The Bridgeport evening farmer. [volume] (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1866-1917, 1917-10-01
WORD SHRAPNEL!
: is MISPLACED
BY MANY men.
Effects That Are Described
Come From High Elk
plosiye Shells,

RACJSSNAAOc
not shrapnel. the word is often incor-
rectly used, even by men who have
been undeT artillery fire and who are
often apt to describe as effects of
shrapnel what are in fact effects of
high explosive shells.
The dictionary defines shrapnel as
"a shell filled with bullets and having
a bursting charge to explode at any
time in its flight This definition is
credited to a British officer, but, while
accurate, is somewhat misleading. The
BULLETS. technically shrapnel, are inn
bedded In rosin and fill the steel cas-
. ing above the diaphragm which closes
the powder pocket in the base Of the
casing. In this powder charge which
"explodes' the shrapnel. A timing de-
vice.from which emanates the flash
which ignites the powder charge at
some predetermined Instant, caps the
shell casing and forms the nose of the
shrapneL ALI this has become IA
niliar enough TO many within the last
few yearaD@ith the possible exception
of the ming device and its operation.
SN&1nuch for what a shrapnel is.
wat shrapnel does is clouded by
even more general misunderstanding.
Consulting the dictionary again, we
note that the shrapnel carries a burst :?
ing charge to explode it, and the gen.
era1 belief Is that this charge, carried
In the powder pocket in the base of
the casing skaters the steel shell and
scatters the charge of shrapnel bull
lets. Even the head of a prominent
concern engaged in the manufacture
Of war munitions, in describing the
powder pocket, uses the expressions,
(which contains the necessary amount
Of powder to explode the casing"
This may happen at times. but it Is
not what a shrapnel is designed to do,
nor what properly built shrapnel
will do.
ON firing gun loaded with shrap-
mel, the cartridge case is left behind,
Just as is the shell when discharging
an ordinary shotgun. The complete
shrapnel, with it's time fuse, etc., is
projected at high rate of velocity,
revolving rapidly in it's flight, and
travels as a unit until such instant as
the flash from the fuse reaches the
powder pocket. When ignition of the
powder charge occurs, the diaphragm
separating the powder pocket from
the section containing the shrapnel
balls LIS driyep forward. This strips
the fuse, body from the end of the
shell casing, while the forward travel
or the casing is seriously retarded, If
not arrested or reversed. On issuing
from the casing, the diaphragm ploWs
through the mass Of shrapnel balls
and scatters them IN all directions.
{ the rosin which bound them together
having been melted by the heat OF
the explosion and the friction created
in driving the collection of shrapnel
and partly melted rosin from the
shrapne1 casing. - +" =
The blast Of the gases formed by
the explosion Of the powder charge
on issuing from the open end of the
casing scatters the shrapne1 still fur
Their and imparts to the balls veloc
ity which makes them, very destruc
tive within radius Of about SO feet o.
where the shrapnsl breaks" Part O.
the gases generated in the powdel
pocket are apt to escape through thu
powder tube and this strips the fus'
cap from it's body, or, if the fuse
bodys IL stripped from the shells cas-
ing before this takes place, the fus
body lis pulled from the end of tn
powder tube. After the break of
shrapnel, the head Of the projectil
continues in advance, with a certain
! accelerated speed, followed by tn
diaphragm. powder tube; ETC.. and tn
spread of scattering shrapnel. TIL
casing, having lost much Of it's mo
mentum, drops to the ground.
should the force OF the exp1osio
within the powder pocket not be sui
ficfent to strip the threaded connec
ton between the fuse body the she
casing, the steel shell would exp1od'
but only in such case. To retail
~ the effectiveness of the shrapne1, tn
fracture would be limited to a sectio
near the mouth Of the casing, whel
its walls are comparatively thin, an
the shrapnel would be scattered frol
the remainder OF the casing as befor
The shattering of the steel casir
! takes place only when shrapn
fails to break properly. 1t is not WIFI
"a shrapnel does ordinarily, but VIII
~fnay do in the case OF an eme
Esncy-
~ IA ahrapne1 which breaks proper
durfnrN flight simply scatters shral
neI baIln< not fragments and pieces
fa9rsd shAll such as fly from an e
nIodtnx hieAxexplosive shell. When
shrapne1.. through failure of the tin
fuse to respondN does not explode u
til it comes in contact with some 9th
firm object in its path. then. and on
then, the steel shell fs fractured al
- pieces scattered in all dTections. Dal
age frequently described az caused
living, pieces Of shrapnei casint
Tn0rGIOTGy I'M IhOEC va CNS-~0hJ
to be ascribed to fragments OF hlg
explosive shells. &
A properly built shrapne1 can
timed to break accurately at any pl
determined distance in its flight. n,
withdrawing the fact that on leavi
the muzzle of the gun 1t may be ira
cling at speed of close to 1000 II
per second. The time fuse contr'
Z ling this all-important function Is CO
ried on the end of the shell cast
and forms the nose of the project
Different types of fuses are emple
ed. Zone has, combination detona'
and time fuse, is simple and well
illustrates the principle involved.
cap of the fuse contains three stu
or pellets. the upper one of viii
fits firmly into the noe of the
and serves primarily as cushi
against which the center free-m'
ing slug rebounds on the dischal
of the gun. The free-moving S
fits loosely in the cap, so that on
instant the shrapnel leaves the ca
ridge case on firing it is thrown f
chilly against the lower slug. This
plosfve slug carries on its upper {
a. small quantity of ignitible and hi
ly explosive substance which is
stantly exploded with a flash WI