Michael Molkentin Posted 10 August , 2012 Share Posted 10 August , 2012 A question for the arms experts. How much explosive (Amatol I understand) did a WW1-era British 18-pounder High Explosive shell contain? Thanks M. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikB Posted 10 August , 2012 Share Posted 10 August , 2012 Says 'ere 13 oz., initially TNT, later Amatol/TNT mix:- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ordnance_QF_18_pounder Regards, MikB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Sheldon Posted 10 August , 2012 Share Posted 10 August , 2012 I am fairly certain that high proportion of these shells contained Lyddite, i.e. picric acid. The Germans were always complaining that the British were gassing them with this type of shell, which, when filled with amatol, stained clothing yellow on contact in higher concentrations. Jack Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Molkentin Posted 11 August , 2012 Author Share Posted 11 August , 2012 Thanks MikB that appears to be the bursting charge. I am pretty clueless about arms but I thought there was, in addition to this 13 oz of explosive (a pretty minescule ammount I would've thought) a larger quantity of explosvie in the shell which the burster set off, exploding the shell casing. I have read that 25 lbs Coopers (aerial) bombs had 4-4.5 lbs of Amatol in them. I was interested to see if they packed a larger punch than an 18 pounds HE shell. Congratulations on the new 1915 book Jack. I am looking forward to getting my hands on a copy. Michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikB Posted 11 August , 2012 Share Posted 11 August , 2012 Hi Michael, As far as I know the bursting charge was the main explosive content. Anything setting this off directly is usually known as a gaine, itself set off by a detonator or initiator. Nevertheless the 13 oz. quantity does seem rather low compared to some more modern HE shells. Aerial bombs didn't have to withstand the shock of firing, so could be more lightly constructed with a spun or pressed sheet-metal casing rather than cast-and-machined. It seems very likely that the Cooper bombs would carry a significantly heavier charge - though whether this resulted in larger punch would depend on the target to some extent. Regards, MikB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David B Posted 11 August , 2012 Share Posted 11 August , 2012 according to Wiki early ww1 shells were filled with lyddite and the weight of the bursting charge was less than 10 percent of the total weight, so if the shell weighed 18 pounds the explosive weight would therefore be less than 1.8 pounds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyE Posted 11 August , 2012 Share Posted 11 August , 2012 Mik is quite correct. What we call an initiator these days was known as the exploder in WWI. The weight of the explosive charge in shells includes the weight of the exploder component. To give a comparison with the 18 Pr., the total explosive (including exploder) in a 60 Pr. Mark I shell was 4lbs. This was increased to 8lb in the Mark II shell which was longer. Treatise of Ammunition 1915 gives weights for all shells in service at that time. Regards TonyE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Sheldon Posted 11 August , 2012 Share Posted 11 August , 2012 Thanks for your kind words Micahel. I look forward to hearing your opinion once you have had a chance to read it. Jack Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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