Air Burst - History

History

Air burst artillery has a long history. The shrapnel shell was invented by Henry Shrapnel of the British army in about 1780 to increase the effectiveness of canister shot. It was widely used by the time of the War of 1812 and stayed in use until it was superseded during the First World War. Modern shells, though sometimes called "Shrapnel shells", actually produce fragments and splinters, not shrapnel.

Air bursts were used in the First World War to shower enemy positions and men with shrapnel balls to kill the largest possible number of them with a single burst, assuming that the burst was directly in front of the trench in which the men were positioned.

When infantry moved into deep trenches, shrapnel shells were rendered useless and high-explosive shells were used to attack field fortifications and troops in the open. The time fuses for the shells could be set to function on contact or in the air. During the Second World War, a "Variable Time Fuse" was developed. This fuse could not be set by the gun detachment but was controlled by a doppler radar device which caused the shell to explode when near the target.

During the Vietnam War, air bursting shells were used to great effect to defend US Army bases. This tactic was known as Killer Junior when referring to 105 mm or 155 mm shells, and 'Killer Senior' when employed with larger howitzers.

Some anti-personnel land mines such as the "Bouncing Betty" fire a grenade into the air which detonates at approximately two foot eleven inches, causing the fragments to fly out at waist level, severely maiming limbs and genitalia of anyone within a fifteen foot radius.

A relatively recent example of airburst munitions is the VOG-25P "jumping" 40mm caseless grenade, which contains a secondary charge to launch it up to 1.5 meters above its point of impact before the main charge detonates. Another recent development is computer programmable rounds. Weapons using this new technology include the XM29, XM25, XM307, K11, and PAPOP, all of which are in various stages of prototyping or testing.