Ammunition types
eric remy
From eric remy <edr...@leland.stanford.edu>
In article <CAzL0...@law7.DaytonOH.NCR.COM> a4...@mindlink.bc.ca (J.D. Frazer) writes:
>
>From a4...@mindlink.bc.ca (J.D. Frazer)
>
>Could some knowledgeable soul post a summary of the various large-calibre
>ammunition types and their intended purposes? Rounds like HESH, HEDP, HEAP,
>HEAT, etc etc.
HEAT: High Explosive Anti-Tank. Shaped charge explosive designed to
defeat fairly heavy armor. The warhead of virtually every ATGM, also
carried by many nation's tanks to defeat light armor. (Sabot rounds
are used against other tanks, but tend to go right through APC/IFVs
without doing much damage.) Reactive armor has caused these weapons
problems, workarounds such as the two warhead TOW-2 ATGM are now coming
into service. (Small initial explosive to detonate the reactive
armor, "real" warhead explodes after the reactive armor is gone.) The
Chobham armor mounted on most western tanks was initially designed to
defeat these, and is quite good at it.
HESH: High Explosive Squash Head. I believe this is a British
designation, the Americans call it HEP: High Explosive Plastic.
Designed to "squash" against a hard surface like silly putty thrown on
a wall, then detonate. Tends not to penetrate, but rather knock off
the inner layer of armor, which then bounces around inside the target
with hopefully lethal effects. The US doesn't use these much anymore:
the 120mm on the M1A(1-2) only has sabot and HEAT. Useful for making
large holes in soft material and detonating mines: the US Combat
Engineer Vehicle (a modified M60) mounts a 165mm demolition gun for
which this is the main ammo.
HEDP: High Explosive Dual Purpose. I've heard people refer to HEAT
rounds this way, especially with respect to the HEAT round for the
120mm tank gun. Since no other explosive ammo is carried, it gets
used for everything. It may be a seperate weapon type elsewhere, if
so I don't know what it is.
HEAP ?? High Explosive Anti-Personnel ?? Never heard of it. Many
countries have APERS (Anti-Personnel) rounds. These are usually
fletchette rounds: the 105mm tank gun has one which carries 5000
darts, each looking like a small nail with razor blades for fins.
Very nasty: virtually everything soft within a 300 meter long cone
from where the round opens dies.
>--
>J.D. Frazer, a4...@mindlink.bc.ca Scots, wha hae wi' Wallace bled
>Vancouver, B.C., Canada Scots wham Bruce has aften led
>-------------------------------- Welcome to your gory bed
>Discordianism is cool. Or to Victory!
>
--
Eric R. edr...@d31ha0.Stanford.EDU Department of Chemistry
-1/2\nabla^2\psi_{T-72}
Taki Kogoma
From Taki Kogoma <kogoma%triton....@lynx.unm.edu>
[I suppose this might also go in the FAQ...]
In article <CAzL0...@law7.DaytonOH.NCR.COM> a4...@mindlink.bc.ca (J.D. Frazer) writes:
>Could some knowledgeable soul post a summary of the various large-calibre
>ammunition types and their intended purposes? Rounds like HESH, HEDP, HEAP,
>HEAT, etc etc.
Well, here's a starter list. Corrections will no doubt be supplied by
other readers. ;-)
AP Armor Piercing - Typically Steel shot used in WW2
APCR Armor Piercing Composite Rigid - Lightweight body with a rigid
core of tungsten or similar material.
APDS Armor Piercinb Discarding Sabot - A hardened subcalliber
core (usually Tungsten Carbide or similar material)
surrounded by a lightweight jacket which falls away
soon after it leaves the barrel.
[I don't have my references detailing the qualitative differences
between APCR and APDS handy. I'll post what I can later.]
APFSDS Armor Piercing Fin Stabilized Discarding Sabot - As above,
but the core has fins to improve stability and accuracy.
APFSDUDS Armor Piercing Fin Stabilized Depleted Uranium Discarding
Sabot - As above, but the core (penetrator) is composed
of depleted Uranium (spent reactor fuel). DU is used
because of high density and pyrophoric (incendiary)
effects.
API Armor Piercing Incendiary - Usually for small (20-30mm)
cannon. Hardened nose and incendiary filler.
HE High Explosive
HEAT High Explosive Anti-Tank - Makes use of shaped charge to
defeat armor. Also useful for secondary blast and
incendiary effects.
HESH High Explosive Squash Head - Warhead composed of plastic
explosive which deforms in impact and then detonates.
Effect is to create shock wave in armor plate to create
spalling - large flake(s) of armor which fly around the
interior causing havoc with crew and equipment.
HEDP High Explosive Dual Purpose - Similar to normal HE, but
with some shaped charge features. A compromise between
HE and HEAT.
ICM Improved Conventional Munition - Artillery shell filled
with smaller bomblets scattered around the target area.
ICM-DP Improved Conventional Munition - Dual Purpose - As above,
but the bomblets are HEDP.
FASCAM Field Artillery SCAtterable Mines - Artillery-delivered
minefield munitions.
Canister Equivalent to large-scale shotgun shell.
Beehive Similar to Canister, but composed of multiple flechettes
for improved range.
--
Capt. Gym Z. Quirk (Known to some as Taki Kogoma) kog...@triton.unm.edu
I'll get a life when someone demonstrates that it would be superior to
what I have now...
Damian Murphy
From mu...@warlock.demon.co.uk (Damian Murphy)
In article <CAzL0...@law7.DaytonOH.NCR.COM> a4...@mindlink.bc.ca writes:
>
>From a4...@mindlink.bc.ca (J.D. Frazer)
>
>Could some knowledgeable soul post a summary of the various large-calibre
>ammunition types and their intended purposes? Rounds like HESH, HEDP, HEAP,
>HEAT, etc etc.
>
>A comparison-contrast might be nice as well. If you post it, I'm sure to clip
>and save it.
Defeating armour is done in three sorts of ways:
1. Scabbing. An impact on the outside of an armour plate will cause a shock
wave to pass through that plate. If the shock is intense enough it causes the
inner skin of the armour to fly off so that you get lots of hot little lumps
of shrapnel bouncing around inside. This is the principle of the HESH round
(High Explosive Squash Head). Here a hollow head is backed by a fairly wide
focus shaped charge. The head flattens against the exterior of the armour and
the charge generates the main shock wave.
HESH rounds cannot be self stabilised, so need rifled barrels. This is one
reason why the Challenger 2 for the British Army has a rifled main gun, while
most other modern MBTs use smoothbore. HESH rounds are flexible in that they
can be used against general targets, and not just tanks.
Scabbing action can be countered by using 'spaced armour' or laminates. In
WW2 the Germans first started wrapping 1cm armour belts around their tank
turrets and hulls, but held about 20cm away from the main armour. This works
by providing a sacrificial layer in front of the main armour. Laminates
may incorporate actual spaces but can also be designed to absorb or dissipate
the shock waves.
2. Kinetic Energy rounds are basically large darts. Kinetic energy depends on
the square of the velocity so KE rounds are designed to have very high
(6000fps springs to mind) muzzle velocities and are long and thin to provide
better downrange accuracy and velocity, and better penetration. These are
the APFSDS rounds: Armour Piercing Fin Stabilised Discarding Sabot. The round
itself is a long thin dart of hard metal (tungsten alloys and uranium are
used) with fins at the back. The diameter is ca: 25mm and the thing is about
45-50cm long (from memory). This is encased in a very lightweight casing, or
sabot, which allows the projectile to fit into a 120mm (or whatever) gun. As
the round is fires the sabot separates. The penetrator is much heavier to
takes most of the muzzle energy with it.
'Depleted uranium', mainly 'spoil' U238 left over from enrichment
processes is used in penetrators because it is very hard and dense. These
properties enhance its penetration characteristics. Also, uranium is
spontaneously flammable in air. An oxide layer usually protects the bulk
metal, but the passage through the target's armour causes spalling off the
round, so you get lots of little lumps of burning uranium flying around
inside.
APFSDS is used by all the modern armies. 'Chobhan' armour provides better
protection against it than rolled homogenous armour (RHA).
3. Focussed shaped charges are used with two types of penetrator but the
explosive itself does the same job in each case: it provides focussed
explosive energy to a metal penetrator. These are HEAP and HEAT (High
Explosive Armour Piercing and HE Anti Tank).
Penetrators may be inert, to work by kinetic energy alone. 'Copperhead'
penetrators form a high pressure, high temperature copper slug which is
designed to burn its way through the armour.
Again, advanced laminates such as Chobham armour provide better protection
than RHA. The shaped charges must be detonated at some distance from the
exterior of the target armour (I think 2 feet is about the optimum). As a
result many projectiles using this type of warhead have a long boom on the
nose and detonate on impact. The advantage is that the penetrator's terminal
energy does not have to come from a very powerful propellant like a tank gun,
so it is suitable for ATGWs and mortars.
The disadvantage is that since the focussed charge is set off at some
distance from the surface of the armour, it is possible to disrupt its energy
by setting off a small explosion outwards from the surface of the armour
itself. This is the principle of explosive reactive armour (ERA) boxes seen
on tanks today. To counter this weapons systems manufacturers are beginning
to provide 'double headed' warheads which first clears off the ERA then fires
the penetrator.
Note that tanks have their heaviest armour in front. The upper surfaces of
present generation tanks are relatively lightly armoured by comparison.
This weakness is exploited by the current British Merlin and Swedish Stryx
mortar rounds, and by the proposed US BAT and SADARM weapons.
The newest shoulder launched antitank weapons are fearsome things. LAW80 is
a 94mm (?) rocket with a shaped charge warhead. I once saw one demonstrated
by a crew sited about 200m in front of me, firing at a target 500m in front
of them. The round is fired out of the tube by a piston device and the
rocket motor takes over at a safe (for the crew) distance in front. I saw a
puff of smoke from the rocket starting then saw the impact just as I heard
the moise of the launch. Of course when the much louder noise from the impact
reached me there was nothing to immediately connect it to... confusing for
a few seconds.
--
Murff... is | The purpose of war is to develop the weapons
mu...@warlock.demon.co.uk | with which to fight the next one.
Taki Kogoma
From Taki Kogoma <kogoma%triton....@lynx.unm.edu>
[ As threatened, here's my followup. ;-) ]
>From Taki Kogoma <kogoma%triton....@lynx.unm.edu>
>APCR Armor Piercing Composite Rigid - Lightweight body with a rigid
> core of tungsten or similar material.
>APDS Armor Piercinb Discarding Sabot - A hardened subcalliber
> core (usually Tungsten Carbide or similar material)
> surrounded by a lightweight jacket (sabot) which falls
> away soon after it leaves the barrel.
>
>[I don't have my references detailing the qualitative differences
>between APCR and APDS handy. I'll post what I can later.]
APCR was a German innovation (copied by the Americans) in WW2. It
was a definite improvement over the standard AP steel shot because of
increased muzzle velocity from lighter projectile, but due to the poor
weight/diameter ratio, it's carrying power was marginal. WW2 American
designation for this ammunition type was HVAP (High Velocity Armor
Piercing).
APDS was primarily used by the british. Because of the better
weight/diameter ratio, it's downrange penetration was better than APCR.
>APFSDUDS Armor Piercing Fin Stabilized Depleted Uranium Discarding
> Sabot - As above, but the core (penetrator) is composed
> of depleted Uranium (spent reactor fuel). DU is used
> because of high density and pyrophoric (incendiary)
> effects.
Oops. Correct Acronym is APFSDSDU.
Gary Coffman
From Gary Coffman <gary%ke4zv...@mathcs.emory.edu>
In article <CB54B...@law7.DaytonOH.NCR.COM> Taki Kogoma <kogoma%triton....@lynx.unm.edu> writes:
>APFSDUDS Armor Piercing Fin Stabilized Depleted Uranium Discarding
> Sabot - As above, but the core (penetrator) is composed
> of depleted Uranium (spent reactor fuel). DU is used
> because of high density and pyrophoric (incendiary)
> effects.
Small, but important, error. DU is *not* spent reactor fuel. It's
the residual natural uranium from which *potential* reactor, or
weapons, grade uranium has been removed via the enrichment process.
DU is that uranium that has *never* been in a reactor, but which
has had the reactor grade U235 extracted from it. This is important
because DU, nearly pure U238, is less radioactive than ordinary
natural uranium which contains U235 as well. And, *much* less
radioactive than spent reactor fuel. Spent reactor fuel is literally
too hot to handle, both in terms of the thermal and radioactive
definitions of "hot".
The above disregards uranium reprocessing, which we don't do for
reactor fuel, and which no one is doing to the extent that it makes
the residuals safe to handle, though that's theoretically possible.
Note we do reprocess reactor fuel for plutonium extraction, but
that's a different process that doesn't result in DU. We could
just use raw, unprocessed, natural uranium for penetrators. They
would work just as well. But we don't because we have so much
already refined DU from our fuel enrichment plants that would
otherwise have to be disposed of as manufacturing waste.
Gary
--
Gary Coffman KE4ZV | You make it, | gatech!wa4mei!ke4zv!gary
Destructive Testing Systems | we break it. | uunet!rsiatl!ke4zv!gary
534 Shannon Way | Guaranteed! | emory!kd4nc!ke4zv!gary
Lawrenceville, GA 30244 | |
Mongo
From Mongo <n923...@henson.cc.wwu.edu>
kogoma%triton....@lynx.unm.edu (Taki Kogoma) writes:
>From Taki Kogoma <kogoma%triton....@lynx.unm.edu>
>FASCAM Field Artillery SCAtterable Mines - Artillery-delivered
> minefield munitions.
actually it's Family of SCAterable Mines
the FASCAM concept was pushed by the corps of engineers has a solution to the
western problem of deploying mines in the face of the overwhelming soviet
cability to do the same.
The artillery has taken hold of your version because it grants them more glory.
--
===============================================================================
Mongo | We'll take the Niggers and the Chinks, but
n923...@henson.cc.wwu.edu | we don't want the Irish.
| Mel Brooks Blazing Saddles
Isaac Kuo
From Isaac Kuo <isaa...@skippy.berkeley.edu>
>From Taki Kogoma <kogoma%triton....@lynx.unm.edu>
>In article <CAzL0...@law7.DaytonOH.NCR.COM> a4...@mindlink.bc.ca (J.D. Frazer) writes:
>>Could some knowledgeable soul post a summary of the various large-calibre
>>ammunition types and their intended purposes? Rounds like HESH, HEDP, HEAP,
>>HEAT, etc etc.
>Well, here's a starter list. Corrections will no doubt be supplied by
>other readers. ;-)
No corrections, but a couple addendums...
>AP Armor Piercing - Typically Steel shot used in WW2
Naval AP is one of the most important anti-ship rounds (before the
anti-ship missile). It's like a shell, but a with a lot thicker solid nose
and skin. It's designed to detonate after piercing armor. There are a
bunch of variations involving caps in the nose to improve penetration
capability in angled hits.
>API Armor Piercing Incendiary - Usually for small (20-30mm)
> cannon. Hardened nose and incendiary filler.
Is the DU ammo for the GAU/8 referred to as API? It would make sense since
it's both armor piercing and incendiary.
--
/["o"]|8 Isaac Kuo (isaa...@math.berkeley.edu)
,^-----^==_ "... his most ambitious record breaking escapade to date,
/___________\ because Richard Branson is attempting to go 24 hours
\=\>-----</=/ without publicity." Mel Smith, Smith & Jones
Thomas Cohen
From th...@suite.sw.oz.au (Thomas Cohen)
>From mu...@warlock.demon.co.uk (Damian Murphy)
>Defeating armour is done in three sorts of ways:
>1. Scabbing. An impact on the outside of an armour plate will cause a shock
>wave to pass through that plate. If the shock is intense enough it causes the
> [...]
> Scabbing action can be countered by using 'spaced armour' or laminates. In
>WW2 the Germans first started wrapping 1cm armour belts around their tank
>turrets and hulls, but held about 20cm away from the main armour. This works
These out-riggered layers of armour were to defeat shaped charge weapons
surely? I can't think of any HESH munitions in common use in WW2. The
Petard mortar on the Churchill chassis may (or probably did) use one of
these, but that was hardly common usage.
On the other hand, shaped charge AT weapons were in common use by 1943,
handheld mostly.
regards,
--
thos cohen |Softway Pty Ltd
"Below 9000 it's very dull, and above |ACSnet: th...@softway.oz
10000 it's very expensive" - Nick Mason |UUCP: ...!uunet!softway.oz!thos
talking about his V16 BRM. |Internet: th...@softway.oz.au
Edward J. Rudnicki
From "Edward J. Rudnicki" (FSS) <erud...@pica.army.mil>
Taki Kogoma writes:
[I don't have my references detailing the qualitative differences
#between APCR and APDS handy. I'll post when I can later.]
APDS discards the lightweight portions of the projectile, while APCR
retains them, with the result that both have high MV but APCR's
drops off rapidly following muzzle exit. The German and Soviet
"arrowhead" projectiles are probably the best examples.
#APFSDUDS Armor Piercing Fin Stabilized Depleted Uranium Discarding
# Sabot - As above, but the core (penetrator) is composed
If people want to add the "DU" somewhere in the acronym it's fine, but
is unnecessary and generally not done. Better yet, as well as "APFSDSDU"
lets have "APFSDSW" for tungsten penetrators and "APFSDSFeC/W" for
hardened steel penetrators with tungsten inserts :)
#HEDP High Explosive Dual Purpose - Similar to normal HE, but
# with some shaped charge features. A compromise between
# HE and HEAT.
Not really. Typical HEDP incorporates a non-optimized shaped charge
(coined conical liner and spitback fuze) with a prefragmented projectile
body. The shaped charge is less effective than it could be, but still
gives meaningful penetration in systems that have little KE antiarmor
potential, like the 40mm grenades and the 30mm on the AH-64. Meanwhile
the fragmentation effect is degraded very little compared to straight HE.
This differs from HEAT-MP (HEAT Multipurpose) such as the 120mm M830, in
which the shaped charge _is_ optimized, and in which fragmentation is
achieved from the heavy projectile body necessary to survive gun launch.
#ICM-DP Improved Conventional Munition - Dual Purpose - As above
Normally written DPICM - Dual Purpose Improved Conventional Munition.
#FASCAM Field Artillery SCAtterable Mines - Artillery-delivered
# minefield munitions.
FAmily of SCAtterable Mines - while two of the mines, M692/M731 ADAM
and M718/M741 RAAMS, are fired from 155mm weapons, other components of
the FASCAM family are air-delivered, vehicle-delivered, or use hand
emplaced multiple-mine dispensers.
#Canister Equivalent to large-scale shotgun shell.
#
#Beehive Similar to Canister, but composed of multiple flechettes
# for improved range.
Canister refers to a round which disperses multiple "fragments" at the
muzzle of the weapon, and is intended for close-in defense of the weapon
against personnel. No expulsion charge is present, nor is there usually
a fuze; payload dispersal is normally achieved through dynamic breakup
of the projectile following muzzle exit. Payload can be steel balls,
steel cylinders, or flechettes.
"Beehive" rounds are a form of shrapnel, in which the lead balls are
replaced by flechettes. An expulsion charge in the base of the round
expels the flecheetes forward upon functioning of the time fuze in the
nose. The round can be set to function at muzzle exit, but can also be
set to work at considerable distances from the weapon, even in indirect
fire in the case of howitzer "Beehive".
eric remy writes:
#HEAP ?? High Explosive Anti-Personnel ?? Never heard of it. Many
#countries have APERS (Anti-Perrsonnel) rounds. These are usually
#fletchette rounds:...
While many countries have APERS, few actually use flechettes. There
seems to be some distaste for the nails, perhaps because they work
too well :)
Stephen C. Woods
From "Stephen C. Woods" <s...@ollie.seas.ucla.edu>
In article <CB54B...@law7.DaytonOH.NCR.COM> kogoma%triton....@lynx.unm.edu (Taki Kogoma) writes:
[...]
>APFSDUDS Armor Piercing Fin Stabilized Depleted Uranium Discarding
> Sabot - As above, but the core (penetrator) is composed
> of depleted Uranium (spent reactor fuel). DU is used
> because of high density and pyrophoric (incendiary)
> effects.
[...]
Great except for the above. Depleted Uranium (DU) is NOT spent reactor
fuel. Used reactor fuel is very hot (radioactive) and contains an large
number of different elements, not of them also hot to some extent or
another.
DU is the byproduct of enriching uranium (only the U-235 isotope is
radioactive to any extent, the U-238 isotope is stable). DU is U-238,
However just because it is not radioactive doesn't mean thet DU is inert.
Uranium is chemically toxic, rather more so than lead. Du is used in
penetrators for two reasons, (1) density, (2) toughness. Second choice
for penetrators is tungstien carbide, less dense but somewhat tougher.
--
-----
Stephen C. Woods; UCLA SEASNET; 2567 BH;LA CA 90024; (310)-825-8614
UUCP: ...{ibmsupt,ncar!cepu}!ollie}!scw Internet:s...@SEAS.UCLA.EDU
Doug Mohney
From Doug Mohney <sys...@king.eng.umd.edu>
>From "Stephen C. Woods" <s...@ollie.seas.ucla.edu>
>Uranium is chemically toxic, rather more so than lead. Du is used in
>penetrators for two reasons, (1) density, (2) toughness. Second choice
>for penetrators is tungstien carbide, less dense but somewhat tougher.
Given the political Greenpeace headaches with DU and quite probably some
operational ones, the Army is looking back at tungston for KE rounds, at
least according to the reading between the lines in the latest round of
DOD/SBIR requests.
January 1993 - John Scully embraces Bill Clinton.
July 1993 - Apple Computer lays off 2500 workers, posts $188
million dollar loss.
-- > SYS...@CADLAB.ENG.UMD.EDU < --
Iskandar Taib
From nt...@silver.ucs.indiana.edu (Iskandar Taib)
In article <CB9JC...@law7.DaytonOH.NCR.COM> "Stephen C. Woods" <s...@ollie.seas.ucla.edu> writes:
>DU is the byproduct of enriching uranium (only the U-235 isotope is
>radioactive to any extent, the U-238 isotope is stable).
Actually 238U is radioactive, though it may be less so than 235U.
There is a critical atomic mass over which all nuclides are
radioactive and Uranium is way over that point.
--
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Iskandar Taib | The only thing worse than Peach ala
Internet: NT...@SILVER.UCS.INDIANA.EDU | Frog is Frog ala Peach
Bitnet: NTAIB@IUBACS !
Andreas L}ngstr|m
From Andreas L}ngstr|m <e...@etek.chalmers.se>
"Edward J. Rudnicki" (FSS) <erud...@pica.army.mil> writes:
[zap]
>eric remy writes:
>#HEAP ?? High Explosive Anti-Personnel ?? Never heard of it. Many
>#countries have APERS (Anti-Perrsonnel) rounds. These are usually
>#fletchette rounds:...
>
>While many countries have APERS, few actually use flechettes. There
>seems to be some distaste for the nails, perhaps because they work
>too well :)
The 40mm PFPPXHE (PreFragmented Programmable ProXimity fuzed High Explosive)
round for Triniy and L/70 guns in the Time-function mode could be called
HEAP and it uses 1100 3mm tungsten pellets.
--
email: e...@etek.chalmers.se
radio: SM6UUQ