Misplaced Pages

#221778

143-482: Usage of the term "shrapnel" has changed over time to also refer to fragmentation of the casing of shells and bombs, which is its most common modern usage and strays from the original meaning. In 1784, Lieutenant Shrapnel of the Royal Artillery began developing an anti-personnel weapon . At the time, artillery could use " canister shot " to defend themselves from infantry or cavalry attack, which involved loading

286-513: A Captain of Fort , a Master-Gunner or Chief-Gunner, and a number of other ranks, including Gunners, Gunner's Mates, Quarter-Gunners, and Matroses. Their numbers were extremely small; as late as 1720, the total establishment for the whole of Britain was 41 master gunners and 178 gunner assistants. Although the Royal Artillery increasingly involved itself with the coastal artillery in Britain, also,

429-718: A thermite compound. When World War I began the United States also had what it referred to as the "Ehrhardt high-explosive shrapnel" in its inventory. It appears to be similar to the German design, with bullets embedded in TNT rather than resin, together with a quantity of explosive in the shell nose. Douglas Hamilton mentions this shell type in passing, as "not as common as other types" in his comprehensive treatises on manufacturing shrapnel and high-explosive shells of 1915 and 1916, but gives no manufacturing details. Nor does Ethan Viall in 1917. Hence

572-412: A 'flash tube'. The safety and arming arrangements in artillery fuzes are critical features to prevent the fuze functioning until required, no matter how harsh its transport and handling. These arrangements use the forces created by the gun or howitzer firing – high acceleration (or ‘shock of firing’) and rotation (caused by the rifling in the gun or howitzer barrel) – to release the safety features and arm

715-464: A building or a vehicle, and pushing a firing pin into a detonator. The early British fuze at left is an example. Direct action fuze designs are 'super-quick' but may have a delay option. 20th-century designs vary in the relative positions of their key elements. The extremes being the firing pin and detonator close to the nose with a long flash tube to the booster (typical in US designs), or a long firing pin to

858-497: A central tube allowed the shell to carry far more bullets, it had the disadvantage that the bursting charge separated the bullets from the shell casing by firing the case forward and at the same time slowing the bullets down as they were ejected through the base of the shell casing, rather than increasing their velocity. Britain adopted this solution for several smaller calibres (below 6-inch) but by World War I few if any such shells remained. The final shrapnel shell design, adopted in

1001-466: A combustible material that burnt for a time before igniting the shell filling ( slow match ). The problem was that precise burning times required precise time measurement and recording, which did not appear until 1672. Before this the proofmaster often tested the burning time of powder by reciting the Apostles' Creed for time measurement. It was not until around the middle of the following century that it

1144-486: A defensive barrage during the Third Battle of Ypres , 1917: ... the air is full of yellow spurts of smoke that burst about 30 feet up and shoot towards the earth – just ahead of each of these yellow puffs the earth rises in a lashed-up cloud – shrapnel – and how beautifully placed – long sweeps of it fly along that slope lashing up a good 200 yards of earth at each burst. During the initial stages of World War I , shrapnel

1287-658: A delay function and a hardened and strengthened fuze nose. Base fuzes are enclosed within the base of the shell and are hence not damaged by the initial impact with the target. Their delay timing may be adjustable before firing. They use graze action and have not been widely used by field artillery. Base fuzed shells were used by coast artillery (and warships) against armoured warships into the 1950s. They have also had some use against tanks, including with High Explosive Squash Head (HESH), also called High Explosive Plastic (HEP) used after World War II by 105mm artillery for self-defence against tanks and by tanks. Airburst fuzes, using

1430-404: A design with both the weighted firing pin and the explosive detonator pellet both free to move, held apart only by friction or a light spring, after arming in flight by removing a series of rotating shutters locking them in place before firing the projectile. Thus, on a highly oblique – "glancing" or "grazing" – impact, there was a higher chance that at least one of them would be free to move toward

1573-482: A detonator close to the booster and a short flash tube (typical in British designs). Graze fuzes function when the shell is suddenly slowed down, e.g. by hitting the ground or going through a wall. This deceleration causes the firing pin to move forward, or the detonator to move backward, sharply and strike each other. Graze is the only percussion mechanism that can be used in base fuzes. An additional definition widely used

SECTION 10

#1733085306222

1716-574: A distinct identity within the regiment. Before World War II, Royal Artillery recruits were required to be at least 5 feet 4 inches (1.63 m) tall. Men in mechanised units had to be at least 5 feet 8 inches (1.73 m) tall. They initially enlisted for six years with the colours and a further six years with the reserve or four years and eight years. They trained at the Royal Artillery Depot in Woolwich. From its beginnings,

1859-406: A dye marker contained in the base and a tracer element. The shell functioned as follows: the time fuse fired, the flash traveled down the flash tube, the shearing detonators fired, and the forward body split into four pieces. The body and first four tiers were dispersed by the projectile's spin, the last tier and visual marker by the powder charge itself. The flechettes spread, mainly due to spin, from

2002-622: A handful of Royal Artillery personnel primarily responsible for maintenance, who were reinforced in wartime by drafts of infantrymen from the British Army or the Militia, or by temporarily-raised Volunteer Artillery corps. This was to remain the case through the Naploeonic Wars. The regiment was involved in all major campaigns of the Napoleonic Wars ; in 1804, naval artillery was transferred to

2145-496: A high degree of regularity in the field. Britain in particular encountered great difficulty in achieving consistency early in World War I (1914 and 1915) with its attempts to use its by-then obsolescent gunpowder-train time fuzes for anti-aircraft fire against German bombers and airships which flew at altitudes up to 6,000 metres (20,000 ft). It was then discovered that standard gunpowder burned differently at differing altitudes, and

2288-402: A high percentage of shrapnel shells. New tactical roles included cutting barbed wire and providing "creeping barrages" to both screen its own attacking troops and suppressing the enemy defenders to prevent them from shooting at their attackers. In a creeping barrage fire was 'lifted' from one 'line' to the next as the attackers advanced. These lines were typically 100 yards (91 m) apart and

2431-404: A lethal (at very close range) blast overpressure and, if a surface or sub-surface burst, a useful cratering and anti-materiel effect – all in a munition much less complex than the later versions of the shrapnel shell. However, this fragmentation was often lost when shells penetrated soft ground, and because some fragments went in all directions it was a hazard to assaulting troops. One item of note

2574-460: A photo-electric fuze. During 1940–42 a private venture initiative by Pye Ltd , a leading British wireless manufacturer, worked on the development of a radio proximity fuze. Pye's research was transferred to the United States as part of the technology package delivered by the Tizard Mission when the United States entered the war. These fuzes emitted radio waves and sensed their reflection from

2717-671: A preset timing device initiated by the gun firing, were the earliest type of fuze. They were particularly important in the 19th and early 20th centuries when shrapnel fuzes were widely used. They again became important when cluster munitions became a major element in Cold War ammunition stocks, and the moves to multi-function fuzes in the late 20th century mean that in some western countries airburst fuzes are available with every shell used on operations. Time fuzes were essential for larger calibre anti-aircraft guns, and it soon became clear that igniferous fuzes were insufficiently accurate and this drove

2860-458: A primer was added with a hammer suspended above it, the shock of firing released the hammer which initiated the primer to ignite the powder time train. Armstrong's A pattern time fuze was introduced to British service in 1860 and the shorter length Borman fuzes in the United States. The introduction of rifled breech loader guns led to non-spherical projectiles, which landed nose first. This enabled percussion nose fuzes, but they had to cope with

3003-611: A semi-permanent function in the 16th century. Until the early 18th century, the majority of British regiments were raised for specific campaigns and disbanded on completion. An exception were gunners based at the Tower of London , Portsmouth and other forts around Britain, who were controlled by the Ordnance Office and stored and maintained equipment and provided personnel for field artillery 'traynes' that were organised as needed. These personnel, responsible in peacetime for maintaining

SECTION 20

#1733085306222

3146-582: A single fuze with dual channels, 2 inches long for howitzers and common shell, 1 inch for shrapnel. However, while the Boxer time fuze was a great advance various problems had to be dealt with over the following years. It also used a different fuze hole size to Freeburn's percussion fuze, which became obsolete. They were replaced in army service in 1861 by those designed by Mr Pettman, these could be used with both spherical and non-spherical shells. The final Boxer time fuze, for mortars, appeared in 1867 and

3289-415: A single half-inch lead- antimony ball of approximately 170 grains (11 g), or 41–42 balls = 1 pound. Hence this was a typical field gun shrapnel bullet size. The maximum possible range, typically beyond 7,000 yards (6,400 m), was beyond useful shrapnel combat ranges for normal field guns due to loss of accuracy and the fact that at extreme range the projectiles descended relatively steeply and hence

3432-422: A smoke compound or a parachute flare. Fuzes normally have two explosive components in their explosive train: a very small detonator (or primer) struck by a firing pin, and a booster charge at the base of the fuze (sometimes called the 'magazine'). This booster is powerful enough to detonate the main charge in a high-explosive shell or the ejecting charge in a carrier shell. The two charges are typically connected by

3575-410: A spray of laurel. Grenade badges, whether worn as a collar badge or elsewhere, lacked the scroll inscribed "Ubique" that was part of the regular Royal Artillery version. Militia Artillery units were made up of Militia officers and other ranks, with a Permanent Staff made up of seconded Royal Artillery officers and senior other ranks, including a single officer acting as both Commandant and Adjutant (where

3718-713: A suitably qualified Militia officer was unavailable to serve as Commandant), or only as Adjutant where the Commandant was a Militia officer. Units from the Royal Engineers and Royal Artillery were in Australia, even after Federation. On 1 July 1899, the Royal Artillery was divided into three groups: the Royal Horse Artillery of 21 batteries and the Royal Field Artillery of 95 batteries composed one group, while

3861-429: A tin or canvas container filled with small iron or lead balls instead of the usual cannonball . When fired, the container burst open during passage through the bore or at the muzzle, giving the effect of an oversized shotgun shell . At ranges of up to 300 m canister shot was still highly lethal, though at this range the shots’ density was much lower, making a hit on a human body less likely. At longer ranges, solid shot or

4004-412: A vast improvement on mechanical time in delivering a very high proportion of bursts at the required 10 metre height. However, VT fuzes went far deeper into the shell than other fuzes because they had a battery that was activated by the shock of firing. This meant the fuze recess had to be deeper, so to enable shorter non-VT fuzes the deep recess was filled with removable supplementary HE canisters. After

4147-490: A very regular and predictable rate of fire. Field artillery used manual time fuze setting, at its simplest this uses a hand ‘key’ or wrench to turn the fuze nose to the required setting. Manual fuze setters are set at the fuze length and then used to set the fuze, this has the advantage of ensuring that every fuze is correctly and identically set. Electronic fuzes are designed use electronic setters to transfer data electronically, early ones required an electrical contact between

4290-580: Is equipped with a variety of equipment and performs a wide range of roles, including: The Captain General of the regiment is King Charles III . The post was previously known as Colonel-in-Chief until King George VI expressed the desire to be known as Captain General. The head of the regiment is the Master Gunner, St. James's Park . The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises both Regular (full-time) and Reserve (part-time) units. The Royal Regiment of Artillery

4433-451: Is said that the name beehive was given to the munition type due to the noise of the flechettes moving through the air resembling that of a swarm of bees. Though shrapnel rounds are now rarely used, apart from the beehive munitions, there are other modern rounds, that use, or have used, the shrapnel principle. The DM 111 20 mm cannon round used for close-range air defense, the flechette-filled 40 mm HVCC (40 x 53 mm HV grenade),

Shrapnel shell - Misplaced Pages Continue

4576-434: Is that such a fuze is usually an inertially-fired fuze (such as a base fuze mentioned above) that has special features to increase the chance of the fuze functioning if it hits the target at a highly oblique angle that can frequently jam ("blind") such fuzes due to the high sideways forces generated. For example, the later WWII German Navy armor-piercing projectile base fuzes ("Bodenzunder") had such fuzes of several kinds, such

4719-415: Is the "universal shell", a type of field gun shell developed by Krupp of Germany in the early 1900s. This shell could function as either a shrapnel shell or high-explosive projectile. The shell had a modified fuse, and, instead of resin as the packing between the shrapnel balls, TNT was used. When a timed fuse was set the shell functioned as a shrapnel round, ejecting the balls and igniting (not detonating)

4862-481: Is the type of munition fuze used with artillery munitions, typically projectiles fired by guns (field, anti-aircraft, coast and naval), howitzers and mortars . A fuze is a device that initiates an explosive function in a munition, most commonly causing it to detonate or release its contents, when its activation conditions are met. This action typically occurs a preset time after firing ( time fuze ), or on physical contact with ( contact fuze ) or detected proximity to

5005-495: Is unusual in that it has sub-units that often move between regiments, or are placed into suspended animation. See List of Royal Artillery Batteries . The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises one ceremonial troop and 13 Regular Army regiments , and are designated by a number and the name Royal Artillery (RA) or Royal Horse Artillery (RHA): Regular regiments of the Royal Horse Artillery Regular regiments of

5148-542: The Battle of the Somme was the perceived belief that shrapnel would be effective at cutting the barbed wire entanglements in no man's land (although it has been suggested that the reason for the use of shrapnel as a wire-cutter at the Somme was because Britain lacked the capacity to manufacture enough HE shell). This perception was reinforced by the successful deployment of shrapnel shells against Germany's barbed wire entanglements in

5291-539: The Peninsular War and at the Battle of Waterloo , and he wrote admiringly of its effectiveness. The design was improved by Captain E. M. Boxer of the Royal Arsenal around 1852 and crossed over when cylindrical shells for rifled guns were introduced. Lieutenant-Colonel Boxer adapted his design in 1864 to produce shrapnel shells for the new rifled muzzle-loader ( RML ) guns: the walls were of thick cast iron , but

5434-579: The Royal Artillery ( RA ) and colloquially known as " The Gunners ", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army . The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises thirteen Regular Army regiments , the King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery and five Army Reserve regiments. Artillery was used by the English army as early as the Battle of Crécy in 1346, while Henry VIII established it as

5577-649: The Royal Marine Artillery , while the Royal Irish Artillery lost its separate status in 1810 after the 1800 Union . This period also saw development of the Congreve rocket ; based on an existing Indian design, these were the first solid-fuel projectiles used by the British army and two rocket troops were established in 1814. Their use in the War of 1812 is referenced in the line "rocket's red glare" which appears in

5720-646: The Royal Military Academy or RMA Woolwich in 1741; this trained artillery and engineering officers for the regiment, the East India Company and the Royal Irish Artillery . In 1757, it split into two battalions , each of twelve companies; by 1780, it contained 32 companies in four battalions, two "invalid companies" used solely for garrison duties and the Royal Artillery Band , with a total strength of 5,241 men and officers. Originally based in

5863-535: The "Royal Artillery" in 1720. These were increased to four companies and on 1 April 1722 grouped with independent artillery units at Gibraltar and Menorca to form the Royal Regiment of Artillery; the first commander was Colonel Albert Borgard , a Dane who served in the British army since 1698. Aside from the Master Gunner of England, the detachments in each fort formed a District Establishment that included

Shrapnel shell - Misplaced Pages Continue

6006-483: The "cone" of bullets covered a relatively small area. At a more typical combat range of 3,000 yards (2,700 m), giving a fairly flat trajectory and hence a long " beaten zone " for the bullets, a typical 3-inch or 75-mm field gun shrapnel shell would have a velocity of approximately 900 feet/second. The bursting charge would add a possible 150 feet/second, giving a bullet velocity of 1,050 feet/second. This would give each bullet approximately 418 foot-pounds: seven times

6149-442: The "remaining velocity" of the shell. In addition to a denser pattern of musket balls, the retained velocity could be higher as well, since the shrapnel shell as a whole would likely have a higher ballistic coefficient than the individual musket balls (see external ballistics ). The explosive charge in the shell was to be just enough to break the casing rather than scatter the shot in all directions. As such his invention increased

6292-414: The 1880s, bore little similarity to Henry Shrapnel's original design other than its spherical bullets and time fuse. It used a much thinner forged steel shell case with a timer fuse in the nose and a tube running through the centre to convey the ignition flash to a gunpowder bursting charge in the shell base. The use of steel allowed a thinner shell wall, allowing space for many more bullets. It also withstood

6435-414: The 18th century time fuzes were aimed to function in the air and in the 1940s proximity fuzes were introduced to achieve more precisely positioned airburst. Therefore, the terms ‘percussion’ and ‘airburst’ are generally used here unless ‘time’ fuzes are being explicitly described. Solid cannonballs ("shot") did not need a fuze, but hollow balls ("shells") filled with something, such as gunpowder to fragment

6578-472: The 1915 Battle of Neuve Chapelle , but the Germans thickened their barbed wire strands after that battle. As a result, shrapnel was later only effective in killing enemy personnel; even if the conditions were correct, with the angle of descent being flat to maximise the number of bullets going through the entanglements, the probability of a shrapnel ball hitting a thin line of barbed wire and successfully cutting it

6721-409: The 19th century combined ‘T & P’ fuzes became common and this combination remain widespread with airburst fuzes in case the airburst function failed or was set too ‘long’. War stocks in western armies are now predominantly 'multi-function' offering a choice of several ground and airburst functions. Direct action fuzes function by the fuze nose hitting something reasonably solid, such as the ground,

6864-477: The 19th century, in British service, virtually every calibre had its own time fuze. For example, seven different fuses were used with spherical cased shot until 1850. However, in 1829 metal fuzes were adopted by the Royal Navy instead of wooden ones. At this time fuzes were used with shrapnel , common shell (filled with explosive) and grenades. All British fuzes were prepared by cutting to length or boring into

7007-549: The 35 mm cannon (35 × 228 mm) AHEAD ammunition (152 × 3.3   g tungsten cylinders), RWM Schweiz 30 × 173 mm air-bursting munition, five-inch (127 mm) shotgun projectile (KE-ET) and possibly more. Also, many modern armies have canister shot ammunition for tank and artillery guns, the XM1028 round for the 120 mm M256 tank gun being one example (approx 1150 tungsten balls at 1,400 m/s). Some anti-ballistic missiles (ABMs) use shrapnel-like warheads instead of

7150-495: The Baker clockwork fuze. It contained a spring clock with an extra rapid cylinder escapement giving 30 beats per second. During World War 1 Germany developed other mechanical time, i.e. clockwork, fuzes. These were less erratic and more precise than igniferous fuzes, critical characteristics as gun ranges increased. Between the wars five or six different mechanisms were developed in various nations. However, three came to predominate,

7293-664: The British Army or the Militia. The post of Captain of Fort was replaced (at least in England, if not in its colonies) with that of Governor following the Restoration . When Marlborough was restored as Master-General of the Ordnance in 1714, he initiated a series of reforms, which included splitting the existing Ordnance Service into artillery and sappers or engineers . The artillery were formed into two marching companies , each of 100 men, in 1716. These marching companies were renamed

SECTION 50

#1733085306222

7436-424: The British adopted pre-cut fuze lengths giving 4, 4.5 and 5 seconds. The first account of a percussion fuze appears in 1650, using a flint to create sparks to ignite the powder. The problem was that the shell had to fall a particular way and with spherical shells this could not be guaranteed. The term ‘blind’ for an unexploded shell resulted. The problem was finding a suitably stable ‘percussion powder’. Progress

7579-471: The District Establishments remained independent until February 1771, when the Royal Artillery formed eight Invalid Companies (made up of personnel no longer fit for expeditionary service) into which they were absorbed (although the District Establishments would still rely on drafts of sailors, British Army soldiers, Militia infantrymen, or Volunteers to bring the batteries up to wartime strength until

7722-462: The Militia, or old Constitutional Force, normally made up of infantry units; the mounted Yeomanry; and Volunteer units of various types, normally raised only during wartime), particularly in the fields of artillery and engineering; Britain lagged behind others in this area, with Vauban establishing the French Corps royal des ingénieurs militaires as far back as 1690. A cadet company was formed at

7865-539: The Nineteenth Century they were re-organised through a succession of reforms, and increasingly integrated with the British Army. In 1882, the Militia Artillery units lost their individual identities, becoming numbered brigades organised within Royal Artillery territorial divisions (two brigades of horse artillery, four brigades of field artillery and eleven territorial divisions of garrison artillery). In 1889

8008-519: The RGA dressed like foot soldiers. In 1920 the rank of Bombardier was instituted in the Royal Artillery. Following the separation of the regular garrison companies into the Royal Garrison Artillery in 1899, the Militia Artillery units were re-titled accordingly in 1902 (by example, The Antrim Royal Garrison Artillery (Militia) , which would usually be rendered Antrim R.G.A (M) ). The badge adopted

8151-450: The RV's flight path. Unlike a blast-frag warhead, the expulsion charge is only needed to release the sub-projectiles from the main warhead, not to accelerate them to high velocity. The velocity required to penetrate the RV's casing comes from the high terminal velocity of the warhead, similar to the shrapnel shell's principle. The reason for the use of this type of warhead and not a blast-frag is that

8294-631: The Riding Troop RHA was renamed the King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery and, in 1951, the title of the regiment's colonel-in-chief became Captain General. When The Queen first visited the Troop after her accession, it was expected that it would become "The Queen's Troop", but Her Majesty announced that in honour of her father's decision it would remain "The King's Troop". The Royal Horse Artillery , which has separate traditions, uniforms and insignia, still retains

8437-683: The Royal Arsenal, beginning in 1770 the regiment was rehoused in the Royal Artillery Barracks on Woolwich Common. A major innovation in 1793 was the establishment of the Royal Horse Artillery , designed to provide mobile fire support for cavalry units. The same year saw the foundation of the Corps of Royal Artillery Drivers to provide transport for the artillery. Fixed Coastal Artillery batteries were generally manned in peacetime by

8580-610: The Royal Artillery The Royal Artillery utilises two air defence weapons: The Royal Artillery field the following close support/offensive support weapons: The Royal Artillery, due to its large size, has 11 Colonel Commandants and a Master Gunner concurrently. These are: In the British Army Order of Precedence , the Household Cavalry is always listed first and always parades at the extreme right of

8723-710: The Royal Artillery has been based at Woolwich , in south-east London. In 2003 it was decided to move the headquarters to Larkhill in the Salisbury Plain Training Area in Wiltshire (the RA's training ground, where the Royal School of Artillery has been based since 1915). In 2012, however, the King's Troop, Royal Horse Artillery was relocated to Woolwich from their former headquarters in St John's Wood . The Royal Artillery

SECTION 60

#1733085306222

8866-769: The Royal Engineers, Royal Sappers and Miners, the Commissariat Department, and various barracks, ordnance stores, and transport departments) was transferred to the British Army when the Board of Ordnance was abolished in 1855 (the administrative branches of the Board were absorbed by the War Office ) and the War Office School of Gunnery established in Shoeburyness in 1859. When the British East India Company

9009-580: The Star-Spangled Banner . The Militia, which had been a paper tiger since the end of the Napoleonic Wars, was re-organised under the Militia Act 1852 in response to the threat of invasion by France, changing it from a conscripted force to one made up of volunteers who engaged for terms of service. The force continued to be a reserve tasked with home defence, embodied for annual training, and for

9152-487: The TNT, giving a visible puff of black smoke. When allowed to impact, the TNT filling would detonate, becoming a high-explosive shell with a very large amount of low-velocity fragmentation and a milder blast. Due to its complexity it was dropped in favour of a simple high-explosive shell. During World War I the UK also used shrapnel pattern shells to carry "pots" instead of "bullets". These were incendiary shells with seven pots using

9295-578: The Thiel pattern in British designs, Junghans pattern in American designs and the Swiss Dixi mechanisms, the first two having originated in World War 1 Germany. Mechanical time fuzes remain in service with many armies. Mechanical time fuzes were just about good enough to use with field artillery to achieve the effective HE height of burst of about 10 metres above the ground. However, 'good enough' usually meant '4 in

9438-524: The US appears to have ceased its manufacture early in the war, presumably based on the experience of other combatants. A new British streamlined shrapnel shell, Mk 3D, had been developed for BL 60 pounder gun in the early 1930s, containing 760 bullets. There was some use of shrapnel by the British in the campaigns in East and North East Africa at the beginning of the war, where 18-pdr and 4.5-in (114 mm) howitzers were used. By World War II shrapnel shells, in

9581-470: The United Kingdom wore a unique badge. Between 1882 and 1889, Militia Artillery brigades wore a divisional badge based on that of the Royal Artillery, except that the lower scroll and upper scroll, which on the Royal Artillery badge were inscribed "Quo Fas Et Gloria Ducunt" and "Ubique" (which indicated the regular Royal Artillery, like the Royal Engineers, served everywhere), were respectively inscribed with

9724-461: The United States ‘Seek and Destroy Armour’ (SADARM) in the 1980s using sub-munitions ejected from 203 mm (8.0 in) carrier shell. Subsequent European developments, BONUS and SMArt 155 , are 155 mm (6.1 in) calibre due to advances in electronics. These sensor fuzes typically use millimetric radar to recognise a tank and then aim the sub-munition at it and fire an explosively formed penetrator from above. The main fuze developments in

9867-433: The advantage of inherent safety and not requiring any internal driving force but depended on muzzle velocity and rifling pitch. However, these are allowed for when calculating the fuze setting. Early 20th-century versions were sometimes called ‘flag fuzes’, so named due to the vane protruding from the nose of the fuze. In the late 1970s/early 1980s electronic time fuzes started replacing earlier types. These were based on

10010-467: The air and 2 on the ground'. This fuze length was extremely difficult to predict with adequate accuracy, so the height of burst almost always had to be adjusted by observation. The benefits of a fuze that functioned when it detected a target in proximity are obvious, particularly for use against aircraft. The first such fuze seems to have been developed by the British in the 1930s for use with their anti-aircraft ‘unrotated projectiles’ – rockets. These used

10153-401: The amount of ammunition required per yard of wire frontage. The use of shrapnel for wire-cutting was also highlighted in RA "Training Memoranda No. 2 1939". Shrapnel provided a useful "screening" effect from the smoke of the black-powder bursting charges when the British used it in "creeping barrages". One of the key factors that contributed to the heavy casualties sustained by the British at

10296-406: The army retained wooden fuzes although the navy used metal ones. There was a similar American wooden fuze. However, in 1855 Armstrong produced his rifled breech loading (RBL) gun , which was introduced into British service in 1859. The problem was that there was little or no windage between the shell and the barrel, so the propelling charge could no longer be used to ignite the fuze. Therefore,

10439-419: The assumed energy required to disable a man. For larger guns which had lower velocities, correspondingly larger balls were used so that each individual ball carried enough energy to be lethal. Most engagements using guns in this size range used direct fire at enemy from 1,500 yards (1,400 m) to 3,000 yards (2,700 m) distant, at which ranges the residual shell velocity was correspondingly higher, as in

10582-453: The ball hopefully on the target needed a time fuze. Early reports of shells include Venetian use at Jadra in 1376 and shells with fuzes at the 1421 siege of St Boniface in Corsica. In 1596 Sebastian Halle proposed both igniting the bursting charge by percussion and regulating the burning time of fuzes, this was considered visionary and nothing much happened until 1682. These early time fuzes used

10725-437: The beginning of the 20th century and electronic time fuzes appeared in the 1980s, soon after digital watches. Almost all artillery time fuzes are fitted to the nose of the shell. One exception was the 1950s design US 203 mm (8 in) nuclear shell (M422) that had a triple-deck mechanical time base fuze. The time delay of a time fuze is usually calculated as part of the technical fire control calculations, and not done at

10868-403: The bottom from below. The problem was that this left the powder unsupported and fuze failures were common. The indefatigable Colonel Boxer suggested a better way : wooden fuze cones with a central powder channel and holes drilled every 2/10th of an inch. There were white and black painted fuzes for odd and even tenths, clay prevented the powder spilling out. In 1853 these were combined into

11011-445: The breech, although in the case of impact fuzes it may be very simple matter of selecting the delay option if required, 'instantaneous' being the factory set default. However, airburst fuzes have to have the required fuze length set. Modern fuzes invariably use a fuze length in seconds (with at least tenths) that reflect the required time of flight. However, some earlier time fuzes used arbitrary units of time. The fuze length reflects

11154-430: The canister and disperse the shot it contained at some distance along the canister's trajectory from the gun. His shell was a hollow cast-iron sphere filled with a mixture of balls (“shot”) and powder, with a crude time fuze. If the fuze was set correctly then the shell would break open, either in front of or above the intended human objective, releasing its contents (of musket balls). The shrapnel balls would carry on with

11297-492: The coastal defence, mountain, siege and heavy batteries were split off into another group named the Royal Garrison Artillery of 91 companies. The third group continued to be titled simply Royal Artillery , and was responsible for ammunition storage and supply. Which branch a gunner belonged to was indicated by metal shoulder titles (R.A., R.F.A., R.H.A., or R.G.A.). The RFA and RHA also dressed as mounted men, whereas

11440-666: The colonies, and these were not re-designated as Special Reserve; The most notable of these was the Bermuda Militia Artillery , which, like the Bermuda Volunteer Rifle Corps , formed part of the garrison of the important Imperial fortress colony of Bermuda where the regular Royal Artillery had first posted a company in 1794, following the French Revolution ). The remainder of the Special Reserve

11583-399: The command post or fire direction center, unless the gun itself does the full ballistic calculations. Naval and anti-aircraft artillery started using analogue computers before World War 2, these were connected to the guns to automatically aim them. They also had automatic fuze setters. This was particularly important for anti-aircraft guns that were aiming ahead of their target and so needed

11726-426: The common shell—a hollow cast-iron sphere filled with black powder —was used, although with more of a concussive than a fragmentation effect, as the pieces of the shell were very large and sparse in number. Shrapnel's innovation was to combine the multi-projectile shotgun effect of canister shot, with a time fuse (“fuze” rather than “fuse” is more accurate terminology for a device that initiates an explosive) to open

11869-415: The correct fuse running time (length) corrected for muzzle velocity. With the advent of relatively insensitive high explosives which could be used as the filling for shells, it was found that the casing of a properly designed high-explosive shell fragmented effectively . For example, the detonation of an average 105 mm shell produces several thousand high-velocity (1,000 to 1,500 m/s) fragments,

12012-430: The correct fuse running time was critical in order to burst the shell in the right place. This required considerable skill by the observation officer when engaging moving targets. An added complication was that the actual fuse running time was affected by the meteorological conditions, with the variation in gun muzzle velocity being an added complication. However, the British used fuse indicators at each gun that determined

12155-536: The cost of adding electronic functions was marginal, this meant they were much more widely issued. In some countries all their war stock HE was fitted with them, instead of only 5 – 10% with proximity fuzes. The most modern multi-option artillery fuzes offer a comprehensive choice of functions. For example, Junghans DM84U provides delay, super quick, time (up to 199 seconds), two proximity heights of burst and five depths of foliage penetration. Sensor fuzes can be considered smart proximity fuzes. Initial developments were

12298-413: The design by Quartermaster Freeburn of the Royal Artillery was adopted by the army. It was a wooden fuze some 6 inches long and used shear wire to hold blocks between the fuze magazine and a burning match. The match was ignited by propellant flash and the shear wire broke on impact. A British naval percussion fuze made of metal did not appear until 1861. There was little standardisation. Well into

12441-426: The development of mechanical time fuzes between the world wars. During World War 2 radio proximity fuzes were introduced, initially for use against aircraft where they proved far superior to mechanical time, and at the end of 1944 for field artillery. Artillery Time fuzes detonate after a set period of time. Early time fuzes were igniferous (i.e. combustible) using a powder train. Clockwork mechanisms appeared at

12584-429: The duration of wars or emergencies. The Militia had been principally an infantry force to this date, but Militia Artillery units were added from this point, and some existing Militia Infantry regiments were converted to coastal artillery. The role of the Militia Artillery was to man coastal defences and fortifications in wartime, relieving the Royal Artillery (RA) for active service. The Royal Artillery (and also of

12727-404: The early 1980s electronic fuzes with several functions and options started appearing. Initially they were little more than enhanced versions of proximity fuzes, typically offering a choice of proximity heights or impact options. A choice of burst heights could also be used to get optimum burst heights in terrain with different reflectivity. However, they were cheaper than older proximity fuzes and

12870-615: The early 21st century are near-precision course-correcting fuzes (CCF), replacing the standard multi-option nose fuze with a package adding GPS -guided trajectory correction. The cost is much lower than true precision-guided artillery munitions , making them suitable for widespread use. An example is the M1156 Precision Guidance Kit which improves the accuracy of 155 mm (6.1 in) shells fivefold at max range (50 m (160 ft) CEP vs 267 m (876 ft) CEP). Many fuzes have to be set before being loaded into

13013-469: The effective range of canister shot from 300 metres (980 ft) to about 1,100 metres (3,600 ft). He called his device 'spherical case shot', but in time it came to be called after him; a nomenclature formalised in 1852 by the British Government. Initial designs suffered from the potentially-catastrophic problem that friction between the shot and black powder during the high acceleration down

13156-466: The explosives used throughout the explosive train, strong physical barriers between the detonator and booster until the shell is fired and positioning explosive components for maximum protection in the fuze. In the 20th century, most fuzes were 'percussion'. They may be 'direct action' (also called 'point detonating' or ‘super quick’) or 'graze'. They may also offer a ‘delay’ option. Percussion fuzes remain widespread particularly for training. However, in

13299-604: The favoured weapon of the British (at least) to support their infantry assaults by suppressing the enemy infantry and preventing them from manning their trench parapets. This was called 'neutralization' and by the second half of 1915 had become the primary task of artillery supporting an attack. Shrapnel was less hazardous to the assaulting British infantry than high-explosives – as long as their own shrapnel burst above or ahead of them, attackers were safe from its effects, whereas high-explosive shells bursting short are potentially lethal within 100 yards or more in any direction. Shrapnel

13442-681: The flat trajectories might not clear the firers' own parapets, and fuses could not be set for less than 1,000 yards. The guns had to be overhauled by artificers and carefully calibrated. Furthermore, they needed good platforms with trail and wheels anchored with sandbags, and an observing officer had to monitor the effects on the wire continuously and make any necessary adjustments to range and fuse settings. These instructions were repeated in "GHQ Artillery Notes No. 3 Artillery in Offensive Operations", issued in February 1917 with added detail including

13585-494: The floor of the trench... a shrapnel bullet had hit my helmet with great violence, without piercing it, but sufficiently hard to dent it. If I had, as had been usual up until a few days previously, been wearing a cap, then the Regiment would have had one more man killed. A shrapnel shell was more expensive than a high-explosive one and required higher-grade steel for the shell body. They were also harder to use correctly because getting

13728-416: The force of the powder charge without shattering so that the bullets were fired forward out of the shell case with increased velocity, much like a shotgun. The design came to be adopted by all countries and was in standard use when World War I began in 1914. During the 1880s, when both the old cast-iron and modern forged-steel shrapnel shell designs were in British service, British ordnance manuals referred to

13871-481: The formation of Militia Artillery and Volunteer Artillery in the 1850s). During the 18th century, the British regular military forces, including the Board of Ordnance's military corps (the Royal Artillery, Royal Engineers and later the Royal Sappers and Miners) and the British Army (composed mostly of infantry and cavalry) became increasingly professional (various reserve, or local , forces also existed, including:

14014-530: The forts with their garrison artillery (or coastal artillery ), were the first regular artillerymen, organised in 1540 under the Master-General and Board of Ordnance, but paid directly by the Exchequer . The regular artillerymen of the District Establishments were responsible for upkeep of the fort and maintenance of equipment, and would be brought up to strength in wartime with untrained personnel drafted in from

14157-554: The fragments produced by a blast-frag warhead cannot guarantee penetration of the RV's casing. By using rod-like sub-projectiles, a much greater thickness of material can be penetrated, greatly increasing the potential for disruption of the incoming RV. The Starstreak missile uses a similar system, with three metal darts splitting from the missile prior to impact, although in the case of Starstreak these darts are guided and contain an explosive charge. Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery , commonly referred to as

14300-569: The fuze set to detonate on impact or expiration of a preset time, whichever occurred first. Such fuzes were introduced around the middle of the 19th century. This combination may function as a safety measure or as an expedient to ensure that the shell will be actuated no matter what happens and hence not be wasted. The United States called mechanical T & P fuzes ‘mechanical time super quick’ (MTSQ). T & P fuzes were normal with shrapnel and HE shells (including proximity fuzes), but were not always used with high bursting carrier shells. However, in

14443-629: The fuze setting it flashed through a hole into the fuze magazine, which then ignited the bursting charge in the shell. If the shell contained HE then the fuze had a gaine that converted the powder explosion into a detonation powerful enough to detonate the HE. The problem with igniferous fuzes was that they were not very precise and somewhat erratic, but good enough for flat trajectory shrapnel (ranges were relatively short by later standards) or high bursting carrier shells. While improvements in powder composition helped, there were several complex factors that prevented

14586-421: The fuze. Some older types of fuze also had safety features such as pins or caps removed by the user before loading the shell into the breach. Defective fuzes can function while the shell is in the barrel – a 'bore premature', or further along the trajectory. Different fuze designs have different safety and arming mechanisms that use the two forces in various ways. The earliest ‘modern’ fuzes used wire sheared by

14729-420: The ground, a structure or other target ( proximity fuze ). Fuze , a variant of fuse , is the official NATO spelling. Munitions fuzes are also used with rockets, aircraft bombs, guided missiles, grenades and mines, and some direct fire cannon munitions (small calibre and tank guns). Broadly, fuzes function on impact (percussion fuzes) or at a pre-determined time period after firing (time fuzes). However, by

14872-459: The gun although armies have differed in their arrangements. The fuze delay primarily reflects the range to the target and the required height of burst. High height of burst, typically a few hundred metres, is usually used with star shell (illuminating shell) and other base ejecting shells such as smoke and cluster munitions, and for observing with high-explosive (HE) shells in some circumstances. Low airburst, typically about 10 metres (30 ft),

15015-432: The gun bore could sometimes cause premature ignition of the powder. Various solutions were tried with limited, if any, success. However, in 1852, Colonel Boxer proposed using a diaphragm to separate the bullets from the bursting charge , which proved successful and was adopted the following year. As a buffer to prevent lead shot deforming, a resin was used as a packing material between the shot. A useful side effect of using

15158-415: The gunpowder charge was now in the shell base with a tube running through the centre of the shell to convey the ignition flash from the time fuse in the nose to the gunpowder charge in the base. The powder charge both shattered the cast iron shell wall and liberated the bullets. The broken shell wall continued mainly forward but had little destructive effect. The system had major limitations: the thickness of

15301-415: The higher velocities of shells. The fuze action is initiated by impact, elapsed time after firing or proximity to a target. In most cases the fuze action causes detonation of the main high explosive charge in a shell or a small charge to eject a carrier shell's contents. These contents may be lethal, such as the now-obsolete shrapnel shell or modern sub-munitions, or non-lethal such as canisters containing

15444-432: The iron shell walls limited the available carrying capacity for bullets but provided little destructive capability, and the tube through the centre similarly reduced available space for bullets. In the 1870s, William Armstrong provided a design with the bursting charge in the head and the shell wall made of steel and hence much thinner than previous cast-iron shrapnel shell walls. While the thinner shell wall and absence of

15587-418: The lifts were typically 4 minutes apart. Lifting meant that time fuses settings had to be changed. The attackers tried to keep as close as possible (as little as 25 yards sometimes) to the bursting shrapnel so as to be on top of the enemy trenches when fire lifted beyond them, and before the enemy could get back to their parapets. While shrapnel made no impression on trenches and other earthworks, it remained

15730-579: The line. However, when the Royal Horse Artillery is on parade with its guns it will replace the Household Cavalry at the extreme right of the line. The Regimental museum, " Firepower " located in the Royal Arsenal at Woolwich closed in 2017. The Royal Artillery have a traditional rivalry with the Royal Engineers (the Sappers). Artillery fuse#Time fuses An artillery fuze or fuse

15873-467: The more common blast-fragmentation types. As with a blast-frag warhead, the use of this type of warhead does not require a direct body-on-body impact, so greatly reduces tracking and steering accuracy requirements. At a predetermined distance from the incoming re-entry vehicle (RV) the warhead releases, in the case of the ABM warhead by an explosive expulsion charge, an array of mainly rod-like sub-projectiles into

16016-429: The name of the territorial division name (by example, North Irish Division) and left blank or covered in a spray of laurel (as the Militia and Volunteer Force were both home defence forces, the members of which could not be sent abroad on expedition without their consents). From 1889 to 1902, the lower scroll was inscribed with the name of the unit (by example, Antrim Artillery) and the upper scroll left blank or covered in

16159-421: The need for a central tube, but that was not technically feasible because of the need for manually adjust the fuse before firing and was in any case rejected from an early date by the British because of risk of premature ignition and irregular action. The size of shrapnel balls in World War I was based on two considerations. One was the premise that a projectile energy of about 60 foot-pounds force (81  J )

16302-522: The number of divisions was reduced to three, and the Militia Artillery brigades were renamed again, mostly regaining some variation of their original territorial names. Post 1881, militia artillery officers wore for a brief time five button serge foreign service frocks with ball buttons and silver lace. Post 1890, officers transitioned to pocketed examples, again with ball buttons but the frocks varying from pure blue serge to other examples with scarlet facings. Prior to 1882, each Militia Artillery unit in

16445-410: The older cast-iron design as "Boxer shrapnel", apparently to differentiate it from the modern steel design. The modern thin-walled forged-steel design made feasible shrapnel shells for howitzers, which had a much lower velocity than field guns, by using a larger gunpowder charge to accelerate the bullets forward on bursting. The ideal shrapnel design would have had a timer fuse in the shell base to avoid

16588-436: The other and be thrown toward the other during the target impact with enough force to explode the detonator and start the shell explosive train in operation. There are a number of other design variations for this effect. Direct action fuzes can have a delay function, selected at the gun as an alternative to direct action. Delay may use a graze function or some other mechanism. Special 'concrete piercing' fuzes usually have only

16731-408: The point of burst in an ever-widening cone along the projectile's previous trajectory prior to bursting. The round was complex to make, but is a highly effective anti-personnel weapon – soldiers reported that after beehive rounds were fired during an overrun attack, many enemy dead had their hands nailed to the wooden stocks of their rifles, and these dead could be dragged to mass graves by the rifle. It

16874-451: The problem was then rectified to some extent by specially designed fuzes with modified gunpowder formulations. Britain finally switched to mechanical (i.e. clockwork) time fuzes just after World War I which solved this problem. Residual stocks of igniferous fuzes lasted for many years after World War 2 with smoke and illuminating shells. Before World War I Krupp , in Germany, started producing

17017-540: The range between the gun and its target, before digital computers this range was manually calculated in the command post or fire direction center. Some armies converted the range to an elevation and fuze length and ordered it to the guns. Others set the range on the sights and each gun had a fuze indicator that converted the range to a fuze length (with allowance for muzzle velocity and local conditions). In World War I German fuzes were graduated with ranges in metres. With digital computers fuze lengths are usually computed in

17160-594: The resin was that the combustion also gave a visual reference upon the shell bursting, as the resin shattered into a cloud of dust. It took until 1803 for the British artillery to adopt (albeit with great enthusiasm) the shrapnel shell (as "spherical case"). Henry Shrapnel was promoted to major in the same year. The first recorded use of shrapnel by the British was in 1804 against the Dutch at Fort Nieuw-Amsterdam in Suriname . The Duke of Wellington 's armies used it from 1808 in

17303-439: The second half of the 19th century, most artillery fuzes are fitted to the nose of the projectile. The base of the fuze is screwed into a recess, and its nose is designed to conform to the shape of the shell's ogive. The depth of recess can vary with the type of shell and fuze. Artillery fuzes were sometimes specific to particular types of gun or howitzer due to their characteristics, notable differences in muzzle velocity and hence

17446-460: The sensitivity of safety and arming mechanisms. However, by World War 2, while there were exceptions, most fuzes of one nation could be used with any required artillery shell of that nation, if it could be physically fitted to it, although different army and navy procurement arrangements often prevented this. The exceptions were mortar bomb fuzes, and this continues. An early action in NATO standardisation

17589-460: The shock of firing. Subsequently, centripetal devices were generally preferred for use with low-velocity howitzer shells because the set-back was often insufficient. However, late 19th- and 20th-century designs used more sophisticated combinations of methods that applied the two forces. Examples include: Modern safety and arming devices are part of an overall fuze design that meets insensitive munitions requirements. This includes careful selection of

17732-428: The spinning shell and centrifugal forces. This led, by about 1860, to percussion fuzes with a direct action firing pin and detonator and a magazine to boost the detonators sufficiently to initiate the shell's main charge. Armstrong's time fuze designs evolved rapidly. In 1867 the F pattern was introduced; this was the first ‘time and percussion’ (T & P) fuze. Its percussion function was not entirely successful and

17875-527: The strict sense of the word, fell out of use, the last recorded use of shrapnel being 60 pdr shells fired in Burma in 1943. In 1945 the British conducted successful trials with shrapnel shells fused with VT . However, shrapnel was not developed as munitions for any new British artillery models after World War I. Although not strictly shrapnel, a 1960s weapons project produced splintex shells for 90 and 106 mm recoilless rifles and 105 mm howitzers , where it

18018-769: The table – at least in the earlier stages of World War 1. The other factor was the trajectory. The shrapnel bullets were typically lethal for about 300 yards (270 m) from normal field guns after bursting and over 400 yards (370 m) from heavy field guns. To make maximum use of these distances a flat-trajectory and hence high-velocity gun was required. The pattern in Europe was that the armies with higher-velocity guns tended to use heavier bullets because they could afford to have fewer bullets per shell. The important points to note about shrapnel shells and bullets in their final stage of development in World War I are: A firsthand description of successful British deployment of shrapnel in

18161-580: The target (aircraft or ground), the strength of the reflected signal indicated the distance to the target, when this was correct the fuze detonated. For the first 18 months or so proximity fuzes were restricted to anti-aircraft use to ensure that none was retrieved by the enemy and copied. They were also called ‘variable time’ or VT to obscure their nature. They were finally released for field artillery use in December 1944 in Europe. While they were not perfect and bursts could still be erratic due to rain, they were

18304-890: The unit was named. When the Volunteer Force and the Yeomanry in the United Kingdom (including the Volunteer Artillery) were merged to create the Territorial Force in 1908, the Militia was re-designated the Special Reserve . At the same time, plans were made to convert all of the Royal Garrison Artillery (Militia) units to Special Reserve Royal Field Artillery, but all Home units other than The Antrim Royal Garrison Artillery (Militia) (converted in 1956 to 74 (Antrim Artillery) Engineer Regiment (V) ) were instead disbanded in 1909 (although Militia Artillery units remained in some of

18447-427: The use of oscillating crystals that had been adopted for digital watches. Like watches, advances in electronics made them much cheaper to produce than mechanical devices. The introduction of these fuzes coincided with the widespread adoption of cluster munitions in some NATO countries. A fuze assembly may include more than one fuze function. A typical combination would be a T & P ("Time & Percussion") fuze with

18590-473: The war the next generation of proximity fuze included a mechanical timer to switch on the fuze a few seconds before it was due at the target. These were called controlled variable time’ (CVT) and reduced the incidence of early bursts. Later models had additional electronic counter measures. The mechanical distance fuze has had little use, Thompson's pattern was trialled by the British but did not enter service. The fuzes operated by counting revolutions. It has

18733-446: Was also useful against counter-attacks, working parties and any other troops in the open. British Expeditionary Force "GHQ Artillery Notes No. 5 Wire-cutting" was issued in June 1916. It prescribed the use of shrapnel for wirecutting, with HE used to scatter the posts and wire when cut. However, there were constraints: the best ranges for 18-pdrs were 1,800–2,400 yards. Shorter ranges meant

18876-467: Was called a " beehive " round. Unlike the shrapnel shells’ balls, the splintex shells contained flechettes . The result was the 105 mm M546 APERS-T (anti-personnel-tracer) round, first used in the Vietnam War in 1966. The shell consisted of approximately 8,000 one-half-gram flechettes arranged in five tiers, a time fuse, body-shearing detonators, a central flash tube, a smokeless propellant charge with

19019-459: Was dissolved in 1862, its artillery function was absorbed by the Royal Artillery, giving it a total strength of 29 horse batteries, 73 field batteries and 88 heavy batteries. Military expenditure estimates for 1872 list the regimental strength as a total of 34,943 men and officers, including those in India. Although the Militia and the Volunteer Force remained separate forces, during the latter half of

19162-540: Was extremely low. The bullets also had limited destructive effect and were stopped by sandbags, so troops behind protection or in bunkers were generally safe. Additionally, steel helmets, including both the German Stahlhelm and the British Brodie helmet , could resist shrapnel bullets and protect the wearer from head injury: ... suddenly, with a great clanging thud, I was hit on the forehead and knocked flying onto

19305-473: Was not possible until the discovery of mercury fulminate in 1800, leading to priming mixtures for small arms patented by the Rev Alexander Forsyth , and the copper percussion cap in 1818. The concept of percussion fuzes was adopted by Britain in 1842. Many designs were jointly examined by the army and navy, but were unsatisfactory, probably because of the safety and arming features. However, in 1846

19448-651: Was re-designated as the Militia again after the First World War and permanently suspended. The Territorial Force was renamed the Territorial Army. The division of the Royal Regiment of Artillery lasted until 1924, when the RFA, RHA, and RGA amalgamated once more to become one regiment. In 1938, RA Brigades were renamed regiments. During the World War II there were over 1 million men serving in 960 gunner regiments. In 1947

19591-407: Was realised that the windage between ball and barrel allowed the flash from the propelling charge to pass around the shell. This led, in 1747, to ‘single-fire’ and eliminated the need to light the fuze before loading the shell. At this time fuzes were made of beech wood, bored out and filled with powder and cut to the required length. Experience taught that there was a minimum safe length. In 1779

19734-416: Was required to disable an enemy soldier. A typical World War I 3-inch (76 mm) field gun shell at its maximum possible range traveling at a velocity of 250 feet/second, plus the additional velocity from the shrapnel bursting charge (about 150 feet per second), would give individual shrapnel bullets a velocity of 400 feet per second and an energy of 60 foot-pounds (81 joules ): this was the minimum energy of

19877-408: Was soon replaced by the E Mk III fuze, made of brass it contained a ring of slow burning composition ignited by a pellet holding a detonator cap that was set back onto a firing pin by the shock of firing. It was the prototype of the T & P fuzes used in the 20th century, although initially it was used only with naval segment shells, and it took some time for the army to adopt it for shrapnel. Since

20020-422: Was the same as that of the regular Royal Regiment of Artillery, from that point including the "ubique" and "Quo Fas Et Gloria Ducunt" scrolls, with a letter "M" fixed at the bottom of the gun badge, and on the body of the grenade on the grenade badge (also with the "ubique" scroll), whether worn on the collar or on a cap. Alternately, Ubique was replaced on scrolls with the name of the city, county or colony for which

20163-496: Was to agree the dimensions and threads of the fuze recess in artillery projectiles to enable fuze interchangeability between nations. Modern artillery fuzes can generally be used with any appropriate artillery shell, including naval ones. However, smoothbore mortars constrain the choice of safety and arming mechanisms because there is no centrifugal force and muzzle velocities are relatively low. Therefore, shell fuzes cannot be used with mortar bombs, and mortar fuzes are unsuitable for

20306-407: Was used with HE. The height of burst with shrapnel depended on the angle of descent, but for optimal use it was a few tens of metres. Igniferous time fuzes had a powder ring in an inverted ‘U’ metal channel, the fuze was set by rotating the upper part of the fuze. When the shell was fired the shock of firing set back a detonator onto a firing pin, which ignited the powder ring, when the burn reached

20449-454: Was widely used by all sides as an anti-personnel weapon. It was the only type of shell available for British field guns ( 13-pounder , 15 pounder and 18-pounder ) until October 1914. Shrapnel was effective against troops in the open, particularly massed infantry (advancing or withdrawing). However, the onset of trench warfare from late 1914 led to most armies decreasing their use of shrapnel in favour of high-explosive. Britain continued to use

#221778