Shrapnel - what is it? Looks like shrapnel?

The article describes what the shrapnel when used, this type of shells and how is it different from the rest.

War

Humanity is at war almost throughout the entire time of its existence. In ancient and modern history there was not one century passed without one or another war. And unlike animals and our humanoid ancestors, people kill each other for different reasons and not just for the banal living space. Religious and political strife, racial hatred and so on. With the growth of technical progress of methods of warfare varied greatly, and the bloodiest began just after the invention of gunpowder and firearms.

At the time, even primitive muskets and cannons firing fraction, significantly changed methods of fighting and tactics. Simply put, they put an end to the era of chivalry with his armour and long battles. Because what is the point to carry heavy armor, if they don't protect against rifle bullets or cannonballs?

For a Long time gunsmith tried to improve the design of the guns, but it happened only in the second half of the XIX century, when artillery shells have become unitary, and guns – rifled. But the real technological breakthrough in the field of artillery ammunition was shrapnel. What is it and how to construct such shells, we will examine in the article.

Definition

Shrapnel – is a special type of the gun projectile, which is designed to engage and destroy enemy forces. It is named after its inventor, a British officer, Henry was Shrapnel. The main and distinctive feature of the ammunition was that it exploded at a predetermined distance and showered forces of the enemy, not shrapnel shell, and hundreds of steel balls scattered by a cone oriented with the wider part to the ground – that is what is shrapnel. What it is, we now know, however, consider in more detail the structural features and the history of the creation of such ammunition.

History

In a time when gunpowder artillery became widespread, very clearly showed one of her faults – fired at enemies, the core had sufficient damaging factors of mass character. It usually killed just one or a few people. Partially it was trying to fix the fact that loaded the guns with shot, but in this case much was falling the range of its flight. That all changed when began to use shrapnel. What it is, we already know, but consider in more detail the design itself.

Initially, such a projectile was a cylindrical box of wood, cardboard or thin metal, inside of which were placed steel balls and the powder charge. Then a hole was inserted pilot tube filled with slow burning powder, which ignited at the moment of shot. Simply put, it was a primitive fuse-retarder, and adjusting the length of the tube, it was possible to calculate the height and distance at which the projectile will explode and he'll throw at the enemy submunitions. Thus, we addressed the issue of what it means to shrapnel.

This type of projectiles very quickly proved its effectiveness. Because now didn't have to get hit at all either, the main thing – to calculate the length of the firing tube and the distance, but already there is a steel cartechini will do the trick. The year of the invention of shrapnel is considered to be 1803 th.

Rifled guns

However, despite the efficiency of destruction of manpower new types of shells, they were far from perfect. The length of the pilot tube needs to be counted very accurately, as the distance to the enemy; they often misfire due to the different composition of the powder or its defects, sometimes exploded prematurely or not ignited at all.

Then in 1871 the artillery of Sklyarevich on the basis of the General principle shrapnel shells made of a new type-unitary and for rifled guns. Simply put, a artillery shell type "shrapnel" was connected with the gunpowder priming through the sleeve and is charged through the breech of the gun. Besides, inside it was the fuse of a new type, which does not give misfires. A special form of the projectile was thrown spherical bullets strictly along the axis of flight, not in all directions as before.

However, this type of ammunition was not without flaws. The main thing was the one time of burning the fuse it was impossible to regulate, and that means that the artillery crew had to carry a different types for different distances, which was veryuncomfortable.

Adjustable undermining

This was fixed in 1873 when he invented a subversive tube with a rotary thumbwheel. The meaning of it was that the ring was caused to the division distance. For example, if you had the undermining of the projectile at a distance of 300 meters, a special key, the fuse is turned to the appropriate division. And this greatly facilitated the conduct of the battle, because the marks are coincident with the notches in the artillery gun, and additional devices for range determination is not required. And, if necessary, by setting the projectile on a minimal undermining of the guns could shoot as of kartechnitsy. Also present was the undermining from hitting the ground or other obstacle. Looks like shrapnel, you can see in the photo below.

Usage

Used these shells since their invention until the end of the First world war. Despite their advantages over the old alnaimi shells, over time it became clear that the shrapnel has drawbacks. For example, its submunitions were powerless against the enemy soldiers who were hiding in the trenches, the dugouts, and in General any shelters. And poorly trained gunners often put the wrong response time fuse, and the production was expensive for such a type of shells, as the shrapnel. What it is, we understand.

Because after the First world war shrapnel completely replaced shrapnel shells with percussion fuse of the type.

But in some samples of weapons and it is still used, for example in the German Bouncing mine Sprengmine 35, – during the activation of the lifting charge was pushed to a height of about five feet “glass”, filled with spherical bullets, and he exploded.