IED question

[BLUEHAWK]

So the shape of per se plays a role in how effective/powerful the round is?

A Tanker buddy of mine explained to me that the sabout round is actually (I think he said) composed not of a "bullet" but of highly compressed gunpowder.

Is that a shaped kind of charge also?

[PHO127]

In Iraq and is an EOD Class A disarm Agent. (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) Here is what they are up against. When our troops ran over the Iraqi army in the first days of the war the commanders failed to secure or destroy most of the ammunition dumps that were taken. As we moved on with unsecured ammo dumps the insurgents went in and removed thousands of tons of high explosives mostly in the form of artillery shells. The Iraqi army used a South African model of artillery in 155mm with a shell weighing around 250 lbs. Several of these shells are daisy chained together along side or under a road and are command detonated by a cell phone. or other device. The Car bombs are filled with 3 or 4 of these shells and a van or light truck may carry as much as 2,000 or more lbs. DEADLY. My sons EOD team is currently disarming between 5 and 7 or more of these devices a day.

Your Tanker buddy knows not of what he speaks, A Tank Sabot round is simply a heavy metal rod (depleted uranium or similar) that is about 3/4 of an inch in diameter with a base. It penetrates the armor and sends a spalling charge of molten metal all through the tank incinerating everthing inside.

[Chas H]

An 155mm arty shell weighs about 98 lbs. However, 3 daisy chained together could make a total weight of about 295 lbs.
Even one 155 shell is gonna produce a very deadly blast.
The Sabot is as PHO explained, with tungsten being also used.

[PHO127]

SOUTH AFRICAN = +- 250.

[BLUEHAWK]

Originally posted by PHO127 Your Tanker buddy knows not of what he speaks, A Tank Sabot round is simply a heavy metal rod (depleted uranium or similar) that is about 3/4 of an inch in diameter with a base. It penetrates the armor and sends a spalling charge of molten metal all through the tank incinerating everthing inside.

I think what he was talking about is the material which surrounds the metal rod you refer to? The rod is clearly visible coming out the end of the round, but the round itself is a whole lot bigger than 3/4 inch.

In other words, a sabot round is not a "bullet" in the conventional sense. The rod is propelled at ultra high speed by the densely packed explosives around it... ? This is why I am asking about what a shaped charge is.

Seems to me, every round has some sort of shape, so a "shaped charge" must mean something else.

Anyhoo, he was TC on an M1 in Desert Storm, so I figure he and you have it right, and I misunderstood someone, or failed to ask just the right question. He showed me one of those "bases" being referred to up above... it looked to be about the diameter size of an old V8 engine piston.

[Chas H]

PHO, I'm having difficulty visualizing a 155mm round that weighs 250 lbs. An 8" (203mm) shell weighs 200 pounds and stands close to 3 ft tall. A 155 shell of 250 lbs would be around 7 ft tall.
Do you have a site for your claim of 250 lbs?

[SuperScout]

Shape charges refers more to chemical energy vs. the penetrator rod which = kinetic energy. In a shape charge, the initial explosion causes a cone to collapse around the point of impact, concentrating the chemical energy into a very small area, thereby accentuating the force. It's a physics thingie, more intelligently explained by His Eloquent Uniqueness, Sir Scamp.

IED is nothing more than a 21st century name for a booby trap, much like we encountered decades ago in a land faraway. Back then and back there, booby traps could range anywhere from a .30 caliber round triggered to shoot one person, or a 500 pound bomb that didn't explode on impact with the ground, but was used by Chuck later. Chuck could rig these suckers for unsuspecting folks, much like Achmed is doing to our warriors now in Iraq and Afghanistan. The level of sophistication may have improved, but an IED is still a booby trap.

"sabot" literally means wooden shoe, and it is that shape of the propellant charge around the penetrator rod that gives it its name. Now go to your room and memorize all the facts!

[PHO127]

the round is from the SA G5 155mm I went to google search but it does not give shell weight, I have seen pictures of them in trucks from my son and they are long. My only other reference is from my son who has to disarm them.

[PHO127]

The newest and latest is the G6 that outshoots moves and out everythings we have. has a rocket assist round with a 70 K range. Nominal range is 35K with extended range to 48k. This Artillery design is based on designs and theories from Gerry Bull the designer of the Iraq super gun and assinated by person or persons unknown. Bull is generally acknowledged as the finest artillery designer in the modern era. We Wouldn't listen to him so he went private and sold to the world.

[BLUEHAWK]

Originally posted by SuperScout Shape charges refers more to chemical energy vs. the penetrator rod which = kinetic energy. In a shape charge, the initial explosion causes a cone to collapse around the point of impact, concentrating the chemical energy into a very small area, thereby accentuating the force. It's a physics thingie, more intelligently explained by His Eloquent Uniqueness, Sir Scamp.

IED is nothing more than a 21st century name for a booby trap, much like we encountered decades ago in a land faraway. Back then and back there, booby traps could range anywhere from a .30 caliber round triggered to shoot one person, or a 500 pound bomb that didn't explode on impact with the ground, but was used by Chuck later. Chuck could rig these suckers for unsuspecting folks, much like Achmed is doing to our warriors now in Iraq and Afghanistan. The level of sophistication may have improved, but an IED is still a booby trap.

"sabot" literally means wooden shoe, and it is that shape of the propellant charge around the penetrator rod that gives it its name. Now go to your room and memorize all the facts!

Ahhhhhhhh, so!

A "shape charge" then, is a charge whose POWER has been "shaped", versus the shape of its shape!

Sorta like the difference between Sophia Loren and Bella Abzug?

Next question:

Would then, Little Boy and Fat Man be rightly regarded as having been shape charges?