Muboy Matt at YouTube's Demolition Ranch explores the destructive force of the propellant gasses vented sideways from the main gun on a WWII tank by its muzzle brake:



I'd suggest watching the entire video because Matt is one funny sumbitch, and he's sharper than a bowl of razor soup. IMHO he does the best "gun" experiments of anybody on the 'web. If you don't fancy waiting, FF to about 6:45 to see him abusing the frigidaire.

Most T-25s had 90mm guns but none of them were "production" models, plus this one has had extensive restoration, so I don't know what this one's got on it but to my eye, 90mm looks about right. And the gas coming out of the side of that muzzle brake plum knocks the frigidaire's pecker into its watch pocket.

Which shows how much force remains in the gas after the bullet has left the barrel. And which mounting a suppressor deprives it of by forcing it to slow down before it exits.

The last US tank to run a muzzle brake on its main gun was the M-48 Patton, which also happened to have a 90mm main gun. The fact that a 100,000-lb armored vehicle still was in need of the recoil reduction that a brake could provide shows just how powerful the jet of burning propellant can be.