Got to admit, I was hoping they would dig the copper jet out of the sand.
Shaped Charges – Sheet of copper going through 1ft of solid steel (2010) [video]
171–180 of 306 posts
Re: Shaped Charges – Sheet of copper going through 1ft of solid steel (2010) [video]
#172Earlier quoted context omitted.
> EDIT: I'm pretty sure that you can't just "drop" a mortar or AT4 warhead reliably either. You'd want to make it into the shape of... well... a bomb. So that the "shape" of the shape-charge points in the correct direction. they have been dropping 60's-vintage anti-tank hand grenades with 3d printed stabilizers: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RKG-3_anti-tank_grenade#Histor... "220 mm penetration of RHA" which is plent…
> "220 mm penetration of RHA" which is plenty for top armor I seriously doubt that. Almost all modern tanks have reactive-armor on top. There's a reason why NLAW has 500+mm penetration AND top-down. NLAW is single-charge (no-tandem), to punch-through reactive armor requires a lot more penetration. Let alone lol Javelin with top-down, 900mm+ penetration, and tandem charge. I don't think 200mm or even 400mm is consider…
you should tell that to the RU tanks getting their lids popped:
not sure about nlaw but javelin also features a side targeting mode
Re: Shaped Charges – Sheet of copper going through 1ft of solid steel (2010) [video]
#173Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yes and no. It's simple enough to construct a shaped charge from things you buy at Home Depot, assuming you have the right explosive. The explosive needs to be conformal (either plastic or castable) and capable of achieving true detonation. Secondaries like C4 and TNT are not easy to synthesize at home, and the primaries that are easy to synthesize at home are difficult to phlegmatize and handle safely at the necessa…
I'd like to mess with them at home, but not at "the necessary volumes" to go through a foot of steel as in the video. You know those little bang snaps you throw at the ground and they make a popping sound? For DIY, ideally, I'd do things in that kind of volume. I'd probably need a smidgen more, but I wouldn't want to do more than e.g. make a pinhole in 29 gauge sheet metal. What I'd really love to make -- but I don't…
Small rocket engines can be made with some pyrodex, dowels, and cardboard tubes.
Most high explosives involve nitric acid of decent concentration.
It’s hard to make them in quantities small enough to be actually not dangerous, especially since many of the compounds will react with all sorts of normal everyday substances (like aluminum, copper, etc) to form even more unstable compounds.
Some of them can even explode on exposure to light.
The two are not in the same ballpark. I wouldn’t recommend high explosive synthesis without a solid grounding in organic and inorganic chemistry.
Even a pea sized portion of these compounds can remove a finger or part of a hand, or blind you.
If you still want to know more ‘The Chemistry of Powders and Explosives’ is a good read.
Re: Shaped Charges – Sheet of copper going through 1ft of solid steel (2010) [video]
#174"I designed this, for, well, filling by the user. It means it can travel on airplanes and such" Presenter: "DIY shaped charges, of course " "Mmm yes" I get that he likely meant it can be shipped on airplanes and local explosives used for easier logistics, but it's amusing to hear an explosive munitions expert brag about designing something so it can be carried on airplanes. "This box, I'm pleased to tell you, is full…
It is just saying it is so stable and safe, it can be transported on a plane.
No. The explosives do not fly. The equipment is such as not to alarm airport people.
Re: Shaped Charges – Sheet of copper going through 1ft of solid steel (2010) [video]
#175This is just a few dollars worth of copper and explosives. Attach it to a few tens of dollars worth of drone. (The cheapest drones are under 10 dollars now). A country could release 1000 of these and direct them at any military target, and they'll do massive amounts of damage at very low costs. Most anti-drone defences can be defeated simply with a redesign of the drone (eg. Use UWB for Comms, and have dual gyros and…
Drones are effective, but nothing is ever cheap on the battlefield. While the warhead that ultimately kills the target is often cheap, the real cost comes from the system that picks the right target and delivers the warhead there at the right time. Cheap commercial drones have a short range. In order to use them effectively on the battlefield, each drone needs an operator, who must also be on the battlefield. Those o…
The most effective use of drones so far in Ukraine has been to direct artillery fire, converting what was an area weapon to a precisely targeted weapon.
Just a couple of days ago, a single artillery brigade eliminated an entire tank battalion at a river crossing.
Generally, if you can wipe out the fuel trucks, they have to abandon the tanks. An ordinary grenade suffices to blow up a fuel truck.
Re: Shaped Charges – Sheet of copper going through 1ft of solid steel (2010) [video]
#176"I designed this, for, well, filling by the user. It means it can travel on airplanes and such" Presenter: "DIY shaped charges, of course " "Mmm yes" I get that he likely meant it can be shipped on airplanes and local explosives used for easier logistics, but it's amusing to hear an explosive munitions expert brag about designing something so it can be carried on airplanes. "This box, I'm pleased to tell you, is full…
I interpreted that as him being able to bring everything except for the explosives anywhere easily by regular airlines, where he expects his client to provide the explosives.
No post body was provided.
Re: Shaped Charges – Sheet of copper going through 1ft of solid steel (2010) [video]
#177Earlier quoted context omitted.
Luck eventually runs out. That's not to say you're wrong, only that I expect the distribution of the lucky amongst the skilled tends towards zero over sufficient time. "Beware old men in a young man's game."
Depends on how often you role the dice not just how bad the dice are. Someone that’s got a 1% chance of dying every fireworks show is extraordinarily bad at their job. But if they only put on 2 shows a year they have better than even odds of surviving a 40 year career.
The odds there are surprisingly high, but not better than even. 44.75%
Re: Shaped Charges – Sheet of copper going through 1ft of solid steel (2010) [video]
#178What's pretty surprising is that explosively formed projectiles can have quite a range and can be aimed precisely.
Explosion of PTKM-R1 anti-tank mine that destroys the tank by targeting it from above:
https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/a0ZMv2n_460svvp9.webm
I also read about some antitank missile that basically has two such auto-aiming charges and just releases them when it's above the targets and they aim and detonate forming projectiles that hit the tank(s?).
Re: Shaped Charges – Sheet of copper going through 1ft of solid steel (2010) [video]
#179In the US/Iraq war such contraptions were commonly referred to as EFPs (explosively formed penetrators). My platoon was once hit by a four-array EFP that was hung behind a cement wall (US forces would often line streets with barricades like this) so we couldn't see it. It went through the concrete wall, the humvee, and took some legs with it. Brutal things they were. We avoided prolonged truck excursions, but I remem…
Devious. The assassination of Alfred Herrhausen is I think the textbook example of this technique:
Re: Shaped Charges – Sheet of copper going through 1ft of solid steel (2010) [video]
#180Earlier quoted context omitted.
Depends on how often you role the dice not just how bad the dice are. Someone that’s got a 1% chance of dying every fireworks show is extraordinarily bad at their job. But if they only put on 2 shows a year they have better than even odds of surviving a 40 year career.
The odds there are surprisingly high, but not better than even. 44.75%
Actually the OP is correct - the odds of dying are 44.75%, while the odds of surviving are the corollary of 55.25%, i.e. greater than even.
Edit: Nope I'm wrong, just redid the math. Apologies.