Fuel trucks

[Marcello]

I was thinking about introducing a fuel truck classed as an ammo carrier in an OOB I plan to release. Basically it would be used for "convoy ambush in Iraq" type scenarios.
Do you feel it would be a good idea or a bad one?

[whdonnelly]

I suggest using regular heavy trucks. They will react the same way in an ambush. Use ammo carriers if you want the extra explosive effects.
Will

[PlasmaKrab]

As Will said, I think regular trucks would be better for the fuel tank look, since you think about an OOB mod. (hey, btw, what about adding one in the UN OOB or similar?)
But if your truck is to be part of an ambushed convoy, and you want the ammo carrier class for the additional bang, why not make it an ammo truck in the first place? Less likely, I know, but anyway loaded fuel trucks don't just blow up like that AFAIK.

[Marcello]

"Less likely, I know, but anyway loaded fuel trucks don't just blow up like that AFAIK"

I know, even from personal experience, that generally fuel trucks don't just go BOOM Hollywood style as soon as someone sneeze at them. Unless you are hitting an half empty gasoline tanker or some such they will usually only burn, if that. US convoys would typically carry JP-8, which is relatively safe.
The reason for ammo class would be mainly the extra fire left after the explosion (to represent the larger amount of fuel burning) and the extra points value built in.
Anyway similar complaints could be made for the ammo trucks, I would expect game style explosions to be the exception.

[PlasmaKrab]

Right about that, certainly a convoy of US ammo trucks in Iraq these days would be carrying mostly light or secured ammo (what about tank rounds, now that I think of it?), so wouldn't blow up at a whim.
Regarding the built-in cost, it doesn't change much to the overall value, and you can edit the cost in larger proportions in the scenario editor. Anyway if you're planning to do a special OOB with fuel trucks and this kind of scenario-oriented special units, you could tuck them away from the cost calculator and give them a default value of 200 or 500 or 999...

[Marek_Tucan]

AFAIK the mai problem with ammo explosions is the propelant stuff, not the shells themselves - they'd need longer time in the fire to cook off and even then they would usually just burn or if detonate, detonate in random order, no the massive bang. OTOH if you have lots of relatively unprotected propellant... Look at HMS Hood for reference, or on that Chally hit into hatch with HESH - AFAIK splinters ignited propellants in hull storage.
From what I've read, modern explosives in say HEAT rounds tend just to first melt and then burn, not to go kaboom. After all the explosives have to sustain rough abuse - esp. when travelling through the barrel.