SA02 - Weapon Design and History of Ammo Flashcards
Greek fire what is it made of?
Naphtha, sulphur, pitch
9th century Gunpowder consists of what?
Potassium nitrate (saltpetre), sulphur, resin/charcoal
What did Roger Bacon contribute to the development of gunpowder
Described the composition and experimented to improve its quality and explosive power.
Why do we create gunpowder grains?
Had sufficient room between grains to allow the flash to reach them all equally.
Who created Ballistite in 1887?
Alfred Nobel
Three types of propellants? And what are they comprised of?
Single - Nitrocellulose (NC)
Double - Nitrocellulose (NC), Nitroglycerine (NG)
Triple - Nitrocellulose (NC), Nitroglycerine, (NG), Nitroguanidine
What did the British call picric acid?
Lyddite
RDX Research Development Explosive produced a side product called?
HMX, it’s denser and more powerful
What in service EO commonly uses PETN
Detcord
Cast Iron Barrels came about in what century?
16th
Name 3 early methods of rifling?
- Vavasseur’s Driving Band
- Woolwich rifling
- Oval bore
- French Rifling
- Hexagonal or Whitworth Rifling
- Lead coated shell
Who invented the Breech loaded gun?
Sir William Armstrong
Martini Henry Rifles suffered from what?
Weak cartridges and excessive fouling due to black powder.
Trunnions do what?
Absorbs shock and recoil, raise and lower.
Who is credited with the concept of a gun?
The monk Black Berthold
What’s the difference between carriages and mountings.
Carriages fire with wheels on ground.
What term is used to describe the diameter of a bore?
Calibre
What are the components of a super structure
Remember SRCBETS
- Saddle
- Recoil system
- Cradle
- Balancing gear
- Elevating gear
- Traversing gears
- Sights
Parts of the basic structure of the gun
- Platform,
- Articulation,
- Cradle support,
- Wheels and axles,
- Suspension and brakes,
- Trails,
- Spades
What are the types of elevating gears?
Worm and segment
Nut and screw
Arc and pinion
There are three types of muzzle brakes, what
are they?
- Built up
- Solid forging
- Swaged - Double baffle, Single baffle
What is the function of the trail?
Transmit recoil forces to the ground
Hold the gun in firing position
Connects the weapon to the vehicle
What are the types of trail?
Pole trail
Box trail
Split trail
Bowed box trail
Who designed the first modern combustion
time fuze?
Colonel Boxer
What is the desired result when using delay
fuzing on HE ammo?
To achieve a much greater cratering affect
which can be used to penetrate OHP and
enhance the destructive blast effect
detonation
What are the 5 basic requirements of
artillery?
Remember RAAMP
- Range
- Ammo
- Accuracy and Consistency
- Mobility
- Protection
Why do we carry less illuminating
ammunition?
- Image intensifiers
- Low light television,
- Thermal imaging,
- Infra Red sights.
What are the two main methods used without
altering the weapon system to increase
range?
- Ballistic coefficient
- Post firing boost
Define the word accuracy
Measurement of precision with which the
MPI of a group of rounds can be placed on a
target
State 4 variations that affect consistency
- Muzzle velocity
- Ballistic coefficient
- Weather conditions
- Laying, ramming and wear of the gun
What are the 2 categories of breech
mechanisms?
- Screw
- Sliding
What do fume extractors aid in?
To prevent the fumes entering the crew
compartment.
List the methods of barrel construction.
- Wire Wound
- Built-up
- Loose
- Composite
- Monobloc
What are the two main parts of the gun?
- The Carriage or Mounting
- The Ordnance
What is a Mortar?
A mortar is a weapon in which the main recoil force is transmitted directly to the ground through a base-plate. It is usually smooth-bore, muzzle loading, firing a fin-stabilised bomb,with its own propelling charge, at low MV and high trajectory.
4 main characteristics/ design features of Mortars.
- Smooth Bore
- No Recoil Mechanism
- Restricted to use at elevations above 800 mils
- Muzzle loaded
- Cannot be fired in a direct fire role
4 components of a mortar
- Barrel
- Base Plate
- Bipod, Tripod or Monopod
- Sights
What are the 4 current in-service 81mm mortar ammunition?
- HE
- SMK (WP and RP)
- Illum
- Training (Prac, sub-calibre)
What are the 5 current in-service 60mm mortar ammunition?
- HE
- Illum
- Illum IR
- SMK WP
- Prac
Types of Mortar fire
- Preparation fire
- Covering fire
- Defensive fire
- Counter Battery fire
- Harassing fire
- Smoke (screening and blinding)
- Illuminating
Types of fuzing for artillery rounds
- Airburst (Prox, time)
- Groundburst (PD)
- Delay
Considerations for the choice of delivery systems
- Nature of task
- Terrain
- Effect required at target
- Range
- Mobility
- Protection
Tasks performed by Indirect fire systems
Remember CICHINDS
- Coordination of fires
- Interdiction
- Counter-battery fire (CBF)
- Harassment
- Illumination
- Neutralisation
- Destruction
- Suppression
Advantages of mortars
Large rate of fire in a small amount of time.
High level of mobility.
Lethality against unprotected troops.
Low velocity.
Simple and inexpensive.
Easy to operate.
Silent in flight.
Light weight.
Easy to dig in and conceal.
Disadvantages of Mortars
No direct or low angle capability.
Easy to locate.
Limited range capability.
High angle fire results in long time in flight.
Requirement to bed in.
What is a Free Flight Rocket (FFR)?
- A tube open at one end in which fuel is burnt, the gases form the burning fuel escape out of the opened end.
- The momentum of escaping gases causing an equal and opposite reaction on the closed end.
- The projectile flight path cannot be changed.
Advantages of FFR
- Large rate of fire in a short period of time: Major advantage.
- Range increase incurs only a small weight penalty.
- Able to saturate an area quickly.
- Greater potential as carrier.
Disadvantages of FFR
- Sustained rates of fire can be a problem:Reload.
- Flat trajectory.
- Inferior Range, Accuracy, Consistency.
The preferred method of stabilisation of mortar rounds is __________(a) stabilised. ______________(b) stabilisation is not preferred because it increases the mechanical complexity of the weapon and _________(c) the rate of fire.
(a) Fin
(b) Spin
(c) Reduces
What is the major advantage of FFR when employed as indirect fire support weapons?
Large rate of fire in a short period of time.
What is smoke designed to do on a battlefield?
- Blind the enemy observation and inhibit the use of aimed direct fire and observed indirect fire.
- Screen movements of troops from enemy.
- Marking targets for engagements by other weapon systems.
Explain windage
- The calibre of mortar bomb must be considerably less than that of the mortar tube from which it is being fired otherwise it could not be loaded.
- For the bomb to drop straight to the bottom of the barrel without being supported to the cushion of the air there must be a gap between the outer wall of the bomb and inner wall of the tube.
How can the life of a barrel be extended?
Life can be extended by the use of;
- Cooler burning propellants.
- Barrel cooling techniques.
- Bore surface finishes such as chrome and molybenedium.
- How HE mortar bombs can be influenced?
- Thick skinned – Hot fiery frag
- Thin skinned – pre-cast frag
