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Common shells designated in the early (i.e. 1800s) British explosive shells were filled with "low explosives" such as "P mixture" (gunpowder) and usually with a fuze in the nose. Common shells on bursting (non-detonating) tended to break into relatively large fragments which continued along the shell's trajectory rather than laterally.
The use of ammonium nitrate in explosives is patented in Sweden. [13] 1875 Gelignite, the first plastic explosive, is invented by Alfred Nobel. [14] [13] 1884: Paul Marie Eugène Vieille creates Poudre B, the first practical smokeless powder. [6] 1891 The explosive properties of TNT are discovered by Carl Häussermann. [9] 1894
(Invented 1784 by Lt. Henry Shrapnel, Royal Artillery, Great Britain). Shell An explosive anti-materiel and counter-battery projectile, of iron with a cavity packed with a high explosive bursting charge of powder used to destroy enemy wagons, breastworks, or opposing artillery. Two types of fuses were used—impact fuses that detonated the ...
Furthermore, their shells carried larger amounts of explosives than those of guns, and caused considerably less barrel wear. The German army took advantage of this, beginning the war with many more howitzers than the French. [150] World War I also marked the use of the Paris Gun, the longest-ranged gun ever fired. This 200 mm (8 in) caliber gun ...
Armour-piercing high-explosive (APHE) shells are armour-piercing shells containing an explosive filling, which were initially termed "shell", distinguishing them from non-explosive "shot". This was largely a matter of British usage, relating to the 1877 invention of the first of the type, the Palliser shell with 1.5% high
Carcasses were used for the first time by the French and Münsterite troops under Louis XIV and Bernard von Galen in 1672. [3] They were also fired from bomb vessels.. The carcass shell as used by the Royal Navy in the 18th and early 19th century, most famously in the attack on Fort McHenry, was a hollow cast iron sphere weighing 190 pounds (86 kg).
Simply made, these weapons were no more than iron bowls reminiscent of the kitchen and apothecary mortars whence they drew their name. An early transportable mortar was invented by Baron Menno van Coehoorn in 1701. [8] [9] This mortar fired an exploding shell, which had a fuse that was lit by the hot gases when
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 was also useful against counter-attacks ...