armour-piercing projectile
Quick Summary
An armor-piercing projectile is designed to penetrate armor. This can include rifle bullets, artillery projectiles, and antitank grenades.1
During World War II, the development of antitank guns led to advancements in ammunition technology. Initially, solid steel shots were used, but they would shatter upon impact at high velocities. To overcome this, projectiles made of tungsten carbide were developed. Some designs used a tapering gun barrel to increase projectile velocity, while others, like the British "discarding-sabot" projectile, used a tungsten core supported by a sabot that detached after firing, allowing the core to travel at extremely high speeds.2
An alternative approach involved using high explosives in shaped-charge projectiles. These created a high-velocity jet capable of punching through armor. These technologies were later incorporated into tank armaments.2
Ask Britannica AI about this topic
Britannica doesn't have a full article on this topic, so we've curated a list of our relevant coverage.
ammunitionSpecial-purpose ammunition includes armour-piercing rounds, which fire bullets that have cores of hardened steel or some other metal such as tungsten carbide. Tracer bullets have a column of pyrotechnic composition in the base that is ignited by the flame of the propellant; this provides a visible pyrotechnic display…
Read MoreSpecial-purpose ammunition includes armour-piercing rounds, which fire bullets that have cores of hardened steel or some other metal such as tungsten carbide. Tracer bullets have a column of pyrotechnic composition in the base that is ignited by the flame of the propellant; this provides a visible pyrotechnic display…
Read More- bullet
Armour-piercing bullets have a hardened-steel inner core. Expanding bullets, used in game hunting and long outlawed in war, are made with an exposed nose of soft metal, which will push back into the jacketed portion to deform it on impact, enlarging the wound and increasing…
Read MoreArmour-piercing bullets have a hardened-steel inner core. Expanding bullets, used in game hunting and long outlawed in war, are made with an exposed nose of soft metal, which will push back into the jacketed portion to deform it on impact, enlarging the wound and increasing…
Read More
shellAn armour-piercing shell has a hollow pointed nose to act as windshield and a heavy, blunt armour-piercing cap and steel core, with the bursting charge located in the base of the projectile. In some high-velocity types, a tungsten carbide core is used. Steel has generally supplanted…
Read MoreAn armour-piercing shell has a hollow pointed nose to act as windshield and a heavy, blunt armour-piercing cap and steel core, with the bursting charge located in the base of the projectile. In some high-velocity types, a tungsten carbide core is used. Steel has generally supplanted…
Read More
tankAmmunition…the development of more- effective antitank ammunition with armour-piercing, discarding-sabot (APDS) projectiles. These had a smaller-calibre, hard tungsten carbide core inside a light casing. The casing fell away on leaving the gun barrel, while the core flew on at an extremely high velocity. The APDS, which was adopted for the…
Read More…the development of more- effective antitank ammunition with armour-piercing, discarding-sabot (APDS) projectiles. These had a smaller-calibre, hard tungsten carbide core inside a light casing. The casing fell away on leaving the gun barrel, while the core flew on at an extremely high velocity. The APDS, which was adopted for the…
Read More
warshipArmourSteel-armour-piercing shells came into use in the late 1880s, again threatening the armoured ship. Accordingly, an American engineer, Hayward Augustus Harvey, perfected a face-hardening process, applying carbon to the face of the steel plate at very high temperatures for an extended period and tempering. Harvey…
Read MoreSteel-armour-piercing shells came into use in the late 1880s, again threatening the armoured ship. Accordingly, an American engineer, Hayward Augustus Harvey, perfected a face-hardening process, applying carbon to the face of the steel plate at very high temperatures for an extended period and tempering. Harvey…
Read More