Tungsten Armor Piercing Shells in World War I

Tungsten armor piercing shells for tank guns, although used by most forces of this period, were not used by the British. The only British APHE projectile was the AP, Mk1 for the 2 pdr anti-tank gun and this was dropped as the product was found that the fuse tended to separate from the body during penetration. Even when the fuse didn't separate and the system functioned correctly, damage to the interior was little different from the solid shot, and so did not warrant the additional time and cost of producing a shell version. APHE projectiles of this period used a bursting charge of about 1-3% of the weight of the complete projectile, the filling detonated by a rear mounted delay fuse. The explosive used in APHE projectiles needs to be highly insensitive to shock to prevent premature detonation. The US forces normally used the Explosive D, otherwise known as ammonium pirate, for this purpose. Other combatant forces of the period used various explosives, suitability desensitized (usually by the use of waxes mixed with the explosive).

Tungsten armor piercing shells were used prior to and during World War I were generally cast from special chromium (stainless) steel that was melted in pots. They were forged into shape afterward and then thoroughly annealed, the core bored at the rear and the exterior turned up in a lathe. The projectiles were finished in a similar manner to others described above. The final, or tempering treatment, which gave the required hardness/toughness profile (differential hardening) to the projectile body, was a closely guarded secret.



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