how much force does a tank shell hit with

Solid cannonballs (“shot”) did not need a fuze, but hollow balls (“shells”) filled with something, such as gunpowder to fragment the ball needed a fuze, either impact (or percussion) or time. Shells usually have the shape of a cylinder topped by an ogive-shaped nose for good aerodynamic performance, possibly with a tapering base but some specialized types are quite different.Ī mortar with a hollowed shell from the Boshin war Shells are usually large calibre projectiles fired by artillery and combat vehicles (including tanks), and warships. Words cognate to grenade are still used for an artillery or mortar projectile in some European languages. 'Bombshell' is still used figuratively to refer to a shockingly unexpected happening.Īll explosive and incendiary filled projectiles, particularly for mortars, were originally called grenades, derived from the pomegranate due to its seeds being similar to grains of powder. Originally 'bombshell', but 'shell' has come to be unambiguous in a military context. Solid shot may contain a pyrotechnic compound if a tracer or spotting charge is used. the M114 or M198Ī shell is a payload-carrying projectile, which, as opposed to shot, contains an explosive or other filling, though modern usage sometimes includes large solid projectiles properly termed shot (AP, APCR, APCNR, APDS, APFSDS and proof shot). It could be fired from any standard 155 mm (6.1 inch) howitzer e.g. US scientists with a full-scale cut-away model of the W48 155-millimeter nuclear artillery shell, a very small tactical nuclear weapon with an explosive yield equivalent to 72 tons of TNT (0.072 kiloton).

How much force does a tank shell hit with