage.

 

Maus:

Spoiler

 The E100's slower heavier more heavily armored cousin. Usage of HESH against the Maus I would generally discourage due to the sheer amount of armor this tank has. The Maus will present a formidable challenge to HESH users due to the sheer thickness of it's armor. However if you do want to do that extra amount of damage. avoid frontal attacks when using HESH and flank to get to the weaker side and rear armor. However be careful where you fire the HESH round when flanking a Maus. DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES AIM FOR THE TURRET SIDE AND REAR ARMOR even if it is completely flat facing you. Your HESH rounds will not have enough penetration to go through the thick side and rear turret armor due to the sheer thickness. Rather shoot the side of the upper hull taking care not to aim too low and hitting the tracks. Or shoot the engine deck. But avoid shooting the side or rear of the turret with HESH. You will regret it.

 

 

Tank Destroyers: 

 

JagdPanther: 

Spoiler

 The JagdPanther is a very easy target to HESH due to it's relatively low armor all around with the exception of the upper plate and gun mantlet. Use of HESH against this tank is highly recommended. When aiming frontally, aim for the area where the upper glacis joins with the lower glacis. The armor is quite thin frontally with an effective thickness of only 85mm. Your HESH rounds will have no problem punching through the front of a Jagdpanther and wrecking that tank. If you have the tanks's side or rear armor, the chance of penetration is a forgone conclusion. But you may want to use regular HE instead of HESH if you are shown the side and rear armor. Use HESH mostly for penetrating this tank frontally. Try to use HE instead for the even thinner sides an rear.

 

Ferdinand:

Spoiler

 The Ferdinand like the Tiger P (From which the Ferdinand's hull is based on) is another target which you have very little hope of penetration with HESH frontally due to the slight sloping and thickness of the hull plus superstructure armour preventing your HESH round from overmatching that armor. However, the Ferdinand is fairly slow and has a very slow traverse speed which you can exploit while flanking. This will allow you to devastate the Ferdinand by firing HESH into the more juicy side and rear casemate armor. Potentially ammo-racking it.

 

Jagdtiger:

Spoiler

 Do not even attempt to fire HESH at the frontal hull amor of the Jagdtiger even the lower glacis. Not only could you potentially waste your shot. You will also be exposing yourself to that lethal high rate of fire the Jagdtiger is known to wield. As with the Ferdinand, the Jagdtiger is fairly slow and turns slowly. Get onto this hunting tiger's flanks and fire into the tall casemate with only 80mm of frontal armor potentially damaging the ammo rack.  Or get to the rear of the tank and target the engine block to potentially set the tank on fire!

 

Jagdpanzer E100:

Spoiler

 As with the Jagdtiger, avoid firing HESH frontally as you'll be wasting your time. Same as before, flank and fire the HESH round into the more vulnerable side and rear caste-mate armor. Do not aim for the hull area covered by sideskirts and tracks. You'll be rewarded with minimal splash damage and probably the unwanted attention of a tank destroyer with a 17 cm gun. 

 

 

Medium Tanks:

 

Panther:

Spoiler

 The Panther tank is also a very easy tank to damage with HESH due to it's relatively thin all around armor. Use of HESH ammo against this target is highly recommended. Aim carefully and let your gun crack at a Panther. Your HESH shell will be able to penetrate through the frontal hull armor of this tank like a hot knife through butter. For the side and rear armour, there's no doubt it will penetrate but avoid aiming for the tracks. I would advise however that you use HE ammo to penetrate the Panther's weak side and rear armor as opposed to using the more expensive HESH. It may seem like overcomplicating matters. But if knowing when to fire HE and when to fire HESH will save you a lot of credits.

 

Panther 2

Spoiler

 The Panther 2 is another tank which I highly recommend you using HESH against. Like the Panther, the Panther 2 also has fairly thin frontal armour which your HESH shell will have no problems going through. With weak side and rear armor not covered by tracks, you'll smile and cackle with glee when you see one of these tanks on the enemy team while in your Centurion 7/1 or FV4202. However if you do get the flank or rear of a Panther 2, I would recommend you fire HE ammunition instead of the more expensive HESH. You will have more than enough penetration with your HE ammo to go through the side and rear armor of a Panther 2.

 

E50:

Spoiler

 At tier 9, the E50 has much more tougher frontal armor than the Panther 2. So shooting HESH ammunition at an E50 frontally I would strongly advise against. The best applications for HESH against this vehicle is to hit it in the weaker side and rear turret and hull armor.

 

E50M:

Spoiler

 Apply the same tactics as you would for the E50.

 

 

American Tanks:

 

American Tanks are my third favorite tanks to fire HESH at due to their weak side and rear armour. However when it comes to HESH, American tanks are a bit trickier to damage, especially from the side armor of most American tanks are covered with tracks which if you had read earlier, mitigates the full damage of HESH. But with careful aim and patience as well as applying some of the concepts I mentioned above, you can damage them with no problem.

 

Heavy Tanks:

 

T29:

Spoiler

 The T29 will be a tough opponent to penetrate with HESH if you are facing one hull-down. You will have little luck going through the mantlet or cheeks with only 210 mm of penetration. However if you manage to get the frontal glacis plate of a T29, firing of HESH rounds is highly recommended. The upper glacis is only 102mm thick sloped which can easily be over-matched by the high penetration value of your HESH rounds. If however get the flank of a T29 AVOID AIMING FOR THE HULL OF THE TANK. The hull is covered mostly by the tracks, with only a thin strip. I would advise you best not tempt RNG and potentially donk your expensive HESH and instead aim for the side of the turret or the engine deck.

 

However since the rear armor (where the engine deck is located is relatively weak,) You should reconsider firing regular HE ammunition into the rear to potentially save your credits and dish out the same amount of damage.

 

T32:

Spoiler

 The T32 is a very difficult tank to use HESH against so I would recommend avoid using HESH on it. The frontal armor is much thicker and well sloped making it impossible for HESH to penetrate head-on. As with all American Heavy tanks, the hull is mostly covered by the tracks which are excellent neutralizers of HESH. as before best not to tempt the RNG gods and if you want to fire HESH, aim for the side of the turret or the engine deck. Otherwise switch to your standard anti-armor ammunition.

 

M103: 

Spoiler

 Surprisingly, the M103 is actually my favorite targets to fire HESH at, do to the extremely large egg-shaped turret it has with a large overhang. As usual, do not fire HESH at this tank frontally. Instead, try to get onto his flank and aim for the large side of the turret. Why aim for the hull armour when the turret of this tank is a much more massive target? You should try to aim for the weak side turret armor always when firing HESH at this tank or get onto his rear and fire it into the equally weak back of the turret and engine deck. Though if you are aiming for the engine deck, HE ammo might be more worth your money than HESH. 

 

T110E5.

 

Edited by EdAWACSdenyY, 22 September 2015 - 06:04 PM.

[RiezMich]

nice you did it  +1

[_Wint3r_Hawk_]

Wow, that was fast! The guide looks good Ed! +1

[EdAWACSdenyY]

I'm not done yet. I've also decided to list out every single tank you could potentially face when in a Centurion 7/1 or an FV4202 and where you can use HESH on them as well as which tank is more favorable to use HESH on as opposed to other tanks.

[Roguelupi82]

Plus 1

[FunkSoulChicken]

Fantastic work!  Thanks for putting the time in and I'll look forward to seeing what else you lay out!

 

  +1

[Cocobeanboy]

Thank you for posting this, It's very helpful. +1 

[EdAWACSdenyY]

Finished Descriptions on how to best use HESH against German Heavy Tanks. This is gonna take some time guys, bear with me. 

 

I will probably finish this guide tomorrow. Than we can have it moved over to the tutorials section of the forums.

[Kaylis_Tzu]

Nice guide. Well done. Amazing detail.

[Kevin_Thebeast]

 

Here's a simulation done by Sidney Alford, arguably the father of modern EOD tech, one of the world's most un-sung heroes, and as batty as Britain can make them!

[Static2k]

Very nice guide. Def useful info for the British tanks drivers. +1 

[EdAWACSdenyY]

I've now completely finished detailing how to effectively use HESH against every German tank you will encounter on the battlefield. Check it out either to find out how to get the most out of your HESH shells or what you should expect if you drive any of these German Tanks and come under fire from a British tank.

 

I'm now going to move onto the American Tanks now. Stay tuned as I update this guide. Almost there guys.

 

Also if a mod of someone from the Admin team could move this guide to the Beginners Tutorial's section that would be nice!

[thunderthies]

Superbly put together guide, my friend. Excellent job. 

[Fherot]

Excellent guide and I am quite familiar with HESH irl, I had no idea we got that on the 2 Brits in the game.

I have the Challenger 1 crew and technical manual which goes over the Royal Ordnance 120mm including it's ammunition types.

Looks like Britain has found a manufacturer in Belgian to finally make some 120mm ammunition for their Challenger 2's since England still stubbornly sticks to a rifled gun (and it's far too expensive to convert to German smoothbore anyway).

 

I really REALLY want my Centurion now! (Have the technic manuals for Mk I-III and crew manual for Mk 7 since I'm a history nerd). I've run into a snag though, the Crusader .... 5 losses in a row. Absolutely loved all the Cruisers and Covenanter but I may free exp my way to Cromwell... Perhaps a guide on serving Her Majesty all the way to Tier IX?

[EdAWACSdenyY]

Bumping this guide for reference.

[blindsniper74]

Thanks Ed...  your guide has rejuvenated my grind in the 7/1.  I really like that tank because of it!

[EdAWACSdenyY]

blindsniper74, on 12 March 2015 - 04:05 AM, said:

Thanks Ed...  your guide has rejuvenated my grind in the 7/1.  I really like that tank because of it!

 

Glad to hear that! I was actually suprised at how many people did not know how to use HESH, and really it is something that should be embraced. You will find your games a lot more fun when you deal a penetration with HESH.

[bigpoppadaddy]

Ed,

 

I really enjoy reading all of your articles and look forward to future updates. +1

 

Will you include Russian tanks eventually?  Or is there armor just to thick on the higher tier tanks for HESH to be effective?

[EdAWACSdenyY]

bigpoppadaddy, on 27 March 2015 - 03:25 PM, said:

Ed,

 

I really enjoy reading all of your articles and look forward to future updates. +1

 

Will you include Russian tanks eventually?  Or is there armor just to thick on the higher tier tanks for HESH to be effective?

 

Yes I will, include. I just need some spare time.

[Droidekool]

nice. nice.just nice