Article on Tungsten - Worth a read.

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On BBC website here :- **LINK**

Nick

I should show a pic. of what a Tungsten round does to a tank. I dug after the projectile into the bank for about 20 foot but it was still going further and I had no time. There are several published photos of projectile strikes by Israeli tanks on the Egyptian tanks. I have at times had to machine Tungsten counter weights used on Theodolites and the HS and Carbide tooling was knackered by it. The milling machine I was using was not robust enough to take the load. I really did not like that job at all.

Clive

Why does the BBC always put me in Victor Meldrew mode? It's an interesting article, but why start off by telling us that tungsten is three times heavier than iron when it isn't? What's wrong with being exact, or is this another example of BBC "dumbing down"?

Mike

Seems silly to say nearly three times when two and a half times is as near to exact as one could ever need outside of proper engineering calculations. That said three times is much easier to visualise if you aren't used to maths, approximations and sanity check calculations.

Clive

And I thought it was about the size of Wales.

Some years ago I was taken on a conducted tour of a newly privatised former Royal Ordnance factory which was making anti-tank rounds from both tungsten and depleted uranium - two metals of round about the same density. I don't really understand the physics of it, but apparently these heavyweight bullets don't penetrate the armour as a conventional rifle bullet might, but generate so much heat on impact that the armour-plate steel is melted locally, and a shower of liquid steel is released on the inside - enough to wreck internal machinery, set off explosive shells, and, of course, kill the crew. Not a very pleasant subject, and I was glad to get out. Small bonus was that they gave me a set of tungsten darts. I'm not really a player, but I understand tungsten-bodied darts are so slim that three will fit together in the treble 20 bed. Remember the TV commentator's cry of ONE HUNDRED AND EIGHTEEEE!

Mike,

Explosives/shells with an internal core of copper, shaped in a cone, have the same destructive power.

Who would have thought that of soft copper.

Geoff - F*****g silent calls all afternoon! Add your favourite Ango-Saxon.

You are describing the Monroe effect where the copper metal jet burns through the armour with a hole the size of a pencil. Defence against these projectiles is with reactive armour where an explosive plate senses the hit and in the microsecond explodes and blows the projectile away. Another is where the electronic sensing device placed all around the armoured veh. hull detects a launch and as it closes in on the hull another projectile is fired from the defensive array smacking the projectile in mid air and destroying it. All this within a few feet of the hull! Some of the fixed ammo APDS have fin stabilization and can be about a foot long and some now under development with increasing velocities. 2000 Mtrs plus is possible and it is accurate with 12 rounds making a group of about 24" . The Point of aim only changing as the barrel heats up but compensating sights take care of this. There is now a change to smooth bore barrels which are just as accurate and most US tanks have them. Having fired the 120mm in a Chieftan it is an experience as each round is about £1500 and then going to see what it did and hoping that i would never have to sit in a tank again in battle conditions. Further more, most tankies are deaf in one ear due to the noise in the tank both from comms. and gunfire.

Clive

I used to work with a guy, from sunny Wiltshire who had a prized set of tungsten darts. He was banned from all the lunchtime work competitions, whether it was because of his darts, or because he was a very good player I'm not sure!

cheers

Bill

Here is what a Tungsten projectile does to armour.

Edited By Clive Hartland on 13/07/2014 11:24:27

Why doe it post upside down?

Clive

A work colleague had two pieces of metal about 300mm x 150mm x 80mm . One piece was aluminium alloy and the other pure tungsten.. He would throw the al. piece in the air & catch it and then hide it in in his desk drawer . He would then bring out the tungsten piece and place it on his desk top without any body noticing the switch. Sometimes visitors who saw the al. piece throwing and then seeing the machined tungsten piece on his desk would idly try to lift it up. Their reaction was often hilarious. When the visitor was leaving. the trick would be repeated whilst the visitor could still seeing the throwing action - all good fun !