The big bad book of military explosives

[Steve81]

For those that are curious: link.

[swansont]

!

Moderator Note

This should be more descriptive; it’s a publicly available (no copyright) book on history, use and effects. Not on how to make them.

 

[Steve81]

My apologies for the laconic OP.

As @swansont kindly stated, this is a technical manual from the Army regarding military explosives. It goes over their potential uses (for example, you wouldn't want to fill an anti-aircraft shell with undiluted PETN as it's far too sensitive), the history, etc. 

Discussion is whatever you care to discuss, but I'm happy to attempt to answer questions if people have them based on my understand of the material. I'm also trying to re-find another document that goes over specific tests done on the explosives to determine sensitivity, brisance, along with various other properties. I'll update if I track it down. 

Edit: Found it. Link.

Edited August 13, 2023 by Steve81

[studiot]

GI brown, despite his initials, was not in the american military he was a humble chemistry teacher, and author of a famous Physical Chemistry textbook.

Amongst his other books was this history of explosives

 

https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=PzXcAAAAMAAJ&dq=editions:ISBN075091923X

[Steve81]

A little history story on the power of chemistry and war...

For much of World War I, the British Navy tended to rely on Lyddite (Picric Acid) for the filler in their large caliber armor piercing shells. The problem with Lyddite was it was too sensitive for the job; the shells tended to burst before achieving adequate penetration against a heavily armored target (i.e. a battleship). Supposedly, this is part of why British battlecruisers were so lightly armored; they were deemed at least marginally adequate against their own weapons, and they didn't consider the fact that the Germans could do better.

The Germans did do better. They utilized TNT, which is a relatively less sensitive explosive. More than likely, they also desensitized the TNT with wax (my sources indicated they did during WWII at least). As a result, their shells tended to penetrate armor quite well compared with their British counterparts. The Germans also utilized smaller caliber, but higher velocity weapons, which was somewhat advantageous considering the relatively short effective battle ranges of the day. To get around that particular problem, the British tended to drill heavily to improve rates of fire; this would also have disastrous consequences, as it led to poor safety protocols with respect to handling the propellant charge.

The results of all this would lead to problems for the British at the Battle of Jutland, with the loss of three battlecruisers in fairly rapid succession, and a fourth only saved by quick thinking and the flooding of the powder magazine. 

The British would later develop Shellite, which typically was a mixture of Lyddite with DNP, which was less sensitive. Shellite would remain in use throughout WWII. 

Edited August 13, 2023 by Steve81