Question about shell types
 

The third, smaller grayed-out shell I always wondered about eventually turned out to be an AA type shell.

Does anyone know about the properties of the different shells? I noticed even the big honkin 5" deck gun can be armed with AA shells :hmm: Could these be used to knock down aircraft? It would be interesting to man one, while telling the AA gunners to shoot anything with props- might get a lucky hit.

What about AP/HE? Any observed differences? My best guess would be HE against merchant ships, and AP against warships (if you're crazy enough to be shooting at a warship with a deck gun, that is!)

In a nutshell thats it. From my understanding the round must defeat an "Armor calculation" before damaging the target compartment. HE has a larger payload but less armor defeating properties. So for instance, you may use AP on both but you are missing out on the extra damage to be had with HE on soft targets.

I'm sure someone can give you a more definitive explination.

Well how about this i use my AP rounds for Warships and on most merchs if i'm aiming for the waterline of just the sides. I use my HE for Cargo that is stacked on the deck and for most weapons.