Weapons 03/03/20 mil.ycumulative shells: they destroy armored vehicles
Cumulative weapons from anyone who is not familiar with the principle of his actions may cause surprise. As because of the little holes in the armor in which the finger hard to climb, fighting vehicle is hit and goes down. He cumulative effect was discovered in the late eighteenth century, however, use his humanity could only a 40-x years of XX century. Learn more about how it happened and what contributed to this.
the Struggle of calibers and armor
With the advent on the field of battle tanks military all over the world began to look for ways of dealing with them. First they fought with cannon armament, then started to produce anti-tank grenades and mines. However, the more powerful the gun was, the thicker was the armor and at some point it became clear that to confront the powerful tanks need such a gun, for which the service need too many soldiers, and which is very sedentary, which is not rational. And then the military gave scientists the task to develop a new kind of weapon that could effectively penetrate enemy armor.
At this point, the designers remembered the opening of the American scientist Charles Monroe, who established that the explosion energy can be focused at one point – it explosives need to create a recess in the form of a cone. However, the result was still not sufficiently effective. But taking this idea as a basis, the German gunsmith Franz Tomanek in 1938 guessed that if the recess to cover the metal, then he will take the penetrative role, and the energy of the explosives is only to shape the direction of the shot and give energy. At the same time for facing recesses are metal, and having a ductility – copper was a perfect match.
the First such ammunition at its disposal were received by the Germans, which was a big trouble for the red army during the great Fatherlandthe constant war. In the beginning the USSR had no such weapons, and upon inspection of the damage the technique had the impression that penetration was achieved due to the burning. However, it was soon captured the first samples of German heat projectiles, and artillery first, got the first shells of its own design, and then the infantry began to put anti-tank cumulative grenades.
Incredible pressure
So what is the secret of such effective broneprobitiya? It’s simple: as we have said, facing the enemy side of the projectile is an explosive with a conical recess, which is covered with a copper veneer and is equipped with a front fairing for a better aerodynamic performance, and focus of the blow jet. An important feature of the design is the fuse located in the rear part of the projectile.
Upon impact with the target the Fuze initiates the explosive. The energy of the explosion is directed forward, and because of the conical shape actually collapses. At this point, the copper coating under the pressure abruptly crashes forward. The metal remains solid, but it forms a jet, which reaches speeds of 10 km/h. This produces a pressure of 100 tons per square centimeter, which effectively pushes and washes away the armor that is called plastic deformation. The modern Russian development of anti-tank cumulative grenades can penetrate the armor thickness more than a meter.
How to survive
After the emergence of cumulative weapons immediately began development of protection against him. And soon found a few recipes. The easiest setup screens. The best effect of the cumulative jet occurs in the explosion at a certain, so-called focal length of the armor (just like in optics). When installed at a distance from the main armor, even light barriers, the explosion breaks her, but before they reach the main armor, loses power and can not break.
the Second way – active dynamic protection. She appewas already after the great Patriotic war and became the breakthrough development of the USSR. Many saw that the tanks have small boxes. Each of them contains explosives and peneplain. If you get a box of the shaped-charge jet, is undermining the explosive first half dampens the stream, and the second pushes it towards armored. The residual strength of the shot is not enough for the armour. In modern systems the undermining of the blocks of dynamic protection can be implemented using a computer, which spots the shot and undermines to meet him the explosives.
a Deadly effect
Traces of contact with heat shells are small holes with a diameter of not more than two or three inches, but a good shot, they can even burn through the technique.
the Crews of the vehicles affected not only by the jet, while the temperature at 600 degrees – the phenomenon unpleasant, how many breakaway from the inner part of the armor shards. Once in the crew members and the inner parts of our equipment, these metal particles remove them from the system. Moreover, they do not have to be large – these particles can be the same size as grains of sand, but imagine that it’s like a sandblaster, but instead of sand there metal granules and much more. And if the water gets into the engine or in the shells inside the equipment, then there is an immediate explosion.
Vasily Khodarev
Source:
© Russian Seven
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