Community hub
Recent from talks
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Shell (projectile)
A shell, in a modern military context, is a projectile whose payload contains an explosive, incendiary, or other chemical filling. Originally it was called a bombshell, but "shell" has come to be unambiguous in a military context. A shell can hold a tracer.
All explosive- and incendiary-filled projectiles, particularly for mortars, were originally called grenades, derived from the French word for pomegranate, so called because of the similarity of shape and that the multi-seeded fruit resembles the powder-filled, fragmentizing bomb. Words cognate with grenade are still used for an artillery or mortar projectile in some European languages.
Shells are usually large-caliber projectiles fired by artillery, armoured fighting vehicles (e.g. tanks, assault guns, and mortar carriers), warships, and autocannons. The shape is usually a cylinder topped by an ogive-tipped nose cone for good aerodynamic performance, and possibly with a tapered boat tail; but some specialized types differ widely.
Gunpowder is a low explosive, meaning it will not create a concussive, brisant explosion unless it is contained, as in a modern-day pipe bomb or pressure cooker bomb. Early grenades were hollow cast-iron balls filled with gunpowder, and "shells" were similar devices designed to be shot from artillery in place of solid cannonballs ("shot"). Metonymically, the term "shell", from the casing, came to mean the entire munition.
In a gunpowder-based shell, the casing was intrinsic to generating the explosion, and thus had to be strong and thick. Its fragments could do considerable damage, but each shell broke into only a few large pieces. Further developments led to shells which would fragment into smaller pieces. The advent of high explosives such as TNT removed the need for a pressure-holding casing, so the casing of later shells only needed to contain the munition, and, if desired, to produce shrapnel. The term "shell," however, was sufficiently established that it remained as the term for such munitions.
Hollow shells filled with gunpowder needed a fuse that was either impact triggered (percussion) or time delayed. Percussion fuses with a spherical projectile presented a challenge because there was no way of ensuring that the impact mechanism contacted the target. Therefore, ball shells needed a time fuse that was ignited before or during firing and burned until the shell reached its target.
Cast iron shells packed with gunpowder have been used in warfare since at least early 13th century China. Hollow, gunpowder-packed shells made of cast iron used during the Song dynasty (960–1279) are described in the early Ming Dynasty Chinese military manual Huolongjing, written in the mid 14th century. The History of Jin 《金史》 (compiled by 1345) states that in 1232, as the Mongol general Subutai (1176–1248) descended on the Jin stronghold of Kaifeng, the defenders had a "thunder crash bomb" which "consisted of gunpowder put into an iron container ... then when the fuse was lit (and the projectile shot off) there was a great explosion the noise whereof was like thunder, audible for more than thirty miles, and the vegetation was scorched and blasted by the heat over an area of more than half a mou. When hit, even iron armour was quite pierced through." Archeological examples of these shells from the 13th century Mongol invasions of Japan have been recovered from a shipwreck.
Shells were used in combat by the Republic of Venice at Jadra in 1376. Shells with fuses were used at the 1421 siege of St Boniface in Corsica. These were two hollowed hemispheres of stone or bronze held together by an iron hoop. At least since the 16th century grenades made of ceramics or glass were in use in Central Europe. A hoard of several hundred ceramic grenades dated to the 17th century was discovered during building works in front of a bastion of the Bavarian city of Ingolstadt, Germany. Many of the grenades contained their original black-powder loads and igniters. Most probably the grenades were intentionally dumped in the moat of the bastion before the year 1723. An early problem was that there was no means of precisely measuring the time to detonation – reliable fuses did not yet exist, and the burning time of the powder fuse was subject to considerable trial and error. Early powder-burning fuses had to be loaded fuse down to be ignited by firing or a portfire or slow match put down the barrel to light the fuse. Other shells were wrapped in bitumen cloth, which would ignite during the firing and in turn ignite a powder fuse.[citation needed] Nevertheless, shells came into regular use in the 16th century. A 1543 English mortar shell was filled with "wildfire."[citation needed]
Hub AI
Shell (projectile) AI simulator
(@Shell (projectile)_simulator)
Shell (projectile)
A shell, in a modern military context, is a projectile whose payload contains an explosive, incendiary, or other chemical filling. Originally it was called a bombshell, but "shell" has come to be unambiguous in a military context. A shell can hold a tracer.
All explosive- and incendiary-filled projectiles, particularly for mortars, were originally called grenades, derived from the French word for pomegranate, so called because of the similarity of shape and that the multi-seeded fruit resembles the powder-filled, fragmentizing bomb. Words cognate with grenade are still used for an artillery or mortar projectile in some European languages.
Shells are usually large-caliber projectiles fired by artillery, armoured fighting vehicles (e.g. tanks, assault guns, and mortar carriers), warships, and autocannons. The shape is usually a cylinder topped by an ogive-tipped nose cone for good aerodynamic performance, and possibly with a tapered boat tail; but some specialized types differ widely.
Gunpowder is a low explosive, meaning it will not create a concussive, brisant explosion unless it is contained, as in a modern-day pipe bomb or pressure cooker bomb. Early grenades were hollow cast-iron balls filled with gunpowder, and "shells" were similar devices designed to be shot from artillery in place of solid cannonballs ("shot"). Metonymically, the term "shell", from the casing, came to mean the entire munition.
In a gunpowder-based shell, the casing was intrinsic to generating the explosion, and thus had to be strong and thick. Its fragments could do considerable damage, but each shell broke into only a few large pieces. Further developments led to shells which would fragment into smaller pieces. The advent of high explosives such as TNT removed the need for a pressure-holding casing, so the casing of later shells only needed to contain the munition, and, if desired, to produce shrapnel. The term "shell," however, was sufficiently established that it remained as the term for such munitions.
Hollow shells filled with gunpowder needed a fuse that was either impact triggered (percussion) or time delayed. Percussion fuses with a spherical projectile presented a challenge because there was no way of ensuring that the impact mechanism contacted the target. Therefore, ball shells needed a time fuse that was ignited before or during firing and burned until the shell reached its target.
Cast iron shells packed with gunpowder have been used in warfare since at least early 13th century China. Hollow, gunpowder-packed shells made of cast iron used during the Song dynasty (960–1279) are described in the early Ming Dynasty Chinese military manual Huolongjing, written in the mid 14th century. The History of Jin 《金史》 (compiled by 1345) states that in 1232, as the Mongol general Subutai (1176–1248) descended on the Jin stronghold of Kaifeng, the defenders had a "thunder crash bomb" which "consisted of gunpowder put into an iron container ... then when the fuse was lit (and the projectile shot off) there was a great explosion the noise whereof was like thunder, audible for more than thirty miles, and the vegetation was scorched and blasted by the heat over an area of more than half a mou. When hit, even iron armour was quite pierced through." Archeological examples of these shells from the 13th century Mongol invasions of Japan have been recovered from a shipwreck.
Shells were used in combat by the Republic of Venice at Jadra in 1376. Shells with fuses were used at the 1421 siege of St Boniface in Corsica. These were two hollowed hemispheres of stone or bronze held together by an iron hoop. At least since the 16th century grenades made of ceramics or glass were in use in Central Europe. A hoard of several hundred ceramic grenades dated to the 17th century was discovered during building works in front of a bastion of the Bavarian city of Ingolstadt, Germany. Many of the grenades contained their original black-powder loads and igniters. Most probably the grenades were intentionally dumped in the moat of the bastion before the year 1723. An early problem was that there was no means of precisely measuring the time to detonation – reliable fuses did not yet exist, and the burning time of the powder fuse was subject to considerable trial and error. Early powder-burning fuses had to be loaded fuse down to be ignited by firing or a portfire or slow match put down the barrel to light the fuse. Other shells were wrapped in bitumen cloth, which would ignite during the firing and in turn ignite a powder fuse.[citation needed] Nevertheless, shells came into regular use in the 16th century. A 1543 English mortar shell was filled with "wildfire."[citation needed]