Ammunition Flashcards
“the projectiles with their fuses, propelling charges, or primers fired from guns”
Ammunition
“Ammunition in which fabric bags are used to hold the propellant and the projectile is handled separately.”
Bag Ammunition
“Propelling charges for small and medium caliber guns are assembled with primer and powder enclosed in a brass or steel contianer called a cartridge case.”
Case Type
What are the two types of Case Type ammunition?
Separate Ammunition
Fixed Ammunition
“The primer and propelling charge are contained in a cartridge case as a separate plugged unit from the projectile”
Separate ammunition
“The primer, propelling charge, and projectile are assembled into a single unit”
Fixed Ammunition
“Used to render honors, no projectile is fired”
Saluting Charge
“Contains less than the the service load of powder. Used on reverse-slope targets or target practice to reduce wear.”
Reduced Charge
A charge used to clear a round which has become stuck in the gun.
Clearing Charge
“In this type of ammunition, the propelling charge is contained in the projectile and continues to burn after the projectile has exited the barrel”
Self-Propelled
“A metallic container for holding powder charges and usually includes primer element.
Cartridge Case
“The after end of the projectile”
Base
“A rectangular cardboard piece folded into a triangular shape and placed into the cartridge case between teh wad and teh case closure plug or peojectile.”
Distance piece
A cardboard piece held with a distance piece to keep the propellant firmly in place
Wad
“The thickness of the propellant grain between surfaces. This determines the burn time of the propellant”
Web thickness
A propellant grain with decreasing burning surface will generate ______ propellant gas.
Less
The total burning surface area decreases as they burn.
Degressive grains
Total burning surface remains approximately constant as it burns.
Neutral burning grain
Total burning surface increases as it burns. Generates the most amount of gas and is best for a longer barrel.
Progressive Grain
“Initiates the explosive propellant train”
Primer
What is the difference between Detonation and Deflagration?
Detonate - chemical reacion moves faster than speed of sound (high explosive)
Deflagrate - chemical reaction moves slower than speed of sound (low explosive)
“Sensitive materials that can be initiated by a relatively small amount of heat or pressure”
Primary Explosive
Insensitive materials that require a *great amount of heat or pressure to initiate**
Secondary / Tertiary explosives
What are the parts to a low-explosive train
Primer - high explosive explosive
Igniter - ignites propellant
Propellant - low explosive
What are the parts to the high-explosive train
Detonator
Booster
Bursting Charge
“A primary high explosive, initiated by a fuse”
Detonator
“High explosive charge which adds another detonation wave to trigger the bursting charge”
Booster
“High explosive which provides the destructive shockwave of the warhead”
Bursting Charge
“A slow burning explosive stage between the detonator and booster to prevent the detonation of the booster for a specific period of time (not the same as a delay fuse).”
Delayer
What is the purpose of the bourrelet?
Acts as a bearing to stabilize the projectile during its travel through the gun bore.
Naval warheads use:
High explosive train
Naval ammunition uses:
Low-explosive train
What are the functions of the rotating band?
Seals to prevent escape of propellant gas
Engages the rifling
Acts as rear bourrelet on those that do not have one
Projectile Type: AA
Anti-Aircraft
Projectile Type: HC
High Capacity
Projectile Type: AP
Armour Piercing
Projectile Type: VT
Variable Time (proximity fuse)
Projectile Type: 3-P
Preframented, Programmable, Proximity Fuse
(Proximity with or without Time Gate, Burst Delay, Variable Time, Armour Piercing, Impact)
Projectile Type: PFHE
Pre-Fragmented High Explosive
(Anti-Air proximity fused round)
Projectile Type: HCER
High Capacity Extended Range
(Anti-Surface Round)
Projectile Type: NFVT
Non-Fragmented Variable Time
(Sighting round, simulates AA)
Projectile Type: PRAP
Passive Radar Augmented Projectile
(Simulation of misssile RCS)
Projectile Type: BLP
Blind Loaded Plug
(Practice round with no warhead or fuze, fires but does not detonate)
Projectile Type: Dummy
Innert training round
(No propellant, primer, fuse, warhead… does not fire)
Projectile Type: Test
Inert round used for testing firing system (can measure if the firing signals are passed to the round)
“initiates an explosive function causing detonation”
Fuse
Uses an incremental dial which controls a timer use to set a delay time
Timer Fuse
Two types of Impact Fuses
Delay
Super Quick
Fuse initiated only after the projectile strikes the target
Impact Fuse
What target characteristics are measured by Proximity Fuses?
Presence
Distance
Direction
Velocity
What are two types of Proximity Fuses wrt the phenomena they detect?
Radio (VHF, UHF, Microwave)
Non-Radio (Visible, Infrared, UV, Acoustic, Electrostatic, Barometric)
Describe a Doppler Fuse
Measures the Doppler Shift between the projectile and the target to determine proximity.
What are functions of fuses?
Keep the weapon safe
Arm the weapon
Detect the target
initiate detonation
Determining the direction of detonation
“Keeps the ordnance section of a munitino from arming during shipping, handling, and storage”
Safe and Arming Device (SAD)
“An explosive train in which the explosive path between the primary explosive and the booster explosives is functionally separated until arming
Interupted Explosive Train
The explosive path between the primary explosive and other explosive elements are not separated
Non-Interupted Explosive Train
How many safety devices in military high yield warheads?
2
“A concave metal hemisphere or cone backed by a high explosive. The metal forms a high speed liquid metal jet.”
Shaped Charge
Note: It is only kinetic, does not melt through the metal.
What are the three classifications of propelling charges?
Bag
Case
Self-propelled
