Ammunition for artillery
- This article should be merged with Ammunition
Modern artillery ammunition is generally of two types: separate loading and semi-fixed. Semi-fixed ammunition (rounds) appear in the traditional form of a projectile mated with a cartidge case containing powder. The canister is outfitted with a primer on its base which fires upon contact from the firing pin. Black powder, precision machined to burn evenly, is contained inside of cloth bags that are numbered. US/NATO 105mm howitzers use semi-fixed ammunition, containing seven powder bags referred to as increments or charges. Putting the powder in bags allows the howitzer crew to remove the increments when firing at closer targets. The unused increments are disposed of by burning in a powder pit at a safe distance from the guns.
Separate loading ammunition is just that: the projectile is rammed home in the chamber, the powder charges are loaded (usually by hand), then the breech is closed and the primer is inserted into the primer holder on the back the breech. Separate loading ammunition is typically used on 155mm and larger howitzers. Several propellants types are available for 155mm howitzer.
All normal projectiles arrive at the weapon with a plug in the fuze well on the nose of the projectile. Using a special fuze wrench, the plug is unscrewed and a fuze is screwed in. The decision as to which type of fuze to use is made by the fire direction center and carried out by the gun crew.
Common artillery fuzes include point detonating, delay, time, and proximity (variable time). Point detonating fuzes detonate upon contact with the ground. Delay fuzes are designed to penetrate a short distance before detonating. Time fuzes, as the name implies, detonate a certain time after being fired in order to achieve an air burst above the target. Time fuzes are set to the tenth of a second. Proximity or variable time fuzes contain a simple radio transceiver activated a set time after firing to detonate the projectile when the signal reflected from the ground reaches a certain strength, designed to be 7 meters above the ground. Fuzes are armed by the rotation of the projectile imparted by the rifling in the tube, and usually arm after a few hundred rotations.
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