Shrapnel
From Freepedia
Shrapnel is the collective term for fragments and debris thrown out by an exploding shell or landmine. In the strict sense of the word, shrapnel is shot which is deliberately included in an explosive device, in order to cause death and injury; more loosely, the term is used to refer to any metal debris which is propelled by an explosion which could be more properly called splinters. Although the anti-personnel effects of burst metal shell casings had been known for centuries, the word shrapnel is derived from the name of Major-General Henry Shrapnel (1761–1842), an English artillery officer, whose experiments - initially conducted in his own time, and at his own expense - designed a shell specifically for the purpose.
Contents |
The Shrapnel shell
In 1784 Lieutenant Shrapnel began the course to develop an anti-personnel weapon. At the time artillery could use "canister" or "case," to defend themselves from infantry or cavalry attack. Instead of a cannonball a tin container filled with small iron balls was loaded. When fired, the container burst open at the muzzle, giving the effect of an oversized shotgun shell. At ranges of up to 300 m canister could cause heavy casualties. At longer ranges, common shell - hollow cast iron spheres filled with gunpowder - was used, although with more of a concussive than a fragmentation effect. Shrapnel's innovation was to combine the fragmentation properties of canister with a delayed-action fuse to take the effect to the enemy at a distance. His shell was a hollow cast-iron spheres filled with a mixture of balls and powder, with a crude time fuse. If the fuse was set correctly then the shell would break open, releasing its contents (musket balls) which would carry on with the "remaining velocity" of the shell. The explosive charge in the shell was to be just enough to break the casing rather than scatter the shot in all directions. As such his invention increased the effective range of case from 300 to about 1100 m. He called his device 'spherical case' but in time it came to be called after him; a position formalised in 1852 by the Government.
It took until 1803 for the British artillery to adopt it albeit with great enthusiasm when it did. Shrapnel was promoted to Major in the same year. The Duke of Wellington used it beginning in 1808 against Napoleon, including the Battle of Waterloo, and wrote admiringly of its effectiveness.
The design was improved by Captain E M Boxer RA in the 1840s and crossed over when cylindrical shells for rifled guns were introduced.
World War I, World War II and Vietnam
During World War I, shrapnel was widely used by all sides to cut the barbed wire entanglements in no man's land as a precursor to an attack. Shrapnel's effectiveness for wire cutting was enhanced by the widespread introduction of the French percussion fuse (known to the British as the No. 106 fuse) which ensured the shell detonated immediately on contact with the ground, rather than after it had buried itself.
As explosives improved it was found that a properly designed shell casing fragmented so effectively that additional shot was not required.
During World War II shrapnel shells, in the strict sense of the word, fell out of use (though canister rounds are still used in modern tank shells, such as the American M1028 120 mm round). Nonetheless, many land mines, hand grenades and other anti-personnel munitions continue to use metal ball-bearings, metal wire, or other forms of shrapnel, such as the American M18 Claymore mine, and the M61 and M67 hand grenades. In contrast, the WW2-era British Mills bomb and American Mk2 grenade used the heavy metal case to generate the shrapnel effect, and were informally known as "pineapple grenades" for their resemblance to the fruit.
Shrapnel can cause light or heavy wounds (or damage).
During the the Vietnam War, the main United States shrapnel mine was the Claymore mine, which used uniform steel balls for shrapnel.
Other use of term
Shrapnel is also British English slang for loose change. The Oxford English Dictionary documents that the term shrapnel is often incorrectly used to describe fragments or shot included in explosive weapons.
See also
- Warfare: Armour, Ammunition, Howitzer, Military technology and equipment, Suicide bombing, Pipe bomb, Anti-personnel weapon, Claymore mine, Grenade, Shaped charge, Ammunition column
- Military: British Army, Second Battle of Krithia
- Other : Eponym, List of cemeteries and memorials at Gallipoli
- Engagements: , Battle of Scimitar Hill, Centennial Olympic Park bombing, Afghanistan timeline
- People: Henry Shrapnel, Thomas Pakenham, 5th Earl of Longford, Wali Khan Amin Shah
