Splash
The blast area of a high explosive shell, which damages everything within it whether or not the shell penetrated.
Also known as splash radius, blast radius, area damage.
High explosive shells and artillery rounds carry a blast radius. Damage falls off from the point of impact outward and is reduced by whatever armor stands between the blast and the vehicle, so a near miss deals a fraction of the shell's alpha.
Splash is what makes artillery useful against a target hiding behind a rock and what lets a large high explosive shell strip modules from a vehicle it could never penetrate directly.
Related terms
High explosiveA shell that explodes on contact, dealing reduced damage through armor it cannot penetrate and splashing everything nearby.ArtilleryThe indirect fire class, firing high explosive from an overhead view at targets it cannot see directly.Module damageThe separate damage value a shell applies to modules and crew members, which is what decides whether a hit tracks, breaks or wounds.