S.A.P.
Semi Armour-Piercing. Introduced after World War I as the successor to Common pointed shells for naval use. They had a heavy solid nose and a medium amount of TNT explosive, giving them the capability to penetrate steel superstructures and small thickness of armour. They were employed as the main shell for naval and coastal guns 8 inches and below in action against warships. Later shells were streamlined with the addition of a pointed ballistic cap, and were designated SAP/BC. In World War II they were typically painted olive green, with a red nose.
Read more about this topic: List Of British Ordnance Terms
Famous quotes containing the word sap:
“a dance sacred as the sap in
the trees,”
—Archie Randolph Ammons (b. 1926)
“It was you that broke the new wood,
Now is a time for carving.
We have one sap and one root—
Let there be commerce between us.”
—Ezra Pound (1885–1972)
“Each is under the most sacred obligation not to squander the material committed to him, not to sap his strength in folly and vice, and to see at the least that he delivers a product worthy the labor and cost which have been expended on him.”
—Anna Julia Cooper (1859–1964)