page_title: Ammunition
section_title: Naval
hierarchical_section_title: Ammunition / Common types / Shells / Naval
caption_attribution_description: Italiano: Interno della Cattedrale di San Lorenzo a Genova. Bomba Alleata lanciata sulla cattedrale nel 1941 e inesplosa. English: Unexploded 15 inch shell fired by British battleship, HMS Malaya, during Operation Grog, the Bombardment of Genoa, 9th February 1941. In the cathedral, Genoa. An AP shell, with its cap on the floor at left.
context_page_description: Ammunition is the material fired, scattered, dropped or detonated from any weapon. Ammunition is both expendable weapons and the component parts of other weapons that create the effect on a target. Nearly all mechanical weapons require some form of ammunition to operate.
  The term ammunition can be traced back to the mid-17th century. The word comes from the French la munition, for the material used for war. Ammunition and munitions are often used interchangeably, although munition now usually refers to the actual weapons system with the ammunition required to operate it. In some languages other than English ammunition is still referred to as munition, such as French, German, Italian or Portuguese.
  The purpose of ammunition is to project a force against a selected target to have an effect. The most iconic example of ammunition is the firearm cartridge, which includes all components required to deliver the weapon effect in a single package.
  Ammunition comes in a great range of sizes and types and is often designed to work only in specific weapons systems.
context_section_description: Naval weapons were originally the same as many land-based weapons, but the ammunition was designed for specific use, such as a solid shot designed to hole the enemy ship and chain-shot to cut the rigging and sails. Modern naval engagements have taken place over much larger distances than historic battles, so as ship armor has increased in strength and thickness, the ammunition to defeat it has also changed. Naval ammunition is now designed to reach very high velocities (to improve its armor-piercing capabilities) and may have specialized fuzes for defeating specific types of vessels. However, due to the extended ranges at which modern naval combat may take place, guided missiles have largely supplanted guns and shells.
caption: Armor-piercing naval shell – with cap (left) fired on 9 February 1941 in the nave of Genoa cathedral
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