GB2170888A - A warhead having a jet- forming insert - Google Patents

Abstract

Warheads 1 having a jet-forming pointed-cone insert yield a better effect in semi-hard targets by causing a detonation wave front 10 to trigger a laterally fanned-out particle jet 7. To achieve this, the insert is provided with one or more portion 8,8' having axes 9,9' at an angle to the warhead axis 6, and/or detonators 4,4' are disposed eccentrically with regard to the cone axis. A switch mechanism enables selection of an appropriately positioned detonator. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION - A warhead having a jet-forming pointed cone insert The invention relates to a warhead having a jet-forming, e.g. pointed-cone, insert in front of an explosive charge-for producing a detonation wave front.

A warhead is known from DE-PS 27 41 984 in which the explosive charge takes effect unsymmetrically on the formation of the insert in an attempt to ensure that the particles of the jet transformed from the insert do not fan out into flight paths which diverge from one another even under the influence of a specific transverse, but, despite the flow-dynamic pro pagation disturbances, penetrate the armouring of the target object with the most ideally-tight bunching as possible.

From -DE-PS 30 10 917 it is known to transform, temporally prior to the formation of a main jet, an auxiliary insert into an auxiliary jet which is directed forwardly of the main charge, and which is intended to loosen, damage or set-off defensive means on the target (more especially'in the form of active armourings), to make such armour ineffective prior to the arrival of the main jet. From DE.AS 20 08 157 it is known,-for depot security, to avoid the formation of a jet, in that the insert is lifted off mechanically from the explosive charge and is shifted out of the longitudinal axis of the warhead so long as the warhead is not yet armed.

The basic principle underlying the prior known "per se" jet-forming hollow-charge warheads is the recognition that at all times the endeavour is to bunch the particles from the transformed insert into a jet which is as thin as possible to try to maximise the combat effectiveness thereof; but we have realised that, however, by reason of slight energy conversion, the effectiveness of such jets may be comparatively slight (particularly in the case of a large warhead calibre and in the case of relatively soft target-object armouring) because the fastest particles, in other words those striking the armouring first, lead to a perforation of the target object, through which the following, somewhat slower jet particles can pass in a more or less unimpeded manner, practically without transmitting any of their kinetic energy to the target object.

Arising from these considerations, an object of the present invention is to enable the effect of hollow-charge warheads to be improved, especially when used against target objects which are armoured only in a semi-hard manner. An additional object of a preferred form of the invention is to enable such warheads to be useable in a particularly effective manner against semi-hard targets, and, if needs be, also against target objects having harder armouring.

Accordingly the present invention provides a warhead having a jet-forming conical or, part conical insert in front of an explosive charge arranged to produce a detonation wave front; wherein the insert, or part of the insert or a further insert, has a cone-axis which is inclined relative to a direction of propagation of the detonation wave front whereby to produce a divergent jet of insert derived ejected matter which has an elongate slot pattern.

According to the present invention there is also provided a warhead having a jet-forming, e.g. pointed-cone, insert in front of an explosive charge for producing a detonation wave front; wherein the pointed-cone insert merges, at its base, into a hollow-frustum part or insert of larger cone angle having a cone axis which diverges from the axis of the pointedcone insert.

According to the present invention there is also provided a warhead having a jet-forming, e.g. pointed-cone, insert in front of an explosive charge for producing a detonation wave front, wherein at least one charge detonator element is disposed in the explosive charge behind the insert, and is disposed eccentrically with regard to the axis of the pointed-cone insert.

Thus, in warheads in accordance with the invention, the aforementioned at all times striven-after tightest possible bunchings of all the insert particles in a single jet is refrained from and, instead, the mechanism for transforming the insert is modified in such a way that insert particles having different masses (and thus different initial velocities) are hurled off as partial jets in directions differing or diverging from one another, in other words describing as a whole an extended centre-of-gravity or strong-point region of a fanned-out total jet, and accordingly strike the armouring of the target object successively and side-by-side.In this way, the successively arriving particles produce, in the semi-soft armouring of the target object, impact effects which lie side-byside; i.e. they tear open a correspondingly lengthened (elongate) opening, which a larger ram mass (which is heavier but slower than the particles, and which arises from the residual mass of the insert) can easily penetrate, in order to convert its motional energy behind the outer armouring of the target object into a correspondingly effective pressure wave or shock force.

This directional distribution of the particles for the formation of a fanned-out jet can be realised, for example, by a detonation wave front triggered centrically-symmetrically in the warhead, with insert axes inclined relative to the warhead axis, or by a concentric pointedcone insert with eccentric detonation of the transformation explosive charge (or by a combination of both measures).It is particularly expedient to make provision for selection of specific centrically or eccentrically arranged charged detonation elements individually or in combination, in order, depending on the given geometry and arrangement of the jet-forming insert, to be able to preset differingly severe fannings-out of the depa,rting particles of diffi erent masses (to adapt the jet to the armour ing hardness of the target object that is to be attacked).

Various additional and alternative features and further developments thereof, as well as advantages of the invention will become ap parent from the claims and the following de scription of two preferred examples of war heads in accordance with the invention, which examples are shown schematically and not en tirely to scale in the accompanying diagram matic drawings, wherein: Figure 1 shows, in -axial longitudinal cross section, a first embodiment of warhead with a hollow-charge insert comprising several coni cally tapered portions, which portions have different cone angles and mutually inclined cone axes; and Figure 2 shows, in axial longitudinal cross section, a second embodiment of warhead having several detonation elements which are arranged eccentrically to the cone axis of a concentrically arranged insert, and which ele ments are selectable by way of a switch-over mechanism.

There are known warheads, which, like the warheads 1 shown in Figs. 1 and 2, generally include some form of cylindrical enclosure 2, enclosing an explosive charge 3, with a rear wardly-arranged detonation element 4 behind a pointed-cone insert 5 in the enclosure 2, for armour-piercing hollow-charge ammunition; and the possibilities for conveying such warheads 1 to a target object that is to be attacked and the means for the effect-optimised detonation control of the detonation element 4 (at a suit able distance in front of the target object) are also known and duo not need to be described in detail.

In the known warheads the element, insert and charge are co-axial with the enclosure, and give rise to a concentrated narrow particle jet. However, the warhead 1 of the invention are arranged in the interests of more favour able combat effect, (more especially in the case of target objects which are armoured in a semi-hard manner-which will be referred to in more detail with reference to Fig. 2) not to bring about, from the explosive transformation of the insert upon detonation of the charge, such a narrow particle jet which is concen trated solely in the longitudinal and effective axis of the warhead, but instead a divergent or fanned-out jet 7.

In the first embodiment shown in Fig. 1, there is disposed front of the pointed-cone insert 5 additionally at least one hollow frusto conical insert or part 8 of larger cone aperture angle having a cone axis 9 diverging from the longitudinal axis 6 of the warhead 1. In the exemplified embodiment shown in Fig. 1, the front of the first hollow-frustum insert 8 merges with the rear of a further hollow-frustum insert or part 8' having a still larger cone aperture angle and a more divergent cone axis 9'. - These individual axes 6, 9, 9' correspond' approximately to the ejection directions of the individual partial jets of the arcuately fanned out bunch jet 7, as illustrated in the drawing.

A detonation wave front 10 forming in the explosive charge from the detonation element 4 concentrically around the pointed-cone axis 6 leads, in the case of the insert 5 arranged symmetrically to the longitudinal axis 6, to a particle partial jet departing in the direction of this warhead longitudinal axis 6; in which re spect it is not taken more closely into account in the drawing that this departure direction is not wholly maintained on the path of the in sert particles 11 to the target object (by rea son of environmental transverse-fíow influ ences).

The detonation wave front 10 emanating from detonation elements 4 or 4' respectively and progressing further brings about thereafter the transformation of the hollow-frustum insert 8 with the cone axis 9 inclined to the longitu dinal axis 6, with the consequence of a corre spondingiy inclined departure angle of the rele vant jet particles 11. The more severely the insert axis 6, 9 or 9' is inclined relative to the direction of propagation of the detonation wave front 10, the more strongly the depar ture direction of the particle jet diverges from the direction of propagation.

The effect of the warhead 1 upon a rela tively softly armoured target object 12, which carries an armour plate 14 at a specific dis tance in front of an inner wall 13, is taken into account in Fig. 2.

Jet-forming or spike-forming hollow-charge warheads 1 cause the pointed-cone insert 5 to be converted into a very thin particle jet which is hurled off in the effective, e.g. cone or longitudinal, axis 6; which jet consists, as is well known, substantially of insert-material particles 11 of very high initial velocity, fol lowed by a ram mass or body 15 which is greater in mass but relatively slow, and which is formed from the residual mass of the insert 5 (as explained in more detail for instance in DE-OS 33 01 148).

A particle stream, which is highly intense with respect to its energy concentration, only a few millimeters thick and closely concen trated on the longitudinal axis 6, (and thus has a notional shot-pattern which is confined to a small circle and is centred on a point) can pierce through the armour plate 14 and the inner wall 13 of the target object.

In so doing, unless a vital part behind the inner wall 13 is hit precisely (for example a munition magazine is hit and thereby deto nated), the effect in the target object 12 is slight, because the jet merely causes thin round perforations 16.

On the other hand, a fanned-out jet 7 (which has a notional shot-pattern of elongate form, e.g. elliptical, centred on a line or a row of points) leads, more especially in the case of semi-soft armourings or respectively in the case of a large-calibre warheads 1, to a more effective conversion of energy in the target object 12. This is because those of the particles 11 which are greater in mass and thereby slower now no longer pass practically unhindered directly through a perforation 16 already exposed by faster particles 11, but instead the particles reach the target object 12 in succession and strike side-by-side to open, by virtue of this staggered distribution, an elongate, e.g. a slit-shaped, slot-shaped or oblong, hole 17 in the outer armour plate 14.

The fanned-out jet 7 thus yields consider-" ably more effective conversion of energy of the'entire mass transformed from the original insert 5, compared with the effect of a nar rowjyconcentrated jet, in the semi-softly armoured target object 12.

Similar in effect to the first embodiment shown in Fig. 1, is the second embodiment shown in Fig. 2 which also provides directionwise fanning-out of the individual particles 11 ejected at different initial velocities at the target object 12; and in which the detonation wave front 10, acting from the explosive charge 3 on the insert 5, does not act concentrically to the cone axis 6, but eccentrically. In accordance with Fig. 2, in this respect a composite insert 5-8-8' in accordance with Fig. 1 having mutually offset different cone axes 6,9,9' is not provided, but only a conventional hollow pointed-cone insert 5 installed concentrically to the longitudinal axis 6 of the enclosure 2.Behind the explosive charge 3, again at least one detonation element 4' is arranged eccentrically to the longitudinal axis 6 thereof, in order to bring about the detonation wave front 10 which acts in an inclined manner upon the insert.

In order, depending on the hardness of their armouring, to be able to attack different target objects 12 as effectively as possible, provision can-as additionally taken into account symbolically in Fig. 2-be made for undertaking prior to the launch or firing of the warhead 1, a choice between detonator elements 4 and 4' which are differently situated with respect to the longitudinal axis 6 by means of a switchover mechanism 18. In this respect, provision can be made for controlling only one, or a combination of, several mutually offset detonator elements 4 and 4' and thereby presetting qualitatively the fanning-out of the jet 7, consisting of particle 11 ejected in mutually staggered or offset directions. This switch-over mechanism 18 can be a selector switch that can be actuated manually (comparable to the manually presettable ignition delay time in the case of time-fuze munition), or else an electronic switching mechanism which is controlled by way of a control apparatus (not taken into account in the drawing), coupled up for example to the launching mechanism in a manner similar, for example, to the known inductive information feedin of ignition-instant delay information upon the firing of projectiles from weapon barrels, in accordance with the expected or assessed hardness of the target object 12 to be attacked.

The various features of the first and second embodiments may be employed in any effective combination, and the insert may be of composite or simple form, or comprise a plurality of individual parts.

Claims (8)

1. A warhead having a jet-forming conical or part conical insert in front of an explosive charge arranged to produce a detonation wave front; wherein the insert, or part of the insert or a further insert, has a cone-axis which is inclined relative to a direction of propagation of the detonation wave front whereby to produce a divergent jet of insert derived ejected matter which has an elongate shot pattern.

2. A warhead having a jet-forming, e.g.

pointed-cone, insert in front of an explosive charge for producing a detonation wave front; wherein the pointed-cone insert merges, at its.

base, into a hollow-frustum part or insert of larger cone angle having a cone axis which diverges from the axis of the pointed-cone insert.

3. A warhead as claimed in Claim 2, wherein several hollow-frustum inserts having increasing cone angles and cone axes diverging increasingly relative to a or the longitudinal axis are fashioned one in front of the other.

4. A warhead as claimed in Claim 1, 2 or 3 wherein provided behind the insert or inserts, in the explosive charge, is at least one charge detonator element which is situated eccentrically of a or the longitudinal axis.

5. A warhead having a jet-forming, e.g.

pointed-cone, insert in front of an explosive charge for producing a detonation wave front, wherein at ieast one charge detonator element is disposed in the explosive charge behind the insert, and is disposed eccentrically with regard to the axis of the pointed-cone insert.

6. A warhead as claimed in any preceding claim, and comprising a switch-over device for selective control of at least one charge detonator element arranged centrically or eccentrically of a or the longitudinal axis.

7. A warhead as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the detonation wave front can be propagated unsymmetrically with regard to the geometry of the warhead, or wherein the insert, or part thereof or one of the inserts is co-axial with the warhead.

8. A warhead substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Fig. 1 to 2 of the accompanying drawings.