Amatol
Amatol is a military explosives , mainly in the First and Second World War was used. The German code name was filling powder . Amatol is a war-related stretch of the very expensive TNT with inexpensive ammonium nitrate (synthetic fertilizer component). The Amatol mixture is only slightly less explosive than TNT, the TNT equivalent is 0.8. There is no evidence of an often alleged increased explosive power compared to TNT. Amatol was used in all major bomb loads, such as air mine ,Fieseler Fi 103 , A4 (rocket) , etc. Ammonium nitrate is known as a safety explosive. Amatol was therefore one of the first military explosives that was largely insensitive to shock, heat and cold. In addition, Amatol was relatively easy to handle and easy to portion.
Highly explosive explosives such as Semtex or Hexogen have been used almost without exception in the military sector since the 1960s .
Amatol NJ is also the name of a US arms factory and settlement built from 1917 to meet the United States' needs for explosives during World War I. At the time of the Great Depression, the factory was abandoned and the settlement became a ghost town. It was near Atlantic City , New Jersey .
Amatol x / y
Military explosives; German Empire, Second World War;
Pourable mixtures, generally from x% TNT and y% ammonium nitrate (in the USA x and y were exchanged)
Amatol 39
Substitute explosives; German Empire, Second World War;
Pourable Mixtures; Composition: 35–45% ammonium nitrate, 5–15% hexogen and 50% TNT or dinitrobenzene
Amatol 40
Military explosives; German Empire, Second World War;
Warhead of the V-1 flying bombs and Fritz X guided bomb;
Composition: 35% ammonium nitrate , 15% hexogen , 50% 2,4-dinitroanisole or 1,3-dinitrobenzene
Amatol 41
Military explosives; German Empire, Second World War;
Composition: 52% ammonium nitrate , 6% calcium nitrate , 10% hexogen , 30% ethylenediamine dinitrate , 2% montan wax
Fp. X / y / z (letters) (filling powder)
Military explosives mixtures, German Empire from 1888;
Covered name "filling powder"; the first number denotes the TNT content in%, the second number (if no additional letter follows) the ammonium nitrate content in%, further numbers with letters the content of other additives ;
The letters have the following meanings:
C = potassium nitrate K = potassium ammonium nitrate N or Na = sodium nitrate Ns = sodium nitrate and rock salt S = rock salt ST = stucco (gypsum?)
- M.p. 40/60
- Military explosives; German Empire, Second World War;
- Composition: 40% TNT, 60% ammonium nitrate
- Mp 50/50
- Military explosives; German Empire, Second World War;
- Composition: 50% TNT, 50% ammonium nitrate
- M.p. 60/40
- Military explosives; German Empire, Second World War;
- Composition: 60% TNT, 40% ammonium nitrate
- Fp. 02
- German Empire, from 1902; "Filler powder 02", explosive ammunition 02; Code name for TNT
- M.p. 88
- German Empire, from 1888; "Füllpulver 88", explosive ammunition 88; Alias for picric acid
- Fp. 5
- Military explosives; German Empire, Second World War;
- Composition: 95% TNT, 5% wax
- M.p. 10
- Military explosives; German Empire, Second World War;
- Composition: 90% TNT, 10% wax
- Mp. 15
- Military explosives; German Empire, Second World War;
- Composition: 85% TNT, 15% wax
- M.p. 20
- Military explosives; German Empire, Second World War;
- Composition: 80% TNT, 20% wax
- Trials 105
- Military explosives; German Empire, Second World War;
- Composition: 70% TNT, 15% hexogen, 15% aluminum powder
- Trials 109
- Military explosives; German Empire, Second World War;
- Composition: 70% hexogen, 25% aluminum powder, 5% wax
Web links
- Lexicon of German Explosive Mixtures
- The development of the grenade launcher in the First World War (accessed on May 8, 2020)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Amatol: A former World War I munitions factory, located in Mullica Township, NJ. In: amatol.atlantic.edu (English).
- ↑ Brigitta M. Dobratz: Ethylenediamine Dinitrate and Its Eutectic Mixtures: A Historical Review of the Literature to 1982 . Ed .: Los Alamos National Laboratory, New Mexico. National Technical Information Service, US Dept of Commerce, Springfield 1983, pp. 2 .