Catastrophic kill

British Crusader tank passes a burning German Pzkw Mk IV tank during Operation Crusader

A catastrophic kill, K-Kill or complete kill refers to damage inflicted on a vehicle by a weapon that renders it both unusable and unrepairable whereas a "knocked out" vehicle is completely inoperable but not beyond repair. Typically a catastrophic kill results in the ignition of any fuel the vehicle may be carrying as well as the detonation (cooking off, or sympathetic detonation) of its ammunition resulting in an explosion. A catastrophic kill does not preclude the survival of the vehicle's crew. For example, the crew of an aircraft might bail out or eject.

This type of kill is associated with the jack-in-the-box effect, where a tank's turret is blown skyward due to the overpressure of an ammunition explosion. Some tank designs employ blow-off panels, channeling such explosions outside of the vehicle, turning an otherwise catastrophic kill into a firepower kill.

See also

• Mobility kill
• Firepower kill
• Mission kill

References

• Glossary of military terms