CA1207186A - Explosive small arms projectile - Google Patents
Explosive small arms projectileInfo
- Publication number
- CA1207186A CA1207186A CA000401456A CA401456A CA1207186A CA 1207186 A CA1207186 A CA 1207186A CA 000401456 A CA000401456 A CA 000401456A CA 401456 A CA401456 A CA 401456A CA 1207186 A CA1207186 A CA 1207186A
- Authority
- CA
- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- explosive
- projectile
- small arms
- jacket
- mass
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Expired
Links
Classifications
-
- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F42—AMMUNITION; BLASTING
- F42B—EXPLOSIVE CHARGES, e.g. FOR BLASTING, FIREWORKS, AMMUNITION
- F42B12/00—Projectiles, missiles or mines characterised by the warhead, the intended effect, or the material
- F42B12/02—Projectiles, missiles or mines characterised by the warhead, the intended effect, or the material characterised by the warhead or the intended effect
- F42B12/20—Projectiles, missiles or mines characterised by the warhead, the intended effect, or the material characterised by the warhead or the intended effect of high-explosive type
- F42B12/201—Projectiles, missiles or mines characterised by the warhead, the intended effect, or the material characterised by the warhead or the intended effect of high-explosive type characterised by target class
- F42B12/204—Projectiles, missiles or mines characterised by the warhead, the intended effect, or the material characterised by the warhead or the intended effect of high-explosive type characterised by target class for attacking structures, e.g. specific buildings or fortifications, ships or vehicles
-
- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F42—AMMUNITION; BLASTING
- F42B—EXPLOSIVE CHARGES, e.g. FOR BLASTING, FIREWORKS, AMMUNITION
- F42B12/00—Projectiles, missiles or mines characterised by the warhead, the intended effect, or the material
- F42B12/72—Projectiles, missiles or mines characterised by the warhead, the intended effect, or the material characterised by the material
- F42B12/76—Projectiles, missiles or mines characterised by the warhead, the intended effect, or the material characterised by the material of the casing
Landscapes
- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
- Combustion & Propulsion (AREA)
- General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
- Thermal Sciences (AREA)
- Aiming, Guidance, Guns With A Light Source, Armor, Camouflage, And Targets (AREA)
- Powder Metallurgy (AREA)
- Drilling And Exploitation, And Mining Machines And Methods (AREA)
- Toys (AREA)
- Manipulator (AREA)
- Pressure Welding/Diffusion-Bonding (AREA)
Abstract
TITLE : EXPLOSIVE SMALL ARMS PROJECTILE
APPLICANT : NORMAN ALLEN
ABSTRACT OF DISCLOSURE
An explosive small arms projectile is disclosed. Prior art projectiles of this kind include a lead core for increased mass which core is formed with a blind hole for receiving an explosive and the necessary detonating device.
The projectile of the invention comprises a jacket of a metal with a specific gravity in excess of 13, Tantalum or a Tantalum/Tungsten alloy being preferred.
The entire interior of the jacket is left free for the explosive charge; the jacket has increased mechanical, structural and tensile characteristics over prior art projectiles and the projectile has better rotational ballistic stability in use due to the redistribution of the mass thereof to the periphery.
APPLICANT : NORMAN ALLEN
ABSTRACT OF DISCLOSURE
An explosive small arms projectile is disclosed. Prior art projectiles of this kind include a lead core for increased mass which core is formed with a blind hole for receiving an explosive and the necessary detonating device.
The projectile of the invention comprises a jacket of a metal with a specific gravity in excess of 13, Tantalum or a Tantalum/Tungsten alloy being preferred.
The entire interior of the jacket is left free for the explosive charge; the jacket has increased mechanical, structural and tensile characteristics over prior art projectiles and the projectile has better rotational ballistic stability in use due to the redistribution of the mass thereof to the periphery.
Description
This invention rela~ces to an explosive small arms p.rojectile, that is a projectile filled with an explosive charge.
In tnis specification, the subject of the invention will. be referred to as a "projectile", although strictly speakiny a bullet or missile is a projectile only while in flightO The ter~ "projectile"is, however, commonly used to denote the bullet or missile while at rest or whilst in flight, and will be so used in the specification.
Such projectiles are used mainly in combating crime, particularly intern~tional terrorism, where, on an aircraft, for instance, an explosive projectile may be used to take out a target from within a group of innocent bystanders~ Complete penetration of the target may result in harm to the bystanders and it is therefore an object o~ explosive projectiles to eliminate or at least minimize, total penetration of the target while maximizing the shock from the projectile within the target.
The objcctive o the inclusion oE high explosives (taken to include primary explosives such as Mercury Fulminate or Lead Azide, and secondary explosives such as pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PErrN) or mannitol hexanitrate) in small arms projectiles may be conceived of primarily as enhancing the shocking effect of the projectile in the target and the pre vention of the projectile's penetration to any point beyond the intended objective where the projectile may cause ullin-tended injury or damage.
~L2~ 6 Known small arms projectiles are commonly constructed with a jacket of a relatively light ~eight yet strong material such as steel and gilding metal, and a core of a relatively heavy material which may be partly filied with explosive.
The jacket of a conventional explosive small arms projectile is typically of a wear/resistant material such as steel which is gilded or clad with gilding metal, the steel providing mechanical strength to withstand the pressures and high temperatures resu]ting from burning propellants and the gilding metal being provided for the purpose of reducing friction. On known explosive small arms projectiles, the steel jacket is normally thin and largely non-structural, the functions thereof being cont~;nm~nt of the lead core more than maintaining the integrity of the projectile on impact.
This results in limited penetration of a target with the result that light armor is often sufficient to prevent penetration.
In prior art small arms explosive projectiles, ihe explosive is normally carried within a narrow central bore formed in the lead core. The explosive may comprise a simple explosive train of an impact sensitive primary explosive, such as~ for examplel Leacl Azide, or a more complicated version comprising three stages; a first stage constituted by an impact sensitive mechanism, an initiating or primary explosive such as, for example, Mercury fulminate as second stage;terminatincJ in a third stage of a secondary high explosive such as (PETN).
Some designs have employed, as the high explosive, a poiy-basic glycerol trinitrate/pyrocellulose smokeless propellan~
powder which is a combustible solid and an explosi~te, and which'burns to detonation', but without optimal explosive utilization.
~Z~7~6 The deficiencies in the effect of prior art explosive small arms projectiles lie in failure to effect and maintain optimal required ballistic rotational stabilization, owing to limitations of conventional explosive projectile mass and mass distribution, thus leading to deficiencies in long range performance and accuracy; deficiencies in penetration owing to diminished mass; and perhaps most significantly, deficlencies in the propogation of the secondary high explosive shock wave within the necessarily narrow (5 mm diameter (3/1~") in a .38 caliber projectile) conventional explosive columnO This last deficiency results from the relatively restricted diameter of the explosive which is constrained to function in a high velocity rotational mode within a lead sheath of low strength which is subject to plastic deformation on impact. An efficient 3-stage .38 caliber projectile containing a 5mm diameter PETN explosive column initiated in flight may su~fer non-detonation of 10-14% of its P~TN column when detona~ion occurs within an airfilled space.
It is an object o this invention to provi~e an explosive small arms projectile with the mass thereof re-distributed to the periphery so as to be subject to investment with a hiyher rotational stabilizing energy than was possih]e with prior art projectiles, resulting in improved accuracy upon chosen targets at an increased range. This includes a re-distribution of the prQjectile mass away from the rotational axis of the projectile whereby the in-flight ballistic rota-tional stabilizing force and energy of the projectile is improved with respect to known high explosive projectiles of similar total mass and configuration.
It is a further object of this invention to provide an explosive small arms projec~ile in which the explosive column diameter is increas~d as a means of reducing explosive non-utilization. It is yet a further object of ~a2~7~36 this invention to provide an explosive small arms projectile, the explosive containing envelope of which shows an increase in tensile and inertial characteristics over the conventional lead or copper or steel jacketed l.ead projectiles.
These results are obtained by the use in an explosive small arms projectile, of a jacketing material with a specific gravity greater than 13 or a density in excess of 13 g.cm 3, the preferred jacket material comprising Tantalum or Tantalum-Tungsten allo~s, the densities of which approximate 16.6 to 16.9 g.cm 3, the object being to provide a projectile the jacket of which has a mass equal to the entire conventional explosive or other projectile.
The metal of the ~acket may alternatively be chosen from amongst the element~ Hafnium, Uranium, ~henium, ~smium, Platinum, Iridium or Gold or alloys, mixtures or compounds of the above with the proviso t~at the primary elemental alloy or mixture density has a specific gravity in excess of 13.
As with prior art projectiles the projectiles of the invention may be coated or gilded or, alternatively, the jacket may be metal-plated or ~etal clad on one or both sides.
~5 Thus, there is provided an explosive small arms projectile comprising a unitary, one-piece jacket formed of metal having a specific gravity greater than 13, and including a base and a generally tap~red~ cylindrical side wall extending ~rom the base, the side wall defining a transverse cross-sectional diameter for the projectile and being thin relatively to the cross-sectional diameter, the base and the side wall defining a cavity between them which occupies a major proportion of the volume of the projectile, a minor proportion of the projectile volume being occupied by the side wall, an explosive charge located in the cavity and detonation means for detonating the explosi~e charge in the cavity.
-~ - 5 ~
~LZ~7~
The invention is further described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which;
Figure 1 is a section through a prior art explosive projectile; and Figure 2 is a section through an explosive projectile according to -the invention.
The projectile 10 shown in Figure 1 cQmprises a relately thin steel jacket 12 with gilding ~etal 14 and 16 plated on hoth the inside and outside thereof. The projectile 10 is - 5a -provided with a lead core 18 forrned with a central bore 20 which serves as a receptacle for the explosive.
The explosive 3 may be loaded in any one of a number of ways, but for the sake of clarity is shown as comprising a charge of explosive powder 22, a commercially available small arms percussion primer 24 and a closure of resin 26.
As already explained, the purpose of the jacket is to withstand the pressures and high temperatures resulting from the burning propellants and to withstand the frictional forces between the lands and ~rooves of the barrel, of the firing weapon and the accelerating projectile. The lead core 18 functions to increase the mass of the projecti]e whereby the momentum oî the projectile may be increased.
The primer 2~ is intended to detonate the explosive 22 on impact, but it will be appreciated that the projectile 10 will have penetrated the taryet to a certain extent by the time d~tonatiorl occurs due to the velocity of the prcjectile.
The projectile shown in the drawing is enlarged for clarity and in a .38 caliber projectile the central bore 20 will have a diameter of 5mm. A .38 caliber projectile containillg a thre~-stage explosive column in which detonation is initiated in flight has been found to suffer non detonation of 10-14~ of its explosive column when detonation occurs within an air-filled space. The reason for this is that the conventional explosive projectile can sacrifice only a limited proportion of its total vol~me to explosive content in order to retain the mass thereof thus leading to an explosive column of relatively narrow diameter, in whjch the explosive shock wave front is propagated inefficiently particularly under the high velocity rotational condition of actual use.
~L2~7~36 As has also been mentioned, the thin steel jac]cet 12 performs a containment function more than anything else and possesses sufficient mechanical strength merely to withstand the frictional forces existing between the projectile and the lands and grooves of the barrel during firing. The jacket is not possessed of the mechanical strength required to maintain optimal integrity of the projectile when the projectile penetrates the target.
The disadvantages of the projectile 10 described above are therefore firstly, the sacrifice of a significant proportion of the mass as much as 20%, of the leaden mass to accommodate a certain amount of explosive, secondly, the use of a narrow diameter explosive column, thirdly, the relatively limited tensile strength and unsatisactory inertial characteristics of the jacket or envelope and fourthly, the unsatisfactory mass distribution thereof resulting in relatively low rotational stabilising energy values compared to the projectile of the present invention.
It will be seen that, in a conventional small arms explo-sive projectile as described above, a compromise must be struck between the core mass which is normally represented by the amount o~ lead in the core and the diameter of the explosive column. It is not possible, with conventional small arms explosive projectiles, to combine both the attributes of high mass and a large amount of explosive or at least an explosive column of a larger diameter.
A solution of these deficiencies may be found in the projectile 100 of the invention which is shown in Figure 2.
The projectile 100 comprises a jacket 102 of a Tantalum/
Tungsten alloy (TaW) although other metals of suitably high specific gravity may be used. Because of the high specific gravity of the jacket 102 no internal high density core is required and the whole of the internal space can be filled with explosive. ~ three-stage explosive coIumn is shown ~2~ 36 comprising a commercially available small arms percussion primer 104, a lead azide primary eY.plosive layer 106, a .
secondary high explosive layer of PETN lC8, and a sealing cap of resin 110.
The eventual mass of the projectile 100 is axranged to be at least equivalent to that of the projectile 10 described above. In projectiles of equivalent mass the provision of the heavy metal jacket 102 may not remedy entirely the mass lost in providing the projectile 10 with the e~plosive core, but the diminished mass is at least distributed more effi.ciently so as to render the mass of the projectile susceptible to investment with a hig~er level of rotational stabilizing ener~y thall is possible with the projectile 10.
It will be immediately eviden~ tha~ the explosive column has been increased in volume by approximately 250~ whereby explosive non-utilization is reduced from the 10-14~ non-utilization of the prior art projectiles to a point such that is is not readily detectable and is assumed to be signi~icantly below 1~ if not effectively complete.
The tensile and inertial characteristics of the Tantalum/
Tun~sten ~lloy jacket. 102 are increased with respect to the prior art jackets to a poin~ potentially approximating the tensile characteristics of steel or alloy steel and with an improved inertial characteristic approximating 46~ in excess of a lead envelope (cal.culated on a densit:~ basis of 16.6g.cm for TaW and 11.4g.cm 3 for Pb so that (~6.6/
11.4)-1 = 0.46).
In addi.tion the projectile mass is efficiently redistributed away from the rotational axis of the projectile and closer to its periphery in contact with the bore of the weapon so as to equal and exceed, in flight, the ballistic rotational stabilizing force and energy present in conventional small ~2~
arms lligh explosive projectiles of similar total mass and configuration. This re-distribution and increased rotational stabilizing force provides for improved accuracy at longer range.
These results can be confirmed by a rough comparison, based on cal~ulation, of the projectile of the invention with a prior art explosive projectile with reference to two long-standing American military service weapons, namely, the US Model 1911 .45 ACP (Colt Automatic Pistol), firing a 230 grain (14.9g) proiectile and the (30-06) US Caliber 30 (MlA2 Ball) rifle firing a 150 grain (9.7g) projecti]e.
_ g _ Weapon Projectile/Mass Muzzle Veloci-ty Muzzle Energy in in _ in foot pounds grain (gram) fps.(m.5 1) force (Joule) .45 ACP Conventional 900 (274.3) 412 (558.6) . bullet 230 (14.9) .45 ACP Prior art 1200 (365.8) 1035 (1403.2) explosive bullet (172.5) (11.2) VS Cal.30 Conventional 2850 (86~.7) 2700 (3 660.7) Ml bullet 150 (9.7) .45 ACP Ta or TaW alloy 1200 (365~8) 4000 (5423.2) explosive bullet (172.5) ~11.2) Winchester Conventional 2400 (731.5) 5160 (6 995.9) Magnum bullet (.458") 400 (25.9) ~2~7~86 From the above table, i-t may be seen that, whereas the conventional small arms explosive projectile is bracketed, in terms o~ muzzle energy, between the conventional non-explosive bullet as fired from a pistol and a conventional non-explosive bullet as fired from a rifle, an explosive pistol bullet according to the present invention is bracketed between a conventional non-explosive projectile as fired from a rifle and a conventional non-explosive projectile as fired from a big game-hunting rifle. It will, however, be appreciated that the presen-t invention provides, in a highly manoeuverable .~5 Caliber hand-gun, muzzle energies 50% in excess oE those provided by a heavy service rifle such as the U.S. Caliber .30 Ml, and nearly ten times that of the non-explosive O45 Caliber ACP
Projectile when both are compared by firing from an identical .45 Caliber Automatic Pistol.
The term "muzzle energy" is used here to denote the maxi-mum theoretical energy the projectile can deliver to the target. In instances where a non-explosive projectile is retained in the -target, thereby communicating the total energy thereof to -the target, the energy expended in the target will, discounting frictional and gravita~
tional energy loss, be more ~Oî less equal to the energy of the projectile at the muzzle of the weapon. I~ the projectile penetrates the target, substantially less of the energy of the projectile will be communicated to the -target depending on the nature of the penetration with explosive projectiles, however, the projectile will, in virtually every case, transfer all of its energy to the target.
In the prior art, explosive projectile 10 shown in Figure 1, any increase in jacket thickness will have to be made at the expense of a decrease in the core mass leading inevitably to a decrease in the total projectile mass. In the projectile 100 of the present invention, the jacket 102 ~Z~17~
can, within certain limits, be increased to any desired thickness to increase the tensile and mass characteristics of the jacket according to specific requirements, for instance, to increase the penetrational ability of the projectile. In this manner, within the space limited small arms context, the twin functions of energy absorption by a heavy mass and the jacket features of mechanical, structural and tensile strength, are condensed into a single entity. In the past, the energy absorbing heavy mass was provided by the lead core and structural integrity was provided, to a limited extent, by th~
steel or copper jacket. The improved stability achieved by the projectile of the present application, provides increased accuracy and this combined with the greater structural strength of the jacket provides or better penetration of light armor.
While the projectile of the present invention is described above with speeific referenee to a hand gun projectile, it is evidently adaptable to the entire range of small arms projectiles, the term "small armsl' being taken to indieate any weapon whether mounted or not, whieh is portable.
~,
In tnis specification, the subject of the invention will. be referred to as a "projectile", although strictly speakiny a bullet or missile is a projectile only while in flightO The ter~ "projectile"is, however, commonly used to denote the bullet or missile while at rest or whilst in flight, and will be so used in the specification.
Such projectiles are used mainly in combating crime, particularly intern~tional terrorism, where, on an aircraft, for instance, an explosive projectile may be used to take out a target from within a group of innocent bystanders~ Complete penetration of the target may result in harm to the bystanders and it is therefore an object o~ explosive projectiles to eliminate or at least minimize, total penetration of the target while maximizing the shock from the projectile within the target.
The objcctive o the inclusion oE high explosives (taken to include primary explosives such as Mercury Fulminate or Lead Azide, and secondary explosives such as pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PErrN) or mannitol hexanitrate) in small arms projectiles may be conceived of primarily as enhancing the shocking effect of the projectile in the target and the pre vention of the projectile's penetration to any point beyond the intended objective where the projectile may cause ullin-tended injury or damage.
~L2~ 6 Known small arms projectiles are commonly constructed with a jacket of a relatively light ~eight yet strong material such as steel and gilding metal, and a core of a relatively heavy material which may be partly filied with explosive.
The jacket of a conventional explosive small arms projectile is typically of a wear/resistant material such as steel which is gilded or clad with gilding metal, the steel providing mechanical strength to withstand the pressures and high temperatures resu]ting from burning propellants and the gilding metal being provided for the purpose of reducing friction. On known explosive small arms projectiles, the steel jacket is normally thin and largely non-structural, the functions thereof being cont~;nm~nt of the lead core more than maintaining the integrity of the projectile on impact.
This results in limited penetration of a target with the result that light armor is often sufficient to prevent penetration.
In prior art small arms explosive projectiles, ihe explosive is normally carried within a narrow central bore formed in the lead core. The explosive may comprise a simple explosive train of an impact sensitive primary explosive, such as~ for examplel Leacl Azide, or a more complicated version comprising three stages; a first stage constituted by an impact sensitive mechanism, an initiating or primary explosive such as, for example, Mercury fulminate as second stage;terminatincJ in a third stage of a secondary high explosive such as (PETN).
Some designs have employed, as the high explosive, a poiy-basic glycerol trinitrate/pyrocellulose smokeless propellan~
powder which is a combustible solid and an explosi~te, and which'burns to detonation', but without optimal explosive utilization.
~Z~7~6 The deficiencies in the effect of prior art explosive small arms projectiles lie in failure to effect and maintain optimal required ballistic rotational stabilization, owing to limitations of conventional explosive projectile mass and mass distribution, thus leading to deficiencies in long range performance and accuracy; deficiencies in penetration owing to diminished mass; and perhaps most significantly, deficlencies in the propogation of the secondary high explosive shock wave within the necessarily narrow (5 mm diameter (3/1~") in a .38 caliber projectile) conventional explosive columnO This last deficiency results from the relatively restricted diameter of the explosive which is constrained to function in a high velocity rotational mode within a lead sheath of low strength which is subject to plastic deformation on impact. An efficient 3-stage .38 caliber projectile containing a 5mm diameter PETN explosive column initiated in flight may su~fer non-detonation of 10-14% of its P~TN column when detona~ion occurs within an airfilled space.
It is an object o this invention to provi~e an explosive small arms projectile with the mass thereof re-distributed to the periphery so as to be subject to investment with a hiyher rotational stabilizing energy than was possih]e with prior art projectiles, resulting in improved accuracy upon chosen targets at an increased range. This includes a re-distribution of the prQjectile mass away from the rotational axis of the projectile whereby the in-flight ballistic rota-tional stabilizing force and energy of the projectile is improved with respect to known high explosive projectiles of similar total mass and configuration.
It is a further object of this invention to provide an explosive small arms projec~ile in which the explosive column diameter is increas~d as a means of reducing explosive non-utilization. It is yet a further object of ~a2~7~36 this invention to provide an explosive small arms projectile, the explosive containing envelope of which shows an increase in tensile and inertial characteristics over the conventional lead or copper or steel jacketed l.ead projectiles.
These results are obtained by the use in an explosive small arms projectile, of a jacketing material with a specific gravity greater than 13 or a density in excess of 13 g.cm 3, the preferred jacket material comprising Tantalum or Tantalum-Tungsten allo~s, the densities of which approximate 16.6 to 16.9 g.cm 3, the object being to provide a projectile the jacket of which has a mass equal to the entire conventional explosive or other projectile.
The metal of the ~acket may alternatively be chosen from amongst the element~ Hafnium, Uranium, ~henium, ~smium, Platinum, Iridium or Gold or alloys, mixtures or compounds of the above with the proviso t~at the primary elemental alloy or mixture density has a specific gravity in excess of 13.
As with prior art projectiles the projectiles of the invention may be coated or gilded or, alternatively, the jacket may be metal-plated or ~etal clad on one or both sides.
~5 Thus, there is provided an explosive small arms projectile comprising a unitary, one-piece jacket formed of metal having a specific gravity greater than 13, and including a base and a generally tap~red~ cylindrical side wall extending ~rom the base, the side wall defining a transverse cross-sectional diameter for the projectile and being thin relatively to the cross-sectional diameter, the base and the side wall defining a cavity between them which occupies a major proportion of the volume of the projectile, a minor proportion of the projectile volume being occupied by the side wall, an explosive charge located in the cavity and detonation means for detonating the explosi~e charge in the cavity.
-~ - 5 ~
~LZ~7~
The invention is further described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which;
Figure 1 is a section through a prior art explosive projectile; and Figure 2 is a section through an explosive projectile according to -the invention.
The projectile 10 shown in Figure 1 cQmprises a relately thin steel jacket 12 with gilding ~etal 14 and 16 plated on hoth the inside and outside thereof. The projectile 10 is - 5a -provided with a lead core 18 forrned with a central bore 20 which serves as a receptacle for the explosive.
The explosive 3 may be loaded in any one of a number of ways, but for the sake of clarity is shown as comprising a charge of explosive powder 22, a commercially available small arms percussion primer 24 and a closure of resin 26.
As already explained, the purpose of the jacket is to withstand the pressures and high temperatures resulting from the burning propellants and to withstand the frictional forces between the lands and ~rooves of the barrel, of the firing weapon and the accelerating projectile. The lead core 18 functions to increase the mass of the projecti]e whereby the momentum oî the projectile may be increased.
The primer 2~ is intended to detonate the explosive 22 on impact, but it will be appreciated that the projectile 10 will have penetrated the taryet to a certain extent by the time d~tonatiorl occurs due to the velocity of the prcjectile.
The projectile shown in the drawing is enlarged for clarity and in a .38 caliber projectile the central bore 20 will have a diameter of 5mm. A .38 caliber projectile containillg a thre~-stage explosive column in which detonation is initiated in flight has been found to suffer non detonation of 10-14~ of its explosive column when detonation occurs within an air-filled space. The reason for this is that the conventional explosive projectile can sacrifice only a limited proportion of its total vol~me to explosive content in order to retain the mass thereof thus leading to an explosive column of relatively narrow diameter, in whjch the explosive shock wave front is propagated inefficiently particularly under the high velocity rotational condition of actual use.
~L2~7~36 As has also been mentioned, the thin steel jac]cet 12 performs a containment function more than anything else and possesses sufficient mechanical strength merely to withstand the frictional forces existing between the projectile and the lands and grooves of the barrel during firing. The jacket is not possessed of the mechanical strength required to maintain optimal integrity of the projectile when the projectile penetrates the target.
The disadvantages of the projectile 10 described above are therefore firstly, the sacrifice of a significant proportion of the mass as much as 20%, of the leaden mass to accommodate a certain amount of explosive, secondly, the use of a narrow diameter explosive column, thirdly, the relatively limited tensile strength and unsatisactory inertial characteristics of the jacket or envelope and fourthly, the unsatisfactory mass distribution thereof resulting in relatively low rotational stabilising energy values compared to the projectile of the present invention.
It will be seen that, in a conventional small arms explo-sive projectile as described above, a compromise must be struck between the core mass which is normally represented by the amount o~ lead in the core and the diameter of the explosive column. It is not possible, with conventional small arms explosive projectiles, to combine both the attributes of high mass and a large amount of explosive or at least an explosive column of a larger diameter.
A solution of these deficiencies may be found in the projectile 100 of the invention which is shown in Figure 2.
The projectile 100 comprises a jacket 102 of a Tantalum/
Tungsten alloy (TaW) although other metals of suitably high specific gravity may be used. Because of the high specific gravity of the jacket 102 no internal high density core is required and the whole of the internal space can be filled with explosive. ~ three-stage explosive coIumn is shown ~2~ 36 comprising a commercially available small arms percussion primer 104, a lead azide primary eY.plosive layer 106, a .
secondary high explosive layer of PETN lC8, and a sealing cap of resin 110.
The eventual mass of the projectile 100 is axranged to be at least equivalent to that of the projectile 10 described above. In projectiles of equivalent mass the provision of the heavy metal jacket 102 may not remedy entirely the mass lost in providing the projectile 10 with the e~plosive core, but the diminished mass is at least distributed more effi.ciently so as to render the mass of the projectile susceptible to investment with a hig~er level of rotational stabilizing ener~y thall is possible with the projectile 10.
It will be immediately eviden~ tha~ the explosive column has been increased in volume by approximately 250~ whereby explosive non-utilization is reduced from the 10-14~ non-utilization of the prior art projectiles to a point such that is is not readily detectable and is assumed to be signi~icantly below 1~ if not effectively complete.
The tensile and inertial characteristics of the Tantalum/
Tun~sten ~lloy jacket. 102 are increased with respect to the prior art jackets to a poin~ potentially approximating the tensile characteristics of steel or alloy steel and with an improved inertial characteristic approximating 46~ in excess of a lead envelope (cal.culated on a densit:~ basis of 16.6g.cm for TaW and 11.4g.cm 3 for Pb so that (~6.6/
11.4)-1 = 0.46).
In addi.tion the projectile mass is efficiently redistributed away from the rotational axis of the projectile and closer to its periphery in contact with the bore of the weapon so as to equal and exceed, in flight, the ballistic rotational stabilizing force and energy present in conventional small ~2~
arms lligh explosive projectiles of similar total mass and configuration. This re-distribution and increased rotational stabilizing force provides for improved accuracy at longer range.
These results can be confirmed by a rough comparison, based on cal~ulation, of the projectile of the invention with a prior art explosive projectile with reference to two long-standing American military service weapons, namely, the US Model 1911 .45 ACP (Colt Automatic Pistol), firing a 230 grain (14.9g) proiectile and the (30-06) US Caliber 30 (MlA2 Ball) rifle firing a 150 grain (9.7g) projecti]e.
_ g _ Weapon Projectile/Mass Muzzle Veloci-ty Muzzle Energy in in _ in foot pounds grain (gram) fps.(m.5 1) force (Joule) .45 ACP Conventional 900 (274.3) 412 (558.6) . bullet 230 (14.9) .45 ACP Prior art 1200 (365.8) 1035 (1403.2) explosive bullet (172.5) (11.2) VS Cal.30 Conventional 2850 (86~.7) 2700 (3 660.7) Ml bullet 150 (9.7) .45 ACP Ta or TaW alloy 1200 (365~8) 4000 (5423.2) explosive bullet (172.5) ~11.2) Winchester Conventional 2400 (731.5) 5160 (6 995.9) Magnum bullet (.458") 400 (25.9) ~2~7~86 From the above table, i-t may be seen that, whereas the conventional small arms explosive projectile is bracketed, in terms o~ muzzle energy, between the conventional non-explosive bullet as fired from a pistol and a conventional non-explosive bullet as fired from a rifle, an explosive pistol bullet according to the present invention is bracketed between a conventional non-explosive projectile as fired from a rifle and a conventional non-explosive projectile as fired from a big game-hunting rifle. It will, however, be appreciated that the presen-t invention provides, in a highly manoeuverable .~5 Caliber hand-gun, muzzle energies 50% in excess oE those provided by a heavy service rifle such as the U.S. Caliber .30 Ml, and nearly ten times that of the non-explosive O45 Caliber ACP
Projectile when both are compared by firing from an identical .45 Caliber Automatic Pistol.
The term "muzzle energy" is used here to denote the maxi-mum theoretical energy the projectile can deliver to the target. In instances where a non-explosive projectile is retained in the -target, thereby communicating the total energy thereof to -the target, the energy expended in the target will, discounting frictional and gravita~
tional energy loss, be more ~Oî less equal to the energy of the projectile at the muzzle of the weapon. I~ the projectile penetrates the target, substantially less of the energy of the projectile will be communicated to the -target depending on the nature of the penetration with explosive projectiles, however, the projectile will, in virtually every case, transfer all of its energy to the target.
In the prior art, explosive projectile 10 shown in Figure 1, any increase in jacket thickness will have to be made at the expense of a decrease in the core mass leading inevitably to a decrease in the total projectile mass. In the projectile 100 of the present invention, the jacket 102 ~Z~17~
can, within certain limits, be increased to any desired thickness to increase the tensile and mass characteristics of the jacket according to specific requirements, for instance, to increase the penetrational ability of the projectile. In this manner, within the space limited small arms context, the twin functions of energy absorption by a heavy mass and the jacket features of mechanical, structural and tensile strength, are condensed into a single entity. In the past, the energy absorbing heavy mass was provided by the lead core and structural integrity was provided, to a limited extent, by th~
steel or copper jacket. The improved stability achieved by the projectile of the present application, provides increased accuracy and this combined with the greater structural strength of the jacket provides or better penetration of light armor.
While the projectile of the present invention is described above with speeific referenee to a hand gun projectile, it is evidently adaptable to the entire range of small arms projectiles, the term "small armsl' being taken to indieate any weapon whether mounted or not, whieh is portable.
~,
Claims (4)
1. An explosive small arms projectile comprising a unitary, one-piece jacket formed of metal having a specific gravity greater than 13, and including a base and a generally tapered, cylindrical side wall extending from the base, the side wall defining a transverse cross-sectional diameter for the pro-jectile and being thin relatively to the cross-sectional diameter, the base and the side wall defining a cavity between them which occupies a major proportion of the volume of the projectile, a minor proportion of the projectile volume being occupied by the side wall, an explosive charge located in the cavity and detonation means for detonating the explosive charge in the cavity.
2. An explosive arms projectile according to claim 1 wherein the metal comprises tantalum.
3. An explosive small arms projectile according to claim 1 wherein the metal comprises a tantalum and tungsten alloy.
4. An explosive small arms projectile according to claim 1 wherein the metal is selected from the group consisting of hafnium, uranium, rhenium, osmium, platinum, iridium, gold and combinations thereof.
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| ZA81/2677 | 1981-04-23 | ||
| ZA812677 | 1981-04-23 |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA1207186A true CA1207186A (en) | 1986-07-08 |
Family
ID=25575353
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA000401456A Expired CA1207186A (en) | 1981-04-23 | 1982-04-22 | Explosive small arms projectile |
Country Status (5)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| EP (1) | EP0063927B1 (en) |
| JP (1) | JPS5828997A (en) |
| AT (1) | ATE16850T1 (en) |
| CA (1) | CA1207186A (en) |
| DE (1) | DE3267756D1 (en) |
Families Citing this family (2)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US4940404A (en) * | 1989-04-13 | 1990-07-10 | Westinghouse Electric Corp. | Method of making a high velocity armor penetrator |
| FR2840402B1 (en) * | 2002-05-31 | 2004-07-16 | Giat Ind Sa | ENCLOSURE GENERATING CHIPS, EXPLOSIVE CHARGE AND AMMUNITION IMPLEMENTING SUCH AN ENVELOPE |
Family Cites Families (7)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DE104738C (en) * | ||||
| CH8049A (en) * | 1894-02-23 | 1894-08-15 | Franz Tscherin | New floor |
| DE554538C (en) * | 1926-06-13 | 1932-07-09 | Elek Sche App M B H Ges | Bullet made from a tungsten-nickel alloy |
| DE737734C (en) * | 1934-11-14 | 1943-07-22 | Rheinmetall Borsig Ag | Hardened tank bullet |
| FR1212390A (en) * | 1959-05-26 | 1960-03-23 | Use of new materials for ammunition components and methods for obtaining these components | |
| LU54097A1 (en) * | 1967-07-13 | 1969-04-29 | ||
| GB2021739B (en) * | 1978-05-24 | 1982-04-28 | Oerlikon Buehrle Ag | Spin-stabilised sabot projectile |
-
1982
- 1982-04-22 EP EP82302069A patent/EP0063927B1/en not_active Expired
- 1982-04-22 AT AT82302069T patent/ATE16850T1/en not_active IP Right Cessation
- 1982-04-22 CA CA000401456A patent/CA1207186A/en not_active Expired
- 1982-04-22 DE DE8282302069T patent/DE3267756D1/en not_active Expired
- 1982-04-23 JP JP57068552A patent/JPS5828997A/en active Granted
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| EP0063927B1 (en) | 1985-12-04 |
| EP0063927A2 (en) | 1982-11-03 |
| JPH0321840B2 (en) | 1991-03-25 |
| ATE16850T1 (en) | 1985-12-15 |
| JPS5828997A (en) | 1983-02-21 |
| DE3267756D1 (en) | 1986-01-16 |
| EP0063927A3 (en) | 1983-02-02 |
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Legal Events
| Date | Code | Title | Description |
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| MKEX | Expiry |