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HEDSAP - High Explosive Discarting Sabot Armor Piercing
You probably can't get even more ammunition characteristics in one little package. The HEDSAP shell combines two successful ammunition types:
APDS: high-velocity sabot shells with a sub-caliber penetrator that provides at least twice the AP capabilities of a comparable full-caliber round
APCBC: high explosive armor piercing shells with both penetration cap (for dampening the initial shock upon impact and properly aligning the projectile onto the surface it hit) and a ballistic cap (to keep the aerodynamic shape).
The HEDSAP projectile is lighter than a normal full-caliber grenade, therefore it turns the explosion energy from the propellant into a higher muzzle velocity. After leaving the barrel the petals from the sabot are discarted by the air friction, and most of the energy from the shot is focused into the small penetrator rod made of maraging steel, which provides about 90 percent of the AP capabilities of a similar tungsten rod but is ten times cheaper. Upon impact, the ballistic cap is scattered, and the dampening cap properly aligns the penetrator for maximum results before torn apart by the impact force. The penetrator itself keeps on moving through the armor or wall, probably leaving it on the other side provided the wall or armor wasn't too thick. But no matter if the shot penetrated or not: a milisecond after the impact, the base fuze ignites the cone-shaped charge in the base of the penetrator, and the Monroe effect scatters the penetrator into razorsharp steel shards, which fly into the room or compartment with supersocic force. The explosion is comparable to a fragmentation hand grenade, but the amount of shrapnel is a lot higher - and thus, more devastating, especially since the explosion occurs even behind a barrier where normal hand grenades wouldn't land.
In other words: a medium-sized APDS shell with a penetrator that explodes after it smashed through the armor, nailing anybody onto the wall who is less than at least 6 meters away from the point of impact.
You probably can't get even more ammunition characteristics in one little package. The HEDSAP shell combines two successful ammunition types:
APDS: high-velocity sabot shells with a sub-caliber penetrator that provides at least twice the AP capabilities of a comparable full-caliber round
APCBC: high explosive armor piercing shells with both penetration cap (for dampening the initial shock upon impact and properly aligning the projectile onto the surface it hit) and a ballistic cap (to keep the aerodynamic shape).
The HEDSAP projectile is lighter than a normal full-caliber grenade, therefore it turns the explosion energy from the propellant into a higher muzzle velocity. After leaving the barrel the petals from the sabot are discarted by the air friction, and most of the energy from the shot is focused into the small penetrator rod made of maraging steel, which provides about 90 percent of the AP capabilities of a similar tungsten rod but is ten times cheaper. Upon impact, the ballistic cap is scattered, and the dampening cap properly aligns the penetrator for maximum results before torn apart by the impact force. The penetrator itself keeps on moving through the armor or wall, probably leaving it on the other side provided the wall or armor wasn't too thick. But no matter if the shot penetrated or not: a milisecond after the impact, the base fuze ignites the cone-shaped charge in the base of the penetrator, and the Monroe effect scatters the penetrator into razorsharp steel shards, which fly into the room or compartment with supersocic force. The explosion is comparable to a fragmentation hand grenade, but the amount of shrapnel is a lot higher - and thus, more devastating, especially since the explosion occurs even behind a barrier where normal hand grenades wouldn't land.
In other words: a medium-sized APDS shell with a penetrator that explodes after it smashed through the armor, nailing anybody onto the wall who is less than at least 6 meters away from the point of impact.
Category Artwork (Traditional) / Abstract
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Size 1280 x 886px
File Size 177.1 kB
Seems like a waste. If you've got to punch through armor, it seems like a normal penetrator would have most of the same effects, and that the lighter weight of the projectile indicates a weaker construction.
Having to compromise structural integrity to have empty volume to contain explosives means the round itself would buckle instead of fully penetrating the armor.
Having to compromise structural integrity to have empty volume to contain explosives means the round itself would buckle instead of fully penetrating the armor.
AP(FS)DS penetrators only work against hardened targets by creating overpressure, massive back-spalling of the hardened (== brittle) armor, and pyrophoric particles. Buildings and light armored targets have little probs with penetrator rods: they just slip through without causing damage (none of the effects above occur), unless they hit something vital.
Also, notice that the aft of the rod is slightly conical to make sure that the penetrator is not torn in half upon impact. That trick aleady was used with the APCBC shells, which were also explosive and knocked down the tanks of WW II.
HEDSAP rounds are not designed to be used against heavily armored main battle tanks - they're designed for most of the other 95 percent of possible things you can find on a battlefield and which you need to blow up.
Also, notice that the aft of the rod is slightly conical to make sure that the penetrator is not torn in half upon impact. That trick aleady was used with the APCBC shells, which were also explosive and knocked down the tanks of WW II.
HEDSAP rounds are not designed to be used against heavily armored main battle tanks - they're designed for most of the other 95 percent of possible things you can find on a battlefield and which you need to blow up.
Yeah, but HEAP and HESH rounds are quite adequate for those 'soft' targets. What you're suggesting, while novel, is a more complicated and expensive way to solve a problem that doesn't require a new solution.
If you want procurement to eat out of your hand, you have to economize!
If you want procurement to eat out of your hand, you have to economize!
HESH rounds are only available for calibers of 76 mm or more (the british Scorpion used one). They are also damn slow and give potential foes enough time to either run away and take cover, or to retaliate. To cite a british gunner from a military forum who fired 76 mm HESH rounds:"...that thing was like a flying watermelon, so slow you could actually see it travelling downrange."
HEAP rounds are heavy, which means they create lots of recoil when being fired, and they require cannons with longer barrels to get enough muzzle velocity. And long barrels are bad news for terms of visibility and when you gotta fight in a crowded are such as a city.
Both of these rounds also have a problem when it comes to economical aspects: they're overkill most of the time.APCs which are resistant to anything up to 20 mm autocannon fire would spattered by anything larger than 40 mm, and most buildings foes will try to hide in in the foreseeable fututre will be urban structures. If you flatten them, you'll probably make lots of civilians homeless afterwards despite the fact that just a few bad guys have taken refuge in an appartment on the third floor (enemy propaganda will be thankful if you back them up by causing unnecessary collateral damage).
HEDSAP rounds are supposed to be used for calivers of 40 mm to 76 mm. they can kill light tanks, IFVs and APCs with one shot (instead of a load of smaller AP shots from autocannons, which would take longer AND cost a lot more cash), hit foes hiding behind walls that are too thick for autocannon HE/I rounds (same as above) and who cannot be reached with grenade machineguns either, bust bunkers with ease (a 57 mm HEDSAP round would have an AP value of approximately 143 mm @ 90°/110 mm @ 60° on 1000 meters, that's over 800 mm of AP against reinforced concrete at the same range!), and have limited effects in the open (the shells would ricochet off the ground and detonate in the air because of the sensitive base fuze). Not to mention that people taking cover behind sandbags would get a few piercings as the penetrator would go through the bags and detonate on the other side.
HEAP rounds are heavy, which means they create lots of recoil when being fired, and they require cannons with longer barrels to get enough muzzle velocity. And long barrels are bad news for terms of visibility and when you gotta fight in a crowded are such as a city.
Both of these rounds also have a problem when it comes to economical aspects: they're overkill most of the time.APCs which are resistant to anything up to 20 mm autocannon fire would spattered by anything larger than 40 mm, and most buildings foes will try to hide in in the foreseeable fututre will be urban structures. If you flatten them, you'll probably make lots of civilians homeless afterwards despite the fact that just a few bad guys have taken refuge in an appartment on the third floor (enemy propaganda will be thankful if you back them up by causing unnecessary collateral damage).
HEDSAP rounds are supposed to be used for calivers of 40 mm to 76 mm. they can kill light tanks, IFVs and APCs with one shot (instead of a load of smaller AP shots from autocannons, which would take longer AND cost a lot more cash), hit foes hiding behind walls that are too thick for autocannon HE/I rounds (same as above) and who cannot be reached with grenade machineguns either, bust bunkers with ease (a 57 mm HEDSAP round would have an AP value of approximately 143 mm @ 90°/110 mm @ 60° on 1000 meters, that's over 800 mm of AP against reinforced concrete at the same range!), and have limited effects in the open (the shells would ricochet off the ground and detonate in the air because of the sensitive base fuze). Not to mention that people taking cover behind sandbags would get a few piercings as the penetrator would go through the bags and detonate on the other side.
This sounds like an sub-caliber APHE round --- in other words, just like the US military's M908 HE-OR, fired by the M1A1 and M1A2 Abrams;
http://www.inetres.com/gp/military/.....apon/M256.html
Large bore APHE rounds went out of style in World War 2, because although they were able to penetrate twice as much armor as their diameter (e.g., 100mm APHE will penetrate 200mm of RHA Steel), HEAT rounds were able to penetrate a lot more (e.g., 100mm will penetrate 350mm of RHA Steel).
APDS, HVAPDS, and APFSDS rounds fell somewhere in-between, but they had a flatter trajectory, a shorter flight time, and almost twice the range --- these attributes made the Sabot round a valuable addition to any MBT's range of ammunition, along with HEAT.
American HEAT and Sabot rounds kept penetrating more and more armor with each successive generation, until the 105mm M800A1 and 120mm M829A1 were able to penetrate 600mm of RHA Steel, and the M456A1 and M830 were able to penetrate 800mm of RHA Steel.
This trend stopped abruptly when ATK decided to "tinker" with the HEAT round concept, and throw a smaller charge using a Sabot. The result was the M830A1 MP-AT --- it gained an extra 200m of range, and 300m/sec of velocity, but lost 25% of it's RHA Steel penetration (now 600mm, instead of 800mm with the M830). Penetration at the expense of range is the only justification for the HEAT round, but this undeniable fact was completely lost upon those who designed and pushed for the MP-AT.
Also, bear in mind that smaller bores are even MORE pressed for firepower than larger bores, making maximum punch per-projectile that much more important. For example, the 105mm M456A1 HEAT round has a 20lb projectile, whereas a generic 57x438R round has a 5.3lb projectile. That's 4x less mass to work with.
Also, an 105mm M393 HEP (HESH) projectile contains 6.6lbs of Composition A3 --- that's only the filler weight, and it's more than 1.5lbs heavier than an ENTIRE 57mm shell.
In other words, it's best to get all the bang out of an autocannon bore that you can, and complicated projectiles with very little explosive filler won't cut it.
http://www.inetres.com/gp/military/.....apon/M256.html
Large bore APHE rounds went out of style in World War 2, because although they were able to penetrate twice as much armor as their diameter (e.g., 100mm APHE will penetrate 200mm of RHA Steel), HEAT rounds were able to penetrate a lot more (e.g., 100mm will penetrate 350mm of RHA Steel).
APDS, HVAPDS, and APFSDS rounds fell somewhere in-between, but they had a flatter trajectory, a shorter flight time, and almost twice the range --- these attributes made the Sabot round a valuable addition to any MBT's range of ammunition, along with HEAT.
American HEAT and Sabot rounds kept penetrating more and more armor with each successive generation, until the 105mm M800A1 and 120mm M829A1 were able to penetrate 600mm of RHA Steel, and the M456A1 and M830 were able to penetrate 800mm of RHA Steel.
This trend stopped abruptly when ATK decided to "tinker" with the HEAT round concept, and throw a smaller charge using a Sabot. The result was the M830A1 MP-AT --- it gained an extra 200m of range, and 300m/sec of velocity, but lost 25% of it's RHA Steel penetration (now 600mm, instead of 800mm with the M830). Penetration at the expense of range is the only justification for the HEAT round, but this undeniable fact was completely lost upon those who designed and pushed for the MP-AT.
Also, bear in mind that smaller bores are even MORE pressed for firepower than larger bores, making maximum punch per-projectile that much more important. For example, the 105mm M456A1 HEAT round has a 20lb projectile, whereas a generic 57x438R round has a 5.3lb projectile. That's 4x less mass to work with.
Also, an 105mm M393 HEP (HESH) projectile contains 6.6lbs of Composition A3 --- that's only the filler weight, and it's more than 1.5lbs heavier than an ENTIRE 57mm shell.
In other words, it's best to get all the bang out of an autocannon bore that you can, and complicated projectiles with very little explosive filler won't cut it.
As I stated in the other comment:
My intention was to create something that can smash through a relatively thick wall, then detonate behind it to clear out an area as large as a living-room with a load of shrapnel. This reduces damage to a building, for example, which is better for the aftermath, as reparations are less expensive and civilians still have a place to live in after the battle is over. Remember your vid "Troops vs Building"? I got a bit inspired by that.
I also considered a round similar to the APHE rounds they have shown in the vid about the AT rifle (one of your other vids on YT), but I yet need to figure out if it also would be sufficient enough to knock out a light tank, APC, or IFV. A HEDSAP shell would definitely penetrate their armor (I used the Krupp-formula to claculate the possible AP value), but I have no empiric data about semi-AP rounds, which makes calculating such a round's AP values impossible. =/
My intention was to create something that can smash through a relatively thick wall, then detonate behind it to clear out an area as large as a living-room with a load of shrapnel. This reduces damage to a building, for example, which is better for the aftermath, as reparations are less expensive and civilians still have a place to live in after the battle is over. Remember your vid "Troops vs Building"? I got a bit inspired by that.
I also considered a round similar to the APHE rounds they have shown in the vid about the AT rifle (one of your other vids on YT), but I yet need to figure out if it also would be sufficient enough to knock out a light tank, APC, or IFV. A HEDSAP shell would definitely penetrate their armor (I used the Krupp-formula to claculate the possible AP value), but I have no empiric data about semi-AP rounds, which makes calculating such a round's AP values impossible. =/
Oh, forgot to add something (sorry, my bad):
The HEDSAP shell technically does the same thing another weapon type already successfully does: the "Bunkerfaust". It blows a hole into a wall using a shaped charde, then fires a high explosive load through the hole into the room behind the barrier where it detonates. I just swapped the HEAT charge with an APDS shell. ^^
The HEDSAP shell technically does the same thing another weapon type already successfully does: the "Bunkerfaust". It blows a hole into a wall using a shaped charde, then fires a high explosive load through the hole into the room behind the barrier where it detonates. I just swapped the HEAT charge with an APDS shell. ^^
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