Howitzer shell

There were four major designs of artillery muntions  

At first picric acid was used as burster filling for ground contamination and PETN for cloud effects. Later the picric acid burster was replaced by PETN-Wax 60/40 and still later the bursters were filled in three increments, the first and third being PETN-Wax 60/40 and the second PETN-Wax 35/65. A problem with the head burster version was loss by crater formation. An improved ground contamination effect was obtained by charging thickened mustard into the shell. Nitrogen mustard was also tried for ground contamination but was found to be less effective than sulphur mustard . 

Unfortunately the aggregates changed in the course of years to such a hardness that it would be dangerous to crush them to a small particle size, as desired for processing in the course of CW destruction. 

Markings on the outside of the munitions were applied for easier recognition. The most informative markings of the second World War were coloured rings (Table 4). They indicated the physiological effect of the charge as dependent on the form (agent cloud or liquid contamination) in which it was dispersed  

Numbers associated with the rings gave information of different chargings. 

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Gas burning from a newly drilled oil pit in Karlin in Northern Poland in 1981 was successfully extinguished with howitzer shells. 

Russia. According to Blinov (Ref 15a), two types of amatol were used during WW1I a) 80/20 amatol - in many types of ammo, such as 76.2 107 mm HE shells, 82, 107 120 mm mortar shells, and 122 mm HE howitzer shells b) 50/50 amatol in some ammo and to a lesser extent than 80/20 amatol. A similar expl call Ammoksil (qv) contained TNX in lieu of TNT... 

Anon, "Assembly of Explosive Components , TB(Teehnieal Bulletin) 9 1300 203 1(1961) (Description of 105mm Howitzer shell contg nonpersistent gas GB 155mm Gun shell contg GB or persistent gas VX 8 inch Howitzer shell contg either GB or VX gas)(Formula... 

Chemical Howitzer Shell s See under Chemical Gun, Howitzer Recoilless Rifle Shells... 

Chemical Shells See Chemical Gun Howitzer Shells, Chemical Mortar Shells, Chemical Recoilless Rifle Shells and Chemical Rockets... 

A typical underground view of7 unnel Quarry in 1943 showing stacks of 6 howitzer shell being broken down for issue. Approximately ten thousand rounds are visible in this photograph, with a gross weight of some 385 tons. 

Already scurrying blobs of khaki have piled it high with war stores. Five hundred tons of 6 howitzer shell awaiting despatch during the build-up to the Normandy invasion. 

In 1916 the British introduced a new means of projecting gas, the 4-inch Stokes mortar, developed from the 3-inch version of this weapon, which had been the standard mortar in the British Army. Because of their inability to manufacture gas shells, the British first used the mortar to fire improvised smokes and incendiaries. The Stokes gas shell, or bomb, as the British called it, contained six pounds of agent as compared to three pounds for the British 4.5-inch heavy howitzer shell. 

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