Killing tank crew withOUT penetration

[Mikey_FGM]

An interesting metaphor would be what is called "blunt trauma" in body armor speak...

The kinetic energy of the bullet impacting the Kevlar vest is strong enough to cause internal injuries, even if the bullet itself never penetrates.

Similarly, the kinetic energy of a non-penetrating tank shell might cause metal fragments of the internal armor to flak off at high speed, towards the crew. That's called Spalling, apparently.

SPALLING

So apart from jagged metal flying at you, I would imagine the SOUND of a shell hitting your tank would be apocalyptic, and might burst an eardrum... That's just speculation though..