Hi,
O.k., I guess by now this has already been answered by someone (I'm in
digest mode, so I don't directly receive replies as they're sent), but
nonetheless:
Since this thread is irretrievably OT, I've been tempted to ask this
question. I'm sure at least one of our resident experts will know the
answer: What's with this depleted uranium ammunition scare? Is DU used
solely because of its density - a way of making heavier projectiles without
having to make them wider or longer?
I'm no expert, but you're right in your aassumtion: DU is indeed heavier
than steel, and by using it, the projectile gets much heavier while
maintaining a relatively small size. Now, the "pressure" a projectile
delivers, increases as the "mass" of it increases and/or the "thickness" of
the point of the projectile decreases. Hence, small heavy projectiles
deliver more pressure than small lighter projectiles (when the shape is
identical). So, by making the projectiles heavier, the impact they deliver
is bigger, and in the DU case, a burst of these projectiles is quite
sufficient to have little envy of the crew that's inside the receiving tank.
I think a really fast gun is still needed to to be able to deliver a burst
of these projectiles, hence the A-10's Avenger (4200 rounds per minute(!))
will be considerably more effective than an Apache's (single barrel, much
slower) gun against armour. In fact, I believe an Apache is not capable of
destroying a tank by using the 30mm ammunition alone (whereas an A-10 is
capable of doing so), but it is succesful against lighter armoured types of
vehicles.
Or is there some other property that makes it particularly devastating
against armour?
Not that I know of, but again, I'm no expert...
Cheers!
Olafo
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