Sloped armour is armour that is oriented neither vertically nor horizontally. Such angled armour is typically mounted on tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles (AFVs), as well as naval vessels such as battleships and cruisers. Sloping an armour plate makes it more difficult to penetrate by anti-tank weapons, such as armour-piercing shells, kinetic energy penetrators and rockets, if they follow a more or less horizontal trajectory to their target, as is often the case. The improved protection is caused by three main effects.
Sloped armour on the front of Soviet T-54 tank, here cut open to demonstrate the increase in effective thickness.
Illustration of some possible effects that can occur when a projectile impacts sloped armour
German designs from late World War II with well-sloped armour: the Jagdpanther tank destroyer and German Tiger II heavy tank in the background.
The Soviet IS-3, introduced in 1945, used a pointed prow in place of a simple glacis
A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engine; their main armament is often mounted within a turret. They are a mainstay of modern 20th and 21st century ground forces and a key part of combined arms combat.
The first tank to engage in battle, the British Mark I tank (pictured in 1916) with the Solomon camouflage scheme
An M4 Sherman in Italy in 1943 during WWII
A Leopard 2A7 in Germany
A Japanese Type 10 firing.