Abstract:
A projectile with a penetrator, which on impact with an obstacle (wall, door, glass pane etc.) pierces it, so that immediately afterwards an active substance which is carried along by the penetrator, is set free behind said obstacle. Such a projectile is of particular use by special police, military or other operations as a so called barricade-penetrator, in order to set out of action persons to be overpowered in closed rooms. The release of the active substance occurs without a pyrotechnic detonation; the active substance is expelled exclusively through mechanical means, and preferably by a piston action resulting when the projectile contacts the obstacle.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    The invention refers to a barricade-penetrating shell having an active substance.  
           [0002]    During interventions of special police or army forces etc. non-lethal acting means are often used as barricade penetrators. The special function of such means is to temporarily irritate persons that have to be overpowered and to be put out of action and so that they are not able to act in closed non-armored rooms such that subsequently it is possible to advance without danger from those persons. Such barricade penetrators have to penetrate particularly through doors, walls and panes of glass of buildings of civilian types of construction.  
           [0003]    It is a purpose of the present invention to produce a barricade penetrator which is simple to handle and can produce a concerted effect when using chemically active ingredients and similar substances.  
         BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
         [0004]    In accordance with the foregoing a barricade-penetrating projectile of the present invention includes a centrally-arrayed penetrator connected to a piston which carries an active substance. When the projectile contacts the obstacle to be penetrated, the penetrator penetrates the obstacle, while a portion of the projectile in which the active substance is stored is retarded. The relative motion between the penetrator and retarded portion drives the piston forward through the obstacle, carrying the active substance and allowing the active substance to be disbursed within the room or area behind the obstacle.  
           [0005]    The use of the subject invention is very simple; it is especially applicable for firing by small arms of a caliber less than 60 mm which are common on the market.  
           [0006]    While penetrating the obstacle by the penetrator, the active substance is pressed under high pressure into the target area or room, where it is released; it can deploy instantaneously its full activity. The active substance is released in a mechanical way only. A pyrotechnical explosion does not take place. Therefore the extent of local destruction remains very low. By the free choice of the active substance the projectile can be assigned in a simple way either for lethal or for non lethal operations.  
           [0007]    In a preferred embodiment the penetrator includes a tip that is located at a forward end of a hollow cylinder in which the active substance is stored. A penetrator shaft extends within the cylinder and carries a disc to form a piston for the active substance. The forward end of the hollow cylinder may be flanged at its forward end to facilitate its retardation by contact with the obstacle and develop piston action.  
       
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0008]    A fuller understanding of the invention will be obtained upon consideration of the following illustrative example, considered in association with the annexed drawing which shows a projectile according to the invention in a sectional view; the launching direction being characterized by an arrow A. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0009]    The projectile, which is designated  20 , has a projectile casing  10  with a projectile base  15  made of, e.g., aluminum, carrying a bursting charge  11  of known construction and consisting of a percussion fuse with an ignition chain and a propelling charge. A rear part of a projectile jacket  9 , which may be constructed of a plastic material available on the market, is inserted into the projectile casing  10 . The base portion of the jacket  9  is designated by  9 ′ and includes pocket hole-shaped recesses  12 .  
         [0010]    A cylindrical, hollow body  4  is inserted into the projectile jacket  9 . It is advantageously made of a light metal alloy, closed at one end, and includes a front part  4   a  and a rear part  4   b.  Both parts  4   a,    4   b  of the cylinder  4  are exactly fitted together along a joining seam  4   c,  whereby the inner surface of the front of part  4   b  overlaps the outer surface of the rear of part  4   a.  The part  4   a  is frontally provided with a flange  14 , and is slightly narrowed in the direction of the flange  14 , while the part  4   b  is generally cup-shaped.  
         [0011]    A penetrator shaft  2  of an arrow shaped penetrator  1 , made for example of a highly alloyed steel or tungsten, projects within the cylinder  4 . The penetrator  1  has a cone shaped tip  3 , the back edge of which rests against the flange  14 .  
         [0012]    At the free (rear) end of the shaft  2  a piston disk  7 , advantageously made of an elastomer such as silicone rubber, is fixed by means of a flat spring washer  7 ′ to an stepped, lathed off end of the shaft.  
         [0013]    The piston  7  closes off a hollow space  17  from the forward section of the hollow body  4  up to the tip  3  of the penetrator  1  wherein is deposited, in a foil-like wrapping  8 ′, an active substance  8 , such as Capsaicin. Over the tip  3  a covering cap  16 , made of plastic material, is placed, which is connected to the projectile jacket  9 .  
         [0014]    Active substances of different kind can be used. The type and amount of the active substance  8  depend on the operational objective and the needed concentration. For non-lethal operations irritant substances in liquid or in powder form are advisable, which make concerned persons temporarily unable to act.  
         [0015]    It is preferred to use an active substance in liquid form, because it yields a greater range in the target area than substances in powder form, which may be filled in an easily disruptible, pocket-like wrapping made of paper. The wrapping  8 ′ is destroyed immediately on impact of the projectile, so that the active substance is under the pressure of the accelerated piston  7 .  
         [0016]    The manner of function of a projectile according to the invention is as follows:  
         [0017]    On impact of the projectile on the obstacle the cover cap  16  is destroyed. The penetrator  1  is separated from the projectile and ejected towards the front, in order to penetrate into the obstacle. The process of this separation is substantially triggered by the following two mechanical operations:  
         [0018]    Upon penetration of the projectile into the obstacle, a force that is opposed to the direction of the launch acts on the projectile. Thereby the moving components of the projectile are slowed down according to their inertial comportment. By proper choice of the different mass fractions for the penetrator  1  and the flange  14  and the different inertial comportments connected therewith, it is possible to accommodate the mode of separation specifically to the objective of the application and to the materials of the obstacle.  
         [0019]    This mode of separation is additionally supported by the shape of the components of the projectile. On one hand it relates to the arrangement of the tip  3 . On the other hand the flange  14  is formed as support, the front surface of which renders a greater contact and active surface respectively with respect to the obstacle encountered and accordingly a high retardation of the hollow cylinder  4 . By this the penetration of the hollow cylinder into the obstacle can be reduced or totally prevented.  
         [0020]    The different manners and degrees of contact and penetration of the penetrator  1  and the other part of the projectile lead to a relative motion between the penetrator  1  and the remaining part of the projectile, including the hollow cylinder. When the penetrator penetrates through the obstacle a hole in the obstacle is created. Usually only the penetrator  1  penetrates into the obstacle. The remaining parts of the projectile crash or bounce off the obstacle.  
         [0021]    With the hollow cylinder retarded, the piston  7 , which continues to move in the travel direction of the projectile, forces the active substance  8  through the hole which is formed in the front part of the projectile by the separations of the top from the hollow cylinder, with a high pressure. The hollow body  4  acts together with the piston  7  like a highly accelerated hydraulic pump. Thus, the active substance  8  reaches the target area or room through the hole formed in the obstacle, where it is sprayed or nebulized and immediately displays the desired activity. In the room a defined cloud of the active substance is formed with a controlled distribution of the same.  
         [0022]    The other components of the projectile are known per se, as is their activity:  
         [0023]    The bursting charge  11  placed in the projectile base  15  is ignited in the launching barrel by a percussion pin which is well known, whereby, at the end of the ignition chain, the propelling charge powder  11 ′ ignites at a high burning speed to form a gas of high pressure. The compressed gas formed in the bursting charge  11  partially opens bursting box  5 , flows through borings  6  distributed over the perimeter into a larger pressure chamber  13 , and finally impinges on the projectile base  9   1  and pocket-hole like recesses  12 . In the rear part of the projectile jacket  9  a sealing ring  18  (O-ring) is embedded, which tightens against the cartridge case  10  and resists the gas. A disc in groove  19  divides the pressure chamber in sub- rooms  13  and  13 ′ to increase the initial acceleration.  
         [0024]    The projectile is expulsed out of the barrel or tube by the gas pressure in a known manner and is accelerated up to flight speed by the charge  11 ′.  
         [0025]    In practical tests the described operating manner of a projectile with a caliber (outside diameter) of 40 mm has been proved operable for the following kinds of obstacles:  
         [0026]    2-layer laminated glass with 10 to 14 mm normal thickness.  
         [0027]    heavy room door with 39 mm thickness (so-called pressboard tube doors); heavy room door with 51 mm thickness (pressboard plate); entrance door with 49 mm thickness (house front door, ISO HAT 60, of RIWAG Co. Switzerland)  
         [0028]    In all cases a clean course of the described action and relative movement between the projectile parts concerned relating therefrom has been observed. The active substance has been pressed as desired through the obstacle and can extend purposefully behind the obstacle. Thereby irritant gas clouds of common irritants (CS, CN, OC or PAVA) of about 1 meter diameter and a length of 2 to 3 meters have been defined and produced behind the obstacle.  
         [0029]    In the figure one is further shown protection cap  15 ′ at the projectile base  15 , serving for the transport of the ammunition body, which is of course removed prior to the introduction of the projectile into the barrel.  
         [0030]    The subject of the invention can be realized in different variations; all of them however have in common the penetrator, when penetrating a barricade, which carries mechanically (hydraulically) an active substance, directly or indirectly through the hole made by the penetrator.