Shrapnel shells were anti-personnel artillery munitions which carried many individual bullets close to a target area and then ejected them to allow them to continue along the shell's trajectory and strike targets individually. They relied almost entirely on the shell's velocity for their lethality. The munition has been obsolete since the end of World War I for anti-personnel use; high-explosive shells superseded it for that role. The functioning and principles behind Shrapnel shells are fundamentally different from high-explosive shell fragmentation. Shrapnel is named after Lieutenant-General Henry Shrapnel (1761–1842), a British artillery officer, whose experiments, initially conducted on his own time and at his own expense, culminated in the design and development of a new type of artillery shell.
Armour-piercing ammunition (AP) is a type of projectile designed to penetrate armour protection, most often including naval armour, body armour, vehicle armour.
A cartridge, also known as a round, is a type of pre-assembled firearm ammunition packaging a projectile, a propellant substance and an ignition device (primer) within a metallic, paper, or plastic case that is precisely made to fit within the barrel chamber of a breechloading gun, for convenient transportation and handling during shooting. Although in popular usage the term "bullet" is often used to refer to a complete cartridge, the correct usage only refers to the projectile.
A grenade launcher is a weapon that fires a specially designed, large-caliber projectile, often with an explosive, smoke, or gas warhead. Today, the term generally refers to a class of dedicated firearms firing unitary grenade cartridges. The most common type are man-portable, shoulder-fired weapons issued to individuals, although larger crew-served launchers are issued at higher levels of organization by military forces.
A shell, in a 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.
This article explains terms used for the British Armed Forces' ordnance (weapons) and ammunition. The terms may have different meanings depending on its usage in another country's military.
The Sturmpistole ("assault-pistol") was an attempt by Germany during World War II to create a multi-purpose weapon which could be used by any infantryman. It consisted of a modified flare gun (Leuchtpistole) which could fire a variety of grenades, including a 600 g shaped charge Panzerwurfkörper 42 which could penetrate 80 mm (3.1 in) of rolled homogeneous armor. The idea was not pursued wholeheartedly, and took second stage to the then current anti-tank rifles and later weapon developments, such as the Panzerfaust recoilless and Panzerschreck rocket.
Ammunition is the material fired, scattered, dropped, or detonated from any weapon or weapon system. Ammunition is both expendable weapons and the component parts of other weapons that create the effect on a target.
An artillery fuze or fuse is the type of munition fuze used with artillery munitions, typically projectiles fired by guns, howitzers and mortars. A fuze is a device that initiates an explosive function in a munition, most commonly causing it to detonate or release its contents, when its activation conditions are met. This action typically occurs a preset time after firing, or on physical contact with or detected proximity to the ground, a structure or other target. Fuze, a variant of fuse, is the official NATO spelling.
The Propaganda-Gewehrgranate was a non-lethal rifle grenade designed to deliver propaganda leaflets that was developed by Germany and used by the Wehrmacht during World War II.
The Gewehr-Sprenggranate was a high-explosive rifle grenade that was developed by Germany and used by the Wehrmacht during World War II.
The Grosse Panzergranate 46 & 61 were shaped charge rifle grenades that were developed by Germany and used by the Waffen-SS during World War II.
The Gewehr-Granatpatrone 40 or GGP/40 for short was a shaped charge rifle grenade used by German forces during the Second World War. It was originally developed for Luftwaffe Fallschirmjäger units to provide them with a light and portable anti-tank weapon.
The Wurfgranate Patrone 326 was a small grenade that was developed by Germany and used by the Wehrmacht during World War II. The Wurfgranate Patrone 326 was designed to be fired from a Leuchtpistole or flare gun in English.
The Leuchtpistole 34 or flare gun in English was introduced into German service before World War II and served throughout World War II.
The Leuchtpistole 42 or flare gun in English was introduced into German service in 1943 and served throughout World War II.
The Multi-Star Signal Cartridge was a non-lethal signal flare that was developed by Germany and used by the Wehrmacht during World War II. The Multi-Star Signal Cartridge was designed to be fired from a Leuchtpistole or flare gun in English.
The Fallschirm Leuchtpatrone or "parachute light cartridge" in English was a non-lethal star shell that was developed by Germany and used by the Wehrmacht during World War II. The Fallschirm Leuchtpatrone was designed to be fired from a Kampfpistole flare gun.
The Sprengpatrone or "explosive cartridge" in English was a rifle grenade that was developed by Germany and used by the Wehrmacht during World War II. The Sprengpatrone was designed to be fired from a Kampfpistole flare gun.
The Kampfpistole or "combat pistol" in English was a flare gun introduced into German service during 1939 and served throughout World War II.
Nazi Germany