# Could any sniper rifle penetrate the armor on this French army vehicle "Petit Véhicule Protégé"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 19, 2017, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-any-sniper-rifle-penetrate-the-armor-on-this-french-army-vehicle-petit-vehicule-protege/782516 "2017-03-19T00:32:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2017, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-any-sniper-rifle-penetrate-the-armor-on-this-french-army-vehicle-petit-vehicule-protege/782516/21 "2017-03-20T15:42:24Z")
> [@swampspruce](#): > > Or you could get the NTW-20 which is just slightly smaller…For those occasions when overkill is necessary.😃 Where clown hunting is concerned there’s no such thing as overkill. That big bull clown you see stuffed and mounted in the Museum of Natural History was taken out from the air by an AC-130 gunship (which was badly damaged by several direct cream pie hits). According to Wikipedia, a 1.6" thickness of a ceramic called [aluminium oxynitride](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aluminium_oxynitride) can resist .50 BMG rounds. IOW, a transparent substance with more penetration resistance than many grades of steel. ---
**Author:** ![buttonjockey308](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bcef8e/32.png) [@buttonjockey308](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buttonjockey308)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2017, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-any-sniper-rifle-penetrate-the-armor-on-this-french-army-vehicle-petit-vehicule-protege/782516/22 "2017-03-20T16:43:42Z")
A round (be it .338 or smaller) doesn’t need to pierce the passenger compartment on its’ first shot although it probably would, all a serious round has to do is stop the engine, which a couple of well placed rounds would do. Once the vehicle is immobile, the sniper can pick it apart until a weakness is found. ---
**Author:** ![swampspruce](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampspruce/32/261_2.png) [@swampspruce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampspruce)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2017, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-any-sniper-rifle-penetrate-the-armor-on-this-french-army-vehicle-petit-vehicule-protege/782516/23 "2017-03-22T14:48:35Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > Where clown hunting is concerned there’s no such thing as overkill. That big bull clown you see stuffed and mounted in the Museum of Natural History was taken out from the air by an AC-130 gunship (which was badly damaged by several direct cream pie hits). > > According to Wikipedia, a 1.6" thickness of a ceramic called [aluminium oxynitride](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aluminium_oxynitride) can resist .50 BMG rounds. IOW, a transparent substance with more penetration resistance than many grades of steel. Well in the case I think that [this](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Missouri_(BB-63)) might be a better alternative for clown hunting then… ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2017, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-any-sniper-rifle-penetrate-the-armor-on-this-french-army-vehicle-petit-vehicule-protege/782516/24 "2017-03-22T14:56:51Z")
> [@swampspruce](#): > > Well in the case I think that [this](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Missouri_(BB-63)) might be a better alternative for clown hunting then… And when the guns are fired, it [dents the ocean.](https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/3e/d6/e8/3ed6e8bf800139f33b1d884901addad6.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Enola\_Straight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dec6dc/32.png) [@Enola\_Straight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Straight)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2017, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-any-sniper-rifle-penetrate-the-armor-on-this-french-army-vehicle-petit-vehicule-protege/782516/25 "2017-03-22T16:33:02Z")
Everyone is talking guns and ammo…where on this vehicle is vulnerable to a shot? I would attempt a shot at the wheel well, between the tire and fender, so the round will pierce the engine block and stop the vehicle dead. ---
**Author:** ![swampspruce](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampspruce/32/261_2.png) [@swampspruce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampspruce)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2017, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-any-sniper-rifle-penetrate-the-armor-on-this-french-army-vehicle-petit-vehicule-protege/782516/26 "2017-03-23T14:24:21Z")
You might be able to strike it across the front through the rad but that puts you straight in front of the vehicle and I’m not sure if there is additional ballistic protection other than the strakes across the front. If it’s the uparmoured version I think I’d want the above mentioned NTW-20 to make sure it’s immobilized. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-any-sniper-rifle-penetrate-the-armor-on-this-french-army-vehicle-petit-vehicule-protege/782516.md?page=1)