Whistle

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British 3-inch gun from the First World War, destroyed by a blowout at the end of the barrel. Illegal Immigration and Navy Museum, Haifa
Austro-Hungarian 10 cm M. 14 field howitzer model 1914 after Rohrkrepierer
Russian 3 inch cannon model 1902 in Yaroslavl

A pipe cracking (military pipe burst , pipe shatter or pipe detonator ) is a projectile that explodes in the barrel of a firearm or does not function properly for other reasons.

Analogies

  • In a figurative sense, a measure that ends in failure is also referred to as a flop . A person who acts counterproductively and causes damage is sometimes referred to as this, as well as jokes that are perceived as unsuccessful and the like.
  • If firearms malfunction, projectiles can get stuck in the barrel of a weapon. In the English-speaking world, this is also known as "Squib load". If there are significant residues in the barrel, the bullet can no longer be used.
  • When using torpedoes guns are also known.
  • In some areas of Switzerland a pipe screech is colloquially referred to as a pipe igniter. This designation is largely unknown in the rest of the German-speaking area .

Causes in the field of artillery

The most common cause of pipe cracks are hot pipes. These usually occur when rapid fire has been fired over a long period of time. Warped gun barrels due to enemy action, mistakes in setting the detonators for the ammunition or forgotten cleaning equipment in the barrel such as rags or brushes can also be the cause of gunshots.

Overheating

When an artillery piece has to fire rapid fire and cannot be cooled, both the chamber and the barrel are constantly exposed to high heat. Unlike armor-piercing projectiles , explosive projectiles are made of thin-walled materials. This increases the splintering effect at the point of impact. If the barrel is too hot, however, the thin walls of the projectile can no longer keep the heat away from the explosive device and detonate the projectile prematurely . The same can happen to the ignition mechanism. In both cases the bullet “dies” in the barrel or shortly afterwards. Ammunition controllers speak of “boiling ammunition”, that is, ammunition that detonates prematurely or unintentionally due to overheating. This process is extremely accelerated in the case of the crook.

Warped pipes

A gun barrel can warp, that is, show a bend, due to a lack of maintenance, excessive use or extreme rapid fire. Normally such a gun would be retired or replaced. This is not possible in certain combat situations. Then the curvature can lead to a bullet simply getting stuck. This danger exists especially with large-caliber guns with a high propellant charge , strong heat generation and long projectiles.

Pipes can also narrow inwardly through expansion or annealing, often asymmetrically or at certain weak points. Here, even if the pipe has cooled down in the meantime, the projectile has to pass a narrow point and can be deformed or tear open at the side under the effects of great heat.

Detonator

Time fuses are often used when firing . They should detonate above, on or in the earth as well as later in order to achieve the greatest possible effect. Incorrectly set or faulty detonators can cause gunfire.

Forgotten cleaning equipment

Pipes are cleaned, i.e. H. streaked with cloth or swept away with special brushes. If such devices are forgotten in the barrel, the projectile can become wedged in the barrel, deform and detonate in a flash. In the case of older percussion fuses , these could ignite when they came into contact with the device; modern impact fuses are only activated after the projectile has emerged from the barrel and do not ignite or ignite more difficultly without prior action of the rotation ( twist ).

Forgotten cleaning devices were increasingly found in older building types, where the pipes had to be cleaned hectically after a certain number of shots immediately during the combat situation in order to be kept ready for operation. Today, thanks to the use of modern low-smoke propellant charges and modified designs for pipes, this is no longer necessary so often and can therefore be shifted to breaks in combat if more time is available for this activity and corresponding follow-up checks.

frequency

Around 1904 the Imperial Japanese Navy became aware of fundamental problems with gunshots to English wire cannons . Problems with gunshot guns were reported on seven of sixteen guns on the Mikasa , Asahi , Shikishima and Fuji warships .

During the First World War , the gunfire was a frequent problem that the fighting artillerymen were concerned with. The guns stood, such as B. on the Somme , in continuous combat and could only rarely be detached. So there were often accidents without enemy influence, which were largely due to gunfire. There were inconsistent guidelines for the duration of the use of the guns, so that, according to the judgment and experience of the artillerymen, they were used until a gunfire became too likely. You worked your way up to a subjectively assessed limit before the pipe was given a break to cool down. The delay that had already occurred could not be precisely measured. The quality of the ammunition also varied depending on the time of the war and its origin. There were batches with a higher error rate, the use of which the artillerymen distrusted.

Up until the Second World War, overheating and pipe warping were largely eliminated as the cause of pipe cracks thanks to improved material and processing properties and changed operating guidelines (regular checks). Due to the normal wear and tear of the tubes and the associated changed ballistic properties, the industry increasingly carried out regularly planned field deliveries of replacement tubes for various types, which also enabled the earlier replacement of annealed or warped tubes. Nevertheless, such accidents occurred again and again during the Second World War, especially when there was a shortage of materials or heavy fighting. With newer artillery, the number of gunshots is reduced to a minimum and is almost always attributed to faulty ammunition.

Effects

The effects can be fatal for people at close range, because detonating a weapon can cause serious injury.

See also

literature

  • Shelford Bidwell: Land War in the 20th Century . Gondromverlag, Bayreuth, 1978
  • Herman Frobenius, Military Lexicon (concise dictionary of military sciences), Verlag Martin Oldenburg, 1901, (full text at Archive.org)
  • Charles Griffon, Henri Clément, Jean Albert Édouard Méra: Recueil de documents militaires allemands de la grande guerre, 1914-1918, pub. pour la première fois avec l'autorisation de Grand Quartier général, à l'usage des écoles militaires , Librairie Chapelot, Paris, 1920
  • E. Hartmann, Technik und Wehrmacht , Kriegstechnische Zeitschrift, ES Mittler, 1906 (full text at Archive.org)

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Herman Frobenius: Military Lexicon , page 279, entry: projectile effect
  2. Great Britain War Office: Vocabulary of German Military Terms and Abbreviations
  3. ^ Duden , entry: Rohrkrepierer
  4. Brad Fitzpatrick: Shooter's Bible Guide to Concealed Carry , Skyhorse Publishing, Inc., 2013, ISBN 978-1-62087-580-3, page 84 "Squib loads"
  5. Heinz Trompelt: Another view: factual report of a torpedo Obermech. Maat and Ensign z. See Dangers on U-459 and U-172 on page 93 "Spectacular U-boat cases"
  6. E. Hartmann: Technology and Wehrmacht , War Technology Journal v. Bahn, first issue, page 1
  7. Griffon: Recueil de documents militaires allemands, page 116 “Order for the Sperrf. Artl. "