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46-505: AMOS or Advanced Mortar System is a Finno-Swedish 120 mm semi-automatic twin barrelled , breech loaded mortar turret . AMOS has been fitted to a wide range of armoured vehicles, such as the Sisu Pasi , Patria AMV and Combat Vehicle 90 . The Swedish Navy originally planned to fit AMOS to the CB90 assault craft, but found that it was too small to carry it. Instead, a project to develop

92-408: A muzzle report , is the loud "bang" sound of gunfire that can easily exceed 140 decibels and cause permanent hearing loss to the shooter and bystanders. The non-audible component of the blast is an infrasonic overpressure wave that can cause damage to nearby fragile objects. Accessory devices such as muzzle brakes and muzzle boosters can be used to redirect muzzle blast in order to counter

138-453: A combination modern flamethrower and shotgun , but with a very short range (about 3 meters or 10 feet), and only one shot (although some were designed for two shots). By the late 13th century, fire lance barrels had transitioned to metal material to better withstand the explosive blast, and the lance-point was discarded in favor of relying solely on the gunpowder blast. These became the first hand cannons . The first fire lances consisted of

184-552: A fuse to the end. Each troop has hanging on him a little iron pot to keep fire [probably hot coals], and when it's time to do battle, the flames shoot out the front of the lance more than ten feet, and when the gunpowder is depleted, the tube isn't destroyed. In 1233, Jin soldiers used fire lances successfully against the Mongols . Pucha Guannu led 450 Jin fire lancers and routed an entire Mongol encampment. The Mongol soldiers were apparently disdainful of other Jin weapons, but greatly feared

230-473: A gun's barrel life. The muzzle is the front end of a barrel from which the projectile will exit. Precise machining of the muzzle is crucial to accuracy, because it is the last point of contact between the barrel and the projectile. If inconsistent gaps exist between the muzzle and the projectile, escaping propellant gases may spread unevenly and deflect the projectile from its intended path (see transitional ballistics ). The muzzle can also be threaded on

276-416: A hollow cylinder. Bronze and brass were favoured by gunsmiths , largely because of their ease of casting and their resistance to the corrosive effects of the combustion of gunpowder or salt water when used on naval vessels. Early firearms were muzzleloaders , with the gunpowder and then the shot loaded from the front end (muzzle) of the barrel, and were capable of only a low rate of fire due to

322-745: A joint venture between Finnish Patria and Swedish BAE Systems Hägglunds . The system was to be known as the SSG120 in Swedish service. Ammunition for AMOS includes the Strix guided round and a modification of the Spanish Instalaza MAT-120 120 mm Mortar Cargo Round (although the latter is restricted from the Finnish inventory because of Finnish partnership in the Ottawa Treaty abolishing landmines). AMOS

368-470: A strong, naturally tubular stalk and is cheaper to obtain and process, as the first barrels in gunpowder projectile weapons such as fire lances . The Chinese were also the first to master cast-iron cannon barrels, and used the technology to make the earliest infantry firearms — the hand cannons . Early European guns were made of wrought iron , usually with several strengthening bands of the metal wrapped around circular wrought iron rings and then welded into

414-424: A tube, usually bamboo, containing gunpowder and a slow match, strapped to a spear or other polearm weapon. Once ignited, the gunpowder tube would ideally eject a stream of flames in the direction of the spearhead. Projectiles such as iron pellets or pottery shards were later added to the gunpowder. Upon firing, the gunpowder charge ejected the projectiles along with the flame. Metal fire lance barrels appeared around

460-445: A vehicle, both GPS - and inertia positioning are used. The electronic fire-control system utilizes digital maps . The twin barreled AMOS is able to keep up rate of fire of 12 rounds per minute. Using its computer-controlled Multiple round simultaneous impact (MRSI) feature it is possible to set up a burst of up to 10 rounds that hit the target simultaneously. The first rounds are fired at higher angles with more propellant so that

506-589: Is a firearm barrel that has been shaved down to be thinner and an exterior sleeve slipped over and fused to it that improves rigidity, weight and cooling. Most common form of composite barrel are those with carbon fiber sleeves, but there are proprietary examples such as the Teludyne Tech Straitjacket. They are seldom used outside sports and competition shooting . A barrel can be fixed to the receiver using action threads or rivets. Depending on construction different gun barrels can be used: The chamber

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552-441: Is capable of both conventional indirect fire and direct fire for self-protection. In a typical installation, mounted on a Patria AMV or a similar vehicle, the vehicle can dash to the next position roughly 30 seconds after initiating the 14-round salvo, leaving minimal time for detection and counter-attack by enemy; evasion is the primary means of self-protection. AMOS is manufactured and marketed by Finnish/Swedish Patria Hägglunds ,

598-473: Is capable of firing standard muzzle-loaded mortar rounds, but due to the breech-load design in the AMOS, the rounds have to be equipped with a short stub case at the base of the fins, similar to a sabot. When the round is fired, the case exits the breech system automatically. Barrel (firearms) The first firearms were made at a time when metallurgy was not advanced enough to cast tubes capable of withstanding

644-403: Is located prior to firing and where it gains speed and kinetic energy during the firing process. The projectile's status of motion while travelling down the bore is referred to as its internal ballistics . Most modern firearms (except muskets , shotguns, most tank guns , and some artillery pieces ) and air guns (except some BB guns ) have helical grooves called riflings machined into

690-465: Is the breech of the whole barrel, which is sealed tight from behind by the bolt , making the front direction the path of least resistance during firing. When the cartridge's primer is struck by the firing pin , the propellant is ignited and deflagrates , generating high-pressure gas expansion within the cartridge case. However, the chamber (closed from behind by the bolt) restrains the cartridge case (or shell for shotguns) from moving, allowing

736-455: Is the ancestor of modern firearms . It first appeared in 10th–12th century China and was used to great effect during the Jin-Song Wars . It began as a small pyrotechnic device attached to a polearm weapon, used to gain a shock advantage at the start of a melee . As gunpowder improved , the explosive discharge was increased, and debris or pellets added, giving it some of the effects of

782-406: Is the cavity at the back end of a breech-loading gun 's barrel where the cartridge is inserted in position ready to be fired. In most firearms ( rifles , shotguns , machine guns and pistols ), the chamber is an integral part of the barrel, often made by simply reaming the rear bore of a barrel blank, with a single chamber within a single barrel. In revolvers , the chamber is a component of

828-461: Is the removal of material from a cylindrical surface, usually creating rounded grooves, for the purpose of reducing weight. This is most often done to the exterior surface of a rifle barrel, though it may also be applied to the cylinder of a revolver or the bolt of a bolt-action rifle . Most flutings on rifle barrels and revolver cylinders are straight, though helical flutings can be seen on rifle bolts and occasionally also rifle barrels. While

874-557: The Siege of De'an , in modern-day Anlu , Hubei , in a sortie against the Jin dynasty (1115–1234) . In 1163, fire lances were attached to war carts known as "at-your-desire-carts" used to defend mobile firebomb trebuchets. In the late 1100s, pieces of shrapnel such as porcelain shards and small iron pellets were added to the gunpowder tube. At some point fire lances discarded the spearhead altogether and relied solely on their firepower. By 1232,

920-431: The bullet (or shot / slug in shotguns) to separate cleanly from the casing and be propelled forward along the barrel to exit out of the front (muzzle) end as a flying projectile . Chambering a gun is the process of loading a cartridge into the gun's chamber, either manually as in single loading , or via operating the weapon's own action as in pump action , lever action , bolt action or self-loading actions. In

966-423: The leade , starts to taper slightly and guides the bullet towards the area where the riflingless bore transitions into fully rifled bore. Together they form the throat region, where the riflings impactfully "bite" into the moving bullet during shooting. The throat is subjected to the greatest thermomechanical stress and therefore suffers wear the fastest. Throat erosion is often the main determining factor of

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1012-431: The recoil -induced muzzle rise or to assist the gas operation of the gun, and suppressors (and even muzzle shrouds) can be used to reduce the blast noise intensity felt by nearby personnel. Fire lance The fire lance ( simplified Chinese : 火枪 ; traditional Chinese : 火槍 ; pinyin : huǒqiāng ; lit. 'fire spear') was a gunpowder weapon used by lighting it on fire , and

1058-610: The Jin soldiers launched a sudden attack which the Mongols were unable to resist. It was a great defeat, for in all 3500 Mongols were drowned in the river. Guannu burned their camp to the ground and returned [to Guifu]. In 1259, a pellet wad that occluded the barrel was recorded to have been used as a fire lance projectile, making it the first recorded bullet in history. By 1276, fire lances had transitioned to metal barrels. Fire lances were also being used by cavalrymen at this point, as evidenced by

1104-527: The Jin were also using fire lances, but with improved reusable barrels consisting of durable paper material. According to the History of Jin , these fire lances had a range of roughly three meters: To make the lance, use chi-huang paper, sixteen layers of it for the tube, and make it a bit longer than two feet. Stuff it with willow charcoal, iron fragments, magnet ends, sulfur, white arsenic [probably an error that should mean saltpeter], and other ingredients, and put

1150-552: The Mongol night patrols along the river bank until they arrived at Wangjiasi [where the Mongols had set up camp], . . In the fourth watch of the night the Jin troops attacked the Mongols. At first the Loyal and Filial Army retreated slightly, then suddenly attacked again. Pucha Guannu divided his soldiers into teams of 50 to 70, each in a small boat, ordering them to advance to the Mongol camp and attack it from all sides. Carrying their fire lances,

1196-484: The account of a Song-Yuan battle in which two fire lance armed Song cavalrymen rushed a Chinese officer of Bayan of the Baarin . The Huolongjing also mentions a gourd fire lance which was used by cavalrymen as well as foot soldiers. The metal-barreled fire lance began to be used independently of the lance around the mid to late 13th century. These proto-cannons which fired co-viative projectiles, known as 'eruptors,' were

1242-524: The barrel. During firing, a bright flash of light known as a muzzle flash is often seen at the muzzle. This flash is produced by both superheated propellant gases radiating energy during expansion (primary flash), and the incompletely combusted propellant residues reacting vigorously with the fresh supply of ambient air upon escaping the barrel (secondary flash). The size of the flash depends on factors such as barrel length (shorter barrels have less time for complete combustion, hence more unburnt powder),

1288-441: The bore wall. When shooting, a rifled bore imparts spin to the projectile about its longitudinal axis, which gyroscopically stabilizes the projectile's flight attitude and trajectory after its exit from the barrel (i.e. the external ballistics ). Any gun without riflings in the bore is called a smoothbore gun. When a firearm cartridge is chambered, its casing occupies the chamber but its bullet actually protrudes beyond

1334-408: The case of an air gun , a pellet (or slug) itself has no casing to be retained and will be entirely inserted into the chamber (often called "seating" or "loading" the pellet, rather than "chambering" it) before a mechanically pressurized gas is released behind the pellet and propels it forward, meaning that an air gun's chamber is functionally equivalent to the freebore portion of a firearm barrel. In

1380-404: The chamber into the posterior end of the bore. Even in a rifled bore, this short rear section is without rifling, and allows the bullet an initial "run-up" to build up momentum before encountering riflings during shooting. The most posterior part of this unrifled section is called a freebore , and is usually cylindrical. The portion of the unrifled bore immediately front of the freebore, called

1426-411: The context of firearms design, manufacturing and modification, the word "chambering" has a different meaning, and refers to fitting a weapon's chamber specifically to fire a particular caliber or model of cartridge. The bore is the hollow internal lumen of the barrel, and takes up a vast majority portion of the barrel length. It is the part of the barrel where the projectile (bullet, shot, or slug)

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1472-480: The cumbersome loading process. The later-invented breech-loading designs provided a higher rate of fire, but early breechloaders lacked an effective way of sealing the escaping gases that leaked from the back end (breech) of the barrel, reducing the available muzzle velocity . During the 19th century, effective breechblocks were invented that sealed a breechloader against the escape of propellant gases. Early cannon barrels were very thick for their caliber . This

1518-515: The explosive forces of early cannons , so the pipe (often built from staves of metal) needed to be braced periodically along its length for structural reinforcement, producing an appearance somewhat reminiscent of storage barrels being stacked together, hence the English name. Gun barrels are usually made of some type of metal or metal alloy . However, during the late Tang dynasty , Chinese inventors discovered gunpowder , and used bamboo , which has

1564-564: The fire lance. On the 5th day of the 5th lunar month [in the year 1233] the Jin troops offered a sacrifice to Heaven. They began to prepare their huoqiang or 'fire lances' [i.e. fei huoqiang or 'flying fire lances'] and other weapons in secrecy. Then Marshal Pucha, at the head of 450 soldiers of the Loyal and Filial Army, embarked from the South Gate [of Guidefu] and sailed from the East to the North, killing

1610-531: The fireworks and shot were placed in a wooden tube at the end of a pole were known as Troncks, fire-trunks or bombas in Europe. The fireworks had alternating slow and fast burning sections. They were frequently issued to warships and a surviving example was found in the wreck of the La Trinidad Valencera . Testing of an attempted reconstruction was carried out in 1988. During the test multiple sections of

1656-575: The forerunners of the hand cannon . By 1280, the Middle East had acquired fire lances. In 1396, European knights took up fire lances as mounted weapons. In 15th century Japanese samurai used fire lances. The last recorded usage of fire lances in Europe occurred during the Storming of Bristol in 1643 although the Commonwealth of England was still issuing them to ships in 1660. Versions where

1702-407: The gun's cylinder and completely separate from the barrel, with a single cylinder having multiple chambers that are rotated in turns into alignment with the barrel in anticipation of being fired. Structurally, the chamber consists of the body , shoulder and neck , the contour of which closely correspond to the casing shape of the cartridge it is designed to hold. The rear opening of the chamber

1748-418: The larger Combat Boat 2010 was launched specifically to carry AMOS. Sweden cancelled its acquisition of the AMOS in 2009 due to budget regulations by recommendations from Genomförandegruppen . In 2016 a new self propelled mortar system called Mjölner based on a CV90 hull was ordered by the Swedish armed forces, it is based on the AMOS and has many visual similarities but is not as advanced. When fitted to

1794-426: The main purpose of fluting is just to reduce weight and improve portability, when adequately done it can retain the structural strength and rigidity and increase the overall specific strength . Fluting will also increase the surface-to-volume ratio and make the barrel more efficient to cool after firing, though the reduced material mass also means the barrel will heat up easily during firing. A composite barrel

1840-466: The mid-13th century and these began to be used independently of the lance itself. The independent metal barrel was known as an 'eruptor' and became the forerunner of the hand cannon . In Europe, versions with wooden tubes were used. The earliest evidence of fire lances appeared in China in the year 950. However usage of fire lances in warfare was not mentioned until 1132 when Song garrisons used them during

1886-462: The outside rim of the muzzle to avoid accidental damage from collision with the surrounding environment. In smooth bore barrels firing multiple sub-projectiles (such as shotgun shot), the bore at the muzzle end might have a tapered constriction called choke to shape the scatter pattern for better range and accuracy. Chokes are implemented as either interchangeable screw-in chokes for particular applications, or as fixed permanent chokes integral to

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1932-399: The outside to allow the attachment of different accessory devices. In rifled barrels, the contour of a muzzle is designed to keep the rifling safe from damage by intruding foreign objects, so the front ends of the rifling grooves are commonly protected behind a recessed crown , which also serves to modulate the even expansion of the propellant gases. The crown itself is often recessed from

1978-518: The projectile as it is being pushed out. If the barrel material cannot cope with the pressure within the bore, the barrel itself might suffer catastrophic failure and explode, which will not only destroy the gun but also present a life-threatening danger to people nearby. Modern small arms barrels are made of carbon steel or stainless steel materials known and tested to withstand the pressures involved. Artillery pieces are made by various techniques providing reliably sufficient strength. Fluting

2024-467: The rounds fly in a high arc. The next rounds are shot later with a slightly smaller angle and less propellant so that they fly a lower arc to the same target. This can be done seven times in a row, always adjusting the angle and power. The adjustment between shots is done by a computer . The strike of one AMOS unit roughly equals one strike of an artillery battery . An AMOS turret has a full 360-degree field of fire at elevations of −3 to +85 degrees. AMOS

2070-454: The type (fast- vs. slow-burning) and amount of propellant (higher total amount means likely more unburnt residues) loaded in the cartridge. Flash suppressors or muzzle shrouds can be attached to the muzzle of the weapon to either diminish or conceal the flash. The rapid expansion of propellant gases at the muzzle during firing also produce a powerful shockwave known as a muzzle blast . The audible component of this blast, also known as

2116-413: Was because manufacturing defects such as air bubbles trapped in the metal were common at that time, and played key factors in many gun explosions; these defects made the barrel too weak to withstand the pressures of firing, causing it to fail and fragment explosively. A gun barrel must be able to hold in the expanding gas produced by the propellants to ensure that optimum muzzle velocity is attained by

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