The WWI vintage 18 Pdr was pressed into service by the Commonwealth forces as an anti tank gun, whilst the 6Pdr was still on the drawing board, and Dunkirk had left only a few 2 Pdrs. But how did it perform? What ammunition did it use? Was it of any use firing H.E? Or was shrapnel the order of the day? (WWI)
The 18 pdr had a huge range of ammo made for it. By WW2 the standard type was an HE shell, but shrapnel and a solid AP shot were also made. With a weight of 18 lb and a muzzle velocity of 1,625 fps, armour penetration of the shot would probably have been in the region of 60mm at 500 yards - more than enough to deal with 1940 Panzers. In fact, the plain HE would probably have disabled the rather thinly-armoured Panzers which were all that they had at that time. Tony Williams Homepage: http://www.quarry.nildram.co.uk
Tony. Thanks for that. What was the weight of the H.E shell used in WWII? And what was the weight of the H.E content? Thanks, David. B.T.W. You're up late. (I don't usually get to talk with anyone else in the U.K, after about 1.00am)
18 lbs. I don't know about the WW2 shells, but in WW1 it was 13 oz. Actually, my normal sleep pattern is to go to bed fairly early, sleep for c.3 hours, wake up for c.3 hours then get another 3 hours sleep....So I'm now in the middle "waking bit". Tony Williams Homepage: http://www.quarry.nildram.co.uk
You have to remember that HE capacity was not considered to be the primary factor. The main killer wasn't blast, but shell fragments. Therefore the relationship between the amount of HE, the thickness of the shell body, and the number of fragments of lethal size was what mattered. Blast becomes the major destructive force when it explodes in confined spaces. The German M-Geschoss aircraft cannon shells were specifically designed to explode within aircraft structures, blowing them apart. Similarly, the modern popularity of thermobaric warheads, which produce no fragments but far more blast, is due to their effectiveness in buildings and caves; out in the open they are less effective. Tony Williams Homepage: http://www.quarry.nildram.co.uk
Yes and no is the short answer. I have something on my hard drive that gives an approximation, but some shells were/ are "prefragmented" or scored deeply to split into set numbers/ sizes of fragments - which negates the formula. When I get my own PC back into service (have to reformat the C drive and re-install every flaming programme I have :angry: ) I'll post the formula.
