page_title: Artillery fuze
section_title: Percussion fuzes
hierarchical_section_title: Artillery fuze / Types of artillery fuze / Percussion fuzes
caption_attribution_description: Diagram of Base Percussion fuze, early model, for Austro-Hungarian Škoda 305 mm mortar, World War I.
context_page_description: An artillery fuze or fuse is the type of munition fuze used with artillery munitions, typically projectiles fired by guns, howitzers and mortars. A fuze is a device that initiates an explosive function in a munition, most commonly causing it to detonate or release its contents, when its activation conditions are met. This action typically occurs a preset time after firing, or on physical contact with or detected proximity to the ground, a structure or other target. Fuze, a variant of fuse, is the official NATO spelling.
context_section_description: In the 20th century, most fuzes were 'percussion'.  They may be 'direct action' (also called 'point detonating' or ‘super quick’) or 'graze'.  They may also offer a ‘delay’ option.
  Percussion fuzes remain widespread particularly for training.  However, in the 19th century combined ‘T & P’ fuzes became common and this combination remain widespread with airburst fuzes in case the airburst function failed or was set too ‘long’.  War stocks in western armies are now predominantly 'multi-function' offering a choice of several ground and airburst functions.
caption: Base-detonating fuze for Austrian 30.5 cm howitzer, as used in defeating the Belgian forts at Liège in 1914
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